Notablog

Song of the Day: Honeysuckle Rose, music by Fats Waller, lyrics by Andy Razaf, was introduced in a 1929 Off-Broadway revue, “Load of Coal.” Waller’s 1934 recording of this song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Today, the featured rendition is by the Benny Goodman Sextet, with Benny on clarinet, Teddy Wilson on piano, Lionel Hampton on vibes, Gene Krupa on drums, and today’s birthday boy, Charlie Christian on electric guitar. Christian was born on this date in 1916, and though he died at the young age of 25, his influence as an early pioneer of the jazz guitar, like that of Django Reinhardt, was immense. Check out the Fats Waller vocal original and the 1939 live Goodman instrumental, featuring Christian as soloist [YouTube links].