It’s been described that the word crooner was given to male singers of jazz music either backed by a full orchestra, big band or piano. What allowed the crooners to perform with such finesse was the invention of the microphone. Before the mic, singers had to project their voices to the back of the theatre. I describe crooners as singers ... Read More »
The song said he did it “His Way”. . . and at the end of his life, it certainly appeared that he had. But upon deeper reflection, Frank’s life was like any other life in that it had highs and lows, except his were much higher and much lower. In the early 1940s, the teenagers of that day screamed whenever ... Read More »
”Can’t sing. Can’t act. Balding. Can dance a little.” This inauspicious quote about Fred Astaire’s early foray into Hollywood has been talked about for years. Fred, himself, said the quote was “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Also dances.” This obviously was not a good beginning for this extraordinarily talented man who helped lift the spirits and rescue the world from the ... Read More »
Music and art. Art and music. For me, the two are closely intertwined. Right now, as I write this, I am listening to the sound track to Defending Your Life. In the 1950’s and early 1960’s, divorce wasn’t as common as it is today. I grew up an only child of a divorced single mother. I would always hear whispers, ... Read More »
Perception deception. One of my favorite stories is about the late, beautiful Laura Nyro. In 1967, she appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival. The story goes, she followed the late and immortal Jimmy Hendrix. As always, Jimmy was a sensation and when Laura followed him, she, well, felt that she wasn’t quite “as popular”. For years afterwards, she would tell ... Read More »
Movies and music have always gone together. Just think Flashdance and Saturday Night Fever. But back in the 40s and 50s most of the popular music came from either Broadway shows or movies. Some of these songs are as recognized today as they were when they first came out. When I’m in my art room, I play a mix of ... Read More »
I was a little girl when I first heard the Peter Gunn theme. I fell in love with the work of composer, conductor and arranger, Henry Mancini. This successful collaboration between the producer of the Peter Gunn series, Blake Edwards, and composer, Henry Mancini, inspired them to work together for the next 35 years on 30 films. Henry was so ... Read More »
This is a belated thank you to Stevie Wonder . . . ful. I grew up with Stevie’s music and I love it. When I came of age, as a young teenager, the one and only Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons released the song, Sherry. Everywhere I went I’d hear my friends singing Sherry in Frankie’s falsetto voice. Well, ... Read More »
Mind If I Make Love to You is a gorgeous song sung by Frank Sinatra from the movie, High Society, with Frank, Grace Kelly and Bring Crosby. I have all of Frank Sinatra’s music and this song has always been one of my favorites. It was written by Cole Porter who has always been one of my favorite song writers. ... Read More »
What do Basia and Swing Out Sister have in common? They both have made some of the most beautiful music in the world. Basia is a singer, song writer and record producer. Her Latin flavored jazz music was so successful that she was also able to cross over into the pop music world. Basia’s vocal range spans three octaves and ... Read More »
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