Jimmy suffered a stroke not long after doing this TV special and had to stop performing. I had worked as his opening act in 1967, 1968 and 1969 when Sonny King wasn't available. I went into the Army in 1969 and Jimmy found a way to call me on a ham radio hookup on my birthday when I was in Vietnam. Every year on my birthday and at Christmas until his death in 1980, there were cards and phone calls from him and Margie. I loved him very much, he was like an extra grandfather to me.
Yes, the days of heart felt music can only be found in the past. Thank God we have the recordings to enjoy and reminisce about those wonderful years of civility, true romance, and love. It's sad that most of our young people will never know those things.
I know I can always count on you for sharing the good stuff. That's one of the main reasons I'm glad God put us in each others lives. To quote Bob Hope: "Thanks for the memories!"
What a nice man he was! I remember having breakfast in the coffee shop at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas in the late 60's, and he was sitting at the next table. He could not have been more personable to me and my family. I was probably about 12 at the time. Just a perfect gentleman!!!
I grew up as a child loving Jimmy Durante because of my grandparents. I loved them so much that I listened to their music and always took their advise on anything they told me. They made me wise and thoughtful beyond my age. Grandparents are the greatest gift that God could have ever given me. He took my Mom too sone, but, I had my grandparents untill I was 30 and 31. They left a mark on my life for eternity.
When Jimmy had the stroke the Enquirer printed a story (every so often they did something nice) asking readers to send Jimmy a get well card and they had a picture of him in his wheelchair with a room of his house packed with mailbags. He received a few hundred thousand cards letters and gifts from people who loved him
A prime example of the compelling nature of some of these old stars. One shot, no set, just Jimmy singing to the camera (us). This is one of his last performances before he suffered a stroke and retired from performing. He died in 1980. One of a kind.
This is what singing is all about. It's not about high tech, special effects, or anything like that. It's all about the heart of the matter. Jimmy Durante shared his humor, his heart and himself with his audience. :)
My Dad and I love dot watch old musicals, they were on tv all the time. It was my best time to spend with him. My dad used to love Durante and he used to sing this to me. It makes me cry now to remember,my Dad passed away 22 months ago at 98 years old. Durante was an original, so natural.
...I still use his pronunciation of 'commode' in my daily lexicon...he reminisced about growing up in a tenement where there was only one 'terlet 'on each floor...and that pronunciation has stuck with me for about 60 of my 71 years on the earth...
I have this original album and in the liner notes it says when Jimmy was in Vegas he always closed his show with this song. And a hush would fall over the room from the audience,waiters,busboys etc while Jimmy sang...
I was a young kid the first time I saw and heard Jimmy sing this song. I seem to think it was on the Ed Sullivan show. Jimmy sat at the edge of the stage illuminated by a solitary spotlight. As young as I was the song by this old man made me feel what he was feeling. I guess there was something in the timber of his voice and his expressions that project true pathos. He and those of his generation performers were true great and we will never see the likes of them again.
+Joe Cofone You and I have similar memories. Something about Jimmy, I can't verbalize it, but through that TV screen he captured my heart. And though I've now heard his rendition, countless times, Jimmy can still get to me with "September Song."
Thanx for posting. I saw this special when I was 16: at the ,time I thought that this part of the program was the best part. This 1972 TV special was an all night program honoring the 25th anniversary of commercial TV -- or something like that. Various important figures early in TV history received awards from GE for their contributions to the medium. Not long after this performance, Durante suffered the severe stroke that left him in a wheelchair until he died in 1980.
Lovely Lovely Lovely man. Look at some of his other stuff. Look at "Only Got A One Room Home", for example. It brings tears to your eyes and he got a standing ovation. Look also at "Bluebird of Happiness", which also brings tears to your eyes. You can go on and on because jimmy was wonderful.
Look carefully at Jimmy's eyes during the piano pauses...no wonder he was so beloved in his time! It's all there...his feelings, his thoughts...look carefully and you will see what I'm talking about...
it was just normal to watch tv when jimmy durante was on. everyone should watch the movie "the man who came to dinner" you can see who durante's persona was in the movies. i bet he had to be fun to be around in real life. thanks for posting.
This version of Jimmy singing September Song is by far the best of any previous recording, purely because the accompaniment is a piano trio, there is no orchestra, there is no heavenly choir singing loudly in the background, just a simple trio, and it's just a pity that the bass player is using an electric guitar bass, a better sound would have been produced by a contrabass , but that is a small point . This version is deeply moving regardless of those points.
