"make 'em Laugh": the Lighter Side of Hollywood at Oregon Festival of American Music at John G Shedd Institute for the Arts

The number one reason we decided to do another year of the Songbook in Hollywood, bringing our period of focus up through the 1950s, is because Ken was extremely disappointed that he couldn't sing "That's Amore" last year. Well, maybe it wasn't THE number one reason, but it did spark the realization that OFAM 2013's celebration of the classic Songbook in Hollywood from 1930-49 missed alot of great tunes like "That's Amore". Introduced in the 1953 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy The Caddy, this wonderful Harry Warren/Jack Brooks standard became a great hit for Martin, was his signature song, and is just about as iconic 1950s as Marilyn Monroe, Bob's Big Boy and the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile...

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The number one reason we decided to do another year of the Songbook in Hollywood, bringing our period of focus up through the 1950s, is because Ken was extremely disappointed that he couldn't sing "That's Amore" last year. Well, maybe it wasn't THE number one reason, but it did spark the realization that OFAM 2013's celebration of the classic Songbook in Hollywood from 1930-49 missed alot of great tunes like "That's Amore". Introduced in the 1953 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy The Caddy, this wonderful Harry Warren/Jack Brooks standard became a great hit for Martin, was his signature song, and is just about as iconic 1950s as Marilyn Monroe, Bob's Big Boy and the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. So now Ken gets to sing it, along with a pile of other fine 1940s and '50s lighter fare, like "Triplets", "Well, Did You Evah?", "Chica Chica Boom Chic", "Baby, It's Cold Outside", "Make 'Em Laugh", "A Couple Of Swells", and more!

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