Remembering Two Stars

A time for reflection, today. Along with Jessica Mann, I was interviewed for Radio 4's obituary programme, Last Word, which aired this afternoon and which featured a tribute to Reg Hill. There were some quotes from interviews with Reg himself, and it was sad and strange to think that I won't be hearing that distinctive, civilised voice again.

And today, Etta James died. Evidently someone who had a very troubled life, to put it mildly, but a great singer. My favourite of her recordings, although it was never a hit, and is little known, is Waiting For Charlie To Come Home. It's a superb song, and you can hear it on Youtube - there is also a very good version by Trinitje Oosterhuis, and quite a good one by Karima, but Etta James' original remains definitive. How sad, again, that we won't be hearing that voice again, but at least we have the recordings.

Forgotten Song - Waiting for Charlie to Come Home

My latest entry in Scott Parker’s series of Forgotten Music is a song that dates back almost half a century. ‘Waiting for Charlie to Come Home’ was recorded by Etta James and Jane Morgan when first written, but it was never a hit, and it might have faded from sight completely but for a couple of things.

The words were written by Bob Hilliard, a terrific lyricist who died more than 40 years ago, but was responsible for some great songs, including Any Day Now, Please Stay and Mexican Divorce, as well as comic tunes like Three Wheels on My Wagon. He could do humour or high drama equally well.

But the reasons for the song’s survival are twofold. One, it comes from Burt Bacharach’s back catalogue, and Burt’s longevity has helped the song to find fresh life, most recently in jazzier versions by two fine European artistes - Traincha, from Holland, and the Italian Karima. And two, it is quite simply a very good song.