CHET BAKER - MY FUNNY VALENTINE

MY FUNNY VALENTINE

CHET BAKER

SONGWRITERS: RICHARD RODGERS & LORENZ HART

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ÁLBUM: MY FUNNY VALENTINE

LABEL: PRISM LEISURE CORPORATION

GENRE: JAZZ

YEAR: 2001

 

        Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool".

       Baker earned much attention and critical praise through the 1950s, particularly for albums featuring his vocals: Chet Baker Sings(1954) and It Could Happen to You(1958). Jazz historian Dave Gelly described the promise of Baker's early career as "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one". His well-publicized drug habit also drove his notoriety and fame. Baker was in and out of jail frequently before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and 1980s.

      Baker was born and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma on 23 December 1929: 169  His father, Chesney Baker Sr., was a professional guitarist, and his mother, Vera Moser, was a pianist who worked in a perfume factory. His maternal grandmother was Norwegian. Baker said that owing to the Great Depression, his father, though talented, had to quit as a musician and take a regular job. In 1940, when Baker was 10, his family relocated to Glendale, California.

     Baker began his musical career singing in a church choir. His father gave him a trombone, which was replaced with a trumpet when the trombone proved too large. His mother said that he had begun to memorize tunes on the radio before he was given an instrument. After "falling in love" with the trumpet, he improved noticeably in two weeks. Peers called Baker a natural musician to whom playing came effortlessly.

    Baker received some musical education at Glendale High School, but he left school at the age of 16 in 1946 to join the United States Army. He was assigned to Berlin, Germany, where he joined the 298th Army Band: 170  After leaving the Army in 1948, he studied music theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles. He dropped out during his second year to re-enlist. He became a member of the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio in San Francisco, spending time in clubs such as Bop City and the Black Hawk. He was discharged from the Army in 1951 and proceeded to pursue a career in music.

My funny valentine

Sweet comic valentine

You make me smile with my heart

You're looks are laughable,

Unphotographable

Yet you're my favorite work of art

Is your figureless than greek

Is your mouth a little weak

When you open it to speak

Are you smart

But don't change a hair for me

Not if you care for me

Stay little valentine stay

Each day is valentine's day