It just occurred to me--and I wonder if John Barry ever thought of it, being a big fan--but if Louis Armstrong would not have been available for OHMSS, then Chet Baker would have been a great choice with his low-key, vulnerable voice, plus he could have played the trumpet.
It just occurred to me--and I wonder if John Barry ever thought of it, being a big fan--but if Louis Armstrong would not have been available for OHMSS, then Chet Baker would have been a great choice with his low-key, vulnerable voice, plus he could have played the trumpet.
You probably knew this already, but for the benefit of anyone else reading, I don't think Chet Baker was in any shape to play in 1969, as he had been brutally beaten the previous year in what was most likely a drug deal-related attack and had his teeth knocked out.
I did know about Chet Baker's beating, but I didn't know the timeframe. I know he recovered, and, despite his ongoing heroin addiction, played really well right up to his death. His 2 CD live album, The Last Great Concert, was recorded two weeks before his death in 1988.
I did know about Chet Baker's beating, but I didn't know the timeframe. I know he recovered, and, despite his ongoing heroin addiction, played really well right up to his death. His 2 CD live album, The Last Great Concert, was recorded two weeks before his death in 1988.
I'll never say a bad word about Chet Baker...the musician, anyway.
Chet switched to flugelhorn and did some fine work. Whatever one may feel about Baker as a human being, the man had a tremendous work ethic and produced like crazy.
As for a Baker-Bond crossover, I think Chet had fallen too far off of the pop-cultural radar to be considered for such a high-profile gig...
Speaking of Barry and Chet Baker, Barry told a story in an interview that when Chet Baker was playing in Italy (he usually used local musicians on tour) he had Romano Mussolini, the son of the dictator, on piano. Baker said to him, "What a drag about your dad."
Speaking of Barry and Chet Baker, Barry told a story in an interview that when Chet Baker was playing in Italy (he usually used local musicians on tour) he had Romano Mussolini, the son of the dictator, on piano. Baker said to him, "What a drag about your dad."
I'd read that in Jazz Anecdotes (and my copy is long lost) decades ago, but I was unaware that John Barry was the source of the story, which never fails to raise a smile.
We'd better stop talking about Chetty boy; we'll frighten the Bond nerds.
Listening to these excellent Bond-style songs by these varied artists makes me wonder if some of the tunes were intended as Bond auditions and made with the intention that Cubby and co. might hear them and therefore be considered for the next James Bond film.