:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-4450144-1614265505-6983.jpeg.jpg)
Even if you don’t recognise today’s song from the title, I dare say you will know the tune when this starts playing, such is the popularity of Blues in the Night!
This has been covered dozens of times by an array of artists over the years and originally dates back to the 1940’s! Considered as part of the Great American Songbook, Blues in the Night was written by composer Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by singer-songwriter, Johnny Mercer. It was scored for a 1941 film originally entitled Hot Nocturne, which was later released as Blues in the Night, which featured vocals in the film by William Gillespie.
A lot of versions out there are accompanied by vocals, with artists like, Louis Armstrong (1957), Cab Calloway (1941), Little Milton (1965) and Mel Torme (1958) all going down this route, but the rendition I am featuring today is an instrumental from 1956. This interpretation is all about dreamy, sophisticated guitar licks and a totally refined, laid-back feel; which you would come to expect from an artist with the earned title, ‘Mr Guitar!’ Mr Guitar Chet Atkins literally transforms Blues in the Night and works his magic with rich-stringed twangs and subtle dynamics, driving this tune into the realms of a misty-blues, after dark affair! Check it out above.
thelisteningpostblog.wordpress.com 