So sing a silly little rhyme and have a cup of coffee

Hello everyone! I'm Sally from Flying Down to Hollywood! I'm doing a spontaneous guest post for Emma today. It's a spotlight on a musical number from a lesser known MGM musical: Yolando and the Thief (1945). The song is called "Coffee Time" and is performed by Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer. I'm currently reading a book about the MGM musicals produced by Arthur Freed (it's a fascinating read by Hugh Fordin) and I learned some things about this number.

found here.

Well, mainly, that the costume designer, Irene Sharaff would often design her costumes with a backdrop in mind. There are pictures of her designs with a doodle of a set in the background. This being the case, she was, in part, responsible for some of the set designs for the films she worked on. When she designed the costumes for this number, she decided to make the principal color cafe au lait. She then decided that the costumes would work best on a contrasting floor and she, herself, sketched the pattern on the floor for the studio painters. How crazy is that? I love that one woman made such a difference in these productions. In my opinion, the floor is a major component in this scene. It makes the whole floor pop and I'm left figuring out whether or not the floor is actually moving like that (it isn't). Anyway, enough of my chatter. Here's "Coffee Time."

Dance With Me - I Want My Arms About You! Song Sketch

The lovely and brilliantly talented Kate Gabrielle has featured my song Fred Astaire as her Silents and Talkies song of the week accompanied by artwork! So, in honor of that honor, I did a quick piano sketch of one of his most iconic pieces, Cheek to Cheek.

I think my favorite Astaire songs are probably Night and Day, Never Gonna Dance, Pick Yourself Up, Steppin' Out With My Baby and my very very favorite, All My Eggs in One Basket. But he's wearing a sailor outfit in that song, not his signature tux, so I thought my cover would be more typical Astaire!

What are your favorites of his?

If you would like a copy of this song for you, just let me know in a comment! If it's your first request, please leave your email address as well.

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Do You Remember the Famous Men Who Had to Fall to Rise Again?

I've been quite overwhelmed with several sections of my life... baby planning, music, etc., so often what's in order is a good Fred and Ginger moment. This moment is particularly inspiring! *

And here is the completely perfect dance that follows (and how adorable is her dress?!).

*For those of you who haven't seen this gem of a film, Fred Astaire has just signed up with Ginger Rogers for a dancing lesson and is pretending he doesn't know how to dance...

P.S. Feel free to follow me! I promise only ever to lead you to bright, sunny places!

P.P.S. I have a brand, new original album out! If you download it and looooove it, please write a lovely review on the site from which you purchased it!

Men With Halos

Whenever I find an actor, singer or comedian who can also play an instrument, there is an extra halo of awesomeness that surrounds them. I know that being one of those aforementioned entertainers requires talent and often training but playing an instrument? I don't know - it's the marshmallows on the talent hot cocoa. It's the cherry on the talent sundae. It's the halo around the talent angels.

Here are several extra-talented leading men with those halos.

Thanks to sallywally at flyingdowntohollywood blog for showing me this one on Twitter today!

My favorite part begins at 2:46