''Boy Wonder'' is a studio album by jazz guitarist
Lenny Breau
Leonard Harold Breau (August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984) was an American-Canadian guitarist. He blended many styles of music, including jazz, country, classical, and flamenco. Inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used finger ...
that was recorded in 1956 and released in 1998. The session was engineered and produced by Al Hawkes of Event Records.CD liner notes
History
Breau was 15 years old when these tracks were recorded in 1956. At the time, he was performing with his parents Hal "Lone Pine" Breau and Betty Cody, professional country and western musicians who performed and recorded from the mid-1930s until (in Hal Breau's case) the mid-1970s. Breau began playing guitar at the age of eight and by the age of fourteen he was the lead guitarist for his parents' band, billed as "Lone Pine Junior". The final track is an interview of Breau's mother discussing how Breau developed his interest in the guitar.
Reception
Writing for
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
, critic Dave Nathan wrote in his review: "The title of the album is very accurate; Breau was a "wonder," but still a "boy"; technically very sound, but stylistically undeveloped, vestiges of the country music syndrome are very apparent in his playing... While nowhere as developed as he was to become, this maiden album is a peek at the future... The sound, by the way, is excellent. The Boy Wonder album will be very attractive not only to lovers of the jazz guitar in general and Lenny Breau fans in particular, but to those interested in listening to a great jazz musician as he hones his skills."
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo ...
Alice Blue Gown "Alice Blue Gown" is a popular song written by Joseph McCarthy and Harry Tierney. The song, which was inspired by Alice Roosevelt Longworth's signature gown, was first performed by Edith Day in the 1919 Broadway musical ''Irene''. In 1920 the song ...
Harry Tierney
Harry Austin Tierney (May 21, 1890 – March 22, 1965) was an American composer of musical theatre, best known for long-running hits such as ''Irene'' (1919), Broadway's longest-running show of the era (620 performances), ''Kid Boots'' (1923) and'' ...
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It's a Sin to Tell a Lie
"It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" is a 1936 popular song written by Billy Mayhew, introduced early that year on records by many dance bands including Dick Robertson on the 78rpm record Champion 40106, and later popularized by Fats Waller on Victor 2534 ...
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I've Been Working on the Railroad
"I've Been Working on the Railroad" is an American folk song. The first published version appeared as "Levee Song" in ''Carmina Princetonia'', a book of Princeton University songs published in 1894. The earliest known recording is by the Shannon ...
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Birth of the Blues
''Birth of the Blues'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Brian Donlevy.
The plot loosely follows the origins and breakthrough success of the Original Dixieland Jass Band i ...
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Lew Brown
Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...
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Buddy G. DeSylva
George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Recor ...
Edward Madden
Edward Madden (July 17, 1878 – March 11, 1952) was an American lyricist.
Early life
Madden was born in New York City and graduated from Fordham University. After graduation, he wrote material for many singers including Fanny Brice and ...
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(Back Home Again in) Indiana
"(Back Home Again in) Indiana" is a song composed by James F. Hanley with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald that was published in January 1917. Although it is not the state song of Indiana (which is " On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away"), it is perhap ...
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James F. Hanley
James Frederick Hanley (February 17, 1892 – February 8, 1942) was an American songwriter and author.
Biography
Hanley was born in Rensselaer, Indiana on February 17, 1892. He attended Champion College and the Chicago Musical College.
He serve ...
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Ballard MacDonald
Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley.
Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ...
Anton Karas
Anton Karl Karas (7 July 1906 – 10 January 1985) was an Austrian zither player and composer, best known for his internationally famous 1948 soundtrack to Carol Reed's ''The Third Man''. His association with the film came about as a result of ...
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#"Sonny's Special" (Traditional) – 2:10
#" Side by Side" (
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
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#"The Blues Doubled" (Traditional) – 2:30
#"Speedy Blues" (Traditional) – 1:12
#" Blue Echo" (
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...
,
Boudleaux Bryant
Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an Americans, American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They ...
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Indian Love Call
"Indian Love Call" (first published as "The Call") is a popular song from '' Rose-Marie'', a 1924 operetta-style Broadway musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. Or ...
Otto Harbach
Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading B ...
Muskrat Ramble
"Muskrat Ramble" is a jazz composition written by Kid Ory in 1926. It was first recorded on February 26, 1926, by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, and became the group's most frequently recorded piece. It was paired on the flip side with another ...
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Kid Ory
Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of New Orleans jazz.
He was ...
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Ray Gilbert
Ray Gilbert (September 5, 1912 – March 3, 1976) was an American lyricist. He grew up in Hartford, Connecticut.
Career
Gilbert is best remembered for the lyrics to the Oscar-winning song " Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the film ''Song of the South'', ...
Chinatown, My Chinatown
"Chinatown, My Chinatown" is a popular song written by William Jerome (words) and Jean Schwartz (music) in 1906 and later interpolated into the musical ''Up and Down Broadway'' (1910).Ruhlmann, ''Breaking Records''p. 31 The song has been record ...
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William Jerome
William Jerome Flannery, September 30, 1865 – June 25, 1932) was an American songwriter, born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York of Irish immigrant parents, Mary Donnellan and Patrick Flannery. He collaborated with numerous well-known composers a ...
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Jean Schwartz
Jean Schwartz (November 4, 1878 – November 30, 1956) was a Hungarian-born American songwriter.
Schwartz was born in Budapest, Hungary. His family moved to New York City when he was 13 years old. He took various music-related jobs including dem ...
The Waltz You Saved for Me
"The Waltz You Saved for Me" is a popular song written in 1930 by Wayne King and Emil Flindt with lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song soon became associated as the theme song of Wayne King and His Orchestra.
Notable artists who have recorded the song ...
Wayne King
Harold Wayne King (February 16, 1901 – July 16, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader with a long association with both NBC and CBS. He was referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved ...
Edward Heyman
Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," "When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films.
Biog ...
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They Say It's Wonderful "They Say It's Wonderful" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' (1946), where it was introduced by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton. A film version in 1950 again featured the song when it was performed by ...
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Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
September Song
"September Song" is an American standard popular song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. It was introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical production ''Knickerbocker Holiday.'' The song has been recorded by num ...
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist.
Background
Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a num ...