February 2025 - "Old Fashioned Love"
James Price Johnson ca. 1938
In honor of both Valentine's Day and Black History Month, this month's free tab is an arrangement of the 20th century song “Old Fashioned Love”, composed by James P. Johnson in 1925. He originally wrote it to be included in the Broadway musical “Runnin’ Wild”. Another of his compositions from that same production became part of the essential soundtrack of the so-called "Jazz Age" of the 1920s and launched a new dance craze: "The Charleston".
Johnson’s innovative “Stride Piano” style played a key role in the transition from ragtime to jazz during the period known as the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement in the 1920s that celebrated African American cultural, artistic, and intellectual achievements. “Stride Piano” was a more rhythmic and improvisational evolution of ragtime. Johnson's style was both technically impressive and irresistibly captivating.
Johnson's influence extended far beyond his own compositions. His innovative techniques and musicality helped to shape the sound of jazz and solidify its place in American culture. He also inspired a generation of jazz pianists, including the likes of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Count Bassie, Art Tatum, and Thelonius Monk.
The lyrics for “Old Fashioned Love” were written by Richard Cecil McPherson, better known as Cecil Mack. He was a talented lyricist who collaborated with many prominent composers of his time. He and Johnson first worked together during the “Runnin’ Wild” production, and went on to write many other hit songs together. Mack eventually co-founded the seminal music publishing company Gotham-Attucks Music which played a key role in promoting African American artists and composers, ensuring that their work reached wider audiences.
“Old Fashioned Love” has been recorded over the years by such artists as the Mills Brothers, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Roy Acuff, Lena Horne, Merle Haggard, Bing Crosby, and Willie Nelson. Here is a link to a YouTube video of the song performed by the Nashville-based western swing/country/bluegrass band known as 50 Shades of Hay:
I’ve provided 2 versions of the arrangement, one of which makes use of the 1+ fret for some interesting variations.
Enjoy!
In music and friendship,
—Tull
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