Birth of the Blues

Jazz lovers, go out and rent Birth of the Blues; even if you don't like old movies, it might become one of your favorites. Loosely based on real events, Bing Crosby plays someone who, despite his classical training, has jazz in his veins and insists on playing a new kind of music. When no one wants to listen to it, he forms a band with Brian Donlevy and Mary Martin and starts touring, forcing everyone to listen to it!

Cute little tidbits included in the screenplay will make jazz historians chuckle, like when one band member breaks his bow and is forced to improvise by plucking the bass fiddle with his fingers. Fans of the original jazz and blues movement will enjoy seeing Jack Teagarden perform, as well as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson enjoying a pretty big part as Bing's loyal friend.

I'm not the biggest fan of jazz, but I thought this movie was adorable. It's light and fluffy, with only a little smidge of drama, unlike some musical biopics. With "Melancholy Baby", "After the Ball" and the title song, there are tons of toe-tapping numbers to get immersed in. A new song was written for the film, "The Waiter, the Porter, and the Upstairs Maid", and for me, it was particularly fun to watch. I'd heard the song a million times on my Bing Crosby Greatest Hits CD but never knew what movie it came from!