Today on the Friday Cocktail Hour, we’re serving black coffee. No sugar, cream, or frou-frou toppings for me. Just plain joe served with a side of jazz.

In the immortal words of Eppie Lederer DBA Ann Landers, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee.

Black Coffee was written by Sonny Burke and Paul Francis Webster in 1949.

Sarah Vaughan was the first of approximately 300 artists to record this caffeinated classic, so that’s where we begin.

I learned to drink black coffee from my mother. Her favorite singer was her fellow Scandinavian farmer’s daughter, Peggy Lee.

For some reason, Black Coffee was recorded mostly by women. One of the few men to record the song was Walden Robert Cassotto DBA Bobby Darin.

Let’s pay a visit to the Shadowland with the great KD Lang:

Sinead O’Connor.  Say no more.

What would the Friday Cocktail Hour be without instrumental versions of the week’s tune? This time, Ray Charles followed by Earl Fatha Hines.

Let’s have some lagniappe along with our black coffee.

That’s it for this week. The Fairgrounds gets muddy and stinky in the rain, so here’s hoping that it doesn’t rain too much at Jazz Fest. It’s what Difford and Tilbrook would want. Never argue with them.