My Piano Recordings

MEMORIES AND HAPPENINGS AT BILL'S MUSIC LOUNGE

• BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE REMEMBERS.  Memories abound at Bill’s Music Lounge, a digital retrospective on the cocktail lounge lifestyle of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.  

It’s a new year, but yesteryear still reigns here.  Another scintillating night in the books.  I finished my last set at 3 a.m. and it was time to get ready to close. Last call was underway.  The crew tallied the register, closed the piano top and vacuumed the floor to the sounds of Sinatra on the jukebox. 

Surprisingly, Laura the coat-check girl, appeared.  “I thought you left a while ago.”, I said.  She replied furtively, “I’ve been waiting for you.”  Ooooh!  A guy’s got to have a lot of energy in this business.   

Check out Bill’s Music Lounge.  The action never stops.

Masks prohibited.  1/7/22

• REMEMBERING THE COPACABANA.  More memories at Bill’s Music Lounge, a digital retrospective on the cocktail lounge lifestyle of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.

The Copacabana was a world famous mob-run, Latin-themed New York night club whose heyday spanned the 1940s through the 1960s. It probably was most widely known for the brawl that occurred there in 1957 involving several New York Yankee players, including Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin.  The melee was front-page news in all the local papers the next day, and probably across the country.  Here’s Mantle’s account of that incident.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuGnaUIBQrA    

I arrived at the iconic venue on the corner of 5th Avenue and 60th Street in 1977 during the club’s new incarnation under one John Juliano.  Gone were the famous showgirls.  The main room downstairs, that featured a sunken stage on which the likes of Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett had performed, was filled with disco ducks and well-dressed gals.

But upstairs time stood still.  The circular bar remained, occupied mostly by high-end hookers. Few guys sat there because meeting a regular woman was unlikely.  Also, the ladies of the night were expensive.  But they knew that eventually some high rollers, or unsuspecting out-of-towners, would arrive for a nice payday. At their rates, one trick was enough to make the wait worthwhile.

So, the only option for me was dinner for two in the dining area. It was a great place to impress a lady.  The Irving Fields trio provided traditional music and cheek-to-cheek dancing, along the lines of Bill’s Music Lounge today. In a deep broadcaster-like voice, Fields, the house pianist, panned the room and publicly acknowledged VIPs. I specifically remember him calling out, “Dan Farrell of the New York Daily News is with us tonight. Welcome.”  It was a nice touch.

The following year Barry Manilow further institutionalized the establishment with his new hit song, “Copacabana”. 

You can capture some semblance of this nugget of yesteryear at Bill’s Music Lounge.

Masks prohibited.  12/8/21

• DEFY THE WOKE: PLAY “BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE”.  More memories at Bill’s Music Lounge, a digital retrospective on the cocktail lounge lifestyle of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.  

The 1940s Burton Lane/Frank Loesser classic, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, has been banned by programmers in recent years at the behest of the “MeToo” emasculation movement.  Absurdly, the persistent suitor in the song is now considered predatory, even rapacious. Here is a 1949 clip featuring Ricardo Montalban and Esther Williams in the supposedly scandalous performance.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzeFmfOglbA

Disseminate this video far and wide with instructions to play it daily throughout every winter in defiance of woke tyranny.  Be sure to encourage redistribution. 

F**k you #MeToo.

See music like this performed at Bill’s Music Lounge.

Masks prohibited.  12/3/21

• BOBBY COLE:  A LOUNGE LIZARD’S FAVORITE.  Memories abound at Bill’s Music Lounge, a digital retrospective on the cocktail lounge lifestyle of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.

