tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875980412212682099.post3553463373108342242..comments2024-03-19T19:34:23.525-07:00Comments on Comparative Video 101: La Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même Chose - Sheldon Harnick's "The Merry Minuet"Jim Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14198555155411979643noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875980412212682099.post-42419355730374773082021-07-01T11:17:52.982-07:002021-07-01T11:17:52.982-07:00Belated thanks for the information, Ken. The Charl...Belated thanks for the information, Ken. The Charlotte Rae connection is really interesting.<br />Regards,<br /><br />JimJim Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198555155411979643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875980412212682099.post-800819239159872052021-05-27T06:14:21.434-07:002021-05-27T06:14:21.434-07:00This is Ken Brock. Both of the items credited as ...This is Ken Brock. Both of the items credited as "unknown" were from me.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02116179342812883309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875980412212682099.post-70431593223277751122021-05-26T15:29:41.354-07:002021-05-26T15:29:41.354-07:00It's been reissued on CD.It's been reissued on CD.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02116179342812883309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875980412212682099.post-29255148930095751612021-05-26T00:14:14.479-07:002021-05-26T00:14:14.479-07:00Great info about Charlotte Rae - thanks! I'll ...Great info about Charlotte Rae - thanks! I'll be looking for that. JKMJim Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198555155411979643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875980412212682099.post-10781087879610465572021-05-26T00:13:32.303-07:002021-05-26T00:13:32.303-07:00I'm tempted to say that I could have asked the...I'm tempted to say that I could have asked the KT's Bob Shane this question before his passing in January 2020. I knew him pretty well over the last couple of decades of his life and saw him every year in Scottsdale. However, by the time I knew him, Bob had developed a series of stock answwers to the kinds of questions he always got, and though he would open up a bit about obscure topics from time to time, he likely couldn't have answered this question. That's because the basic arrangements for the group in its early years were done primarily by Dave Guard, the most serious musician of the original three - although the tenor harmonies were created by Nick Reynolds, who was an ace at it. Bob still performed the song from time to time, but he was never much interested in how the songs were discovered or arranged. His job was to play a fine rhythm guitar, sing lead most of the time, and look handsome. regards, Jim MoranJim Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198555155411979643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875980412212682099.post-25991432734036943822021-05-15T15:35:30.677-07:002021-05-15T15:35:30.677-07:00The first recording of this song was by Charlotte ...The first recording of this song was by Charlotte Rae (later of Facts of Life on TV), on her Vanguard album Songs I Taught My Mother (1955). She was a college friend of Sheldon Harnick at Northwestern University. It also has whistling instead of the La la's, and the "days in my life" intro, but not the Siberia / Switzerland lines. I asked Tom Lehrer by phone years ago where he learned the song, and he said he learned it from Charlotte Rae. I don't know whether this meant person to person, or from her album. I'm wondering if Charlotte forgot the Siberia / Switzerland lines, and also whether the dropping of the intro by Lehrer or the KT was intentional.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02116179342812883309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1875980412212682099.post-5793301181667723032017-03-18T18:39:54.186-07:002017-03-18T18:39:54.186-07:00Love this song and your site, Keep up the good wor...Love this song and your site, Keep up the good work.ralphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12753313615155769423noreply@blogger.com