Dave Frishberg Classics

Dave’s Notes

BLIZZARD OF LIES

Samantha Frishberg thought this was a great title. She prodded me, “When are you going to write ‘Blizzard of Lies’?” I finally responded, “When are you going to help me with the lyric?” After that there was no stopping her.

VAN LINGLE MUNGO

St. Paul, Minnesota was a minor league baseball town when I was growing up there. To me, a major league ballplayer was a picture in a magazine, a name in a boxscore.

SARATOGA HUNCH

I composed this as an instrumental piece for Al Cohn and Zoot Sims during the old Half Note days in New York. The title refers to a dismal experience the band had in Saratoga Springs. I liked the title and added the lyrics later.

DO YOU MISS NEW YORK?

I invested fourteen years in The Apple, but I no longer fantasize about moving back. I’ve never been to Calcutta, but I think New York might do until Calcutta comes along .

SLAPPIN’ THE CAKES ON ME

People tell me they remember this expression from their childhood, but who are they trying to kid? I know precisely where “to slap the cakes”
comes from, and I know the people responsible. For details, contact Bernie.

SWEET KENTUCKY HAM

I finished my first draft of this song in a motel in Modesto, California. It was two in the morning, I was hopelessly in love, and there were no
restaurants open.

USELESS WALTZ

During a band rehearsal, I ran across this piece as an instrumental, and the title seemed so appropriate that I was certain Brookmeyer had a whole lyric in mind. “No,” he assured me, “it’s just a useless waltz.” “Wait here,” I told him. “We’ll split the publishing.”

DODGER BLUE

I was present at a Dodger Old Timers’ Banquet to hear Sue Raney sing the world premiere performance of my song. I watched a tear roll down Walter Alston’s cheek, and I knew I had found my calling. If I can make just one ballplayer cry, then my work will not have been in vain.

MY ATTORNEY BERNIE

When my friend Tim Brown, a Minneapolis attorney, threw a party to celebrate his twenty-fifth year with the firm, I brought this. In real life, my attorney’s name is Mike, and he would never send the wine back.

MARILYN MONROE

When Alan Broadbent, one of the musicians I admire most, first played
this song for me, he remarked modestly, “It sounds like a Miss America theme song, like it should be called ‘Marilyn Monroe’.” I’m grateful for his suggestion, the title being half the battle.

A LITTLE TASTE

I was always attracted to this Johnny Hodges riff, recorded in the 1950s. I
kept his title, expanded the music, and added the lyric.

OUR LOVE ROLLS ON

I wrote this for a Burt Reynolds movie. Later, when I saw the movie, it
was clear why they didn’t buy it. The song of course was totally inappropriate. Nevertheless, I still think of it as “The Theme From Sharkey’s Machine.”

YOU ARE THERE

Trying to fit words to Johnny Mandel’s long restless melody was like trying
to solve one of those confidential British double-crostic puzzles. I sulked for nearly two years before gritting my teeth and grinding out the solution.

MY SWAN SONG

Each time I finish a song, I’m sure it’s the last one. There will be no more
ideas, no more melodies. I’m usually right.

LISTEN HERE

This song was written for Mary Tyler Moore, who sang it, beautifully, in the
closing moments of one of her TV specials.

l’M HIP

I brought this lyric without a melody to Bob Dorough, who I felt sure would supply the most telling musical setting. As usual, Dorough came through.

Z’S

As a kid, I once watched Stan Kenton’s band packing up after a college date in Minneapolis. I overheard one of the musicians say he needed to get some Z’s. It was the hippest thing I had ever heard.