[Dixielandjazz] Something For Annie

[Norrie Thomson]

Bill Gunter has asked me to expand on the origin of 'Something For Annie'
and to pre-empt any further requests, here goes.

At page 36

Jim Goggin states, ' It's interesting this 40 minute business (he was
speaking about the time it took Turk to write 'Bay City'), because now that
was almost the same thing with 'Something For Annie'.  That was written
rather quickly too because Bucklin Moon's wife was so ill.

Turk: ' But when you have a need for something and a purpose for it,
especially with 'Something For Annie', you can write quickly.  It was my
desire to do something for Annie because she has said rather sadly that
nobody had ever written a word for her, a scrap of anything. So I said, ' If
you wait a moment, I'll correct that'

at page 132 / 133

I won't quote the whole 2 pages but in précis it is as follows;

Annie was English and her maiden name was Curtis-Brown and was connected
with an English publishing firm called Curtis Brown Publishing.  She married
Bucklin Moon, who was the editor of pocket books for Simon Schuster. Annie
was a writers' agent and of course saw a lot of names in print but never her
own.  (see above).  At the time Turk wrote the tune, she was seriously ill
with cancer of the spine.  Fortunately Turk was able to record it before she
died.

No dates are given for the date of the composition, but the first mention of
the tune being recorded is in July 1964 on a recording issued by
Motherlode - M-0104, M-004, 5015


Norrie Thomson
Edinburgh
Scotland