SONG FOR MY FATHER
HORACE SILVER QUINTET
SONGWRITER: HORACE SILVR
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: IT’S GOT TO BE FUNKY
LABEL: BLUE NOTE
GENRE: JAZZ
YEAR: 1964
"Song
for My Father" is a composition by Horace Silver.
The original
version, by Silver's quintet, was recorded on October 26, 1964. It
has become a jazz standard and is probably Silver's best-known composition.
Horace
Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist,
composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style
that he helped pioneer in the 1950s.
After
playing tenor saxophone and piano at school in Connecticut,
Silver got his break on piano when his trio was recruited by Stan Getz in 1950.
Silver soon moved to New York City, where he developed a reputation as a
composer and for his bluesy playing. Frequent sideman recordings in the
mid-1950s helped further, but it was his work with the Jazz
Messengers, co-led by Art Blakey, that
brought both his writing and playing most attention. Their Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers album contained Silver's first hit, "The Preacher".
After leaving Blakey in 1956, Silver formed his own quintet, with what became
the standard small group line-up of tenor saxophone, trumpet, piano, bass, and
drums. Their public performances and frequent recordings for Blue Note Records increased Silver's popularity, even through changes of personnel.
His most successful album was Song for My
Father, made with two iterations of the quintet in
1963 and 1964.
Several
changes occurred in the early 1970s: Silver disbanded his group to spend more
time with his wife and to concentrate on composing; he included lyrics in his
recordings; and his interest in spiritualism developed. The last two of these
were often combined, resulting in commercially unsuccessful releases such
as The United
States of Mind series. Silver left Blue
Note after 28 years, founded his own record label, and scaled back his touring
in the 1980s, relying in part on royalties from his compositions for income. In
1993, he returned to major record labels, releasing five albums before
gradually withdrawing from public view because of health problems.
As a
player, Silver transitioned from bebop to hard bop by stressing melody rather than complex harmony, and
combined clean and often humorous right-hand lines with darker notes and chords
in a near-perpetual left-hand rumble. His compositions similarly emphasized
catchy melodies, but often also contained dissonant harmonies. Many of his
varied repertoire of songs, including "Doodlin'",
"Peace",
and "Sister Sadie",
became jazz standards that are still widely played. His considerable legacy encompasses
his influence on other pianists and composers, and the development of young
jazz talents who appeared in his bands over the course of four decades.
(First
Chorus)
This little song for my father
Does things that no other
Can do
As I sing it to you
It has a rhythm and rhyme
That will fasten his memory
In time
As his beauty shines through
For through my mind and soul
My heart will always hold
A special place for him
It's true
(Second Chorus)
We bow our heads and we pray
Every day's Father's Day
Let's review
All that he means to you
Our mother's love is real nice
But old Dad sacrificed
For us too
Let us give him his due
We're very proud to be
In his biography
We sing this song for him
And you.
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