Re: Paul Simon's music--and Cab Calloway's

[BarMusProd <BarMusProd...>]

In a message dated 11/2/99 12:53:09 PM, rlcm17 (at) hotmail(dot)com writes:

>Is this (1st paragraph) statement about Paul Simon's "The Boxer" actually
>
>factual--i.e., known--or offered tongue-in-cheek?  Because, interestingly,
>
>Cab Calloway's scat singing  started when he forgot the words (as opposed
>
>to, but surely parallel to, not coming up w/ new ones) to a song he was
>
>singing on live radio; the (live, radio) audience loved his improvisatory
>
>filling in (apparently somewhat inspired by the cantorial singing he heard
>
>in his childhood Baltimore),

Dear Robert and Listers,
Not wanting to get into the Lie-Die debate, I do wish to offer a possible 
correction Robert's statement about scat singing above. Usually (in the jazz 
histories that I'm aware of) Louis Armstrong is credited for coming up with 
the idea of scatting for the same reason that Robert notes above. Although 
Cab was noted for his "hi-de-ho'ing", I don't think that he was the earliest 
jazz singer to use nonsense syllables.

Best wishes,
Steve

Steve Barnett
Composer/Arranger/Producer
Barnett Music Productions
BarMusProd (at) aol(dot)com 

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