Comments on: Artie Shaw 1910-2004

Artie Shaw 1910-2004

bluedaniel — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 05:15:21 -0800

Artie Shaw has died at age 94. An era continues to fade away into memory.

By: bluedaniel

bluedaniel — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 05:33:13 -0800

Apologies in advance. Seems the second link (NYTimes) needs a login. Odd, it didn't require that when I included it in the initial post, and I wasn't logged in myself at the time. Curious.

By: hardcode

hardcode — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 05:35:57 -0800

BBC Obituary

By: hardcode

hardcode — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 05:46:48 -0800

To avoid having to login you can always go via Google News, here's the result of a search I just did.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 06:06:43 -0800

A thoughtful, irascible man and a great musician. He lived a nice long life and was able to see an excellent self-selected "best-of" CD box get rave reviews; good for him.

By: 1016

1016 — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 06:07:09 -0800

I have plenty of Shaw in my collection (mostly on vinyl), and he was as good as swing got, which is to say, magnificent...it's a matter of taste, I think, as to who was the better, he or Benny Goodman. Goodman's technique was phenomenal, and his clarity amazing...Shaw was a bit more lyrical and inventive...but both were simply marvelous. Shaw is given (properly) credit for having the first black singer (Billie Holliday) in an otherwise all-white band, but Goodman deserves accolades for bringing Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton (on piano and vibes, respectively) into his band when strictly segregated bands were the order of the day. And let's don't forget that Benny brought the young and tremendously influential guitarist Charlie Christian into his sextet, too.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 06:21:49 -0800

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 06:41:10 -0800

By: monju_bosatsu

monju_bosatsu — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 07:23:43 -0800

[When posting a NYT article, use the handy New York Times link generator to avoid requiring registration.]

By: ericb

ericb — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 07:55:50 -0800

monju_bosatsu - thanks for the tip on the NYT link generator!

By: bluedaniel

bluedaniel — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 08:03:58 -0800

Cheers monju. That IS very handy indeed. Though I normally avoid posting content that is available direct at resources such as NYTimes (do I?! I dunno now, must. have. coffee. please. ), every now and then it's appropriate, and I wasn't aware of the link generator until now. Thanks again!

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 08:51:27 -0800

A fine musician and a breath of fresh air in the claustrophobic world of entertainment - a man who spoke his mind before it was fashionable, and who had a mind to boot. Any man who would change his chosen epitaph from "He did the best he could with the material at hand" to "Leave me alone" is my kind of guy.

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 08:58:09 -0800

Forgive the error - of course, his epitaph was "Go away" -- even better.

By: Postroad

Postroad — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 08:58:35 -0800

Shaw, often married, had once said that When you know the marriage is over, pack a bag, call your lawyer, and call a cab. I told that to my divor e lawyer: he said: you can pack a bag but you can not afford a cab after you see my bill.

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 10:15:28 -0800

By: pmurray63

pmurray63 — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 12:43:37 -0800

Shaw, often married, To Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, no less! A great musician. Farewell, Mr. Shaw...

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 21:19:37 -0800

The numbness I'm feeling here is just awful. I'd like to say, "yeah, Artie Shaw, a great man," and pay some sort of respects, but it means nothing at the moment, with everything that's going on... not to mention the fact that somebody we all know seems to die every damned second now. It can only suffice for me to say that, someday, years from now, I'll throw on one of his records on accident, and I'll remember how he died in such strange days. bluedaniel has my sentiment right on: every moment we see the past dying around us. I only hope a few more of us can slow down enough to notice it: these were some pretty damned great people we're losing, and Artie was one of the best.

By: joaquim

joaquim — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 22:45:37 -0800

I knew someone who served with Artie Shaw in WWII. He told me that once, when they were sharing a bathroom break, Shaw turned to him and said, "Wanna see what's been inside Lana Turner?"

By: ibmcginty

ibmcginty — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 14:37:15 -0800

Here's a look at his unconventional approach to stardom ("jitterbuggers are morons"). A fascinating fellow.