Welcome to my music blog -
The Soundtrack of My Life!
Many of you have asked me “What’s with all the music, Dr.
Weiss?” Well, as I’ve told some of you:
I personally call every surgery patient on the evening of
surgery just to make sure they are doing well and have no questions that need
answering. Occasionally, I would be at the piano and play a song that we had
listened to that day. I gradually realized that I wanted to go through all the music
that I had played during my life and at least start making a list of the songs that
I had recently played.
Well, there are now about 600 songs on the list and I realized
that it in a way it represented the ‘soundtrack of my life’! And that’s how I got
the idea to record these songs and share them with my patients, friends and family.
After I record them they will reside here, for easy access.
Music is truth. It’s honest. It’s really the first social
media, where in a way, people could share their souls directly. And isn’t that what
the purpose of social media is and why it’s so popular - trying to share who you
really are, as completely and directly as possible?
Finally, it has been (and will continue to be) a genuine
pleasure sharing these different songs with you and I really appreciate all of your
positive feedback!!
On This Day (June 18) in 1942, Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool. I’m sure glad he met the other guys and I was around to hear it. I’ve always thought that “Let It Be” is one of the true classic piano solos. For years I thought I understood that ‘Let It Be’ meant ‘to leave things as they are’, with a pacifist connotation. And also that ‘Mother Mary’ had religious overtones. Now I understand that ‘Let it Be’ was meant more in a prayerful way, hoping for words of wisdom and an answer to times of trouble (as in, ‘let it be soon’) with a timeless message. Anyway, it’s a beautiful, inspiring song. I know that it’s inspired me over the years. And ‘Mother Mary’ was actually about his deceased mother Mary, who had just seen in a dream - but I’m sure that Paul was OK with the ambiguity. Happy Birthday, Paul Dr. Weiss Bosendorfer piano sound - For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. [...]
On This Day in 1972 (June 17), “Stella Blue” was first performed by the Grateful Dead at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles (47 years ago today!) If you’re already a Grateful Dead fan, the song needs no introduction. But for those of you who have never been to a Dead show, after you hear the first notes of this song you just settle down into your chair to enjoy a mellow few minutes and enjoy the tasteful light show! I look at it as a musical impressionistic work of art. Impressionism is a style or movement in painting originating in France in the 1860s, characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color. It’s an artistic style that seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than to achieve accurate depiction. In music it’s a style of composition (associated especially with Debussy) in which clarity of structure and theme is subordinate to harmonic effects. Robert Hunter’s phrases such as ‘all the years combine, they melt into a dream’, ‘there's nothing you can hold for very long’, and ’it seems like all this life was just [...]
On this day (April 19) in 1971 the Doors released their sixth studio album, L.A. Woman, which included this song, Cars Hiss By My Window. We were BIG Doors fans in my Philadelphia neighborhood! This is the song where I first learned to play the blues. (I didn’t realize at the time that it was a very common but slightly altered I/IV/V blues progression, borrowed from generations of black blues musicians, originating in the Deep South of the United States around the 1870s.) Another interesting thing I didn’t suspect at the time (pre-Google in our pockets!) were the other musical influences: for this recording, the Doors hired Elvis Presley's bassist Jerry Scheff and Leon Russell’s rhythm guitarist Marc Benno to round out their sound. The band began recording without much material and needed to compose many songs, including this one, on the spot in the studio! Keyboardist Ray Manzarek recalled that "Jim said it was about living in Venice [Beach], in a hot room, with a hot girlfriend, and an open window, and a bad time…” Listening to this song, I can easily imagine the cars, waves, headlights and beaches of Venice. The ending’s pretty dark, but he was obviously [...]
On this day (April 17) in 1970, Paul McCartney released “Maybe I’m Amazed’ on his first solo album after the Beatles, simply entitled ‘McCartney’. I was a freshman in college, and at that time no one could get enough of McCartney’s voice, or his songs. He also played all the instruments himself - guitars, bass, piano, organ and drums - onto just a four track tape machine! Despite the spare arrangement, it’s been regarded as one of McCartney's finest love songs, and McCartney once said "Maybe I'm Amazed" was "the song he would like to be remembered for in the future". I’m not sure I agree with Paul on that, but I’ve always enjoyed this song! McCartney dedicated this song to his wife, Linda. I’d like to dedicate this performance to my wife, Portia. Bosendorfer piano sound - For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones! It sounds better than any piano I've ever owned!!
"Have I Told You Lately" is a song by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison for his nineteenth studio album Avalon Sunset (1989). C’mon, this has to be one of the best love songs ever, by one of the best singer songwriters! Clocking in at 1:20 (despite a dropped verse), this is not quite a Weiss Music Minute. I guess there was just too much love in this song to be contained in 60 seconds. This version is dedicated to my wife, who first turned me on to Van Morrison, on her birthday (today). More than 27 years ago, I surprised her with an intimate surprise party wedding (a story for another time.) I had produced a multi-track recording of me playing this song as we walked down the aisle (on a cassette!) I still never get tired of playing it. Bosendorfer piano sound - For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones! It sounds better than [...]
