In 1928 (on his 25th birthday) Hines began leading his own big band. For over 10 years his was "The Band" in Al Capone's Grand Terrace Cafe — Hines was Capone's "Mr Piano Man". Hines recorded for Victor in 1929, then after a gap for Brunswick from 1932-1934, Decca from 1934-1935, then after another gap, Vocalion from 1937-1938 and Bluebird from 1939-1942 (nearly all among the best Black Jazz of the era). From the Grand Terrace, The Earl Hines Orchestra (or "Organization" as he more happily referred to it) broadcast on "open mikes", sometimes five nights a week and over many years, coast to coast across America — Chicago being well placed to deal with the U.S. live-broadcasting time-zone problem. Hines's band became the most broadcast band in America. Sometimes Nat "King" Cole was Hines's relief pianist (though Cliff Smalls was his favorite) and it was here with Hines that Charlie Parker got his first professional job...until he was fired for his time-keeping — by which Hines meant Parker's inability to show up on time despite Parker resorting to sleeping under the Grand Terrace stage in his attempts to do so. Hines led his big band until 1947, taking time out to front the Duke Ellington orchestra in 1944 while Duke was ill...but the big-band era was over. (Thirty years later, Hines's 20 solo "transformative versions" of his "Earl Hines Plays Duke Ellington" recorded in the 1970s were described by Ben Ratliff in the "New York Times" as "as good an example of the jazz process as anything out there".)
At the start of 1949 Hines rejoined Armstrong in the latter's "All Stars" "small band", where Hines stayed through 1951. He then led his own small combo around the States and Europe. At the start of the jazz-lean 1960s he settled in Oakland, California, opened a tobacconist's, and came close to giving up the profession. Then, in 1964 Hines was "suddenly rediscovered" following a series of concerts in New York. He was the 1965 "Critics' Choice" for Down Beat Magazine's "Hall of Fame". From then till he died he recorded endlessly both solo and with jazz notables like Cat Anderson, Buck Clayton, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Gonsalves, Sonny Greer, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Budd Johnson, Jimmy Rushing, Stuff Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Venuti and Ben Webster. Possibly more surprising were Elvin Jones, Peggy Lee, Charles Mingus, Dinah Washington — and Ry Cooder. But his most acclaimed recordings of this period were his dazzling and endlessly inventive solo performances, which could show him at his very best, "a whole orchestra by himself".[12] Solo tributes to Louis Armstrong, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin were all put on record in the 1970s. Hines also toured Europe again regularly at this time, and added Asia, Australia and the Soviet Union to his list of State Department–funded destinations. At the top of his form, Hines also displayed his endearing quirks (not to say grunts) in these performances. Sometimes he sang as he played, especially his own "They Never Believed I Could Do It - Neither Did I". In 1975 he made an hour-long "solo" film for British TV out-of-hours in a Washington nightclub: the "New York Herald Tribune" described it as "The greatest jazz-film ever made". He played solo in The White House and played solo for the Pope — and played (and sang) his last job a few days before he died in Oakland, quite likely somewhat older than he had always maintained.
BLUE TURNING GREY OVER YOU
Earl Hines Lyrics
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Your tender kiss,
And the wonderful things we would do.
Now I run my hands
Through silvery strands,
You left me blue turning gray over you.
So good to me,
That's when I was a novelty.
Now, you've new friends in view,
You've found someone new,
And left me blue turning gray over you.
The lyrics of Earl Hines's song BLUE TURNING GREY OVER YOU speak of heartbreak and nostalgia for a lost love. The singer describes the longing he feels for the tender kisses and the wonderful moments he shared with his former partner. He laments that she is no longer around and that he is now left to run his hands through his own grey hair, a physical manifestation of how he's feeling emotionally. He acknowledges that when they were together, everything was good, and he was a novelty to her. However, she's found someone else, and now he's left feeling blue and grey over her.
The chorus of the song is particularly powerful in conveying the singer's emotions. The repetition of the phrase "blue turning grey over you" reinforces the idea that he's not just feeling down but that his sadness is deepening over time. The use of color imagery is also poignant, as blue and grey are colors associated with sadness and loss.
Overall, BLUE TURNING GREY OVER YOU is a moving testament to the pain of lost love and the struggle to move on from it.
Line by Line Meaning
Gee, how I miss
Oh my, how I long for
Your tender kiss,
The softness of your embrace,
And the wonderful things we would do.
And the amazing moments we shared.
Now I run my hands
Now I touch my fingers on
Through silvery strands,
Through my grey hair
You left me blue turning gray over you.
You left me feeling sad and depressed because of you.
You used to be
You were once
So good to me,
So kind and loving to me
That's when I was a novelty.
That's when I was something unique and exciting to you.
Now, you’ve new friends in view,
But now you have new companions to interact with,
You’ve found someone new,
You’ve found someone else to love,
And left me blue turning gray over you.
And now I’m sad and lonely because of you.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDY RAZAF, THOMAS 'FATS' WALLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind