Buddy Barnes: Musician, And Friend, Extraordinaire—By Mark Walter***On an autumnal evening in the mid-to-late 1980s, I left my employ as a junior associate with a large midtown law firm early, exiting the office at about 9:00 PM. I headed to an elegant nightclub in the East Fifties, one whose name now eludes me, but whose physical contours I can easily recall still. Performing there was an astonishing talent and dear friend, nay, a family member, Charles Leslie Barnes.
Known to all as “Buddy,” this urbane piano wizard and song stylist immediately espied me upon my entering the room, standing in its periphery as I awaited my seating by the maitre d’. Just closing a song, Buddy smoothly segued, without break or announcement, into an entrancing ballad—one that was entirely new to me.
I listened intently, captivated by Buddy’s beautiful pianistics and nuanced delivery of the song’s mysterious lyrics. And, upon reaching the song’s final notes, Buddy then delivered a shock, to me, at least: “Ladies and Gentlemen, that gorgeous piece is called ‘Time And Tide,’ with the music by Cy Walter, and the lyrics by Alec Wilder. I played it because Cy’s son, Mark Walter, just joined us.”
And thusly did Buddy, whose repertoire and instantaneous recall of songs were legendary, introduce me to one of my father’s most wondrous compositions. Buddy often cited Cy Walter as the greatest influence upon his piano playing, in a career that began with Buddy as a classically-oriented nine-year-old prodigy, and which evolved into his unquestionably being one of the most talented of pianist-singers interpreting the American Songbook in the latter half of the Twentieth Century.
Buddy was also respected as one of the finest music directors/accompanists to be found—creating marvelous music with such terrific talents as my godmother, Mabel Mercer; Dorothy Loudon; Portia Nelson; Roberta Peters; Sylvia Syms; Marti Stevens; Darcy Thompson; Rob Jackson; Rita Gardner; and so many others. Buddy, as did my father, died far too young—each only 52 years of age, Cy of throat cancer in 1968 (when I was eleven), and Buddy of AIDS in 1992.
In the years following Cy’s death, Buddy’s and my family grew close. My wonderful mother, Cam Walter (1932-2010), was a cabaret and piano aficionado. She and Buddy were dear friends; and Cam was also an ardent fan of Buddy’s talent. God-given though that talent was, it was also honed both by family circumstance, and by Buddy’s assiduous pursuit of excellence.
Charles Hermes Barnes (1905-1981), Buddy’s father, was a vaudevillian singer, actor and writer. Buddy’s mother, Marjorie Fielding (1905-1988) (stage-named “Marjery” to differentiate from another identically named performer), was an accomplished pianist, composer, ballerina and Broadway director and choreographer. Buddy was born on 6 November 1939.
As Lorie Barnes (1930-2020), Buddy’s sister, details in her autobiography, Things Seen And Unseen (Smashwords E-book, 2012), theirs was a life of the entertainment world, from childhood onward. Lorie developed a career as a cabaret vocalist; Buddy, until his early twenties, parlayed his prodigious talent into a budding career as a classical pianist. He graduated from New York’s High School For The Performing Arts and from Juilliard. Although mentored by the famed Russian pianist Simon Barere (1896-1951), Buddy’s classical hopes were dashed by Barere’s tragic death. On 2 April 1951, Barere suffered a cerebral hemorrhage during his performance with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
What the classical world lost in Buddy’s case, however, was indubitably a gain for devotées of American popular song. Buddy, his sister Lorie observed in her autobiography, “… worked constantly, because he could transpose keys for singers instantly, even with no music in front of him. He later became the pet piano accompanist of great lady chanteuses, or as he fondly dubbed them, ‘all my divas’. ”
Buddy’s professional partnership with Mabel Mercer is clearly the best known of his accompaniment roles, and probably the longest, running seven years, from 1965 to 1972. Most famously, Buddy accompanied Mabel at New York City’s Town Hall in 1969 (leading to the issuance of an excellent Atlantic Records LP); but he also performed with her in various cabaret locales, such as Downstairs At The Upstairs on West 56th Street.
And in 1972, PBS produced a terrific performance documentary entitled “An Evening With Mabel Mercer, Bobby Short, And Friends”. Aired nationally in November, the hour-long show featured Mabel accompanied by Buddy; Bobby, playing piano and singing, with Beverly Peers on bass and Dick Sheridan on drums; and a number of select friends in attendance, including, among others, my mother Cam Walter, and musicians such as Alec Wilder, Bart Howard and Billy Roy. Thankfully, Cam retained a complete video of the event. She also retained great still pictures taken of those present (many of which, including those of Buddy, can be viewed on the Cy Walter website, www.cywalter.com).
