Detour Ahead

"Detour Ahead" is a jazz standard with words and music credited to Herb Ellis, Johnny Frigo, and Lou Carter.[1]

The song was written in 1948[1] while Carter, Ellis and Frigo were part of The Soft Winds, a group they created after leaving Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra. The original lyrics compare love's progress to a motor trip – the perfect metaphor in 1950s America.

Credit for music and lyrics is to Carter, Frigo, and Ellis, based on their mutual agreement when the Soft Winds trio was formed that the three would share credit for any music composed by any of them during the existence of the band. After the group disbanded, Johnny Frigo spent the rest of his life in Chicago, where he made a good living as a first-call bassist in studios, which were busy recording "jingles" (music for radio and TV commercials). It was jokingly said that "he had a cot at Universal Recording." In addition to bass, Frigo was an excellent violinist, often performing in local clubs. Pianist Joe Vito was a frequent partner. During those performances, Johnny told the story of the Soft Winds agreement about composer credit, and said that he wrote both music and lyrics for "Detour Ahead." These evenings often included Johnny's witty poems and limericks.

Away from the jazz scene, for many years Frigo played "fiddle" on the Midwest Barndance, which originated from the ABC owned WLS-TV.