In retrospect, we 40- and 50-somethings were greatly privileged to be born into the final phase of the greatest era of show business, when the greats of the vaudeville era of the 1920s and of the pre-WWII 20th century were still regulars on national television, before they began dying off in the late 1970s into the '80s, etc. The pyrotechnical singers of today, exemplified by the overbearing smart-bombing style of singing that seems have turned everyone into an Aretha Franklin wannabe, have no sense of song styling; just a desire to dazzle with scales and loudness. Durante can't sing, and yet there is nothing more beautiful in our universe than this rendition of "September Song," which I count as definitive.
+kevin r. - Yes Durante version truly imports a gut-wrenching urgency that leaves nary a dry eye ... as was the original singer, for whom Max Anderson and Kurt Weill designated this wistful melody. Non other than Walter Huston. The year was 1938 and the movie was Knickerbocker Holiday. My last remaining grandparent past last July at 95, and as a 40-something the point you make hits home for me.
I agree completely. Jimmy Durante was a great entertainer in the vaudeville 1920s, and in numerous films of the 1930s and 1940s. Some of the greats from the 1920s, vaudeville and silent films, did die in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jimmy Durante, Mary Pickford, and Charlie Chaplin. During the 1980s was great too when we still had guests appearing on television shows to give us live pieces of the 1930s such as Ginger Rogers, Greta Garbo, Lana Turner, Ruby Keeler, Fred Astaire, and Gene Kelly, and each one of them sadly passed on in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The great Katharine Hepburn and Cyd Cherrise was with us until the 2000s. The great Esther Williams and Mickey Rooney was with us until the early 2010s.
Chilling............and oh so BRAVE..........never a real singer and yet WHAT an interpreter, Durante literally faces the end here..........magnificent Goodbye!....even the exit is.........almost regal..........
@Lampshade51 I agree! A far cry from today's performers. Today they have to have lights flashing, smoke screens, and they can't stand in one spot...they're all over the stage...I guess a moving target is harder to hit. Give a truly great entertainer a microphone, a great song to sing and a great band to back 'em...that's all you need.
@vipguide I couldn't agree with you more. A truly gifted artist needed only a simple prop, a microphone and a great band to back them. There's way too much stage gimickry today. Today's performers have to have lights flashing, smoke, and a lot of distraction.
![เปิดบ้าน โคตรสวย ป๋องกพล รู้จักตั้งนาน เพิ่งรู้ว่ารวย!!! l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tmgCF_2HfYI/mqdefault.jpg)
![เปิดคำทำนาย นอสตราดามุส - บาบา วานก้า ปี 2025 คนทั่วโลกต้องเจออะไรบ้าง? | แฉ 11 ธ.ค. 67 [2/3] |GMM25](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xmTIKWJUMPM/mqdefault.jpg)
Jimmy suffered a stroke not long after doing this TV special and had to stop performing. I had worked as his opening act in 1967, 1968 and 1969 when Sonny King wasn't available. I went into the Army in 1969 and Jimmy found a way to call me on a ham radio hookup on my birthday when I was in Vietnam. Every year on my birthday and at Christmas until his death in 1980, there were cards and phone calls from him and Margie. I loved him very much, he was like an extra grandfather to me.
My dad loved Jimmy D., so I grew to love him too. I can feel my heart breaking when he sings this song, “September”. I love you forever dad.
No fancy editing, no camera cuts (not even one cut), this is entertainment; that's how a star is presented.
This sing and how JD sings it, are unforgettable. His is the best version.
Yes, the days of heart felt music can only be found in the past. Thank God we have the recordings to enjoy and reminisce about those wonderful years of civility, true romance, and love. It's sad that most of our young people will never know those things.
I know I can always count on you for sharing the good stuff. That's one of the main reasons I'm glad God put us in each others lives. To quote Bob Hope: "Thanks for the memories!"
What a nice man he was! I remember having breakfast in the coffee shop at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas in the late 60's, and he was sitting at the next table. He could not have been more personable to me and my family. I was probably about 12 at the time. Just a perfect gentleman!!!
I love this rendition.He was a good friend of my cousin Pat O Brien.
They dont make them like Jimmy any more//// what a treasure!!!!!!
I’m always thinking the same thing!
