THE LIFE OF A SONG.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 213, 8 September 1923, Page 15

THE LIFE OF A SONG.

PASSING OF POPULAR AIRS. "RAG" THE PRESENT CRAZE. The butterfly existence enjoyed by wnge » remarkable. Popular afra-for t"he un ?-f iOd onl.^r — will sweep over the world like the roll of thunder, only as XJSh* "*****• int ° oblivion just whi,h P V" they " cau S ht on." Songs nn -1« h , umn,ed and whistled and sung until they "get on the nerves" will almost cease to exist after having a great sale. A pronounced instance of this was provided > with the appearance of "Tippe™T' ~^' 10 was there w ho could not sing, whistle, or play this popular march song? But suddenly the song became stale, and is heard no more. A song writer has to pander to a iickle audience—what proved a success once would not be entertained perhaps twelve months later. The war offered much opportunity to composers, but the only big success was achieved by the composer of "Tipperary." During the Boer war one or two topical songs made good, and amongst them may be mentioned John Bull. Junior," "Break the News to I Mother," and "Just as the Sun Went: Down," but in common with the great majority their success was short-lived: A few years ago the craze was for coon songs, and almost every comedian could count on receiving a fine reception if he appeared on the stage with a blackened, face and a melody about a farm, the silvery moon, and trimmed it with honeysuckle. Nowadays the black-faced vaudevillian has to tell the audience all about his "farm in Kentucky." If he doesn't, then he does not seem'to fill the bill. It is the same with the artiste who appears on the stage with baggy trousers and a I red nose tipped with a small piece of tinsel paper. Any comic song will suffice for him, but it spells disaster if he should omit to mention his mother-in-law. There is no one so valuable to the comedian as his wife's mother. She is his whole stock-in-trade. A "Star" reporter this morning mentioned to Mr. C. Edgars the remarkable but brief runs some songs enjoyed, and that gentleman, who for many years has j been manager of the Opera' House, remarked that it was wonderful how quickly the taste of the public changed. "Just at present," said Mr. Edgars, "everybody is jazz mad. Any old words set to jazz time can be relied upon to go big. The music must have snappiness about it, which sets the crowd rocking their shoulders and body. 'Margie,' 'Oh, for the Night Time,' those are the sort of items to appeal. But don't make any mistake, the old songs are still the ones to bring down the house. Coon songs, lullabies, rags, all have their run, but classics like 'Pipes o' Pan, , Tosti's 'Good-bye,' and many others, will live for ever." Not many what you would call really good songs appear on the market nowadays, queried the "Star" reporter. "I don't know of a really good song being written—that is, one that will stay for years—coming on the market during the last decade. Take such items as 'Annie Laurie,' 'Believe Mβ If All Those Endearing Young Charms,' 'Drink to Mc Only With Thine Eyes,' just to mention three off hand. Where have we had anything of the same standard in the last ten years? These songs stand the test of time, and can be sung at any time and anywhere with success." I suppose you have to know your audience ? "Of course. There are the usual tricke of the trade. For instance, suppose you have a revue, and there is just an inclination for it to fall flat. I find that if a Scotch item is worked in it will lift the revue right up again. The lilt of a good Scot's song gets the audience stamping their feet, and once you do that there is no occasion to worry." To sum up, what would' you term the best "hits"? "Well, a classic like those I mentioned, anything from grand opera, the jazz, of course, and anything with an Oriental touch about it."