Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (Brussels, Belgium, April 2… Read Full Bio ↴Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (Brussels, Belgium, April 29, 1922 - August 22, 2016), known as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was known for his harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistling skills.
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.

Once In A While
Toots Thielemans Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Once in a while will you try to give
One little thought to me
Though someone else may be
Nearer your heart?

Once in a while will you dream
Of the moments I shared with you
Moments before we two

Drifted apart?

In love's smoldering ember
One spark may remain
If love still can remember
That spark may burn again

I know that I'll be contented
With yesterday's memory
Knowing you think of me
Once in a while

In love's smoldering ember
One spark may remain
If love still can remember
The spark may burn again

I know that I'll be contented
With yesterday's memory

Knowing you think of me
Once in a while

Overall Meaning

The song "Once in a While" by Toots Thielemans is a beautiful ballad about a past love that still lingers on the mind of the singer. The lyrics speak of the hope that even if the person has moved on and found someone else, they might still think of the singer every once in a while. The singer asks if the person they are singing about will try to give one little thought to them, even if someone else is closer to their heart. The lyrics are contemplative and bittersweet, conveying the longing for a love that once was.

The second verse of the song speaks of dreaming about the moments the singer and the person they are singing about shared together. The singer remembers the moments before they drifted apart, and wonders if the other person remembers them too. The chorus speaks of a spark that may still remain in the smoldering ember of their love, and if love can remember that spark, it may burn again.

The lyrics are simple yet powerful, and the melody of the song adds to the emotional impact of the lyrics. The song is a beautiful tribute to love that once was, and the hope that it might still be remembered and rekindled.

Line by Line Meaning

Once in a while will you try to give
Will you make an effort occasionally?

One little thought to me
Think of me, though just fleetingly

Though someone else may be
Even if someone else occupies your heart right now

Nearer your heart?
Even if they are closer to your heart than I am

Once in a while will you dream
Will you dream about us from time to time?

Of the moments I shared with you
Of the times we spent together

Moments before we two
The moments just before we drifted apart

Drifted apart?
When we went our separate ways?

In love's smoldering ember
When love has cooled down

One spark may remain
There may be a little bit of love left

If love still can remember
If it still remembers the love we once shared