Sixties Saturday: Still Seein' the Light

Let's spend another Saturday in the 1960s with a few more interpretations of Duke Ellington's classic, I'm Beginning to See the Light.

Billy Meets Billy

First up is Mr. B himself, Billy Eckstine, from his 1960 Roulette album Once More with Feeling:

A smooth, midtempo groove with first-class backing from Billy May.

Brass, Swing, and Sinatra

Next, Frank Sinatra gives it a whirl on this selection from his 1962 Reprise album Sinatra and Swingin' Brass:

The swingin' brass in question comes courtesy of Neal Hefti, whose sparkling arrangement gives Frank plenty of room to play.

Billy May, Take Two

Billy May returns for another crack at the tune, this time backing Bobby Darin:

That's from Bobby's 1962 album Oh! Look at Me Now, his first LP for Capitol. It's a winner from start to finish, and he sounds right at home with Billy's energetic charts.

An All-Star Meeting

Ella Fitzgerald returned to the song in 1963, this time joined by Count Basie on the aptly titled Verve album Ella and Basie:

Ella backed by Basie, with arrangements by Quincy Jones? That's the kind of lineup that practically guarantees success!

Full Circle with Kitty

We'll close with a true full-circle moment. Kitty Kallen, whose vocal helped make the Harry James version a hit back in 1945, revisited the song on her 1963 RCA Victor album Kitty Kallen's My Coloring Book and Her Other Great Hits:

Kitty leans a little more into the jazz side of the tune here, and Ray Ellis' arrangement supports her beautifully.

The Light Shines On

Great singers, great arrangers, and a great song proving its versatility yet again. From Mr. B's relaxed swing to Kitty's return visit, I'm Beginning to See the Light continued to shine brightly throughout the 1960s.

We can still see it!

Friday the 13th

It seems Friday the 13th is upon us once again!

Let's mark the occasion with Dinah Washington's 1957 recording of Bad Luck.

A very cool track, featuring backing from Dinah's then-husband, Eddie Chamblee.

The recording was cut for Mercury in 1957, but didn't appear until the album The Queen! in early 1959.

Interestingly, after the album was released, Dinah revisited Bad Luck later in 1959:

This version trades the leaner, bluesy feel of the original for a much lusher orchestral setting, courtesy of Belford Hendricks.

It's more in the vein of Dinah's smash recording of What a Diff'rence a Day Made, but Mercury did not release this recording at the time, which does make you wonder what exactly they had in mind!

Whatever the reason, Dinah sounds so thoroughly acquainted with bad luck that a little thing like Friday the 13th probably wouldn't faze her at all. 

That's lucky for us!

Monday Side-Session: Johnny Sees the Light

For today’s side‑session, we dig into the versions of I’m Beginning to See the Light recorded by one of the tune’s architects, Johnny Hodges.

💡 1961: A Verve Vault

We kick off in 1961 with this unreleased‑at‑the-time Verve track:

Hodges walks in with a murderers’ row of Ellington bandmates — Ben Webster, Ray Nance, Lawrence Brown — and the whole thing feels too good, too alive, too perfectly lit to have been shelved for decades. Absolute mystery.

🍾 1965: Champagne Bubbles

We jump to 1965, where Johnny pairs up with none other than Lawrence Welk for a Dot Records detour:

Nobody on earth would confuse the Welk band with the Ellington orchestra, but this collab clicks. The backing is pure mid‑60s studio sheen, and Johnny’s alto slices right through it like he’s dusting the place with elegance.

🎹 1965: Con‑Soul Goes Full Sixties

Same year, different universe: Johnny teams with organ powerhouse Wild Bill Davis for RCA Victor’s Con‑Soul & Sax:

This one doesn’t just sound sixties — it glows sixties. Organ heat, alto glide, the whole room humming like a neon sign.

🎹 1966: Stridin' with the Fatha

Then in 1966, Johnny returns to the studio for Verve and links up with legendary pianist Earl “Fatha” Hines for Stride Right:

They’re not just striding — they’re strutting! Hines lays down that big, confident stride and Hodges threads the melody like he’s stitching gold into the carpet.

Johnny didn’t just see the light — he kept finding new bulbs to keep it glowing!

Sundays with Duke #45: We See the Light

While still in 1944 with Duke Ellington, we land on one of the most enduring pop songs from his songbook — I’m Beginning to See the Light.

💡 1944: Joya Steps Into the Spotlight

Let’s spin Duke’s Victor record featuring Joya Sherrill:

I think that’s a terrific record, and it’s the basis of my retro crush on Joya!

