'i
James Carroll Booker III (1939-1983) was classicalh trainecl. ;r childprodigy, and a virtuosic player whose performances combined eienenrs olstride, blues, and classical styles. Booker was able *plal- anr rhing ir..m poptunes to classical pieces to jazzstandards. The songsBir hrs rec.-,rcirnss includeChopins "Minute Waltz," "Eleanor Rigby," "King of the Road. '\1:i;rgi-ieha."
"Goodnight, Irene" and "He's Got the Whole World in Hls Hanis
Booker made his recording debut aL age 15. As a young man he recorded"ghost" piano tracks for Fats Domino. Booker was called br ::s :..rs "ihe
piano prince of New Orleans." But he was a man of bi:ar:e e.;e :tncitieswhose life was a study in struggle. In re[rospect, he mar-ha.,-e :een :tentalh-i11. At some point he lost his left eye. There are vari.ous Sitr:eS :':r.-ui hori-this happened- a street fight, a prison brawl, or a dinr-neec.e H-: :-:; severe
and cocaine, exhibited erraticlehavior, spent time in -\ng1-,,; P:-s.-:t..nd diedemergency ward of Charity Hos'ffia|.
Booker's version of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" fr..nr :.s -,:-::u "\eu'Livel" is Lypically virtuosic.
First, note Booker's stride pattern in his left hand. He ..,-'ns:s:.n:,i :iars an octa\-e. an octave plusanother interval, or a tenth on beats 1 and 3. Then he :.::'..- :-..:.s ::e ntrtes c'rr beats 1 and 3 withpartial chords on the preceding upbeats.
In the right hand he thickens the melody u-ith octaves. b,locii chu.rds spanning an octa\-e. and gracenotes. Not only that, he elaborates on the melodr. Figure 5 sht-ru's rhe song! composed melody andhow Booker elaborates on it in the first eight bars. He ct-,niinues in thts manner throughout the piece.
o
=I
=O
problems mth heroinai the age of 43 in the
Orleans Piano Wizard
U, Figure 6 -Melodic cotnparison
TRACK 6Standard melodv
\
(,-:--.
l
There's no introduction. Booker simply plays through the first chorus of the song.
Figure 7 - "On the Sunrry Side of the Street," first chorus
rJr.=125 (j-l=l ))
s."ti
eh Bbam Fm7
0n the Sunny Side of the Street
-,- : cy Dorothy Fields
V j.. by Jimmy McHugh
:.:..-:ght@ 1930 Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., lnc., NewYorkand Cotton Club Publishing torthe USA
-.::,-ghl Benewed:. : :rrts for Cotton Club Publishing Controlled and Administered by EMI April Music lnc.
-:-ational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
--: cy Permission
G7
ilJ',bt-a't
t
li
Cm1
13
7
eb ebai- Fm7
G1
-*
Fm7
i2frt
Cm7
sb Bbaim Pmz
BbmT
Cm7
eb Bbaim Fm;Fm7
\ear the end of the song Booker enters with his vocals. He begins to play rolling octaves with his lefthand, rocking the beat. The ending bit, starting atbar 15, is some campy fun.
Figure 8 - "On the Suwry Side oJ the Street," ending \i
rir.=125 (r'J=l ))
nev - er ev - er had an - oth - er cent,
sun - ny, sun - ny side the sffeet, -
still real - ly would-n't be so wor-
the sun - ny,
;F;,'bout the sun - ny \:
xbtbs
cnlnbehp ,tblbo ebmle GmBbvi'G .{2-29 .{2m .\ E)'B) DbsEzs E i,G +'tt\o ebmlecmleb ehp