My father was a perfect reflection of his times singing. He looked like Fred Astaire, and had a perfect crooner's voice. He could also whistle with great volume and intonation anything he'd a mind to. His favorite piece had to be his version of "My Blue Heaven" with my mother's and my names dropped in (just Ferny and me, Joannie makes three) which made me cringe by my high school years.

Very unfortunately, his repertoire was exceedingly small. Like any music, no matter how wonderful, the 2,000th repetition of it that month leaves you running for the other room. He was likley to come out with something from a Bing Crosby or Fred Astaire musical if he'd heard it recently, but it would fade out fast. His top 6 (In heavy rotation) were:

Peanut sat on a railroad track/Ain't gonna rain no more
The Sunday School song (AKA the "Darkie's Sunday school, but without the minstrel show dialect "Adam was the first man ever invented..")
Down by the Old Mill Stream (I thought all drunks knew this song when I was a kid)
Toura loura loura
My Blue Heaven
When Irish Eyes are Smiling

I so regret that I didn't have the smarts to try singing with him, and learning songs with him or teaching him the ones I came to love at camp.

Joanne in Cleveland