I grew up as a child loving Jimmy Durante because of my grandparents. I loved them so much that I listened to their music and always took their advise on anything they told me. They made me wise and thoughtful beyond my age. Grandparents are the greatest gift that God could have ever given me. He took my Mom too sone, but, I had my grandparents untill I was 30 and 31. They left a mark on my life for eternity.
i'm 71 and i cry every time i hear this ....Daddy : (
When Jimmy had the stroke the Enquirer printed a story (every so often they did something nice) asking readers to send Jimmy a get well card and they had a picture of him in his wheelchair with a room of his house packed with mailbags. He received a few hundred thousand cards letters and gifts from people who loved him
No doubt. ❤️💔❤️
A prime example of the compelling nature of some of these old stars. One shot, no set, just Jimmy singing to the camera (us). This is one of his last performances before he suffered a stroke and retired from performing. He died in 1980. One of a kind.
What can anyone say other than the late GREAT Mr. Durante.
God,I miss these performers.They were truly poets that touched the soul.
Reminds me of rainy days and Mom at the piano... I'll go make a cup of tea now. Good old memories
This is what singing is all about. It's not about high tech, special effects, or anything like that. It's all about the heart of the matter. Jimmy Durante shared his humor, his heart and himself with his audience. :)
Jimmy was the sweetest man in show business; I long for him and his ilk ! They were wonderful !
My Dad and I love dot watch old musicals, they were on tv all the time. It was my best time to spend with him. My dad used to love Durante and he used to sing this to me. It makes me cry now to remember,my Dad passed away 22 months ago at 98 years old.
Durante was an original, so natural.
I love the way he sings a song ,almost just saying the words but great to listen to .
...I still use his pronunciation of 'commode' in my daily lexicon...he reminisced about growing up in a tenement where there was only one 'terlet 'on each floor...and that pronunciation has stuck with me for about 60 of my 71 years on the earth...
Jimmy was 79 at the time this recording was made. Amazing he could still perform ( and perform very well) at that age.
Simply great. Take a back seat, every singer , to this version . I love all your likes everybody. Happy New Year Mister and Missus Calabash.
One of the Great Showman of all times. Vaudeville, radio, stage, screen, TV. Jimmy did it all.
I have this original album and in the liner notes it says when Jimmy was in Vegas he always closed his show with this song. And a hush would fall over the room from the audience,waiters,busboys etc while Jimmy sang...
Touching. Heartfelt and real. Gotta say that Jimmy was awesome.
I was a young kid the first time I saw and heard Jimmy sing this song. I seem to think it was on the Ed Sullivan show. Jimmy sat at the edge of the stage illuminated by a solitary spotlight. As young as I was the song by this old man made me feel what he was feeling. I guess there was something in the timber of his voice and his expressions that project true pathos. He and those of his generation performers were true great and we will never see the likes of them again.
+Joe Cofone You and I have similar memories. Something about Jimmy, I can't verbalize it, but through that TV screen he captured my heart. And though I've now heard his rendition, countless times, Jimmy can still get to me with "September Song."
I miss him and his talent.
Thanx for posting. I saw this special when I was 16: at the ,time I thought that this part of the program was the best part. This 1972 TV special was an all night program honoring the 25th anniversary of commercial TV -- or something like that. Various important figures early in TV history received awards from GE for their contributions to the medium. Not long after this performance, Durante suffered the severe stroke that left him in a wheelchair until he died in 1980.
A favorite song, never heard Durante's take until today.
Awesome!
wonderful
Lovely Lovely Lovely man. Look at some of his other stuff. Look at "Only Got A One Room Home", for example. It brings tears to your eyes and he got a standing ovation. Look also at "Bluebird of Happiness", which also brings tears to your eyes. You can go on and on because jimmy was wonderful.
Beautiful..😭😇🥰😚😚😚
Look carefully at Jimmy's eyes during the piano pauses...no wonder he was so beloved in his time! It's all there...his feelings, his thoughts...look carefully and you will see what I'm talking about...
He is so cool!
True showmanship from a time that is no more.
aaaaaaa que interpretación tan llena de sentido sentimiento y originalidad en verdad un grande
One of the GREATS, when there were many with REAL talent.
America's "Grandfather" We'll always love you jimmy.........................
