NORTHJERSEY.COM : ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Musical program held at library in Vernon
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2014
BY JANET REDYKE
CORRESPONDENT — AIM VERNON

                                                                                                                      PHOTO/JANET REDYKE
Guitarist Ken Lelen performed the music of World War I at a program at the library.

Guitarist Ken Lelen of Titusville, N.J. returned to Dorothy Henry Library to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of World War I by performing his Ragtime Rascals concert. Hosted by the Friends of the Library, the program took place Sunday afternoon, Oct. 26.
     Lelen displayed and played four vintage guitars, in chronological order dating from 1925, 1926, 1932 and 1933. The guitars all had mahogany wood backs and sides and spruce fronts, which produced beautiful tones. "These guitars are vintage, I never use the word 'old,' " he chuckled.
     According to Lelen, the music of World War I was the popular among flappers, doughboys, crooners, bootleggers and other nostalgic persons of the period. "Those young people used a gramophone like today’s youth use an i-Phone," Lelen said.
     The first song Lelen played and sang was "The Sheik of Araby" which represented the people’s attraction to Rudolf Valentino. Lelen mentioned the influence of brother composer team George and Ira Gershwin in 1924.
     The audience of 50 broke into a sing-along when Lelen played and sang "It had to be You," "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue," and "Ain’t She Sweet."
     "Ragtime music had two trends," he stated. The two trends were, in song, one word could mean another, like a metaphor when good actually meant bad. The second trend, according to Lelen, was the beginning of dance crazes, which back then were morally unacceptable. Lelen continued with "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Sweet Sue — Just You" to illustrate both trends.
     He also spoke about song writer Dorothy Fields, who lived in New York City. Once, as she walked down Fifth Avenue, she noticed the sun shining on the buildings on one side of the street. So she wrote "On the Sunny Side of the Street" that night.
     Lelen concluded the 90-minute concert by playing and performing "Tiptoe through the Tulips." He said, "This song was a hit back in the 20s, long before Tiny Tim made it famous."

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