Today, I invoke an icon of the classic lounge act, Bobby Cole. Oddly, this singer/pianist was better known inside the music business than he was publicly.  Sinatra called him his “favorite saloon singer”. And, he had a special relationship with Judy Garland.  As house pianist at “Jilly’s” in New York, he caught Garland’s eye.  She eventually became his cougar and that association elevated him to Musical Director for her national television show after Mel Torme was fired.  Here is a clip of his performance on that program in 1964. Folks, it doesn’t get better than this. In the third song, he accompanies Garland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zvzIsT5DXA (he starts at 1:39)

I saw Cole play frequently in New York venues in the late 1970s.  I had heard that sometimes Liza Minelli dropped by to perform with him informally, a benefit that grew out of his friendship with her mother, Garland.  But, only in his mid-forties, this ladies’ man was already past his prime.  Purportedly, the ravages of drugs, alcohol and tobacco took their toll, not unlike his famous mentor.  His clear-toned vocals had morphed into a raspy voice that made him a different performer, albeit still entertaining.

He met a tragic end in 1996.  During a break while on a gig in New York, he took a walk along First Avenue.  On the way back, he became very ill, grabbed a light post to steady himself and slumped to the ground of a heart attack.  Eventually, a passer-by called 911.  At first, a miscommunication of the events led many to believe he literally died in the gutter, destitute.  In fact, he expired in the hospital surrounded by his family. 

Come on down to Bill’s Music Lounge for some great memories.

Masks prohibited. 12/1/21

• SHOCKING SURPRISE AT BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE.  A seismic jolt occurred at Bill’s Music Lounge, a digital retrospective on the cocktail lounge lifestyle of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.

I eased into an intro to “The Way We Were” when Brenda, my head waitress, unexpectedly picked up the mic and cooed the song like a nightingale.  Here’s my (elongated) piano recording  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sclYyFkpipo

Who knew?  Songstress was not on her resume.  Brenda worked the pole in strip joints across America for years.  Now, a bit long in the tooth for that, but still carrying a marketable 46DDD rack, she presides over libation distribution at Bill’s. But given her new found singing ability, I’ll have to expand her role. 

Hidden talents are often revealed quite surprisingly. Anita O’Day, the great jazz singer, spoke of one such experience.  While performing in a club, she noticed a woman standing in the back who had come in from the rain.  When O’Day took a break, the woman stepped onto the stage to blow everyone’s mind.  She changed her name to June Christy and the rest is history.   

Perhaps one night you’ll be shocked at Bill’s Music Lounge.  Check it out.

Masks prohibited.  11/22/21

• HAREM AT BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE.  The saga continues at Bill’s Music Lounge, a digital retrospective on the cocktail lounge lifestyle of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.

It was a hot night at Bill’s Music Lounge, and I’m not talking about the weather. I sat down to start my next set when a beautiful woman sprawled across the piano before me, her ample rack spilling over the keyboard.  Then, I felt another woman behind me massage my scalp as she sexily whispered in my ear, “Play ‘Witchcraft’ ”.  So, with cleavage in my face and lady-fingers in my hair, I obliged.

“Those fingers through my hair/

That sly come-hither stare/

That strips my conscience bare/

It’s Witchcraft.”

Here’s a clip of the song performed by its composer, Cy Coleman, under the watchful eye of host Hugh Hefner on his Playboy Penthouse television show circa 1959. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmDpSP5Y3HI

Guys, the gals are waiting.  Check out Bill’s Music Lounge.

Masks prohibited.  11/19/21

• HAZEL SCOTT: A MUSIC GIANT OF YESTERYEAR.  I present Bill’s Music Lounge, a digital retrospective on the cocktail lounges of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.

As house pianist, I reflect on role models I have observed over the years in my nocturnal travels.  One was Hazel Scott, a child piano prodigy and popular jazz singer-pianist of the 1930s and 1940s, particularly remembered for her stints at New York’s popular Café Society. This YouTube clip reveals a young attractive, vivacious musician in 1943. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySQ8cA4a-f8 (Skip the annoying ads.)

But that early image did not comport with the person I witnessed fairly regularly in the late 1970s in a Manhattan night club.  While she performed very well, she seemed forlorn and detached, not engaging with the audience as she did originally.  Her mood might have been soured by her blacklisting by industry heads for boldly expressing her opposition to racial discrimination and segregation, especially to the House Un-American Activities Committee 25 years earlier. Married to outspoken Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., politics was a part of her life. Tragically, her protestations diminished a promising career and consigned her to relative obscurity in the U.S. for many years.