Duke recorded the song as part of his first session after the recording ban — the same one that included Joya singing I Didn’t Know About You, which we heard back here a couple of Sundays ago.

🎶 The Tune Stays in Duke’s Piano

The song was very popular, and Duke continued to play it for the rest of his career. He made a number of recordings with guest vocalists, as we’ll see, but I think he recorded only one instrumental version with the band — from his 1960 Columbia album Piano in the Background.

Let’s spin it:

A fun, bright take!

🎻 1966: Pops in the Park

Duke also released this live instrumental version with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops from the 1966 RCA Victor album The Duke at Tanglewood:

That’s really nice! As Duke himself remarked: "Ah, it was a wonderful night for the piano player."

🎤 Ella Begins the Vocal Parade

Ella Fitzgerald had released a popular version of the song with The Ink Spots back in 1945 and returned to it in 1957 with Duke and the band for the Verve Duke Ellington Songbook album:

Ella has a lot of fun with the song. And did that snappy trumpet intro from Clark Terry!

🎺 Satchmo & Duke Reunite

Then in 1961, Louis Armstrong recorded a version with Duke that wound up on their The Great Reunion album on Roulette:

Sounds good!

🇸🇪 Alice sees Swedish Light

Moving to 1966, Alice Babs and Duke included I’m Beginning to See the Light on their Serenade to Sweden collab:

It’s not an obvious pairing, but Alice fit in well with Duke and the band. Legend has it that Johnny Hodges actually raised an eyebrow when he heard Alice sing — high praise indeed!

🎙️ Teresa Takes Off

Duke returned to the song in 1973 when he recorded this version with Teresa Brewer for their It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing album:

The ever-delightful Teresa gives it a wild ride on this track from Duke’s last studio sessions before his death later that year.

🔁 Full Circle with Joya

Let’s wrap up with an Ellington‑adjacent version from 1965 as Joya Sherrill brings us full‑circle:

That’s from Joya’s Sings Duke album on Twentieth Century Fox and includes Billy Strayhorn and Ray Nance in the band.

If we were only beginning to see the light before, we sure see it now!

Warehouse Whispers

I’m Beginning to See the Light features lyrics by Don George set to a melody credited to Duke, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James. I had gone into some detail about the song back here, but five and a half years later, I still can’t figure out how Harry was involved!

Threaded Thursday: Still Lovesome

 

Threaded Thursday: Still Lovesome 🌸🍂

My sources say that's a pink rhododendron!

We're pulling the thread from Billy Strayhorn's A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing and arriving at this beautiful instrumental version by The Vince Guaraldi Trio, recorded for Fantasy in 1958:

The tune served as the title track of Vince's second album, so he was clearly fond of Strayhorn's composition. I'd like to think Billy himself was pleased with this thoughtful, understated interpretation.

Vince's trio on the session featured guitarist Eddie Duran and bassist Dean Reilly, and the album is filled with equally tasteful performances. 

Falling Leaves, Floating Notes 🍁

Among them is the perennial favorite Autumn Leaves, which feels especially appropriate during this autumnal stretch between Halloween and Thanksgiving:

Like the title track, Vince approaches the standard with warmth and restraint, letting the melody do the work. It's a lovely performance from a lovely album.

Christmas Is Coming... 🎄

And speaking of Vince, the holiday season is approaching faster than we'd like to admit. That means I'll be spinning his soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas early and often in the weeks ahead!

Word Association Wednesday: Passionate About Flowers

For today's WAW, we follow up on Billy Strayhorn's Passion Flower with another fragrant entry from his musical garden: A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing.

Billy wrote the song for the Duke Ellington orchestra in 1941 around the same time as Passion Flower. In fact, it originally carried the working title Passion before acquiring its more distinctive name. 

Like Passion Flower, it was designed as a showcase for Johnny Hodges' incomparable alto saxophone.

🌸 Johnny in Full Bloom

Although A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing was performed by the Ellington orchestra in concert in 1941, it wasn't officially recorded until 1947, when Johnny led a studio group for Sunrise Records:

A glance at the label reveals something very much like an "Ellington Unit," with several of Johnny's Ellington bandmates along for the ride and Billy Strayhorn himself at the piano bench.

But make no mistake: this is Johnny’s show all the way.

🌷 The Flower Bed Gets Bigger

Interestingly, the full Ellington orchestra recorded A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing a year earlier, in 1946, for the Capitol Transcriptions service, with Billy again handling piano duties:

Johnny is front and center here too. The arrangement blooms beautifully, which makes it all the more surprising that Duke never made a commercial studio recording of the work for Victor.

