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.
Why Shouldn'T i
Beegie Adair Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why shouldn't I know of love?
Why wait around when each age has a sage who has sung
That upon this earth love is all that is really worth thinking of?
It must be fun, lots of fun
To be sure when day is done
That the hour is coming when you'll be kissed
All debutantes say it's good
And every star out in far Hollywood
Seems to give it a try
So why shouldn't I?
All debutantes say it's good
And every star out in far Hollywood
Seems to give it a try
So why shouldn't I?
The lyrics to Beegie Adair's "Why Shouldn't I" suggest a theme of taking a risk on love. The singer poses a question, wondering why they shouldn't take a chance on romance when it presents itself. They also rhetorically ask why they should wait, as throughout history, wise individuals have claimed that love is the most significant thing in life. There's a sense of longing in the lyrics with the mention that it must be fun to anticipate being kissed again and again.
The singer seems to find inspiration in both celebrities and upper-class individuals or debutantes who seem to have successfully explored love or are at least intrigued by it. They ask themselves why they shouldn't be open to love too.
Overall the song suggests that love is a valuable pursuit and that it's okay to take a chance with someone you find intriguing. It also acknowledges that, regardless of social status, anyone, whether they are a regular person, a debutante or a celebrity, can be intrigued by the idea of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Why shouldn't I take a chance when romance passes by?
Isn't it logical to seize romantic opportunities when they come your way?
Why shouldn't I know of love?
Why shouldn't I have the experience of knowing what it feels like to love?
Why wait around when each age has a sage who has sung
That upon this earth love is all that is really worth thinking of?
Throughout time, wise people have sung about how love is truly the thing that gives life meaning, so why waste time waiting?
It must be fun, lots of fun
To be sure when day is done
That the hour is coming when you'll be kissed
And then you'll be kissed again
It sounds like such an enjoyable thing to look forward to at the end of a day, knowing that someone you care for will kiss you and keep kissing you.
All debutantes say it's good
And every star out in far Hollywood
Seems to give it a try
So why shouldn't I?
Even high society women and famous people seem to enjoy love and relationships, so why not join in?
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind