September already. A transitional month leading from hot August to glorious October, Kerouac month in the MavPhil 'secular liturgy.'
Dinah Washington, September in the Rain
Rod Stewart, Maggie May. "Wake up Maggie, I think I got something to say to you/It's late September and I really should be back at school."
Carole King, It Might as Well Rain Until September
Django Reinhardt, September Song
George Shearing, September in the Rain
Walter Huston, September Song
Addendum
This from a London reader:
Thanks for linking to the George Shearing ‘September’. I had forgotten he grew up in London (in Battersea, just down the road from me). I love the Bird-like flights on the piano. Indeed I think he wrote ‘Lullaby of Birdland’. Another Londoner is Helen Shapiro who does a great version of ‘It might as well rain until September’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De0_zZ7qQDA. Great alto voice, never made it in the US as far as I know. There is an account of her conversion to Christianity here.
I was first hipped to Shearing by Kerouac who referred to him in On the Road. I too love the 'Bird'-like flights on the piano. The allusion is to Charley 'Bird' Parker, also beloved of Kerouac. Helen Shapiro is new to me, thanks. She does a great job with the Carole King composition. Believe it or not, King's version is a demo. That's one hell of a demo. A YouTuber points out that Shapiro was not part of the 1964 'British Invasion.' I wonder why.
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