Walk Hand in Hand
Ramblings
Randy Vancourt, Toronto ON
Walk hand in hand with me, through all eternity Have faith, believe in me, give me your hand... These are the opening lyrics to Canadian composer Johnny Cowell’s 1956 hit song, Walk Hand In Hand. It went on to be recorded over 90 times and counting, with hit versions by Tony Martin, Andy Williams and Vera Lynn in the 50’s, and Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1965 (my older brother had this 45 when I was a kid, and I loved the song). We lost Johnny last January 22, 2018 at the age of 92. I had discovered a couple of years ago that Johnny and Joan, his wife of 62 years, lived only a couple of kilometres from me here in the Bluffs area of east Toronto. Johnny’s story is an inspiring one. A renowned trumpet soloist since the age of 15, he played with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for 40 years. During that time he composed numerous hit songs for various artists, and although industry folks continually tried to lure him south to Nashville and New York, Johnny stayed here in Toronto. One of my jobs is Music Director for a mid-sized church here, and once a month I lead a special music service based on different themes. I also bring in guest musicians to perform – it’s amazing how many of my friends I have been able to convince to come and play at 10:30 on a Sunday morning! Last June in honour of Canada 150, I decided to do a service featuring hymns and other sacred music by Canadian composers. Most of the choices were older hymns but for contemporary composers we used Oscar Peterson’s Hymn To Freedom, and Johnny’s Walk Hand In Hand. While not technically a religious song, I thought it qualified as it’s so often used at weddings. I wanted to invite Johnny and his wife to attend our service. It wasn’t hard to get his phone number since 30 dialogue
SUMMER 2018, VOL. 31, NO. 4
our musician’s union provides all members with a complete list. One morning I gave him a call and he and Joan kindly spent half an hour on the phone with me. They told me wonderful stories about this song and its continued use (in a Christmas episode of Call The Midwife), plus some of Johnny’s other songs and their ongoing popularity. These Are The Young Years, his 1963 hit for pianist Floyd Cramer, had recently been in an episode of Breaking Bad and I laughed as June described the two of them watching this notorious show for the first time. I am always interested in the stories behind the writing of songs. Walk Hand In Hand was composed while on an anniversary trip to New York; one night they had gone to see the film, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing. All through the film, the characters were walking hand in hand. When they came out of the theatre, Johnny told Joan, “I think I’ve got a good title for a song, called Walk Hand in Hand.” By the time they got back to their hotel he had written all the music. I invited them to attend my service and to my delight they accepted. That Sunday it was a huge thrill for me to have them in the congregation as our choir performed his song. He and Joan couldn’t have been more gracious, and at the end of the service Joan paid me a lovely compliment when she said my piano playing reminded her of Floyd Cramer. I was saddened to hear just a few months later that Johnny had passed away. The following Sunday I announced it to our church and in his memory we once again performed his most famous song. I noticed several tears throughout the congregation and the choir. They had only met him once but the power of his music, and now the silencing of his talent, touched them all deeply. That was the magic of Johnny Cowell. *******
By the way, my musical comedy Bring The Piano (www.bringthepiano.com ) will be on stage in Toronto from July 5 – 14, then my new show Tuned premieres in Winnipeg from July 19 – 28! Website: www.randyvancourt.com ♣ www.dialogue.ca