The Bad Piano Player
Episodes
195 episodes
Songs of Addiction
This week, for episode 195, the bad piano player has a group of songs that deal with addiction. We cover alcoholism, drug addiction, and other pernicious afflictions of the lifelong cravers. Tune in for tunes, chord progressions and sober refle...
Grant Clarke
This week, the bad piano player presents a lyricist who died young, but not before producing some of the finest lyrics in the American songbook. Tune in to hear Grant Clarke's words, and some music, too, of course.
Jimmy McHugh
This week, the bad piano player features famed tunesmith Jimmy McHugh! Composer of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love “ which we did in our season one Dorothy Fields episode. A full slate of McHugh melodious on tap! Tune in and drink deep!
Victor Young
This week, the bad piano player finally gets around to featuring the great Victor Young, song and score composer. Songs you know and songs you may not know. Tune in for both and be dazzled by Victor.
Mostly Forgotten 1940s Jazz Songs
This Week, The Bad Piano Player does an episode of slightly obscure jazz songs of the 1940s. We call it, Mostly Forgotten Jazz Songs Of The 1940s. Songs, Stories, a little Duke Ellington, a little Sunny Skylar, and a whole lot of diminished cho...
Billboard Bottoms of the 70s
This week, the bad piano player goes back to the 1970s, and finds some classics hiding in the cellar of the Billboard top 100. Hope you can drop by for the memories. Tunes ahoy!
Baby Songs II
This week, the bad piano player returns to a topic that got the most downloads last season. And I’m not just doing it to enhance my popularity in Taiwan. Please enjoy Baby Songs Two!
Harry Warren IIII
The Bad Piano Player returns to a stalwart, a composer everybody knows and nobody knows with our fourth Harry Warren episode. Seven fabulous songs from the master of melody and progression, with Lyrics by Johnny Burke, Gus Kahn, Al Dubin, Ira G...
Lew Brown
This week the bad piano player features lyricist Lew Brown, born Louis Brownstein in Odessa , Russia in 1893. He estimated that he had collaborated on more than seven thousand songs in his career. We’re learning a small percentage of those for ...
Gus Kahn II
This week the bad piano player rights a great wrong and finally does a second Gus Kahn episode. The lyricist extraordinaire, who worked with literally every major popular song composer from 1915 to the early 1940s. First featured in season 1,&n...
Clarence Williams -Blues 2
This week, the bad piano player does his second-ever Blues episode, featuring composer Clarence Williams, 1893-1965. Six of his best, five provided by our special friend Norman. Tune in for some blues history and some great blues played by a ba...
Cy Coleman On Broadway
This Fortnight Tuesday, the bad piano player returns to Broadway to feature a great composer who was active on the Great White Way for more than forty years. Tune in for the Cy Coleman story and stay for the songs.
Grab Bag IIII
This week, the bad piano player pulls together six songs from the (kind of) miscellaneous file and makes a wonderful episode out of them. We call it Grab Bag Four. Tune in and see if you can spot your favorite!
George Meyer
This week, the bad piano player goes even further back into obscure composers of the American songbook, to find George Meyer 1884-1959, born in Boston and wrote a lot of music, including the classic For Me And My Gal, which, you guessed it, we ...
Tom Waits 4 No Man
This week, the bad piano player finally gives a songwriter a rare fourth episode. We had to find six really depressing Tom Waits songs, but luckily, he wrote a lot for us to choose from. No repeats fourth T Waits. Tune in and wallow in the Brec...
Gordon & Revel 2 (3)
This week the Bad Piano Player revisits Mack Gordon, the cigar chomping, fun loving American lyricist, and Harry Revel, the reserved British composer, for the third time. Are all the songs classics? Well if they aren't, kids, they OUGHT to be. ...
The Boswell Sisters
This week, the bad piano player features another famous sister act, the New Orleans close-harmony trio of Vet, Connie and Martha, the Boswell Sisters. Their unique sound - well, we won't be able to reproduce that - had a profound effect on the ...
Pete Wendling
To open Season 7, (!!!) The bad piano player and the improving singer brings you songs by the great unknown American composer Pete Wendling. Composer of Yacka Hula Hickey Dula. Which means, Tune In! in Hawaiian. Welcome one, welcome all! See yo...
Christmas
The Bad Piano Player presents a special Christmas episode just for you. And you, and you, and you, too. I checked the list twice and you all qualify! We feature Holiday songs you may not know, some you might, and old-friend composers and lyrici...
Season Finale: Hoagy Carmichael
For our Season Six Finale, the bad piano player and the improving singer revisit the composer Hoagy Carmichael, learning six songs never before done on the podcast. Some you might know, I'm guessing most you won't. Thanks for a wonderful season...
Dana Suesse
This week, the Bad Piano Player features the Kansas City Mozart, the vaudeville teenage improviser, the composer with the mostest, sometimes referred to as the "Female Gershwin". Finally in her own episode, the great Dana Suesse. Tune in to hea...
Sammy Fain
After featuring him in a team episode (with Irving Kahal) and several times with single songs in other episodes, Sammy Fain finally gets his very own episode. Six of the best from this incredibly versatile, completely self-taught composer. Tune...
Not Hits - Hits!
This fortnight Tuesday the Bad Piano Player does a special episode of songs that lay dormant for many years before bursting onto the charts. We call it Not Hits -- Hits! Tune in for the discoveries.