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"I don't need to hear this song ever again!" That's what I heard a musician of many years' experience muttering. We were both in the audience at an event with many singers, as yet another chanteuse launched into an old standard that gets sung more than the other 99% of the others we hear in cabaret acts, open mics and variety shows.
"It seems to me I've heard that song before..." goes an old lyric by Sammy Cahn. This week I've been thinking about the 
over-and-over, overdone songs while so many gems are rarely done. I wonder if Cahn used to wonder why – he also wrote one called "Wonder Why" - so many singers and savvy musicians aware of his vast catalogue kept walking into recording studios and night clubs to sing the same ones time after time - yes, he also wrote the words to "Time After Time." He also wrote some great things, with composers Jule Styne, Jimmy Van Heusen and others, many that you hardly ever hear and when you do, you recall and smile, "Wow, it's been a long, time since I heard that..." – he also wrote "It's Been a Long, Long Time." Instead, we get the tried and true and truly tried too often - Cahn also wrote "There Goes That Song Again." I was reading the music blog by Marc Myers at www.jazzwax.com, and he also made the point that those of us who review and peruse new CDs coming into the market, keep seeing the same songs listed when we look at the back of the CD. So it got me to wondering what songs you're sick of hearing and which on that list surprised you when you heard a new version that seemed fresh. Why? I'd love to know, if you'd like to e-mail me at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. There are prizes of "gently used" CDs with ridiculously overdone standards for the most interesting submissions!!! OK, also some with rarer delights. Don't get me wrong; some warhorses I hear constantly are still life-long faves for me. And some I hear far less often seem to have a shorter shelf life. Some newly-crafted material I take an instant dislike to. Or is it frequent exposure over a short period? Think of how we are inundated with the most-recorded/sung Christmas songs every December day by day – yes, Sammy Cahn also wrote the words to "Day by Day" – and while we're on the subject "The Christmas Waltz" and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" I enjoy pulling out my Christmas albums in August, when I am NOT sick of them.
I mean, how many versions do we need after Frank, Ella, Billie, Sarah, Peggy, Judy, Tony, Barbra, etc., etc. - especially if the new singer is more aping the style and phrasing of one of those icons, rather than having the chops or imagination to add something new? Marc makes the point that there are other songs out there. And there are songwriters still coming up with worthy things, not to mention the thousands of good old songs lost in the shuffle because they were in the Broadway show that was not a big smasheroo, or were cut from a show that was, underappreciated old movie songs, tracks on non-smash hit albums, the odd deep, sensitive song written or recorded by someone generally known for churning out schlock rock – if you're willing to dig deeper – lots more. What's your nominee for the superb song that should have been a standard or the recent one that deserves to be heard and heard a lot and might reach the lofty goal of being the overexposed song that makes it to the other list?
There are also singers lost in the shuffle of time. In the aforementioned jazzwax website, Mr. Myers will wax nostalgic 
about the past while keeping an eye on today. He mentioned a singer who'd escaped my attention, and I've spent the day listening to her. Her name is Pat Scot. She made just one commercially-released, recently re-issued full album back in the 1950s, but her website, www.PatriciaScot.com has lots to listen to besides that, including work she did decades later. At 79, she's still singing. And singing interesting, unusual songs. Thoughtfully. And writing them. Same adverb.
Seems that Pat Scot has had quite a life, singing on TV and radio, in clubs all over the place. She took a very long "intermission" when she took almost three decades off from music. Now living in Florida, she is concentrating on songwriting. Her material ranges from more mature views on love with perspective (we need more songs like that!) and, suiting my penchant for Christmas song-listening in the summertime, I enjoyed her tale of woe from the point of view of Santa Claus's overburdened wife and another holiday tune. But there are many there to hear -- and not just sound bite snippets. Those singers looking for new writers might want to check out these "Scot free" samples at the part of www.patriciascot.com called "Pat's New Music." She's worth discovering, as a writer AND as a singer. And there will always be singers and songs beyond the most famous to discover ... "As Long As There's Music." Isn't that the title of another old song with a Sammy Cahn lyric? You bet.
I have to go try my luck at hearing new songs and those over-familarly ones I still love and those in either category that make me think "Why this one?" Meanwhile, don't forget to let me know which ones you're tired off or championing at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ... See you in the cabarets because, after all, "what good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play..." Hmmm, is that on your list, old chum?
CATCH-UP ON CABARET is made possible via the generosity of Jamie deRoy and friends
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