Joined: 13 May 2015 Posts: 295 Location: Mississippi
Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 5:03 am Post subject:
I was a big fan of Al Hirt back in the day, but the brick story has never made sense.
Having been to several Mardi Gras parades, those floats are pretty big, and the parts on which the participants stand is a pretty good distance from crowd level. It would take someone of truly prodigious strength to lob a brick from the street level crowd high enough to hit someone on top of a Mardi Gras Float.
Keep in mind that the riders on the floats are throwing beads to the crowd. The crowd is trying to catch the beads. Throwing debris at the floats is counter productive to the goal of catching the beads and just not part of the program.
I suppose it is possible that someone on a balcony in the French Quarter threw a brick DOWN onto a passing float, but I think that's pretty unlikely. People on a French Quarter balcony during a Mardi Gras parade either own that residence, pay enormous rent for it, or are friends/family of someone who does. The balcony crowd is not typically the sort of group to engage in throwing bricks. Plus, they'd have had to go to some trouble to take a brick up there to begin with. It's not like there is a pile of construction debris lying around on a French Quarter balcony.
Just for argument's sake, let's assume I'm wrong and that Al Hirt actually got hit by a brick during a parade. Considering the distance the brick would have had to travel, I strongly suspect it would have AT LEAST knocked him unconscious, if not killed him. Teeth would have been knocked out, nose would have been broken, etc. A trip to the emergency room would have followed.
None of this takes away from the fact that Al Hirt, along with and Doc Severinson, had a lot to do with youngsters of that era taking up the trumpet. Like them or not, their popularity brought a lot of kids to the band hall.
An album that featured a treatment of traditional Dixie tunes.. He seems to be one of those that without command of the upper register, was nonetheless capable of carrying a whole band on his back, in floats or Mardi Gras parades. Corny without a doubt....but rip snorting jubilation comes through.
Dixie tune, @ 28:00 -- 'Oh Didn't He Ramble' ( note: 'Battle Hymn of Republic' chorus)
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 6:47 pm Post subject: I Can't Get Started-Ed Sullivan-Story
B_Starry wrote:
I'd rather listen to Al Hirt than Miles Davis.
To each his own ...
I was in high school in East St. Louis, IL (FYI - hometown of Miles Davis) during peak popularity of Al Hirt, Herb Alplert, etc. and being a trumpet player was pretty mainstream and cool even when the Beatles invaded. Perhaps we should have, but we never listened to Miles. I had already listened to the "I Can't Get Started" on the Honey In the Horn album about 500 times when Al played it live on Ed Sullivan show one Sunday. During the big crescendo to the big powerful high note towards the end (not high by today's standards, maybe a G above high C, absolutely nothing came out of his horn. NOTHING. He had all the theatrics, but nothing came out. The cool thing is that for the 99% of the viewers who had probably never heard the arrangement or knew anything about trumpet playing, they would not have had a clue that he had made a huge mistake. He went through it just as if nothing happened as any real professional should.
It taught me a big lesson. Almost no one will know when you screw up except you, so just act like you didn't. _________________ GaryF
"I'm probably not as good as I used to think that I was"
50 year layoff
Giardenelli 812S (a/k/a Amati ATR-604HS)
CarolBrass CPT-1000 Mini Trumpet
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2019 11:39 pm Post subject: Re: I Can't Get Started-Ed Sullivan-Story
50YrComeback wrote:
I had already listened to the "I Can't Get Started" on the Honey In the Horn album about 500 times when Al played it live on Ed Sullivan show one Sunday...
Never saw Al on Sullivan..but I have a great recollection of him during a NFL game or Superbowl. He was drinking, fishing offshore for Miller beer. Don't forget, for some folks that 'KING' stuff was serious..not just a slogan.
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