Saturday, March 14, 2020

Vintage 1950s Music: AutumnLeaves


Vintage 1950s Music
Autumn Leaves
        


The number 4 hit on the Billboard Charts in 1955 was Autumn Leaves version by Roger Williams. Originally it was a 1945 French song, Les Feuilles mortes"(literally The Dead Leaves), with music by Hungarian-French composer, 
Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert. The Hungarian title is Hulló levelek (Falling Leaves). Yves Montand (with Irène Joachim) introduced Les feuilles mortes in the film Les Portes de la nuit (1946).


          In 1955, pianist Roger Williams recorded Autumn Leaves, the only piano instrumental to reach #1 on Billboard's popular music chart. It sold over two million copies and was awarded a gold disc. This version was known for WIlliam's descending scales and arpeggios, depicting the falling leaves from the trees to the grounds below.

          A movie by the same name was released in 1956 by Columbia Pictures starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson in an older woman/younger man tale of mental illness.
         
 

To listen to this beautiful instrumental piece, goto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPHIMJkt-xE


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