Beatles- two of us

Today,

it's "Julia", "Norwegian Wood", "Something", "And I Love Her", "Eleanor Rigby", "Two of Us", "I Feel Fine", "You're Gonna Lose That Girl", and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" all around me. I realize that The Beatles have so many lovely songs, and most of them sound really familiar even if I rarely touch my Beatles playlist, just because I grew up in a house where their music was a Sunday morning staple, thanks to my dad.

Oh, but now, I alternately sit and lie on the bed, wrapped in a jacket and a blanket, nursing tonsillitis and a bad cough. Been drinking lots of water like a good girl, though swallowing is agony and the cough makes my already sore throat hurt even more. Yet I am thankful, 

thankful that I have the Beatles to coo me to sleep, to sing the pain away.

Bill Evans-My Foolish Heart

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L !!!

From the (not-so-weekend) couch:

Caught this on the Turner Classic Movies channel last night. My dad had taught me "Over the Rainbow" (yep, that Arlen/Harburg ballad that was to become Judy Garland's signature song) when I was a kid and so I finished the movie, even though it turned out horribly outdated (but what did I expect?).

And yeah, I was Dorothy, too, as she uttered the line "there's no place like home" over and over , on her delirious way back to Kansas.

So, what's new?

My dad would love this:

And so would I.

From Broadway.com:

DESCRIPTION

Come Fly Away combines the seductive vocals of Frank Sinatra with the sizzling sound of a live 19-piece big band and the visceral thrill of Twyla Tharp’s choreography. Fifteen of the world’s best dancers tell the story of four couples falling in and out of love at a swinging nightclub on a sultry summer night, set to a score of beloved Sinatra classics including “The Summer Wind,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “One for My Baby,” “My Way,” “Theme from New York, New York,” and “I’ve Got the World on a String.”

Ted Neeley, 27 years after JCS

A friend shared this video on his facebook.



"Gethsemane" is my favorite song from "Jesus Christ, Superstar" (1973).

One word for dear ol' Ted: amazing.

from youtube

The 7 Von Trapp Children...

...all grown up.


I got this from an e-mail my dad sent me. There was a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart when I saw these pictures. I must've seen "The Sound of Music" a hundred times.

Well, okay, maybe less.

Broadway Frenzy via YouTube

Some lasting impressions:

1. Bernadette Peters has this amazing performance of "Being Alive" from Sondheim's Company at the "Hey, Mr. Producer" concert. She is one feisty redhead! Click here to watch.

2. Robert Cuccioli is hysterically wonderful as Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde in Jekyll and Hyde. Click here for his moment in "This is the Moment."

3. Lea Salonga awes as Fantine in Les Miserables. Is there anything this girl cannot do? Watch her here.

4. I love this clip of Mandy Patinkin singing "Children Will Listen" from Into The Woods. Here, he sings a medley of "Loving You" from Passion and one of my all-time favorite Broadway songs "If I Loved You" from Carousel.

5. In this clip, Michael Ball sings "I Only Want To Say" from Jesus Christ Superstar with such aplomb that I played it over and over when I bought the Andrew Lloyd Webber 50th Birthday Concert DVD. Il est magnifique!

6. Michele Marsh, as Hodel, sings "Far From the Home I Love," perhaps one of the saddest songs from The Fiddler on the Roof. And, of course, "Matchmaker"!

7. I read somewhere that Vanessa Redgrave, by far, overshadowed Julie Andrews in the Guinevere role (Camelot) and I couldn't agree more. In "The Lusty Month of May" and "Take Me To The Fair," she delights as the slightly bored, inwardly playful, scheming, perpetually singing queen.

8. Here, Lea sings the Gershwins' "Someone To Watch Over Me" from Crazy For You in a beautifully laid-back way. And, without a doubt, here is the most beautiful version of "I've Never Been in Love Before" (from Guys and Dolls) I have ever heard.

I could go on and on.

Some other time, perhaps.
=)

Wanted: Ella

Been scouring Amazon for Ella Fitzgerald albums. Oh, but there are just so many that I like!

Pure Ella: The Very Best of Ella Fitzgerald



Oh, Lady, Be Good! Best of the Gershwin Songbook



The Best of the Song Books: The Ballads



And these ain't even half of 'em yet!

Nothing Beats the Oldies

Caught a couple of old musicals on the Turner Classic Movies channel last Sunday:

1) Easter Parade (1948)- which starred Judy Garland (as Hannah Brown) and Fred Astaire (Don Hewes). Irving Berlin's "It Only Happens When I Dance With you" is such a lovely song, and so is "A Fella With an Umbrella," light and funny and sung by a girl and a guy, meeting for the first time and walking under the rain, sharing an, um, umbrella.
Some interesting tidbits about this film: The role of Don Hewes was originally written for Gene Kelly; the movie was the only collaboration between Fred Astaire and Judy Garland; and another movie (The Barkeleys of Broadway) was planned out for them, however, Ginger Rogers had to take the place of Judy Garland. Cool story, huh?

2) An American in Paris (1951)- an Academy Award Best Picture Winner, with Leslie Caron (as Lise) and Gene Kelly (as Jerry Mulligan). Nothing could compare to "Our Love is Here to Stay." The Gershwins are such geniuses! The movie was Leslie Caron's debut into filmdom (she went on to play the title role in Gigi, some years later).
One of the film's highlights, aside from its score, is a 13 minute uninterrupted "dream ballet," (described as "pretentious" by some critics) which cost half a million dollars to produce! Was wondering if the dance scene was ever gonna end, the first time I watched it.

Wouldn't mind watching these films for the zillionth time, though. Makes me feel like a child again.

An Apology

I was editing my posts when I accidentally did the stupidest thing. I deleted the post entitled "My Father's Songs."
And here I am hoping that I'd be able to watch "Singin' in the Rain" again so I could write another testament to my dad's influence on me.
But then again, do I really need Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly to remind me of the gift of music which my dad has given me? (I have often been told that when my mom was in labor, my dad requested that there be piano music so that when I came out into the world, it would be the first thing I'd hear.)
So, Daddy, here's to you. And to music.