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
Let There Be Love
George Shearing Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let there be oysters under the sea
Let there be wind and occasional rain
Chilli con carne and sparkling champagne
Let there be birds to sing in the trees
Someone to bless me, whenever I sneeze
Let there be cuckoos, a lark and a dove
Let there be cuckoos, a lark and a dove
But first of all please, let there be love
Umm, love, ooh, love, let there be love
The lyrics to George Shearing's song Let There Be Love are all about celebrating life and the things that make it special. The opening line, “Let there be you, let there be me,” sets the tone for the song, which is ultimately a celebration of love. The following lines, "Let there be oysters under the sea, let there be wind and occasional rain, Chilli con carne and sparkling champagne," highlight some of the pleasures of life that we can enjoy with the ones we love.
The second verse goes on to ask for more of nature’s beauties, such as birds to sing in the trees and the blessing of someone to say “bless you” when we sneeze. As these requests build up, it becomes clear that the singer is ultimately asking for love - “But first of all please, let there be love.”
The final line repeats the idea of love, begging for it to be present in every aspect of life. The way Shearing and his collaborator Ian Grant build up to the final request for love is clever, as the song starts with describing the little luxuries in life and builds up to the ultimate luxury - one that can't be bought - love.
Line by Line Meaning
Let there be you, let there be me
May there be you and me in this world.
Let there be oysters under the sea
May there be oysters under the sea in this world.
Let there be wind and occasional rain
May there be wind and an occasional rain in this world.
Chilli con carne and sparkling champagne
May there be chili con carne and sparkling champagne to make our lives flavorful and sparkling.
Let there be birds to sing in the trees
May there be birds to sing sweet melodies in the trees.
Someone to bless me, whenever I sneeze
May there be someone to bless me whenever I sneeze.
Let there be cuckoos, a lark and a dove
May there be cuckoos, a lark, and a dove to add to the beauty of this world.
But first of all please, let there be love
But most importantly, let there be love which is the foundation of happiness.
Let there be cuckoos, a lark and a dove
May there be cuckoos, a lark, and a dove to add to the beauty of this world.
But first of all please, let there be love
But most importantly, let there be love which is the foundation of happiness.
Umm, love, ooh, love, let there be love
Love, oh love, let there be love to make this world a better place.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOEL SHAPIRO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@hahe3598
"Let There Be Love"
Let there be you,
Let there be me.
Let there be oysters
Under the sea.
Let there be wind,
An occasional rain.
Chile con carne,
Sparkling champagne
Let there be birds
To sing in the trees,
Someone to bless me
Whenever I sneeze.
Let there be cuckoos,
A lark and a dove,
But first of all, please
Let there be love.
[Interlude]
Let there be cuckoos,
A lark and a dove,
But first of all, please
Let there be love...
Hmmm umm...love
Hmmm umm...love
Let there be love.
@hiramyawicks1287
Love this with Shearing at the piano
@Socrates5210
60 years. Damn.
@Ceeby
My Parents played every Sunday while Mum was cooking. I'll never forget it. I love it. 🎶🎶🎶
@VeronicaHernandez-yp9jh
Que hermoso!!! Viva el amor!! Greetings from 🇲🇽
@bobcharles2683
Perfection.
@greglee2634
Had this album during my last 3 years of college. With extreme insomnia, I used this album to fall asleep at night.
@MyJerseybean
I love all Nat King Coles work , his voice was unique , but this partnership with Goerge Shearing is so special - Let There be Love is a superb song that with the piano playing and orchestra just ' Floats , its Superb. Love It .
@thegardener4395
How cool is that intro before Nat starts to sing. Does it for me.
@autumnleaves2766
What a great pairing. Just superb. The velvety voice of Nat King Cole and the elegant playing of George Shearing.
@althejazz
As well as being a great singer Nat Cole was also a great pianist too. It would have been the icing on the cake to have these two playing piano together.