Shearing was born in the Battersea area of London, United Kingdom. Congenitally blind, he was the youngest of nine children. He started to learn piano at the age of three. After limited training and extensive listening to recorded jazz, he began playing at hotels, clubs and pubs in the London area, sometimes solo, occasionally with dance bands. In 1940, Shearing joined Harry Parry's popular band and became a star in Britain, performing for the BBC, playing with Stéphane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early 1940s, and winning seven consecutive Melody Maker polls.
In 1946, Shearing established himself in the United States. In 1955, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Leading a quintet (piano with guitar, bass, drums and vibraphone), which over the years included Cal Tjader, Margie Hyams, Denzil Best, Israel Crosby, Joe Pass and Gary Burton, Shearing had a succession of hugely popular records including September In The Rain and his own composition, Lullaby Of Birdland (1952). His style, including the joint playing of the melody by piano and vibraphone, was also widely copied, becoming part of the idiom of pop music, so that his records from that period now sound far less innovative than they did at the time. Later, Shearing played with a trio, as a solo and increasingly in duo. Among his collaborations have been sets with the Montgomery Brothers, Marian McPartland, Brian Torff, Jim Hall, Hank Jones and Kenny Davern.
In the 1970s, Shearing's profile had been lowered considerably, but upon signing with Concord Records in 1979, Shearing found himself enjoying a renaissance.
Over the years, Shearing has also collaborated with singers including Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Ernestine Anderson, Carmen McRae, and most notably, Mel Tormé, with whom he performed frequently in the late 80s and early 90s at festivals, on radio and for recordings.
Recently, Shearing collaborated with the John Pizzarelli Trio to create the album The Rare Delight of You, which garnered extremely good reviews. The album cover, featuring Pizzarelli and Shearing posing in front of a solid blue background, was designed to resemble the cover of Nat King Cole Sings George Shearing Plays, a legendary jazz recording with which it shares some similarities in style.
Shearing's interest in classical music resulted in some performances with concert orchestras in the 1950s and 1960s, and his solo's frequently draw upon the music of Debussy and, particularly, Erik Satie for inspiration. Shearing also made a recording with the classical French horn player Barry Tuckwell.
Shearing wrote a number of jazz arrangements of hymn tunes for the organ in collaboration with organist Dale Wood, that have been published in sheet music form.
(2) For a long stretch of time in the 1950s and early '60s, George Shearing had one of the most popular jazz combos on the planet -- so much so that, in the usual jazz tradition of distrusting popular success, he tended to be underappreciated. Shearing's main claim to fame was the invention of a unique quintet sound, derived from a combination of piano, vibraphone, electric guitar, bass, and drums. Within this context, Shearing would play in a style he called "locked hands," which he picked up and refined from Milt Buckner's early-'40s work with the Lionel Hampton band, as well as Glenn Miller's sax section and the King Cole Trio. Stating the melody on the piano with closely knit, harmonized block chords, with the vibes and guitar tripling the melody in unison, Shearing sold tons of records for MGM and Capitol in his heyday.
The wild success of this urbane sound obscures Shearing's other great contribution during this time, for he was also a pioneer of exciting, small-combo Afro-Cuban jazz in the '50s. Indeed, Cal Tjader first caught the Latin jazz bug while playing with Shearing, and the English bandleader also employed such esteemed congueros as Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, and Armando Peraza. As a composer, Shearing was best known for the imperishable, uniquely constructed bop standard "Lullaby of Birdland," as well as "Conception" and "Consternation." His solo style, though all his own, reflected the influences of the great boogie-woogie pianists and classical players, as well as those of Fats Waller, Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum, and Bud Powell -- and fellow pianists long admired his light, refined touch. He was also known to play accordion and sing in a modest voice on occasion.
Shearing, who was born blind, began playing the piano at the age of three, receiving some music training at the Linden Lodge School for the Blind in London as a teenager but picking up the jazz influence from Teddy Wilson and Fats Waller 78s. In the late '30s, he started playing professionally with the Ambrose dance band and made his first recordings in 1937 under the aegis of fellow Brit Leonard Feather. He became a star in Britain, performing for the BBC, playing a key role in the self-exiled Stéphane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early '40s, and winning seven consecutive Melody Maker polls before emigrating in New York City in 1947 at the prompting of Feather. Once there, Shearing quickly absorbed bebop into his bloodstream, replacing Garner in the Oscar Pettiford Trio and leading a quartet in tandem with Buddy DeFranco. In 1949, he formed the first and most famous of his quintets, which included Marjorie Hyams on vibes (thus striking an important blow for emerging female jazz instrumentalists), Chuck Wayne on guitar, John Levy on bass, and Denzil Best on drums. Recording briefly first for Discovery, then Savoy, Shearing settled into lucrative associations with MGM (1950-1955) and Capitol (1955-1969), the latter for which he made albums with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, and Nat King Cole. He also made a lone album for Jazzland with the Montgomery Brothers (including Wes Montgomery) in 1961, and began playing concert dates with symphony orchestras.