Something - On This Day On This Day in 1943 George Harrison was born. On February 25, 1969 - his 26th birthday - Harrison entered Abbey Road Studios and taped solo demos of ”Something”, a song written by George and recorded by the Beatles for their 1969 album Abbey Road. Up to the late 1970s, it had been covered by over 150 artists, making it the second-most covered Beatles composition after "Yesterday.” The song initially received little interest from Lennon and McCartney, and George Martin was also unimpressed by "Something" at first, considering it "too weak and derivative!” However, John Lennon came to think it was the best song on Abbey Road. Elton John said: "'Something' is probably one of the best love songs ever, ever, ever written ... It's better than 'Yesterday,' much better ... It's like the song I've been chasing for the last thirty-five years." Frank Sinatra was particularly impressed with "Something", calling it "the greatest love song of the past 50 years". One more thing about Paul McCartney’s bass part, which I’ve tried to replicate pretty closely. I only recently learned this bass part and came to appreciate its understated, subtle addition to the song. With such a beautiful melody [...]
"Candle in the Wind", written by Elton John, was released on this day (February 4) in 1974. It was written about the late Marilyn Monroe, famed Hollywood actress and pin-up model of the 1950s. The opening line "Goodbye, Norma Jean" refers to Monroe's real name, Norma Jean Baker. "Candle in the Wind 1997" or "Goodbye England's Rose" is a re-recording of "Candle in the Wind" as a tribute to Princess Diana. This version, released in 1997, was one of the best selling singles of all time and was produced by George Martin, of Beatles fame. This song was requested by and dedicated to my friend Heather B, as well as my partner in surgery, Jackie Smith, who recently saw Elton John in concert during his farewell tour! Enjoy! Bosendorfer piano sound - For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones! It sounds better than any piano I've ever owned!!
This powerful, inspiring and iconic song, which Bllboard ranked as the No. 1 song for 1970, has helped countless people through challenging times. Paul Simon was inspired by gospel music for this one. It has become one of the most performed songs of the twentieth century, with over 50 artists, among them Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, covering the song. . The distinctive piano arrangement was performed by session musician Larry Knechtel of the famous ‘Wrecking Crew’, a loose collective of session musicians based in Los Angeles whose services were employed for thousands of studio recordings in the 1960s and early 1970s, including several hundred Top 40 hits. Leon Russell and Glen Campbell were also Wrecking Crew members before their solo careers. "Bridge over Troubled Water" was composed by Paul Simon very quickly, so much so that he asked himself, "Where did that come from? (Similar to Paul McCartney saying that ‘Yesterday’ came to him fully formed in a dream and he just got up and played it right away so he wouldn’t forget it!) Will we ever understand fantastic musical ability and inspiration like these guys? Maybe it’s the one thing that artificial intelligence won’t be able to replace. [...]
On This Day, “Forever Young” was released by Bob Dylan with backing by the Band in 1974. Written as a lullaby for his eldest son Jesse, born in 1966, Dylan's song relates a father's hopes that his child will remain strong and happy. It opens with the lines, "May God bless and keep you always / May your wishes all come true", echoing the Old Testament's Book of Numbers, which has lines that begin: "May the Lord bless you and guard you / May the Lord make His face shed light upon you." Its always been one of my favorites - I played it for my son at his Bar Mitzvah. Today’s Music Minute is a truncated instrumental version, but if you’re not familiar with this song, it’s worth listening to Dylan’s version (I like the slow version) and looking up the words. It’s been covered by many artists including Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Band, Diana Ross, Johnny Cash, the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, the Jerry Garcia Band, Pete Seeger, the Pretenders, Norah Johns and even Meat Loaf! Bosendorfer piano sound - For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action [...]
Just like that, we’re more than halfway through August! You can’t tell by the weather, but fall is just about here. But before summer slips away, I wanted to try something new and exciting! Celebrate the coming end of summer with The Doors’ “Summer’s Almost Gone”. I have a special affinity for the Doors – it was among the first rock music that I started playing and I actually went to a Doors concert in 1970 instead of my senior prom (I couldn’t get a date anyway!). Despite the tragic passing of Morrison at 27 years old, their music lives on. (Fun fact: our Patient Coordinator Tamara even had a poster of Jim Morrison plastered prominently on her wall when she was a kid despite the fact that she was barely alive during the Doors’ heyday.) New Blog Feature (Weiss Internet Jam Band) I’ve sent out lots of music before, but this particular blog is going to be much more interactive (hopefully)! I’m inviting all my family of patients and friends to engage in a little audience participation contest (Todd, Sean, that means you) – and everyone is going to be a winner! Help me finish the song – […]