I missed her for a while but caught up with her again in the early 1980s at the Milford Plaza Hotel near Times Square. I recall reading she was ecstatic about the gig because it was a long-term contract to play five nights a week right in her back yard.  This meant steady work and no strenuous traveling around the country, in Europe and elsewhere. I dropped by to see her play and was struck by how elevated her performance was.  She was cookin’ on that piano as I had not seen her previously.   

Shortly later, she died of cancer at 61.  In retrospect, it seemed she knew the end was imminent and was expressing her last hurrah through her instrument. That would explain her ramped up performance that knocked me out.

Music can be uplifting in many ways.  Avail yourself of that experience at Bill’s Music Lounge. 

Masks prohibited.  11/17/21 

• MICK JAGGER INVADES BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE.  An interloper trespassed Bill’s Music Lounge, a digital retrospective on the cocktail lounges of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano. 

I was finishing a set at the piano when I heard a commotion at the door.  Properly, my gatekeepers were trying to prevent an animated Mick Jagger from entering. Pointing to a sign on the wall, I told him my policy is quite clear.  “No rock stars allowed.”  The following exchange ensued:

Jagger:  I understand, Bill, but …

Bill:  Hold it!  Who do you think you are, Frank Sinatra?  It’s Mr. Dodwell for you.

Jagger:  Yes, sir. I heard so much about Bill’s Music Lounge I had to check it out. 

Bill:  I don’t like you rock and roll guys.  You and your ilk supplanted a beautiful music culture.  Ok, sing a Cole Porter song.  If you’re decent, I’ll let you perform it on stage to my accompaniment. 

Jagger cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and forged into “Begin The Beguine”, right there in the foyer.  Shockingly, he wasn’t half bad.

Returning to the piano with Jagger in tow, I opened with a Latin rhythm intro for his song.  Then out of nowhere two guys with electric guitars appeared.  Jagger grabbed the mic and proceeded to scream, “I - can’t – get – no - sa-tis-fac-tion …”.  I was horrified.  He tried to hijack my club.  I let him finish.  But I got the last laugh.  When done, he faced stone-cold-silence. My patrons don’t want to hear that crap.  They come to enjoy adult music; real music.  Jagger left with his head down and his tail between his legs. 

Afterwards, a diehard customer asked me if I was selling out.  I said that Jagger told me he was going to sing “Begin The Beguine”.  He said, “S-u-r-e he did”.  It took weeks to restore my credibility.

Let’s be clear.  Bill’s Music Lounge is dedicated to traditional music and only traditional music.

Masks prohibited.  11/15/21

• PROCEED WITH CAUTION AT BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE. A word of caution about amorous dalliances at Bill’s Music Lounge, my digital retrospective on the cocktail lounges of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.

In 1970 when Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show from New York City, he used to frequent a watering hole called “Jilly’s” owned by Jilly Rizzo, a good friend of Frank Sinatra who also visited the establishment regularly. Sinatra even had his own reserved roped-off table.  

One night Carson, after too many drinks, aggressively hit on a woman at the bar.  As it happened, she was the girlfriend of a mobster chieftain. When informed of the transgression, the Mafia don summoned a couple of thugs who threw Carson down the stairway.  Carson missed his show for three days afterwards hiding in his apartment out of fear of further retaliation. True story. https://nypost.com/2013/10/09/mob-wanted-johnny-carson-dead-after-drunken-flirtation/  (Scroll down.)

This is a warning to guys given to pursuing the lovely ladies at my bar.  I certainly do not invite mob figures, but in this business one may not know if such a character is present who could be inadvertently offended. So, before you make a move, be watchful for a guy with a 27 inch neck and a violin case.  And, if spotted, don’t sit with your back to the door. 

As the house pianist, I’m not exempt from danger.  Irving Fields, an elegant, much sought after pianist back in the day, told the story of Frank Sinatra once shutting the piano cover on his hands.

Have fun, but proceed with caution at Bill’s Music Lounge.

