Louis Silvers/ B.G. DeSylva

Celia Berk, vocals
Tedd Firth, piano
Arranged by Tedd Firth & Mark Nadler

CELIA:

My recording of April Showers was prompted by my collaboration with Director Mark Nadler and Music Director Tedd Firth. As we were developing my cabaret show ON MY WAY TO YOU: Improbable Stories That Inspired An Unlikely Path, I shared that April Showers is the earliest song I can remember hearing. My father loved Al Jolson and was always singing this signature Jolson song. Mark, a Jolson aficionado, quickly spotted it as the perfect way to set the scene for the stories we would tell in the show, starting with Jolson’s.

I decided to release April Showers as a single in time for the show’s debut. Luckily, Tedd and I were already in the studio working on an album, and we were able to take advantage of that opportunity to record it.

A century after its first recording, its message shines through: Life is not without its troubles. But with the right attitude, you can spot the good things that come after a storm. That’s certainly been true for me.

As you can hear, Tedd and Mark shaped April Showers in a way unlike Jolson’s version. And, as an introduction to my collaboration with them, well — as Jolson would say — You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet!