Dear Les,
3 AM, Wed. 9-16-11
Cannot sleep.
Just played
The last cut on Side B
Of an old cassette tape
For
After a late session of cookie baking
For your nephew Lee……
Yesterday
I’d found these handful of tapes
In a drawer
Fortuitously
Having saved them in the move
Last year
And this one
Pictured above
(both sides B and A)
Contained along with
The Dukes of Dixieland
Two cuts of the Natural Gas
Jazz Band;
One of ‘Forever’
And the other of
‘Lover’
The latter – Lover –
Is a long number by
The trombonist
Playing the most amazing
Rendition
Of this song
Most notably performed
By Les Paul and Mary Ford
on their guitars
And it is a blessing
For me
That I’ve found this tape.
On the other side, side A,
Are some numbers I multiply
Recorded on ‘two inexpensive
Japanese tape recorders’.
This half of the cassette
I modestly titled
THE WORLD’S
GREATEST MUSIC.
On it, I recorded
Some versions of
Ja-da,
Cecelia,
I Love You,
Etc.
And a reading of
The Owl and the Pussycat…..
The songs are performed
On slide whistle,
Ukelele,
Kazoo,
A child’s toy piano,
And the vocals
Are done
By me.
This valuable tape
Was recorded
In 1983.
I am going to try to get
David Jr. to take that cassette
And make a CD of it
Which I will give
You a copy of.
Others will have to
Pay me good money for,
Although I know I
Advertise this little
Diary effort of mine
As “Money Cannot Buy”.
I remember:
I came home late one night
After some libationary action
And was loose enough
To be in top form.
Those few I made cassette copies
For
Treasure the tape, they say.
John and Cindy Helt, for two.
BUT THE CUT I WANT YOU TO HAVE
ABOVE ALL THE REST
IS THE NATURAL GAS’S
LOVER
With the trombone solo.
All the rest is
Fluff.
Or fluffier.
