I Want a Little Girl (1930)

Moll/Mencher

There must be someone who is all alone

Just a little girl/boy to fall in love with me.

A classic blues (though originally a foxtrot), this song has been recorded by everyone from Louis Armstrong to Eric Clapton, though the version that plays in my head is by T-Bone Walker. It's such a good song, I think, why can't it be sung by a lady? Of course it can. Just do a online search and find the amazing "girl" version sung by Ernestine Anderson, who Time Magazine called "the best-kept jazz secret in the land" upon her first LP release in 1958.  Despite thirty albums and multiple Grammy nominations, Ernestine never became recognized in the larger world of jazz. Quincy Jones paid off her mortgage so she wouldn't lose her home. A friend of mine, Chris Flory, an amazing guitarist, plays his version here, with the great drummer, Chuck Riggs, in the background.

CHORUS - Male vocals

I want a little girl to love a lot,
I'd give her everything that I've got
For a little girl who'd fall in love with me

I want a little girl, she may not look
Like the kind in the picture book
But if she can cook, she'll suit me to a 'T'

She don't have to wave her hair
Or dress in fancy clothes
And I wouldn't even care
If she don't wear silken hose

I want a little girl to call my own
There must be someone that's all alone
Just a little girl who'd fall in love with me

CHORUS - Female vocals

I want a little boy to call my own to love a lot
Must be someone who is all alone

Just little boy who'd fall in love with me

I want a little boy may not look
Like the pictures in a story book
But if she can cook, he'll suit me to a 'T'

He don't have to wave her hair
Or get dressed up in fancy clothes
And I would not even care
If he didn't buy me nylon (silken) hose

I want a little boy to love a lot

I'm gonna give him everything I've got 

Just a little boy who'll fall in love with me

Hawaiian Wedding Song (1961)

King/Hoffman/Manning


Now that we are one

Clouds won't hide the sun

Blue skies of Hawaii smile

On this our wedding day

The new Baz Luhrmann IMAX concert film Elvis Presley In Concert – EPIC – is out and hopefully is introducing the King to a new generation of fans. With Elvis gone since 1977, it's been more than a generation since he has been a key name in popular music. Much has been written about his circumscribed and sort of sad life, and then there are the many impersonators. Yet he remains one of the best singers of the 20th Century, at least in my opinion. All the films that his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, contracted him into are horrible, and Blue Hawaii is no exception. But his singing is at an apex. Only  Elvis can take a Hawaiian folk song, add a bunch of hokey background singers, and turn it into a love song that will stand through both volcanic and the sands of time. R.I.P. and ELVIS LIVES. 

This is the moment
I've waited for
I can hear my heart singing
Soon bells will be ringing

This is the moment
Of sweet aloha

I will love you longer than forever

Promise me that you will leave me never

Here and now, dear
All my love I vow, dear
Promise me that you will leave me never
I will love you longer than forever

Ua sila
Pa‘a ‘ia me ‘oe
Ko aloha makamae e ipo
Ka'u ia e lei a‘e nei la

Now that we are one
Clouds won't hide the sun
Blue skies of Hawaii smile
On this, our wedding day
I do love you with all my heart
I do love you with all my heart