Happy Birthday to Rooftop Reviews!

It was on this date in 2009 that I posted my first blog. I celebrate it each year by either skipping a post that day or re-posting an old post; sometimes the first one; which is what I did last year. Sometimes I tell the story about how I started this thing to begin with. And each year it gets harder to think of something special to mark the occasion.

So, this year I decided on fireworks and a big festival. It was great. Wish you could have been there. The food was delicious, too! Seriously though; and I hate to be like that; what I have actually decided to do is to do nothing. It’s just another day.

Here is a clip of two of my favorite performers; Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. Did I ever tell you how Louis Armstrong got me involved in coin collecting? I was about 9 years old at the time. I had read that Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans on July 4, 1900. That set my imagination on fire! July 4^th was the birthday of our nation and 1900 was a new century.

Man, I wanted a piece of that for myself! Something tangible to hold in my hand that would make me feel as if I were holding a part of history itself; something which had actually been there at the time; a penny.

So, I went to the Hobby Shop on Coney Island Avenue and bought a 1900 Indian Head penny for about 50 cents. I was hooked. I wore that penny out; turning it over and over in my hands; even sleeping with it. The book I’d read said that Armstrong played for pennies in New Orleans as a kid. I couldn’t help but feel; make that know; that this was one of those pennies.

Anyway, this is what I do here. I tell stories to myself in the hope that someday my grandkids; and even great grandkids; will sort through all of the flotsam and jetsam of these posts, and obtain a better picture of the “old man” as a result.

Meantime, enjoy the video. It’s from the 1947 film “New Orleans” and serves as the title song, performed here by Billie Holiday on vocals and Louis on vocals and coronet. The song appears in the film several times as background music, and also by Armstrong and Holiday in a big band setting; but this is what I call the “performance” version. It’s also my favorite one.

And, if you really would like to see the first post of Rooftop Reviews from March 29, 2009 (which was also a Sunday) just hit this link;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html

Brotherly Love - The David Greenglass Story

Last July 1^st a man passed quietly away in New Jersey. He was living under an assumed name; and though he insisted that he was not ashamed of what he had done; he still never used his real name again. This is the story of David Greenglass; brother of Ethel, and brother in law to Julius; or more succinctly, the infamous Rosenbergs.

The Rosenbergs were executed on June 19, 1953 at Sing Sing prison in New York for allegedly selling the secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Undoubtedly they had something to do with it, but with Mr. Greenglass testifying against his own sister; and then recanting that testimony later in life; you have to wonder just who actually did transfer the documents to the Soviets.

Mr. Greenglass testified that he watched his sister type up the notes detailing the research data which he himself had been privy to while working at Los Alamos in New Mexico as part of the Manhattan Project. He was a machinist with access to the working plans for the bomb. His testimony was given in exchange for a lenient sentence. In essence, he did the spying, got his sister and brother in law involved, turned State’s Evidence against them which ensured their conviction for espionage and ultimately the death penalty. 

The Rosenberg’s had two sons; Michael and Robert. Their uncle David was instrumental in sending their parents to their death. The boys were adopted by Abe Meeropol and his wife Anne, both of New York City. Abe Meeropol was the school teacher who wrote the song “Bitter Fruit” in 1937. The song was immortalized by the great Billie Holiday in 1939. 

David Greenglass wrote a book about his life and the trial in 2001. He also gave an interview with CBS in which he stated, “As a spy who turned his family in…. I don’t care. I sleep well.” He also claimed that his sister was “stupid” and “could’ve cut a deal.”  In the 1989 Woody Allen film “Crimes and Misdemeanors” Mr. Allen says this about his arrogant brother in law, “I love him like a brother- David Greenglass.”  Let that be his epitaph.

"Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday

There is so much I want to write about this recording by Billie Holiday. The documentary video above will answer most questions about the song. About the only thing missing here is that Commodore Records was owned by Billy Crystal's Uncle, and that Billie Holiday was a frequent dinner guest in their home while Mr. Crystal was growing up.

It was only through Commodore Records that this song saw the light of day when it did. For a more insightful view of that story read Billy Crystal's "700 Sundays", which is the story of his relationship with his father, and also encompasses the story of Commodore Records and Abe Meeropol, the New York City school teacher who wrote the song in 1937 after seeing a photograph of the lynching of two black men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. The photograph haunted Mr. Meeropol for days. He wrote a poem about it under the pen name of Lewis Allan. It ranks alongside Louis Armstrong's "Black and Blue" for sheer poignancy and painful lyrics.

Both songs represent an era in American history in which there can be no pride, as there are no real winners in a struggle that should never have happened in the first place.

Interesting note; Abe Meeropol and his wife, adopted the children of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg after they were electrocuted for espionage in 1953. Whether or not the Rosenberg's were guilty of the crime made no difference to this extraordinary couple.

If you have never heard this dark and foreboding song in its entirety, here it is - sung live by Ms. Holiday;

"700 Sundays" by Billy Crystal

I read this book a couple of years ago and I would've sworn that I had reviewed it here, but looking back through the archives I find that I am mistaken. The book was turned into an award winning Broadway show, which I have not seen. But the book was superb.

Mr. Crystal's father died when Billy was about 14 years old. This amounts to about 700 Sundays, which he recalls spending with his Dad, Jack, who owned Commodore Records in Times Square along with his brother, Milt. They specialized in jazz records that were hard to find. His Unle is credited with the jazz revival that swept Manhattan in the late 1940's.

Raised in a household of laughter and music, the book gives us a clear view of just where Mr. Crystal's talent and wit come from. Guests in his parents home often included Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong.

It was Mr. Crystal's Uncle who convinced Ms. Holiday to record "Bitter Fruit" which was written by a white, Jewish schoolteacher named Abel Meeropol, who lived in the Bronx. He wrote the song after seeing this photograph of a lynching. At the time she was under contract to the Columbia label, which refused to release the song. They did grant her a one recording leave of absence in order to record it. There are actually two recorded versions of the record, which eventually became, after her death, one of her most popular numbers. If you have never heard the record you have missed one of the most haunting and poignant songs ever written or recorded.

Strange Fruit

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

The book is, however, not all doom and gloom. The Sunday outings to Yankee Stadium with his father, which made Mr. Crystal a life long fan of the New York Yankees, is but one aspect of the book, which is filled with hysterical family stories and the observations of a sharp and talented young man.

The book is a wonderful snapshot into the daily life of New York in the 1950's as well as a wonderful portrait of the special bond which existed between Mr. Crystal and his father. I have read reviews of the show which state "The eponymous play met with considerable success on Broadway. The book is an adequate substitute for it."

I suppose it all depends upon which you experience first, but since I have not seen the play I can only judge it as a book. And that judgement is a very high one. This is one of the best books I have ever read concerning a young man's love for his father. With Fathers Day fast approaching, this just may be the gift you are looking for to give to that special Dad in your life.