Donaldson attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro in the early 1940s. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was trained at the Great Lakes bases in Chicago, where he was introduced to bop music in the lively club scene there. At the war's conclusion, he returned to Greensboro, where he worked club dates with the Rhythm Vets, a combo composed of A and T students who had served in the U.S. Navy. The band recorded the soundtrack to a musical comedy featurette, "Pitch a Boogie Woogie," in Greenville, North Carolina, in the summer of 1947. The movie had a limited run at black audience theatres in 1948 but its production company, Lord-Warner Pictures, folded and never made another film. "Pitch a Boogie Woogie" was subsequently restored by the American Film Institute in 1985 and re-premiered on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville the following year. Donaldson and the surviving members of the Vets performed a reunion concert after the film's showing. In the documentary made on "Pitch" by UNC-TV, "Boogie in Black and White", Donaldson and his musical cohorts recall the film's making—he originally believed that he had played clarinet on the soundtrack. A short piece of concert footage from a gig in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is included in the documentary.
Donaldson's first jazz recordings were with the Charlie Singleton Orchestra in 1950 and then with bop emissaries Milt Jackson and Thelonious Monk in 1952, and he participated in several small groups with other jazz luminaries such as trumpeter Blue Mitchell, pianist Horace Silver and drummer Art Blakey.
In 1953, he also recorded sessions with the trumpet virtuoso Clifford Brown, and Philly Joe Jones.
He was a member of Art Blakey's Quintet and appeared on some of their best regarded albums, including the two albums recorded at Birdland in February 1954 Night at Birdland.
Donaldson has recorded in the bop, hard bop, and soul jazz genres. For many years his pianist was Herman Foster.
He was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on October 11, 2012.
The Shadow of Your Smile
Lou Donaldson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you have gone
Will color all my dreams
And light the dawn
Look into my eyes my love and see
All the lovely things you are to me
It was far, too high
A teardrop kissed your lips
And so did I
Now when I remember spring
All the joys that love can bring
I will be remembering
The shadow of your smile
The Shadow of Your Smile is a song that has an underlying theme of heartache and bitterness towards a past lover. The lyrics speak to the idea that even though the person is gone, their memory will continue to haunt the singer in the form of a constant reminder of their former happiness. The concept of a "wistful little star" serves as an extended metaphor for the unfulfilled dreams that the singer had with their past lover. The star was too high, indicating that the dreams were unrealistic and entirely unattainable. The reference to a teardrop kissing the lover's lips is a metaphor for the sadness and disappointment that came with the unrealized hopes.
The chorus is where the sentiment of the song comes forward, acknowledging that even though the relationship ended, the singer still holds the memory close. The shadow of the lover's smile will colour all the singer's dreams and "light the dawn", which means that the memory will continue to transcend time and space, even into the future. The song ends with the singer recognising that they will always remember the past relationship and the joys it brought.
Line by Line Meaning
The shadow of your smile
The memory of your beautiful smile
When you have gone
After you've left my life
Will color all my dreams
Will influence my dreams in a positive way
And light the dawn
And make my tomorrow's morning bright
Look into my eyes my love and see
When you gaze at me, see all I feel about you
All the lovely things you are to me
All the admiration and affection I have for you
Our wistful little star
Our dreams and hopes that are unrealistic
It was far, too high
But our goals were too far-fetched and unachievable
A teardrop kissed your lips
A tear ran down your cheek and touched your lips
And so did I
I kissed you there as well
Now when I remember spring
When I recall the past happy moments
All the joys that love can bring
All the happiness that love brings
I will be remembering
The memory that will last forever
The shadow of your smile
Your beautiful smile etched in my mind
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL WEBSTER, JOHNNY MARDEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
JACQUILLO2
beautiful playing, and great ballad !!
joemoney1
A “Hauntingly" phenomenal love song of all time-- right up there with "I have dreamed" (King and I) AND "Theme from Love Story" impeccably put across by the great Andy Williams, and finally "Speak Softly Love:" NEVER sung better than Williams . SPINE TINGLING
Константин Саватеев
великолепно
Mizé Fernandes
love it !
Elvira Chepynoga
Jazz from Lou.......it`s memorably
mizpahboy
My chance to work my cha cha ( philly style )
Vince J
☝️
Nick Simos
Eξοχο
Denis Njoku
Lou is always impressive.
mattyp3400
ok am i in a mall or porno?