In 1983, happily while Mabel was still with us, Buddy performed his solo tribute show, To Mabel Mercer With Love, at Michael’s Pub on East 55th Street in Manhattan. Stephen Holden, of The New York Times, reviewed the show in the paper’s 16 September 1983 edition, entitling the glowing full-length article “From Billy Barnes To Mabel Mercer With Love.” The obviously unintentional mistake resulted in a correction the next day.
This review beautifully caught the magical relationship between the two artists, and also proffered an excellent portrait of Buddy’s musical persona. It was a fine recognition of an especial talent, one who had long grown into his own professionally, but who had also found such individual recognition elusive. Still, the erroneous reference to the songwriter Billy Barnes fostered confusion, and so muted the potency of the praise that the article clearly intended. Unfortunately, it has also meant that the piece is largely lost to all but the most diligent researchers, since a search for Buddy’s name is unlikely to retrieve it.
In the late 1970s, Buddy performed in Paris and Berlin with Rob Jackson, a theatrical partner of tremendous talent. Rob, an African-American singer, actor and dancer, and Buddy, had significant success in Europe before returning to New York in 1979. Happily, among the extant private recordings of Buddy’s performances is a cassette that Cam presciently retained of one of his shows with Rob. Listening to their musical numbers together leaves one impressed by how beautifully these two talents fused.
Other private recordings of Buddy’s artistry that have survived, as detailed in the discography below, include a 72nd birthday celebration for Buddy’s father, at which Buddy, Charles and Lorie all performed (with Buddy playing two classical pieces); a preview of a 1987 show with vocalist Marti Stevens, which shortly thereafter opened at Freddy’s nightclub in New York; and a duo-piano peformance/vocal duet with Murray Grand. I will happily share any of the discography’s materials, gratis, with those who would like to hear or see them; just send your postal address to me at markwalter@cywalter.com .
In 1978, Audiophile Records held recording sessions with Buddy in New York City and Decatur, Georgia. From the materials produced, Audiophile released The Magic Time, Buddy’s first solo LP, in 1980. These 1978 recording sessions also birthed two posthumously released Audiophile CDs, the first in 1999, likewise entitled The Magic Time, but including additional tracks; and the second, in 2000, called Talkin’ With My Pal.
The latter CD includes Buddy’s stunning interpretation of Cy Walter’s and Alec Wilder’s “Time And Tide,” which was re-released on the 2015 Harbinger Records CD, Cy Walter Centennial Tribute: Sublimities, Vol. 2. I consider vocalist Barbara Lea’s liner notes to the Talkin’ With My Pal CD the most eloquently heartfelt portrayal of Buddy’s artistry, as seen, and as heard, through a fellow artist’s experience.
During one of my visits to Buddy at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village, shortly before his death on 11 September 1992, he led me from his room into a large lounge set aside for patients and their guests. The lounge, otherwise empty, boasted a well-tuned grand piano, at which Buddy seated himself. Then, magically, lovingly, transportingly, and absolutely perfectly, Buddy again played for me “Time And Tide.” Doubtless Buddy and Cy, brilliantly performing together on duo Steinways, are now entertaining Cam, Mabel, Lorie and Alec with the very same song.
Discography of Buddy Barnes’ Audio and Video Recordings
I. Commercial CDs
A. Buddy Barnes As Solo Pianist-Singer
1. The Magic Time, Audiophile ACD-139 (1999); most of this posthumously issued CD was previously released as a 1980 Audiophile LP with the same title, but this eleven-track CD was issued with three new, unreleased tracks. The original LP tracks were recorded on 10 and 11 December 1978 in New York City, with the three previously unreleased tracks having been recorded in Decatur, Georgia on 10 March 1978. Performing with Buddy, on the December, 1978 tracks, at least, were Bill Popp on bass, and Winston Welch on drums. Heartfelt liner notes are by Richard Rodney Bennett (who composed the title song), and the recording quality is excellent.
