"OCEANS OF POSSIBILITIES"
Milltown Library on the Sunny Side
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© 2022 — Kenneth Lelen — Al Rights Reserved
Summertime and the livin' is sunny and mild with a chance of cheer, say the folks at Milltown Public Library.
On July 26, as one of its offerings for Oceans of Possibilities — the theme for 2022 Summer Reading Programs across the nation — the Milltown NJ library sponsored an evening concert for adults in its community room.Performed by vintage guitarist and vocalist Ken Lelen, Sunny Side of the Street offered mirthful songs with memorable tunes and clever lyrics from the 1930s. Employing amusing anecdotes to introduce many of the songs, Lelen performed vintage tunes originally designed to soften the bite of hard times, offer sly advice for lovers and sinners, and poke fun at society's upper crust.
His concert included such memorable American classics as "Until The Real Thing Comes Along," "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie," "The Lady Is A Tramp," "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter," "Pennies From Heaven," "Nice Work If You Can Get It," "The Glory of Love," "Moonglow" and, of course, "On The Sunny Side of the Street."
Stories, songs and memories
Throughout the concert Lelen told amusing stories to introduce many of the songs he sang. For instance, for "They Can't Take That Away From Me," George and Ira Gershwin's memorable song from the 1937 film, Shall We Dance, Lelen said the film's male lead, a tap dancer played by Fred Astaire, sings a love song full of wry remorse to the film's female lead, a ballet dancer played by Ginger Rogers.
Their love affair was bumpy, Lelen remarked, and one foggy night, just as Fred prepares to take a ferry across the Hudson River to Manhattan, he reminisces — in song — about the joys and sorrows of his romance with Ginger. "'The mem'ry of all that. No, no, they can't take that away from me,'" the musician intoned.
"Once upon a time songs like this brushed away day-to-day burdens, cleansed your heart and soothed your soul," said Lelen, who has offered Vintage Music Concerts to adult and senior audiences at public libraries, museums, life-care communities, social clubs, arts and culture facilities, and senior centers across the East Coast since 1999.
Back-in-the-day sound of vintage acoustic guitars
In addition to singing sunny songs from the 1930s, the performer played
vintage acoustic guitars made during the same decade. Fashioned by hand from spruce, rosewood, mahogany and ebony, such guitars produce musical sounds with tone, character and unstinting sustain
without the use of pick-ups, studio gimmicks or electronic gizmos.
For the
Milltown concert, Lelen played these vintage acoustic guitars:
1930 Martin 00-17 — X-braced grand 1933 MarvelTone — X-braced grand
concert
guitar with mahogany top, back concert guitar, mahogany body, spruce
and sides; ebony bridge and rosewood top, with pearl headstock & fingerboard
fretboard;
12 frets to the body; one of inlays; 12 frets to body; made by Regal
161 made by C.F. Martin of Nazareth PA; of Chicago, distributed by
Targ & Dinner
original price: $35. of New York City; original price: $28.
1933 Weymann 840 – X-braced grand 1938 Martin 00-21 – X-braced grand
concert guitar, mahogany body, spruce concert
guitar, rosewood body, spruce top,
top, with rosewood binding and bridge; herringbone
soundhole trim and backstrip,
12 frets to the body; made by Weymann ebony fingerboard; 12 frets to body; one of
& Son of
Philadelphia; original price: $45. 15 Martin made in 1938; original price: $65.
Oceans of Possibilities
After the Sunny Side of the Street concert, the Milltown Library offered a final word on the success of its 2022 Summer Reading Program — Oceans of Possibilities — in a note of gratitude to donors, patrons and library staff who participated in the program.
Shown at left is the Thank You note posted on the library's home page:
https://lmac.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/milltown
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©
2022 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved
