STAR CAR TUNES:”IN THE COOL, COOL, COOL OF THE EVENING” ROSEMARY CLOONEY 1951

In our never-ending quest at MSCC to cover music heard over your car radio we usually reach back a few years-in this case, nearly 60. The legendary Hoagy Carmichael teamed up with the even more legendary Johnny Mercer on this Oscar winning (1951 Best Original Song).

Rosemary Clooney did a great version of this song and at the time, she was a female Frank Sinatra so her version resonated really well with the early 50s pop music crowd because Rosie herself resonated really well with red-blooded males…

To put this song in perspective, you have to understand that in 1951, average people didn’t go “clubbing”-that wasn’t feasible in the early 50s.The demands of raising baby boomer era sized families (3 to 5 kids were pretty normal) single incomes and more conservative moral codes meant that nightclubs were not found on mainstream middle America social agendas.

Neighborhood parties were the social outlet and this song covered the genesis of a suburban party in 1951 “Sue wants a barbeque. Sam wants to boil a ham. Grace votes for bouillabaisse stew. Jake wants a weenie bake, steak and a layer cake”.

Fistfights over menu decisions were clearly part of the party planning strategy but that was life in the new concept known as the suburbs.

Most people who heard this song over the radio in their brand new 1951 Pontiac really understood this song because they were living it-maybe 100 bucks for a night on the town was out of the question but hopping over the neighbor’s fence with a dozen beers and hot dog buns was feasible "In the coooool of the evenin', better save a chair. When the party's gettin' a glow on, singin' fills the air”.

Nightclubs in 2009 may have techno-advances like laser shows, smoke and kidney rattling sound systems in an artificial, plastic attempt to socialize but Rosie and her neighbors back in 1951 were having a lot more real fun in the “cool,cool,cool of the evening”-even with the menu disputes.