JIMMY DURANTE..SUBLIME CHANSON ❤
he is one of the few born into show business that was a true gem ,
it was just normal to watch tv when jimmy durante was on. everyone should watch the movie "the man who came to dinner" you can see who durante's persona was in the movies. i bet he had to be fun to be around in real life. thanks for posting.
brings back a lot of memorys all good
so great this
This version of Jimmy singing September Song is by far the best of any previous recording, purely because the accompaniment is a piano trio, there is no orchestra, there is no heavenly choir singing loudly in the background, just a simple trio, and it's just a pity that the bass player is using an electric guitar bass, a better sound would have been produced by a contrabass , but that is a small point . This version is deeply moving regardless of those points.
lovely mannnn,youuu are so special,wonderfull voice!
Thanks a lot
The lyrics of this song have a very special meaning.
Not long after this 1972 appearance, he suffered a stroke that ended his career.
I saw him in Windsor, Ontario, three times in the three years preceding his stroke. What a master. What a beautiful man.
love him, so real.
He was pure magic
In retrospect, we 40- and 50-somethings were greatly privileged to be born into the final phase of the greatest era of show business, when the greats of the vaudeville era of the 1920s and of the pre-WWII 20th century were still regulars on national television, before they began dying off in the late 1970s into the '80s, etc. The pyrotechnical singers of today, exemplified by the overbearing smart-bombing style of singing that seems have turned everyone into an Aretha Franklin wannabe, have no sense of song styling; just a desire to dazzle with scales and loudness. Durante can't sing, and yet there is nothing more beautiful in our universe than this rendition of "September Song," which I count as definitive.
I couldn't agree with you more: there is no one like this today. No one.
Well said. I was thinking the very same. Now I use TH-cam to watch the Soundies of old, where musicians were trained and the lyric meant something.
+kevin r. - Yes Durante version truly imports a gut-wrenching urgency that leaves nary a dry eye ... as was the original singer, for whom Max Anderson and Kurt Weill designated this wistful melody. Non other than Walter Huston. The year was 1938 and the movie was Knickerbocker Holiday. My last remaining grandparent past last July at 95, and as a 40-something the point you make hits home for me.
I completely agree.
I agree completely. Jimmy Durante was a great entertainer in the vaudeville 1920s, and in numerous films of the 1930s and 1940s. Some of the greats from the 1920s, vaudeville and silent films, did die in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jimmy Durante, Mary Pickford, and Charlie Chaplin.
During the 1980s was great too when we still had guests appearing on television shows to give us live pieces of the 1930s such as Ginger Rogers, Greta Garbo, Lana Turner, Ruby Keeler, Fred Astaire, and Gene Kelly, and each one of them sadly passed on in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The great Katharine Hepburn and Cyd Cherrise was with us until the 2000s.
The great Esther Williams and Mickey Rooney was with us until the early 2010s.
I love you Jimmy, always will
Bless You!
My birth month. 🎶🎵🎼
I am 38 and I miss him too
Chilling............and oh so BRAVE..........never a real singer and yet WHAT an interpreter, Durante literally faces the end here..........magnificent Goodbye!....even the exit is.........almost regal..........
Just as you have so eloquently said.
That's a very good way of interpreting Durante's style of talking written down, I like it
Ha cha cha cha cha! Love Jimmy Durante!
Yes thanks a lot
jimmy is the man :D
There was just something about him.
@Lampshade51 I agree! A far cry from today's performers. Today they have to have lights flashing, smoke screens, and they can't stand in one spot...they're all over the stage...I guess a moving target is harder to hit. Give a truly great entertainer a microphone, a great song to sing and a great band to back 'em...that's all you need.
@vipguide I couldn't agree with you more. A truly gifted artist needed only a simple prop, a microphone and a great band to back them. There's way too much stage gimickry today. Today's performers have to have lights flashing, smoke, and a lot of distraction.
@bdzmusicprod As the Schnozz once observed, "The song's gotta come from the heart!"
W.O.W.
About Jimmy I knew from Frank Sinatra's song How about you. Since moment I looking for his vinyl records LP
Thanks, Franky
I never liked Jimmy Durante, but his emotional, moving rendition of September Song is terrific.
SO incredibly much better than the Sinatra version!!!
I can hear in in Lou Reed.
How did he find that first note??
Perfect pitch?
@pacinhorse whoops, should read 1938
Soul before "soul" became something different...and not really soul..
Written for a 1980 musical & performed in 1972?
Written in the 1930s.
Didn't this song get Milton Berle thrown out of SNL (amongst other offenses)?
he's not singing
W.O.W.