Piano Music

Two in the morning. Forty-five minutes before Sinatra croons "Set 'em up, Joe." I am not a big Sinatra fan, but I do enjoy his rendition of "One For My Baby."

It's quarter to three
there's no one in the place
'cept you and me

The piano work in that song is what I really like. I'm a sucker for the piano. Especially, lounge lizard piano plinking. Tom Waits is the best. I love his song "The Piano Has Been Drinking."

The piano has been drinking
and my necktie fell asleep
the band has moved back to New York
and the juke box has to take a leak

I recommend that you grab your cash, run on down to your local music store, and purchase Tom Waits' CDs "Small Change" and "Nighthawks at the Diner." It will be worth the investment. You'll be praising me tomorrow for the suggestion.

Unless you don't care for gravelly voiced sarcastic piano players. Be forewarned, this is not Rock and Roll. Tom Waits is a style unto hisself. Although, others have recorded his music, and many can be classified as Rock and Roll; i.e.: Rod Stewart, the Ramones, Canned Heat, the Violent Femmes, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the Eagles.

I was living in Seattle in 1977 when I got my very first earful of Tom Waits. There was a tv show on around that time called "Fernwood Tonight." It was a spin-off from "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." Fernwood was a fictional city, and the local tv station of this make-believe land had a variety show hosted by Bart Gimble (Martin Mull) and his sidekick Jerry Hubbard (Fred Willard). Their show was doing a on-air wedding of two local residents. It so happened, according to this particular night's episode, that Tom Waits had been driving through Fernwood when his car broke down. To fill time while his car was being fixed, Tom agreed to appear on the local tv production. He played piano for the wedding that was going on. The song he played was "Better Off Without a Wife."

I knew this one girl
she was married so many times
she had rice marks all over her face

Well, it is almost quarter to three... so, I think I will pour myself a drink. In fact, I'll have one for my baby... and one more for the road.