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Billy Crystal: My Uncle Milt

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A man can move a mountain with his back, and the world with a song.

Billy Crystal likes to say that if it hadn't been for his uncle Milt Gabler, he never would have entered show business. The founder of the Commodore Records jazz label influenced more than just Crystal. The music Gabler produced from the 1930s through the 1950s included hit songs by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat "King" Cole and Lionel Hampton.

Now the comedian has compiled a CD of his uncle's biggest hits, Billy Crystal Presents: The Milt Gabler Story.

Of all the artists Gabler worked with, he felt closest to Billie Holiday, Crystal tells Michele Norris. "Billie was his love. That was, he felt in many ways, his triumph. That relationship was such a special one. She trusted him and he understood her. He knew how to put her on a pedestal. He... loved her."

'Reflections from a Bald Head'

Preparing an autobiography that he never completed, Gabler recorded some thoughts on the music business, which he called "Reflections from a Bald Head." Below is an excerpt:

• Sometimes I wonder what we would be listening to if Louis Armstrong had never lived.

• All people hear music, some people listen to it. There is a difference. I prefer to listen.

• A man can move a mountain with his back, and the world with a song.

• Everything starts with the song.

• A song must be more than a one-act play. It must have a beginning, a climax, and an ending. And most important of all, to make it really everlasting, it must have a tune to it.

• If you find two natural song hits in one year, that is a good year. Not great, but good.

• An A&R man has only two things to worry about: if he makes a hit record or doesn't make a hit record. If he does make a hit record, he has only two things to worry about: if he can make another hit record or not make another hit record. You see, it's that simple.

From Ashley Kahn's liner notes to Billy Crystal Presents: The Milt Gabler Story.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.