Once in a while a musician comes along with impecca… Read Full Bio ↴Beegie Adair Bio
Once in a while a musician comes along with impeccable technique, deep understanding of the jazz repertoire, an innate tendency to swing and the rare ability to communicate the heart and soul of a tune to listeners. That musician is Beegie Adair.
About her music Adair says, “Falling in love with jazz is like falling in love with a person, except with jazz you never get over it.” About Beegie (say B-G) Adair, what do others say?
Jazz great Helen Merrill salutes her “inventive jazz sense, her wonderful sense of time and improvised melody.”
Christopher Louden of Jazz Times magazine says Adair is “an accomplished artist with a delicate touch.”
The Los Angeles Times calls her music “Elegant.”
Entertainment News writes, “Beegie Adair is one of the finest piano players in the world.”
Intrigued? So are thousands of jazz fans, who agree with critics about Adair’s sophisticated and listenable jazz performances, and who have made her recordings among the biggest sellers in the jazz world.
Citing George Shearing, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner among her influences, Adair has recorded 24 CDs, ranging from Cole Porter standards to Frank Sinatra classics to romantic World War II ballads. Her 6-CD Centennial Composers Collection of tunes by Rodgers, Gershwin, Kern, Ellington, Carmichael and Berlin became an instant collectible classic when it was released in 2002.
Kentucky born and raised, Adair lives and records in Nashville – something of a surprise to people who associate the city solely with country music. In fact Nashville lives up to its “Music City” nickname by hosting a vibrant jazz scene, in which she has been a leading light for decades. A sought-after studio musician in her early days there, Adair accompanied such legendary performers as Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash – and also worked with Lucille Ball, Dinah Shore, Mama Cass Elliott and Peggy Lee.
Her guests on Improvised Thoughts, Beegie’s radio talk/music show on the local NPR affiliate, included such greats as Tony Bennett, Joe Williams, Marian McPartland, Benny Golson and Helen Merrill. She has guested on McPartland’s Piano Jazz show and has performed with Nat Adderley, Bill Watrous, Lew Tabackin, Terry Clarke, Urbie Green and Jim Ferguson, among many others.
When she’s not in the studio or appearing in clubs and concert halls around the country, Adair wears a variety of hats, from adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University to teacher and mentor at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. Recently she co-wrote and scored an innovative theatrical production, Betsy, which in April 2006 premiered off-Broadway in New York.
She has recorded eight projects for Village Square Records in Nashville; her most recent CDs are Sentimental Journey, a popular collection of World War II-era songs, and a solo piano recording, Quiet Romance.
She performs solo and with the Beegie Adair Trio, whose members include drummer Chris Brown, a veteran of the Maynard Ferguson ensemble, and bassist Roger Spencer, who has played with the Les Brown Band, Ray Conniff, the Page Cavanaugh Trio and Pete Jolly. They are, she says, “my main guys. They’re so tuned into the way I visualize music that it’s effortless to play with them.”
In clubs and concert venues from Los Angeles to New York, Beegie and her “main guys” win kudos from audiences and critics alike who appreciate her unique take on classic jazz. She fell in love with the music a long time ago, and indeed she’s never gotten over it -- a love affair the jazz world is much the better for.
I'm Old Fashioned
Beegie Adair Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About the latest fads
I admit I was never one
Adored by local lads
Not that I ever try to be a saint
I'm the type that they classify as quaint
I'm old fashioned
I love the moonlight
The sound of rain
Upon a window pane
The starry song that April sings
This year's fancies
Are passing fancies
But sighing sighs holding hands
These my heart understands
I know I'm old fashioned
But I don't mind it
That's how I want to be
As long as you agree
To stay old fashioned with me
I'm old fashioned
But I don't mind it
That's how I want to be
As long as you agree
To stay old fashioned with me
Oh won't you stay old fashioned with me
Oh please stay old fashioned with me
The lyrics of Beegie Adair's song "I'm Old Fashioned" reflect the admiration and love for traditional and timeless values over modern trends. The singer acknowledges that they are not up-to-date with the latest fads and do not try to keep up with them to fit in. Despite not being someone that attracts the attention of the local lads, they come across as content with their old-fashioned ways. The moonlight, sound of rain on the window, and the starry song of April are the things that the singer loves. These are the things that they find beautiful and captivating. They believe that current trends and fancies are ephemeral but holding hands and sighing are gestures that never lose their charm. The singer wants to stay true to their values and traditions as long as the person they love agrees to stay old fashioned with them.
The lyrics of the song celebrate the beauty of simplicity and peace that one can find in the things that have passed the test of time. The songwriter communicates the desire to hold onto timeless values in a world that is consumed by superficiality and flavor of the month trends. The notions of love, affection, and devotion that stand the test of time are what truly matter. The singer of the song longs to share these values with someone who agrees to stay old fashioned with them. It is an honest and heartfelt plea for someone to see beauty in the simple things and traditions that matter.
Line by Line Meaning
I am not such a clever one
I'm not someone who's up to date or smart about the latest trends.
About the latest fads
I don't know much about or pay much attention to the newest styles or trends.
I admit I was never one
I confess that I have never been
Adored by local lads
Popular among young men in the area
Not that I ever try to be a saint
I'm not trying to pretend to be perfect
I'm the type that they classify as quaint
I'm considered old-fashioned or charmingly old-fashioned
I love the moonlight
I enjoy the light of the moon
I love the old fashioned things
I'm fond of things and ways of the past and don't care much for the new trendy stuff
The sound of rain
The noise of raindrops falling
Upon a window pane
On the glass of a window
The starry song that April sings
The melody of the stars and the month of April together
This year's fancies
The things that are popular or trendy this year
Are passing fancies
They are brief and soon forgotten
But sighing sighs holding hands
Romantic moments of holding hands and sighing are timeless
These my heart understands
My heart knows the importance of these romantic moments
I know I'm old fashioned
I'm aware and accepting of my old-fashioned ways
But I don't mind it
I'm okay with it, I don't find it a problem
That's how I want to be
Being old-fashioned is a conscious choice and preference for me
As long as you agree
I only want someone who is okay with and accepts my old-fashioned ways
To stay old fashioned with me
To remain loyal to my traditional taste and nostalgia
Oh won't you stay old fashioned with me
Please remain true to my classic values and sensibilities
Oh please stay old fashioned with me
Please keep me company in my old-fashioned ways
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind