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Take Two

I've Got My Fingers Crossed

Fats Waller Ive Got My Fingers Crossed 2.jpg

I've Got My Fingers Crossed is a rarely heard tune by Jimmy McHugh and Ted Koehler first recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1935 and inluded in the 1936 film King Of Burlesque. Wikipedia says: "King of Burlesque ..... is about a former burlesque producer played by Warner Baxter who moves into a legitimate theatre and does very well, until he marries a socialite. Sammy Lee received an Academy Award nomination for the now dead category of Best Dance Direction ......  Today the film is best known for Fats WEaller's rendition of "I've Got My Fingers Crossed".

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There are several videos of Fats playing the number on YouTube, but for our first take, here is a video that includes the dance routine before and after he plays - I think it is an introduction that really warms up the performance. The video is part of a Fats Waller compilation, so you might want to leave it after the song finishes to move on to Take Two.

For our second take we turn the clock forwards 83 years to 2018 when the Jack & Jill Swing Orchestra showed that the song can still get people up on their feet. Filmed at the Caveau de la Huchette in Paris, affectionately called 'The Temple Of Swing', the Caveau has a long French history through the Revolution up to being featured in the movie La La Land. You can read about it here, but in the meanwhile, listen to Jack & Jill's band playing I've Got My Fingers Crossed in 2018:

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