Song of the Day: Dat Dere

The song of the day for Monday, February 4, 2013 is Dat Dere.

About Dat Dere

The jazz instrumental Dat Dere was written in 1960 by Bobby Timmons; it was first played by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in 1960, with Timmons on piano. Oscar Brown, Jr. wrote lyrics for the tune in 1961 for his album Sin & Soul … and Then Some. The song has been recorded by jazz and popular singers including Mel Tormé and Rickie Lee Jones.

About This Version

With the lyrics that focus on a child’s trip to the zoo and the thoughts of the parents about that child’s future, Dat Dere is a perfect choice for Bennett’s album for children, The Playground. It’s a charming album for children of all ages. It also feature Bennett’s lovely My Mom, a song that his father used to sing to his children: Tony, John and Mary.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1dysZqDGamZ78Y03l8s8Z2
Dat Dere, as well as The Playground album, is available from iTunes.

Thanks to YouTube, here’s a video of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers doing the instrumental Dat Dere.

And dat dere is all dere is dis Monday.

And we wonder about a spellchecker that flags Mel Tormé, but has no trouble with dat dere.