After leaving Capitol, Shearing began to phase out his by-then-predictable quintet, finally breaking it up in 1978. He started his own label, Sheba, which lasted for a few years into the early '70s -- and made some trio recordings for MPS later in the decade. In the '70s, his profile had been lowered considerably, but upon signing with Concord in 1979, Shearing found himself enjoying a renaissance in all kinds of situations. He made a number of acclaimed albums with Mel Tormé, raising the singer's profile in the process, and recorded with the likes of Ernestine Anderson, Jim Hall, Marian McPartland, Hank Jones, and classical French horn player Barry Tuckwell. He also recorded a number of solo piano albums where his full palette of influences came into play. He signed with Telarc in 1992 and from that point through the early 2000s continued to perform and record, most often appearing in a duo or trio setting. Shearing, who had remained largely inactive since 2004 after a fall in his New York City apartment, died of congestive heart failure at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital on February 14, 2011. He was 91. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi
Happy Days Are Here Again
George Shearing Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come on get happy (are here again)
You better chase all your cares away
(The skies above are clear again)
Shout hallelujah (So let's sing a song)
Come on get happy (of cheer again)
Get ready for the judgment day (Happy days are here again)
Come on get happy (Shout it now)
The Lord is waiting to take your hand
(There's no one who can doubt it now)
Shout hallelujah (So let's tell the world)
And just get happy (about it now)
We're going to the promise land
(Happy days are here again)
We're heading across the river
Soon your cares will all be gone
There'll be no more from now on
From now on
Forget your troubles (Happy days)
And just get happy (are here again)
You better chase all your blues away
(The skies above are clear again)
Shout hallelujah (So let's sing a song)
And just get happy (of cheer again)
Happy times (Happy times)
Happy nights (Happy nights)
Happy days
Are here again
George Shearing's 'Happy Days Are Here Again' is an upbeat song that talks about the transformation of one's life from a sad state to a state of happiness. The song takes off from the phrase "forget your troubles, come on get happy," as it encourages listeners to let go of their worries and embrace joy. The lyrics address the current state of sadness that the singer or listener is experiencing, and puts forth an optimistic message that the days of happiness are here again. By creating a sense of ebullience through the repetition of the phrase "happy days are here again," the song lifts the mood of listeners and provides a sense of relief from their struggles. The song uses religious imagery to emphasize the idea that better days are ahead for those who keep their faith and are willing to let go of their troubles. The lyrics also suggest that there is a judgment day coming and that everyone needs to be prepared. This is a subtle reference to the biblical idea of the second coming of Christ, which adds depth to the religious undertone of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Forget your troubles (Happy days)
Let go of your worries and embrace the positive changes happening around you.
Come on get happy (are here again)
It's time to be happy and celebrate because good times have returned.
You better chase all your cares away
Make sure you actively try to eliminate any sources of stress or anxiety from your life.
(The skies above are clear again)
The metaphorical clouds that have been hanging over you have dispersed, leaving a clear path ahead.
Shout hallelujah (So let's sing a song)
Express your joy and gratitude through vocal celebration.
Come on get happy (of cheer again)
Keep up the positive energy and excitement!
Get ready for the judgment day (Happy days are here again)
Prepare yourself for a positive future and all that it may bring.
The sun is shining
A new day has dawned and things are looking brighter than they have been.
Come on get happy (Shout it now)
Don't be afraid to express your happiness and excitement openly.
The Lord is waiting to take your hand
This line references a religious belief that a higher power is ready and willing to guide you towards happiness.
(There's no one who can doubt it now)
With all the apparent positive changes happening, there's no reason to be skeptical.
We're going to the promise land
This is a metaphorical reference to a future of comfort, happiness, and prosperity.
Soon your cares will all be gone
You won't have to worry about anything soon because of the positive changes and improvements underway.
There'll be no more from now on
Your troubles and worries are a thing of the past.
Happy times (Happy times)
This line just adds emphasis to the celebration of the positive changes occurring.
Happy nights (Happy nights)
Another line emphasizing the joyous feeling of the current situation.
Happy days
The refrain of the song, reinforcing the message that good times have returned.
Are here again
This line caps off the song with a final confirmation that positive changes have been made and happy days are, indeed, once again a part of our reality.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management
Written by: Jack Yellen, Milton Ager
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nyle Hotaling
The best work of an Artistic type! Also, quite creative... superb! The Artistic Type generally makes Ten, from an enneagram of Nine Types- a Ten Month calendar is a completely legitimate idea; Ten does not work well for Days, neither for Year Cycles. The Second month of such a calendar would be of the Artistic Type; of Ten Elements, Pinewood Tree, following White Water month. Third, Black Earth, the element, etc.... What is very interesting about the concept of a Ten Month calendar is that the amount of days each month makes another Scale interpretable; with Twelve or Thirteen months, the Archetypical Scale is most correct, to interpret on- actually, the standard order, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, etc. is best for periods of time greater than 30 days; for entire Years, and grand aeons as well. 30 day months actually respond better to a different order of those words, plus the seasonal names- for example, the second, called Capricorn would best be called Spring. The 36 day months however are correct to interpret on the Hierarchical or Primal World scale, more sublime. Ten months, the First beginning right at Yule, Five extra days right before. The slight time difference makes this so... Current month is around the Sixth, or so, by sidereal...
Nyle Hotaling
One of a handful of Wonders Of The World, this...
Nyle Hotaling
This would be great for "A Charlie Brown Late Yule Season"; "Oimelq Is Acumin' In"; Episode 12 "The Transfiguration of Charlie Brown" (or "Verklaerter Charlie"!!