Martha Tilton: I'll Walk Alone And the Angels Sing

A little blast from the past today. Here are two songs from one of my favorite big band singers, Martha Tilton. Sure, she's not a household name, but something about her sweet, clear tone has the ability to always put me right at ease.

And the Angels Sing is probably Ms. Tilton's most famous song, performed with the Benny Goodman Orchestra at the legendary 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert. This is the first song I heard her sing, and it won me over instantly!



A friend of mine sent me a cassette tape with I'll Walk Alone when I was away at college, and to this day, it is one of the most beautiful melodies I know (and I truly believe lyricist Sammy Cahn was a genius). I like Martha Tilton's version because she sings it with just the right amount of melancholy. Not too drippy sweet, like some of her contemporaries performed it.

Chet Baker: I Fall in Love Too Easily

It's another dark, rainy June day here in Maine. The kind of day that makes you want to curl up on the couch with a soft blanket and a cup of tea and stay in your pajamas all day. On this kind of day, I always reach for my Chet Baker albums.

I know a lot of people think of the trumpet when they think of Chet Baker, but what I love is when he sings. His voice is somehow both sad, melancholy and reassuring, even soothing. His open, understated tone (almost reminiscent of Betty Carter at times) is just right for rained-in or snowed-in days.

And I think my most-loved Chet Baker tunes is his version of I Fall in Love Too Easily.

This gorgeous song was written in 1945 by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (boy, did those two write a lot of great songs), and a quick Wikipedia search tells me that it was first heard sung by Frank Sinatra in the movie Anchors Aweigh. This kind of surprised me, because what I remember is discovering "I Fall in Love" through Chet Baker's version, years ago. But the reality is that as a child, I must have watched Anchors Aweigh at least 25 times (that's probably a severe underestimate). So I must have been predisposed to the song long before I ever heard Chet Baker sing. Ah, Wikipedia. A modern tool for self-discovery.

I fall in love too easily
I fall in love too fast
I fall in love too terribly hard
For love to ever last

My heart should be well-schooled
'Cause I've been burned in the past
And still I fall in love too easily
I fall in love too fast

I fall in love too easily
I fall in love too fast
I fall in love too terribly hard
For love to ever last