2. Talkin’ With My Pal, Audiophile ACD-294 (2000); this posthumously issued CD contains fourteen tracks recorded in Decatur, Georgia on 10 March 1978. Performing with Buddy on some numbers are Bill Popp on bass, and Luis Stefanell on bongos. Included as track 7 on this CD is Buddy’s terrific performance of Cy Walter’s (music) and Alec Wilder’s (lyrics) “Time And Tide”. The superb liner notes — which beautifully capture Buddy as an artist and person, and offer a great singer’s insightful musical analysis of each track — are by Barbara Lea. The recording quality is excellent.
3. Cy Walter Centennial Tribute Sublimities CD, Volume 2 (Harbinger Records, HCD-3104 (2015): Track 27 on this CD is Buddy’s performance of “Time And Tide”, derived from his Audiophile Records “Talkin’ With My Pal” CD listed above.
B. Buddy Barnes As Accompanist
1. Mabel Mercer And Bobby Short At Town Hall and Their Second Town Hall Concert; Collectables CD COL-CD-6839 (2001). This 2-CD re-release is of, respectively, Mercer’s and Short’s 19 May 1968 Town Hall appearance, originally released as Atlantic LP SD2-604 in 1968; and of their 19 May 1969 Town Hall appearance, originally released as Atlantic LP Atlantic LP SD2-605 in 1969. Buddy accompanied Mabel at the latter event, which is re-released as CD 2 of this CD set. The liner notes, by Rogers (“Popsy”) Whitaker, refer to Buddy as “a pianist as instinctive in his calling as were his late, and great, predecessors [as accompanists to Mabel]—Cy Walter, Les Crosley, and Sam Hamilton, all of them now gone to what must be tremendous rewards”.
2. Broadway Baby—Dorothy Loudon CD; DRG Records, Inc. CDSL-5203 (1986); arranged and conducted by Buddy Barnes; Buddy, piano; Ron Delseni, Electric Keyboards; David Finck, Bass; John Chiodini, Electric And Acoustic Guitars; and Jimmie Young, Drums. Liner notes by Hugh Fordin.
3. Saloon—Dorothy Loudon; DRG Records, Inc. CD 91404 (1991); this CD contains a mélange of Loudon’s recordings with differing musicians, with liner notes by Bobby Short. Buddy provides piano accompaniment to Loudon and arrangements on the majority of the numbers; on several others, Loudon accompanies herself on piano. Bobby notes that, ‘[t[hroughout, Miss Loudon enjoys the excellent accompaniment of the great pianist, Buddy Barnes …”.
4. Love’s The Only Thing That Matters—Darcy Thompson CD; E-6 Records (1991); Buddy Barnes, piano/musical direction/arranging, and Billy Popp, bass. This CD comprises Buddy’s last commercially recorded performances before his passing in 1992. As Richard Rodney Bennett observes in his liner notes, “[t]his is not Jazz, Pop-Singing, or Cabaret; these are beautiful songs, beautifully performed”.
5. Smithsonian American Song Series, Irving Berlin CD, Track 21, “Pack Up Your Sins (And Go To The Devil)” (1992); Buddy Barnes is accompanying Dorothy Loudon on this track, which is derived from the “Broadway Baby” CD listed above.
II. Private Recordings
A. Charles Hermes Barnes’ 72nd Birthday Party
Two CD transfers of cassette recordings exist in The Cy Walter Collection of recorded materials from this August, 1977 Louisville, Kentucky event. Sequencing is different across the two transfers, though the content is largely the same; and there are some song tracks that are included which did not come from the birthday event.
The event was produced by Gary Cecil, the husband of Charles’ niece. It was a celebration of Charles Hermes Barnes’ (20 August 1905-26 August 1981) 72nd birthday. Charles Hermes Barnes was the father of Charles Leslie Barnes (6 November 1939-11 September 1992), who was known to all as “Buddy Barnes”. Also in attendance and performing was Lorie Barnes (10 June 1930-28 August 2020), Buddy’s sister and Charles Hermes Barnes’ daughter. Nothing on these recordings indicate whether Charles Hermes’ wife and Buddy’s and Lorie’s mother, Marjorie (“Marjery”) Fielding (27 November 1905-15 February 1988), was present, but presumably she was.
While Buddy is performing as accompanist for his father and sister, he also performs as pianist-vocalist on several songs; and likewise performs two classical pieces, Manuel DeFalla’s “Ritual Fire Dance” and Claude Debussy’s “Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum” from The Children’s Corner Suite.