🌹 Adding the Petals

At some point Billy added lyrics, and the first vocal version arrived in 1957 when Ozzie Bailey recorded the song with Luther Henderson's sextet for the MGM album Last Night When We Were Young:

A lovely performance. Ozzie spent time with Duke's orchestra, while Luther was a friend and colleague of both Duke and Billy, so this recording keeps things in the Ellington orbit.

💐 A Bouquet from Joya

Billy returned to the piano bench for the next vocal outing, Joya Sherrill's version from her 1965 album Sings Duke:

That's Ellington stalwart Ray Nance on violin, adding a chamber-music touch that gives the performance an especially elegant, haunting glow.

I've mentioned it before, but I really like how former and then-current Ellington bandmates continued to work on side projects over the years such as Joya's wonderful salute to Duke!

🌺 Flowers for Ella

Then came Ella Fitzgerald's gorgeous rendition with the Ellington orchestra for the 1966 Verve album Ella at Duke's Place:

Ella's regular pianist, Jimmy Jones, joins the session, and Johnny Hodges drops in for yet another reminder that nobody could caress a ballad quite like he could.

🌼 The Master Gardener

And of course, we have to finish with the composer himself. Here's Billy Strayhorn's own solo performance of A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing from 1963:

Backed by the Paris String Quartet on The Peaceful Side, Billy delivers the song with all the tenderness and grace it deserves.

🌱 Digging in the Strayhorn Garden

Billy was passionate about flowers, and this piece is one of the finest bouquets he ever arranged.

🌸 Now that's a lovesome thing. 🌸

Sundays with Duke #44: Billy's Passion

We’re still sitting chronologically in 1944 with Duke Ellington, but although our next record was first released that year, it was actually recorded in 1941. It's Billy Strayhorn’s exquisite ballad Passion Flower.

The First Bloom

Here it is as recorded for Bluebird in 1941 by a Johnny Hodges‑led Ellington unit:

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve used Johnny, alto, and gorgeous in the same sentence — yet here we are again!

Traanscription Takes

Duke began featuring the song in concert after the Hodges record was released, but he never cut a full‑band studio version for Victor in the 1940s. Instead, Passion Flower lived in the margins of the era — in the transcription studios.

First is this 1945 take for the World Broadcasting Service:

And here’s the 1946 version for the Capitol transcription service:

Billy Strayhorn sits in on piano for both of these non‑commercial recordings — always a treat to hear him inside his own harmony.

Just Jazz

We jump ahead to 1952 for a lovely version from Capitol's The Just Jazz All Stars Featuring Louis Bellson:

It’s practically an Ellington family photo: Clark Terry, Juan Tizol, Harry Carney, Willie Smith, Wendell Marshall and Billy Strayhorn himself, joined by Wardell Gray on tenor and John Graas on French horn. Louis Bellson, then Duke’s drummer, anchors the proceedings.

Duke’s Trio

Duke returned to the tune in 1953 for this trio reading, included on The Duke Plays Ellington:

A quiet, elegant take — Duke letting Strayhorn’s melody breathe.

Blue Bloom

Another full‑band version followed in 1956 for the Blue Rose album on Columbia:

This track didn’t include an overdubbed Rosemary Clooney vocal, since the tune didn’t yet have lyrics.

Nancy Sings

Lyrics eventually arrived courtesy of Milt Raskin, and Nancy Wilson was the first to record a vocal version for her 1960 Capitol album Like in Love:

Milt plays piano on this non‑Ellington track, conducted by Billy May, while Willie Smith channels Johnny Hodges.

Ella's Take

Now that Passion Flower had lyrics, Ella Fitzgerald recorded a vocal version with Duke for their 1966 collaboration Ella at Duke’s Place:

Very nice — and Johnny’s alto is as smooth as ever.

Private Passion

Let's go back to 1962 for this instrumental arrangement that the band recorded in 1962, with Billy back at the piano:

A private recording, financed by Duke, unreleased at the time.

Billy’s Own Final Word

As I like to do with a Strayhorn tune, let’s let Billy himself close the chapter — with this intimate cut from his 1963 United Artists album The Peaceful Side:

Always a gift to hear Billy in a quiet room, playing something that bloomed from his own hands.

Twenty-Five Years of Bloom

So we’ve traced more than two decades of Passion Flower — a melody that kept unfolding, kept deepening, kept finding new colors.

Billy planted it, and the world kept tending it.