Bobby Darin sings “Night Song” (mp3)

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Check out Bobby Darin's breathtaking rendition of "Night Song" from his 1966 LP "In A Broadway Bag."

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Interview: Bobby Darin arranger Perry Botkin

When you hear Bobby Darin swinging Count Basie-style on the "In a Broadway Bag" LP, this is largely thanks to arranger/conductor Perry Botkin. Botkin came into the project in the spring of 1966, with an intense desire to emulate the great Basie recordings he admired so much. One listen to the first five tunes on "Broadway Bag," all Botkin charts, confirms he succeeded beautifully.

"The Basie band always made me smile and often shout out loud," says Botkin. "I think Bobby felt the same way."

Bobby's rousing rendition of the Jerry Herman tune "It's Today" (from the Broadway show "Mame") is a fine example of Botkin's Basie-influenced approach. It is also one of Botkin's personal favorites on the album.

"It was the first song we did on the session," he explains, "and Bobby told me in the recording booth, 'Go out there and get the band swingin'. When you're satisfied with it, I'll come out and fit in.' Fit in? No singer ever told me they'd come out and 'fit in!' I ran the chart down a couple of times while Bobby listened in the booth. When everything was together, out came Bobby. Dave Hassinger said 'take 1,' I counted 8 beats, and off we went. Holy sh--! Bobby sounded like he'd been performing the song in Vegas for two months. He even duplicated what I wrote for the brass on 'Throw confetti, yeah.' Without question this was the highlight of my arranging career."

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW at DarinLand.com

Bobby Darin CD Profile: Sings the Shadow of Your Smile/In a Broadway Bag

Bobby Darin Sings The Shadow of Your Smile (Atlantic 8121, April 1966)
CD Release: Edsel EDSS1012, 07/10/2007; Disky HR 902614, 12/14/2004
Recording Dates: December 13-15, 1965, Los Angeles, CA; February 4, 1966, Las Vegas, NV; March 23, 1966, Los Angeles, CA
Producer: Bobby Darin
Engineer: Walt Payne
Arrangements: Richard Wess*, Shorty Rogers**
Musicians:
DEC 13-Richard Wess (cond); Conte Candoli, Don Fagerquist, Al Porcino, Clarence "Shorty" Sherock (tp); Urbie Green, Lew McCreary, Dick Nash, Tom Shepard (tb); Plas Johnson, Wilbur Schwartz, Bud Shank (sax); Bill Hood (sax, cl); Israel Baker, Harry Bluestone, James Getzoff, Jack Lee, Alfred Lustgarten, Erno Neufeld, Ralph Schaeffer, Marshall Sosson (vln); Louis Kievman, Milton Thomas (vla); William Van Den Berg, Harold Schneier (cello); Jimmy Rowles (p); Bill Pittman, Tom Tedesco (g); Max Bennett (b); Jack Sperling (d); Milt Holland (cga); Sam Kaplan (string dir).

DEC 14-Richard Wess (cond); Bud Brisbois, Pete Candoli, Don Fagerquist, Lee Katzman (tp); Gilbert Falco, Urbie Green, George Roberts, Lloyd Ulyate (tb); Plas Johnson, Ronald Langinger, Jack Nimitz, Wilbur Schwartz (sax); Jimmy Rowles (p); Bill Pittman, Howard Roberts (g); Max Bennett (b); Jack Spering (d); Emil Richards (cga); Jack Lee (string dir).

DEC 15-Richard Wess (cond); Aubrey Bouck, Sinclair Lott, Richard Mackey, Alan Robinson (frh); Harry Klee, Wilbur Schwartz (sax, fl); Norman Benno (sax, cl); Howard Terry (sax, bcl); Alex Beller, Harry Bluestone, Sam Caplan, Jacques Gasselin, Anatol Kaminsky, Nathan Kaproff, William Kurash, Carl Lavagna, Erno Neufeld, Wilbert Nuttycombe, Nathan Ross, Ralph Schaeffer (vln); Louis Kievman, Gary Nuttycombe, Robert Ostrowsky, Milton Thomas (vla); William Van Den Berg, Nathan Gershman, Joseph Saxon, Harold Schneier (cello); Bill Pittman (g); Max Bennett (b); Jack Sperling (d); Emil Richards (per, mallets); Jack Lee (string dir).

FEB 4-Julian C. Matlock (cond); Archie LeCoque, Eddie Miller (sax); Joe Venuti (vln); Stan Wrightsman (p); Henry Levine (b); Nick Fatool (d); Russell P. Black, Robert Paul Morgan, Edmund J. Scarazzo (unknown inst.)