B. Pow-Wow Nightclub, NYC
Recorded on cassette by Cam Walter on 21 September 1978, this CD transfer captures Buddy as pianist-singer in what might best be characterized as “cabaret verité.” The tape reveals Buddy in what he terms, in another private recording, as his being the persona of “The Piano Man” so powerfully portrayed in Billy Joel’s song (with Buddy then stating that the song is “literally the story of my life”). Patrons’ background conversation overlays several of the songs’ introductory passages, although, in testament to Buddy’s talent, those intrusions quieten and then cease entirely as the song evolves, and his musical magic captivates his listeners.
Delightfully expressed also is Buddy’s rapport and repartée with his audience, as he expertly shifts from one beautiful standard to another. In the course of an hour, he delivers compositions from Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, Fats Waller, Larry Kerchner, and at least an half-dozen others. Included also are some rare, novel, but very worthy songs; and, at his audience’s request, he closes the hour by performing, flawlessly, a gorgeous tapestry of French songs.
C. Preview performance on 13 February 1987 of Buddy Barnes’ and Marti Stevens’ show, as it thereafter opened on 18 February 1987 at Freddy’s nightclub, NYC. The show was very favorably reviewed by Stephen Holden in a 22 February 1987 New York Times article.
Derived from the Perrin Family (Margaret, Forrest and Lesley Davison Perrin) Collection, this recording was made of a preview performance event held before a select audience in the Perrins’ Manhattan apartment. As described by Mr. Holden, “[t]he program that Ms. Stevens and her accompanist, Buddy Barnes, have chosen portrays the romantic adventures of an American abroad, traveling from New York to London to Paris and back”. The selection of songs is delightful, with Cole Porter and Noël Coward gems predominating. Buddy’s extraordinary sensitivity as an accompanist is readily apparent in, for example, Marti’s medley delivery of “I’ll Follow My Secret Heart;” “A Foggy Day In London Town;” “London Pride” and “A Nightingale Sang In Barkley Square.” Marti’s impeccable diction and Buddy’s seamless pianistics meld perfectly.
D. Buddy Barnes and Murray Grand, as duo-pianists and duet vocalists, performing “Good, Good Friends” (words and music by Murray Grand).
This song is the only duo-piano recording of Buddy’s known to exist, and derives from a musical of the same name (with the music and lyrics for all songs by Murray Grand, and the book written by Patrick Dennis). In The Cy Walter Collection is a CD transfer of an acetate record of the show produced in the late 1970s, using pre-recorded 1960s tracks by Virginia Martin and Johnny Desmond, and with a narration added to explain the story. The musical was planned for Broadway in 1964, and London in 1988, but the only actual production it received was in 1974 in San Diego.
This “Good, Good Friends” CD, along with the separate recording of Buddy’s and Murray’s duo performance of the song, came from The Michael Feinstein Collection. Michael, along with Christine Ebersole, performed the song in their Good Friends show that opened at Feinstein’s At The Regency in New York on 8 February 2009 (described in Steven Suskin’s 14 February 2009 Variety Magazine review as “a show [that] only magnifies the power of two superb entertainers”).
III. Videos:
A. Buddy Barnes: Live From Studio B—This half-hour VHS tape, released by V.I.E.W. Video in 1983, has Buddy arranging the music and features vocalist Sylvia Syms on eight songs. Also accompanying were Jay Leonhart on bass, Wayne Wright on guitar and Ruby Braff on coronet.
B. “An Evening With Mabel Mercer, Bobby Short, And Friends” (a PBS production by South Carolina Educational Television Video, this aired on 20 November 1972).
This hour-long documentary included Cam Walter as one of the friends attending, as well as Buddy Barnes, Alec Wilder, Bart Howard, Billy Roy and others. The production format has Mabel and Bobby, along with their talented colleagues, performing standards; Mabel, for example, being accompanied on piano by Buddy, and Bobby both playing the piano and vocalizing. The setting is a casual, living-room like space, designed for intimate listening.
Cam retained a complete video of the event. Also in The Cy Walter Collection are still pictures taken of those present (many of which, including those of Buddy, can be viewed on the Cy Walter website, www.cywalter.com). One terrific group photo shows (see above), from left to right, in its top row: Dick Sheridan, drummer; George Frazier; Alec Wilder; Bart Howard; Willa Dene Mustin; center, Bobby Short, standing beside seated Mabel Mercer; seated at left, Beverly Peer, bass player; seated on floor, Buddy Barnes; and seated on a bench to the right of Mabel, Cam Walter and Billy Roy.
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