Memphis In June

[paul jh]

I hope all of you are listening to Memphis In June this month.

Robert M et. al. - here are my featured Matt Monro songs for July and August:

July - My Kind Of Girl (chosen because it was popular in the United States in July, 45 years ago)

August - Till The End Of Time (chosen since the Proms are in full swing in August and this beautiful song is based on Chopin's Polonaise in D Flat)

[ROBERT M.]

Hello Paul. Those two MM song's for July and August are very loose connection's indeed Paul, especially July's.!! On the forthcoming Matt CD release, I think we have to presume that "Walk Away" is THE Walk Away. I think it would be too much of a coincidence for Matt to have two song's called Walk Away in his repertoire. I should think that a lot of the live material on the CD will be from the late 1950's, but the material probably run's into the early 60's as well.
By the way Paul, you mentioned that you have been buying music recording's since 1963. So can you tell us just how you got in the music of MM, and how you first heard of him. Thank you.

[paul jh]

Robert -- I provided the following writeup in that long debate we had about "Maria". I've copied it here for your convenience and even added a few things.


You asked how I got into Matt Monro's music. When I was a kid in the 1960s, his music was played on the middle-of-the-road radio stations (that is, the stations mothers would listen to---not strictly instrumental easy listening music, but the stations which played Andy Williams, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, and Barbra Streisand); they would play Matt Monro. I remember hearing and enjoying Born Free and From Russia With Love. I'd also hear this radio station (and Matt's music) at the barber shop! This was the main music I listened to from 1966 - summer 1969, after listening to pop music in 1963 - 1965. Then in the summer of 1969, I switched completely to soul, pop, and rock music.

In 1985, Washington DC got a wonderful radio station that billed itself as "The Station Of The Stars". It played the Matt Monro hits fairly often. So I rediscovered Matt Monro again. That station sadly switched to all sports three years later (to make more money). His music was hard to find at the US record stores in the 1980s, but I did find a compilation cassette tape in Washington DC with only 10 songs. I instantly became a big fan and listened to that tape often.

In January 1990 on my first trip to London, I bought my first Matt Monro CD compilation, that wonderful one that is still sold today in the U.K. with different artwork---the one that includes We're Gonna Change The World as the last track. Then I became a HUGE Matt Monro and I still play that CD often. I have the tracks completely memorized and know immediately what comes next. Then in every successive trip to the U.K., I bought another Matt Monro CD. I've only bought one in the US, which was the Capital series and it's quite wonderful as well. I have two compilations that I haven't even listened to yet (one from Singapore and the other from Liverpool)---saving them for a rainy day! In the large American record stores (such as Tower), you can find about 5 different Matt Monro titles. So people still remember his music in the US. In small record stores and big box stores, you find no recordings by Matt Monro.

As I mentioned in a previous message, Matt Monro's singing, phrasing, and interpretation of lyrics inspires me in my piano playing more than any other artist. I almost always carry a Matt Monro CD in my car along with the latest rock, dance, and pop releases (such as Gnarls Barkley, Jamie Cullum, Texas, The Kooks, Barbara Tucker, Shapeshifters, Oasis, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, and my current favorite group The Magic Numbers, whom I saw in concert in March---an absolutely wonderful show ... I highly recommend them.

[ROBERT M.]

Hello Paul. Thank you for you reply to my question. Your story came back to me, as I was reading it, but thank's anyway. Your musical listening history is very similar to mine. I got into pop music as a young boy in the 60's, I than progressed to a big favourite of mine Meat Loaf in the 70's. I followed the same musical path until the early 90's when Oasis and Pulp etc.. were the new big thing's on the scene. I thought Oasis were the bees kneeze at the time. But in the mid to late 90's I began to mellow, probably with age. I still like all types of music or pop music, but now I definitely PREFER to listen to easy listening tunes. To me our Matt is absolutely no.1 in the WORLD. I do like to listen to any crooner's etc.. male or female, but MATT MONRO is ACE. So glad I discovered Matt Monro and all the other easy listening artist's.