MAR 23-Shorty Rogers (cond); George Roberts (tb); John Cave, James Decker, William Hinshaw (frh); Dorothy Colton, Louis Kievman, Virginia Majewski, Paul Robyn (vla); Norman Benko, Paul Bergstrom, Justin DiTullio, Ann Goodman, Ray Kramer, Emmett Sargeant, Joseph Saxon, Eleanor Slatkin (cello); Pete Jolly (p); Laurindo Almeida, Don Peake (g); Joe Mondragon (b); Larry Bunker, Earl Palmer (d).

Original LP Sequence:

Side 1:
**The Shadow Of Your Smile (Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster) (March 23)
**The Sweetheart Tree (Henry Mancini/Johnny Mercer) (March 23)
**I Will Wait For You (Jacques Demy/Norman Gimbel/Michel Legrand) (March 23)
**The Ballad Of Cat Ballou (Mack David/Jerry Livingston) (March 23)
**What's New Pussycat? (Burt Bacharach/Hal David) (March 23)

Side 2:
*Rainin' (Bobby Darin) (February 4)
*Lover Come Back To Me (Oscar Hammerstein II/Sigmund Romberg) (December 13)
*Cute (Neal Hefti/Stanley Styne) (December 14)
*After You've Gone (Henry Creamer/Turner Layton) (December 13)
*It's Only A Paper Moon (Harold Arlen/E.Y. "Yip" Harburg/Billy Rose) (December 14)
*Liza (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin/Gus Kahn) (December 15)

Bonus Tracks Added to the CD:

We Didn't Ask To Be Brought Here
Funny What Love Can Do
The Breaking Point
Silver Dollar

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Bobby Darin: In a Broadway Bag (Atlantic 8126, June 1966)
CD Release: Edsel EDSS1012, 07/10/2007; Disky HR 902614, 12/14/2004
Recording Dates: March 24, 1966, NYC ("Mame" only); May 10, 1966, Los Angeles, CA
Producer: Bobby Darin
Engineer: David Hassinger
Arrangements: Shorty Rogers*, Perry Botkin Jr.**
Musicians:
Shorty Rogers (cond), other details unknown.

Perry Botkin Jr. (cond); Allan Reuss (g); Pete Jolly (p, organ); Lyle Ritz (b); Irv Cottler (d); Richie Frost (d) ("Mame" only); Larry Bunker (per); Pete Candoli, John Audino, Frank Beach, Ray Triscari (tp); Harry Betts, Joe Howard, Lloyd Ulyate, George Roberts (tb); Ronnie Lang, Wilbur Schwartz, Plas Johnson, Bob Hardaway, John Lowe (sax).

Original LP Sequence:

Side 1:
**Mame (Jerry Herman)
**I Believe In You (Frank Loesser)
**It's Today (Jerry Herman)
**Everybody Has The Right To Be Wrong (Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen)
**Feelin' Good (Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley)
*Don't Rain On My Parade (Bob Merrill/Jule Styne)

Side 2:
*The Other Half Of Me (Stan Freeman/Jack Lawrence)
*Once Upon A Time (Lee Adams/Charles Strouse)
*Try To Remember (Tom Jones/Harvey Schmidt)
*I'll Only Miss Her When I Think Of Her (Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen)
*Night Song (Lee Adams/Charles Strouse)

Bonus Tracks Added to the CD:

Walking In The Shadow Of Love
Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
Merci Cherie

Comments: "Sings the Shadow of Your Smile" signaled Bobby Darin's return to his old label, Atlantic, after a 7-album stint at Capitol. Continuing in the vein of his last two swingin' Capitol LPs, Darin brings in "Shadow" as a glorious salute to the great songwriters, with entries from such luminaries as Johnny Mercer, Burt Bacharach, "Yip" Harburg, and the Gershwins. The Darin magic infuses every one of these tracks, from the tender and warm title tune, to Darin's passionate and dramatic reading of "I Will Wait For You," to the playful and snappy "Cute." His own composition, "Rainin'," fits in beautifully, casting a very special kind of lazy day spell.

"In a Broadway Bag" is just what the title suggests: Darin puts his stamp on many of the Broadway hits of the time. The narcissistic "I Believe in You" gets flipped on its head, and becomes a sweet pledge of support for a lover or friend. "Everybody Has the Right to Be Wrong" is pure, jaunty Darin joy, delivered with his trademark vocal wink. His heartwarming and effective rendition of "Once Upon a Time" is a classic, and is only overshadowed by the final cut on this record, his indescribably powerful and haunting version of "Night Song." In this one, he uses every bit of his legendary acting skill, to draw out every ounce of heart-rending truth from the lyrics. Breathtaking.