From this moment on

Today is the anniversary of the birth of the almost unbelievably gifted composer Cole Porter. The joy of his music belies his tragic life, but the music survives as the centerpiece of the Great American Songbook. Consider only his “list songs,” for example, such as “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love)” and “You’re the Top.” Melody, wit and sophistication combine in a form that no one has replicated. In the video below, Carmen McCrae memorably explains why “Miss Otis Regrets.”

Among the many highlights of the Porter catalogue are “From This Moment On,” the favorite recording of Sinatra aficionado Buddy Ladd. Sinatra also brought something special to “At Long Last Love,” whose lyrics Porter claimed to have written while lying in pain from the 1937 horseback accident that crippled him:
“Is it the good turtle soup or merely the mock?”
“Is it for all time or only a lark?”
“Is it Granada I see or only Asbury Park?” You be the judge.