Masks prohibited.  11/12/21

• EJECTING A LEFTIST FROM BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE.  More action at Bill’s Music Lounge, my digital retrospective on the cocktail lounges of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.

I was finishing a set at the piano when Brenda, the head waitress, passed me a note.  It said there was a leftist at the bar spreading propaganda.  Concerned, I got up to take a look.  He was loudly advocating climate change this, diversity that, open borders, Black Lives Matter, radicalization of the schools, and generally defending the new far-left Democrat Party.  I briefly debated him but he had no defense.  

Humiliated by my arguments, he threw a punch. I responded with my stock five-point counterattack:  A left jab to the head, a right upper cut, a left to the solar plexus, a right hook, and a left cross to put him away. I left him on the floor in a pool of blood.  Frank, my operations manager, called EMS to cart him away. 

Bill’s Music Lounge is the only bar I have ever known where the house pianist doubles as bouncer. I had to collect myself for my next set, especially for the ladies sitting around the piano.  After playing the theme from “Rocky”, I settled into regular mode in a seamless pivot from pugilistic to amorous with Hoagy Carmichael’s “The Nearness Of You” "The Nearness Of You" - YouTube 

Enjoy Bill’s Music Lounge, but don’t mess with Bill.

Masks prohibited.  11/10/21

• TEMPTING THE VICE SQUAD AT BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE.  More action at Bill’s Music Lounge, my digital retrospective on the cocktail lounges of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.

The dance floor was jammed.  But a mysterious gap in the crowd caught my eye from the piano.  It turned out that one couple was dancing horizontally.  Was it my song selection that inspired such passion?  Perhaps.  It was “Feelings”, a consistent crowd pleaser that gets everyone on their feet in ten seconds like it was 1975. The women love it.  I do too, but suspected politics later mocked the hit song and made it disappear.

I’m usually laissez faire about most risqué behavior, but public fornication could get my joint raided.  So, I dispatched the couple to a vacant room with a plush carpet and a jukebox so they could horizontally dance all they want.

Never a dull moment at Bill’s Music Lounge.  Come on down!

No mask allowed.  11/8/21

• PREDATORY SEX AT BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE.  Happenings continue at Bill’s Music Lounge, my digital retrospective on the cocktail lounges of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano.

While noodling on the ivories, I panned the room.  An aging, but attractive, cougar on the prowl appeared prancing along the back wall.  She found her prey - a guy about 25.  I looked away momentarily, and when I turned back they were gone.  Geez! I wish it were that easy to score when I was his age.  I’m sure he enjoyed his Mrs. Robinson moment.

Come to Bill’s Music Lounge for old school entertainment and lascivious thrills.  Jonathan Schwartz recently retired after purveying these beautiful songs for more than 50 years on the radio, but the music continues at Bill’s.

Check it out.

No mask allowed.  11/5/21

• A TITILLATING SURPRISE AT BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE.  The joint was jumpin’ at Bill’s Music Lounge, my digital retrospective on the cocktail lounges of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano. 

While playing “Besame Mucho”, a curvaceous Latina suddenly climbed atop the piano and went into a strip tease to my music.  She went all the way down to her birthday suit eliciting a roar from the titillated crowd. The only hitch was when she flung her G-string it landed on my head obstructing my view of the sheet music.  Guys lined up for an autograph of this future star.  An unexpected treat for all.

Come on down to Bill’s Music Lounge for a scintillating time.

F***k you, #MeToo!

No masks allowed.  11/3/21

• THE LATEST AT BILL’S MUSIC LOUNGE:  Here’s the latest on activities at Bill’s Music Lounge, my digital retrospective on the cocktail lounges of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring traditional songs with yours truly at the piano. 

The place was packed Friday night into the wee hours.  Chicks were everywhere, all suitably wearing 1940s attire. One highlight (for me) was an elegant lady sitting at the end of the grand piano directly in my line of sight casting an amorous look.  I segued to the Cole Porter song, “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To”.  Then her bedroom eyes became so intense I started flubbing my chord changes.  Oh, the perils of the job.

Check out Bill’s Music Lounge.   

No masks allowed.  11/1/21