Event
Down On Their Luck Orchestra "Red Top" & "Valerie"
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Fee:
Free.Dates & Times
Date:
Monday, October 26, 2020
Time:
2:00 PM
Duration:
1 hour
Type of Event
Virtual/Digital
Description
Music Monday: Down On Their Luck Orchestra "Red Top" & "Valerie"
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park Rangers lead the Down on Their Luck Orchestra in a program demonstrating musical elements that helped nurture New Orleans’ role as the birthplace of jazz. The DoTLO includes Rangers Jon Beebe (piano), Matt Hampsey (guitar), James Barry (sax), Officer Darrell Barnes (trombone), Joe Stolarick (drums), Alex Dyring (bass), and Jazmarae Beebe (vocals).
The song “Red Top” was composed by Lionel Hampton in 1947, and was first recorded the same year by The Lionel Hampton Orchestra.
A famous jazz standard, “Red Top” is also infamous for the controversy swirling around the creation of the song. That controversy concerns two musicians, Lionel Hampton and Ben Kynard, and centers on compositional credit and the revenue that would follow this mega hit.
Few people know that Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” is a cover, so there are several thoughts on why she sang a bluesy pop love song to someone named Valerie. One of main reasons why it works so well for a female British artist is that Valerie is a man’s name in the UK. But, the song was not written for a man named Valerie at all.
The song was originally written and performed by the Zutons, a British band. Valerie Star, a celebrity make-up artist living in New York, has stated that she used to date the band’s frontman, Dave McCabe, and that the song is about her. Dave McCabe has confirmed this to be true and that she is the inspiration for the song that he penned.
Regardless of the origin of the song, though fascinating as it is, the Jazz infused version that the Down On Their Luck Orchestra performs is very exhilarating and uses improvisation throughout to breathe even more life into the tune.
We hope that you enjoy our versions of "Red Top" and "Valerie" as we definitely enjoyed performing them!
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