Originals: “The Love Nest”

Nestled on side two of Herb Alpert’s Ninth (not to be confused with Beethoven’s) is a little ditty called “The Love Nest.”  While it sounds like a little hideaway for an “innocent” little triste, it actually dates back nearly a century.   It comes from a musical production, “Mary,” with  lyrics by Otto Harbach and music by Louis A. Hirsch.  It was made more popular through a mention in the classic novel “The Great Gatsby.”

For a little bit of fun today, we present two versions for you! One by John Steel dating to 1920, and a neat little workup via the smooth eight part vocal harmonies of The Randy Van Horne Singers, from the RCA album Clef Dwellers.  (Apologies for the lousy sound on the Van Horne version–the original LP smokes this digital trainwreck!)