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!!

Categories

Frank Sinatra with a hat

The Things We Did Last Summer

January 15, 2019

The Things We Did Last Summer On this day (January 15) in 1993, musician and songwriter Sammy Cahn passed away. Cahn wrote the song that I'm covering today - "The Things We Did Last Summer", which debuted in 1946. His songs won 4 Academy Awards including one for "Three Coins in a Fountain." This time I'm trying to let my "inner trumpet" out. I've always loved this melancholy and romantic song, and for me the classic version is sung by Sinatra. This was only one of many songs that Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen wrote for Frank Sinatra. They were almost considered to be his personal songwriters - producing such songs as "All the Way", "Come Fly With Me",  "High Hopes", "Call Me Irresponsible", "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is...)" and "Love and Marriage." With composer Jule Styne he is remembered for hits such as "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow", "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry", and this song, "The Things We Did Last Summer".  He also wrote the lyrics to "Teach Me Tonight",  "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" and even "You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!" from the 1953 film classic Peter [...]
Adult ballerinas in pink performing "Waltz of the Flowers"

The Nutcracker Suite Contest

January 10, 2019

As you've probably read in the email (you ARE on our email list right? ), I sat down to record a version of "Waltz of the Flowers" last night, and completed the recording only to find that I already had a previous version of the same movement!  Well, rather than discard a take, I thought it would be interesting to share both pieces of music with you.  While they are similar, there are certain differences in the performance that I can hear.  I'm curious - which one do you like better?  There are also slight differences in the recordings - (and a couple wrong notes) but I'm interested in the difference in performances, rather than sound quality or notes. This contest also gives me another opportunity to spotlight Weiss Music Minutes!  As you may recall, I have been trying to offer evidence that  the essence of many complete musical ideas (and songs) can be distilled down to  under 60 seconds. I'm hope you'll agree that you will recognize this piece of music by Tchaikovsky as a complete musical concept - in just a minute! Let me know which one you preferred, and if your opinion happens to land in the majority, you'll get [...]
Weiss Music Minute - I'll Be Home for Christmas

I'll Be Home for Christmas

December 19, 2018

I'm beginning our Christmas countdown today with the classic, "I'll Be Home for Christmas."  The song was popularized by Bing Crosby, who first recorded the song back in 1943, and was written to honor troops away from home.  The composer, Walter Kent, was also responsible for another popular Christmas song!  Kent also wrote "The White Cliffs of Dover", a song that was popular with British troops during the war much like "I'll Be Home for Christmas" resonated with American troops. I'd like to dedicate this song to any of our family of patients who are serving or have served - we appreciate all you do and we're wishing you the beginnings of a very merry Christmas!
An image of Dr Weiss' hands on the piano. Above the hands are the words "Weiss Music Minute" and beneath is the title of the Music Minute, "Danny Boy".

Danny Boy

December 7, 2018

Today's Weiss Music Minute is Today's Weiss Music Minute is a cover of an old Irish melody. "Danny Boy" lyrics were written by Frederic Weatherly, but the melody comes from an older tune called "Londonderry Air". If you've just stumbled upon this entry, you might also be interested in one of our latest features - Photo of the Week, where I share what I feel are particularly representative examples of the work that I perform.
A word cloud of popular music genres such as rock, rap, jazz, etc.

Music in Western Civilization in 24 Seconds!

November 29, 2018

This short bass part (which in this instance you may recognize as the basis of Boogie Woogie) lasts only 24 seconds but is immediately recognizable to all of us. It contains the five main chord relationships upon which very much of all music in western civilization is based upon, from Gregorian chants to Rap. Chordal relationships (based on notes of the scale) are notated with Roman numerals I to VII. A  song with one chordal relationship pattern sounds the same in any  key (e.g., A or C.) in which it is played. The chordal relationship pattern for this ‘Boogie Woogie’ pattern is I-IV-V.  There is a turnaround at the end introducing VI and II. This is basically a combination of the two most common contemporary patterns: I-IV-V (Twist and Shout and Amazing Grace) and I-VI-II-V-I (Blue Moon and Heart and Soul.) Here are some other songs almost completely based on only these five chords and their relationships: Just about all Blues and New Orleans Jazz Imagine We Are The World Ebony and Ivory Homeward Bound Home on the Range Don’t Fence Me In Thunder Road All That Heaven Will Allow - Springsteen Have I Told You Lately That I Love [...]
In Memory of Stan Lee

Spider Man Theme – In Memory of Stan Lee

November 12, 2018

I learned to read in part by reading Fantastic Four, Spider Man and Nick Fury comics at Sy’s barber shop where I stopped by on the way home from elementary school (whether I needed a haircut or not) just to read the comics! Over the next 50 years, my mind has been filled with hundreds of characters and stories thanks to Stan Lee. In memory of Stan’s passing today, I’d like to re-share a blog we did a while back on one of Stan Lee and Marvel’s most popular characters – Spider-Man.  Once again, enjoy this small musical tribute to one of our most prolific creative geniuses. Thanks, Stan. “‘Nuff said.”

Original sheet music for Give My Regards to Broadway

Give My Regards to Broadway

November 5, 2018

I’ve always loved this song. “Give My regards to Broadway” was written by George M. Cohan, who has been called “the greatest single figure the American theatre ever produced”. “Give My Regards to Broadway” was from his first Broadway play, Little Johnny Jones in 1904, after which he wrote, composed, produced, and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan published more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including the standards “Over There” (America’s most popular World War I song), “Give My Regards to Broadway”, “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag”. This little tribute to Cohan is also an homage one of my personal favorite actors, James Cagney. Cagney played Cohan in the Academy Award-winning film Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), which includes James Cagney’s unforgettable musical tap dance rendition of “Give My Regards To Broadway”, for which he won an Oscar. On May 1, 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented him with the Congressional Gold Medal for his contributions to World War I morale, in particular the songs “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Over There.” Cohan was the first person in any artistic field selected for this honor, which previously had gone only to military and political leaders, philanthropists, scientists, inventors, and explorers. In 1959, at […]

Picture of Frank Sinatra smiling

All The Way

September 7, 2018

And we here at Weiss Cosmetic love our family of patients “All The Way”! As promised, for those of you whose taste might be more appreciative of jazz standards and for you crooners out there, I’m thrilled to share with you another karaoke offering, “All The Way”. The song was written by famed songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, and is dedicated to my dear friend Pat D – because she actually worked with the composer! Pat and Jimmy worked together in the 40s and 50s; she was his assistant, helping him as he composed hit after hit for Broadway, movies, TV and was even there for Jimmy’s first song!  She’s also had the pleasure of wedding dancing (and smooching) with Frank Sinatra and horseback riding with Jimmy – and that’s just a couple of her fascinating stories (such as the time she was crowned “Miss Dairy Queen” in Lindstrom, Minnesota for writing the song, “I Like My Eggs With A Kiss”). “All The Way” won the 1957 Academy Award for best original song from the movie “The Joker is Wild” – one of my favorite films. So here you are, Pat, after much delay: “All The Way.” Karaoke Participation Instructions You’ll […]