My boss used to be keyboardist in a band, and he lent me his WP and EM1 fake books, plus Beatles Complete. I looked it all over, marked down some notes and handed them to my wife, who has fantastic taste when it comes to music and movies. Out of all of the collection, she chose 12 Beatles songs and about 10 total from the other two books. That's just the perfect number of songs to add to my program for the future (though I plan to add more classical and more '70s - '80s songs). With a Valentine's gig coming (and a lot of wedding-related gigs a normal part of life for any musician), I was happy to see she picked out a lot of love songs, many of which I would have overlooked, but now I can see how well they will fit in. Here are some of the titles I plan to start working on soon:
* So Far Away * You Light Up My Life * Look Of Love * You've Got A Friend * Spanish Eyes * Strangers In The Night * The Way We Were (I added the last three; Spanish Eyes was a request, though I don't know if I've got the right version)
* I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song * Time In A Bottle * Could I Have This Dance * Woman * Waiting For A Girl Like You (I added the last one)
*The Long And Winding Road * Ringo's Theme (This Boy) * And I Love Her * If I Fell * I'm Looking Through You * In My Life * Here, There And Everywhere * Penny Lane * Across The Universe * Blackbird * I Will * Let It Be * Birthday (I added the last one)
Pretty much all of the songs date from about 1968 to 1982, with lots of early '70s stuff. What it all amounts to is a lot of music for me to transcribe (by hand) and arrange for cello solo, since the original melodies are in treble (not bass) clef. Also, I am arranging for a solo instrument, so I need to consider what elements to include from the other parts, to help capture the hook of each song. This should be fun, since my favorite songs are the kind that really emote, and I sense most of these do that. But oh boy do I have my work cut out for me!
