[Dixielandjazz] Re: Verses

[Bill Haesler]

Dear Fred, 
Regarding your query: >The discussion about "As Time Goes By" makes me think
of how many tunes have the lyrics of the verse when sung.....What others?<
How long is a piece of string?
Our band uses verses on a regular basis, as they heighten a performance.
Think of "Alexander's Ragtime Band". (We do it verse, chorus, verse,
choruses. And often come back to the verse.)
"Everybody Loves My Baby" is another song with a good verse.
And what about the rarely heard verse to "Lulu's Back In Town"?
In fact, the verse to many songs is occasionally better than the chorus.
It also sets the theme for the main lyrics.
Regarding the claim (raised again by Charlie Hull) that Don Redman (not
Redmond) contributed the verse to 'Stardust'.
This claim pops up every now and then , but I have never been able to locate
the source of what appears to be a bit of regularly-cited misinformation.
If it was true, I am sure that the late Allan Vache' Sr would have mentioned
it in his fine book 'The Unsung Songwriters'.
I do not have any of the Hoagy books, so can't check whether these bother to
mention this claim.
Although Mitchell Parish did not write the "Stardust" lyrics until 1931,
when it was recorded for the first time by Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals on
31 Oct 1927 (as Hal Vickery has noted), it was pretty well formed.
And yes, play the verse fast and you can hear the Bix phrasing. (Well, I
can. Wishful thinking?)
Kind regards,
Bill. 
PS: The hidden trigger at the back of me ole brainbox tells me that there is
an article in an IAJRC Journal, The Mississippi Rag, or perhaps Downbeat,
which makes a claim for an earlier composer for "Stardust'.  Something along
the lines of "I wrote Stardust" says............ Another disgruntled punter?
I will see if I can locate it.
Bill.