A jazz standard by Toots Thielemans is "Bluesette," where he used whistling and guitar in unison. He worked both as a bandleader and as a sideman, including many projects with composer/arranger Quincy Jones. He performed on many film soundtracks, such as Midnight Cowboy, Cinderella Liberty, Jean de Florette, The Sugarland Express, The Yakuza, Turkish Delight, the 1972 version of The Getaway, French Kiss, Dunderklumpen!, and in various television programs, including Sesame Street, whose closing credits (which did not list him accordingly) featured his performance, on harmonica, of the show's theme, the Belgian television series Witse, and in the Netherlands, for the Baantjer series.
Thielemans started his career as a guitar player. In 1949 he joined a jam session in Paris with Sidney Bechet, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Max Roach and others. In 1951 he went on tour with Bobbejaan Schoepen.
He moved to the United States in 1952 where he was a member of Charlie Parker's All-Stars. He played and recorded with names like Ella Fitzgerald, The George Shearing Quintet, Quincy Jones, Bill Evans, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Astrud Gilberto, Elis Regina and others.
A jazz standard by Toots Thielemans is "Bluesette" where he used whistling and guitar in unison. Bluesette became a major 1962 world-wide hit for him and this still much beloved and requested piece has been re-recorded by him and commercially released on records/CDs many times over both in various studio versions and live on-stage performances performed in several different countries. His trademark harmonica playing can also be heard in movie scores such as Breakfast at Tiffany's (where his plaintive "Moon River" solo in the opening scene brilliantly establishes the film's mood of romance noir), Midnight Cowboy, Bagdad Café, French Kiss, and in various TV programs like Sesame Street, the Belgian TV series Witse and the Dutch TV series Baantjer. His professional whistling and harmonica playing can be heard on Old Spice radio and TV commercials that have been made over the years. In 1983 he contributed to Billy Joel's album An Innocent Man, and his trademark harmonica can be heard on "Leave a Tender Moment Alone."
In the 90s Thielemans embarked on theme projects that included world music. In 1998 he released the a French flavoured album titled "Chez Toots" that included the Les Moulins De Mon Coeur (The Windmills of My Heart) featuring guest singer Johnny Mathis. This CD continues to sell well.
Today Jean "Toots" Thielemans remains a strong favorite among jazz aficionados and professional critics alike. His music CDs continue to delight (many of which were recorded in the 2000s) and have introduced him to entire new generations of keen fans.
Apart from his popularity as an accomplished musician, he is well liked for his modesty and kind demeanor. In his native Belgium, he is also popular for describing himself as a Brussels "ket", which means "street kid" in old Brussels slang. He received a joint honorary doctorate from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and in 2001 Thielemans was ennobled a baron by King Albert II of Belgium.
In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 20th place, in the Walloon version he ended 44th place.
Thielemans may have had a significant impact on The Beatles, (John Lennon in particular), during the group's pre-fame formative years. When performing in a 1959 Hamburg Germany with the pre-fame Beatles, John Lennon (sometimes with fellow Beatle George Harrison in tow) would often go over to the club where Toots was performing (at a noontime venue) as a member of The George Shearing Quintet. Lennon evidently was taken with Toot's harmonica playing and also for the guitar Toots was playing, an electric American made Rickenbacker with a short play neck. Based on the sound Lennon heard, he decided to purchase a natural alder wood "alderglo" colored three pickup Rickenbacker 1958 model 325 Capri guitar with a short scale as former Beatle and friend, George Harrison would recall to various interviewers many years later. (This iconic famous guitar often fondly referred to as the "Holy Grail" of all guitars, which was customized and tinkered with many times over the years by Lennon including being re-painted to jetglo black in September 1962, is the very same guitar that he played on The Beatles first and third appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show during February 1964).
Toots Thielemans died peacefully in his sleep on August 22, 2016 after being hospitalized for a fall a month earlier.
I Let Song Go Out Of My Heart
Toots Thielemans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was the sweetest melody
I know I lost heaven 'cause you were the song
Since you and I have drifted apart
Life doesn't mean a thing to me
Please come back, sweet music, I know I was wrong
You know that we were meant to be more than just friends, just friends
I let a song go out of my heart
Believe me, darlin', when I say
I won't know sweet music until you return some day
I let a song go out of my heart
Believe me, darlin', when I say
I won't know sweet music until you return some day
The song, "I Let a Song go out of my Heart" by Toots Thielemans, is a sorrowful expression of remorse for a past love. The lyrics convey the regret and heartache that the singer feels after letting their loved one slip away. The metaphor of a song is used to represent the love they shared, which was once the sweetest melody in the singer's life. The singer acknowledges that their love for the other person was like heaven itself, but it is now lost forever. The chorus of the song pleads for their former love to come back, as the singer recognizes that they were wrong to let them go, and that they need music to feel alive again. The lyrics are a symbol of how music can express profound human emotion, especially the experience of love and loss.
The song is about romantic regret caused by self-sabotage in a relationship. It is about allowing one's own fears and mistakes to destroy a once-beautiful union. The song is heartfelt and bittersweet, as the singer is aware that the person they love will not be coming back anytime soon, but they still have hope for a future with them. The lyrics resonate with anyone who has ever lost someone they deeply cared for and realized too late what they had lost.
Line by Line Meaning
I let a song go out of my heart
I allowed a beautiful melody to disappear from my mind and heart
It was the sweetest melody
That tune was the most pleasant and charming sound I've ever experienced
I know I lost heaven 'cause you were the song
Because you were the inspiration behind that song, without you it lost its magic and lost its essence
Since you and I have drifted apart
Now that we are no longer together, everything feels empty and meaningless
Life doesn't mean a thing to me
Nothing is important to me when you are not in my life
Please come back, sweet music, I know I was wrong
I realize my mistake now, and I want you to return to me so we can create more beautiful memories together
Am I too late to make amends?
I wonder if I missed the opportunity to fix what went wrong between us?
You know that we were meant to be more than just friends, just friends
You and I had a deeper connection than mere friendship and I must have missed the signs.
Believe me, darlin', when I say
Trust me, my love, it’s the truth when I say
I won't know sweet music until you return someday
Life has no joy or beauty without you and your presence, and it’s only when you return that I will feel complete
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: DUKE ELLINGTON, HENRY NEMO, JOHN REDMOND, IRVING MILLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@IsuckYoungBlood
Awesome!
@skaleewag
Nice. Thanks.