Harry James was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a traveling circus. By age 10 he was taking trumpet lessons from his father. His father had him on a very strict practicing schedule every day. He was given one page to learn out of the Arban's book (a trumpet drill book) every day and could not do anything until he learned that page.
In 1931 the family settled in Beaumont, Texas and James began playing with local dance bands. James joined the nationally popular Ben Pollack in 1935. At the start of 1937 he left Pollack to join Benny Goodman's orchestra, where he stayed through 1938.
In February of 1939 Harry James debuted his own big band in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He continued touring with the band into the 1980s. His was the first "name band" to employ vocalist Frank Sinatra, in 1939. In 1943 he married actress Betty Grable.
His first wife was ex B.Goodman singer.,Louise Tobin.
You can hear his trumpet playing in the 1950 film Young Man with a Horn, dubbing Kirk Douglas. His recording of "I'm Beginning to See the Light" appears in the motion picture My Dog Skip (2000). James recorded many popular records and appeared in many Hollywood movies.
In 1983, James was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, but he continued to work, playing his last professional job on 26 June 1983 in Los Angeles just nine days before his death in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It's The Talk Of The Town
Harry James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We were more than sweethearts,
It's so hard to understand.
Don't know why it happened,
Don't know how it started,
Why should we be strangers,
After all we planned.
I can't show my face,
Can't go anyplace,
People stop an' stare,
It's so hard to bear,
Everybody knows you left me,
It's the talk of the town
Every time we meet,
My heart skips a beat,
We don't stop to speak,
'Though it's just a week,
Everybody knows you left me,
It's the talk of the town
We send out invitations,
To friends and relations,
Announcing our weddin' day
Friends and our relations,
Gave congratulations,
How can you face them?
What can you say?
Let's make up sweetheart,
We can't stay apart,
Don't let foolish pride,
Keep you from my side,
How can love like ours be ended?
It's the talk of the town
How can you face them?
What can you say?
Let's make up sweetheart,
We can't stay apart,
Don't let foolish pride,
Keep you from my side,
How can love like ours be ended?
It's the talk of the town, hm
It's the talk of the town.
The lyrics to Harry James & His Music Makers' song "It's the Talk of the Town" describe a broken relationship and the difficulty of moving on. The singer reminisces about how they were more than just lovers and partners - they had made plans for a future together. However, something went wrong and they are now strangers. The pain of the separation is tangible as the singer feels like they cannot show their face or go out without people staring and gossiping about their situation.
The second verse reveals that the relationship was serious enough that they had planned a wedding and even sent out invitations. Friends and family had already congratulated them, further emphasizing the depth of their commitment. The singer pleads with their former partner to make up and not let foolish pride keep them apart, recognizing the strength of their love and the pain of its end.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of heartbreak and ostracism as the singer struggles to move forward from a relationship that was once full of promise and how it has now become the talk of the town.
Line by Line Meaning
We were more than lovers,
Our relationship went beyond just being lovers
We were more than sweethearts,
We had a deeper connection than just being sweethearts
It's so hard to understand.
I'm struggling to comprehend why things turned out the way they did
Don't know why it happened,
I don't know what went wrong
Don't know how it started,
I'm not sure how our problems began
Why should we be strangers,
It doesn't make sense for us to be strangers
After all we planned.
We had made so many plans for our future together
I can't show my face,
I'm too ashamed to face anyone
Can't go anyplace,
I feel like I'm trapped and can't go anywhere
People stop an' stare,
Whenever I'm in public, people stare at me
It's so hard to bear,
It's really difficult to deal with
Everybody knows you left me,
Everyone is aware that you left me
Every time we meet,
Whenever we cross paths
My heart skips a beat,
I still have feelings for you
We don't stop to speak,
We avoid talking to each other
'Though it's just a week,
Even though it's only been a short time
We send out invitations,
We invited people to our wedding
To friends and relations,
To our friends and family members
Announcing our weddin' day
Informing them of the day we were getting married
Friends and our relations,
Our friends and family members
Gave congratulations,
They wished us well
How can you face them?
How can you face those same people now?
What can you say?
What are you going to tell them?
Let's make up sweetheart,
Let's reconcile and get back together
We can't stay apart,
We can't keep living our lives without each other
Don't let foolish pride,
Don't let your pride get in the way
Keep you from my side,
Prevent you from being with me
How can love like ours be ended?
How could something as strong as our love come to an end?
It's the talk of the town
Our situation is the topic of conversation everywhere
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION
Written by: AL J NEIBURG, JERRY LEVINSON, MARTY SYMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jan Procházka
on All or Nothing at All
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