Week 11

These are the songs I picked between 5 September and 11 September 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

Easy to Love* – Lee Wiley with Paul Weston & His Orchestra …  It is not as she was older or wiser, she was only 18, and yet she knew this was a long-term investment relationship. Love was a profit, not a requirement.

If I Were A Bell – Ernestine Jackson

Dance Sequence – A Woman in Love – Renee Renoir, Ruben De Fuentes … I believe we tend to romanticise the times in which we grew up, but we glamorise the era in which our parents lived.

You Gotta Have A Gimmick – Faith Dane, Betty Bruce & Roxanne Arlen

Everything’s Coming Up Roses – Ethel Merman … I believe when Ethel Merman created the role of Mama Rose, she injected a lot of her own personality. I don’t think La Merman was as ruthless and aggressive as the real Rose, but I think she gave the character that charming no-nonsense quality that became Mama Rose’s main trait.

The Donkey Serenade – Mario Lanza

Put On Your Sunday Clothes – Charles Nelson Reilly, Jerry Dodge, Carol Channing, Igors Gavon, Alice Playten, Ensemble

* Top 10 Contender

Week 10

These are the songs I picked between 29 August and 4 September 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

I’m The Greatest Star * – Barbra Streisand … The seller described it as a unique item that included one ticket stub and autographs from Barbra Streisand and Sydney Chaplin.

Dime – Rubén Blades

Love Walked In – Virginia Verrill & Jon Hall

In Our United State – Bob Fosse

Who Cares? – Marueen McGovern, Larry Kert … Bill was as charming and convincing as Wintergreen. However, Hilary was no Mary Turner.

The Varsity Drag ** – Ann Morrison

Porgy, I Is Your Woman Now – Nina Simone … This rendition of Porgy, I Is Your Woman Now floored me when I first heard it. Her delivery is so soulful.

* Top 10 Contender

** Top 10 Fast-Tracked

Week 09

These are the songs I picked between 22 August and 28 August 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

The Grotto (Get Out of Town/My Heart Belongs to Daddy/Just One of Those Things)  – Orchestra

Now You Know *  – Craig Rubano with Marsh Hanson … It was as if the last vestige of having been 25, full of irrelevant opinions and a distorted perception of my contribution to humanity, was finally subsiding. 

Blue Skies  – Ella Fitzgerald

Not Every Day of the Week (reprise)  – Peter Frechette, Veanne Cox

Prologue – Follies  – Orchestra – Featuring Bernadette Peters … The only song I knew from the show was “I’m Still Here”, which has been sung by every woman over 60 who has ever had a cabaret act.

Stuff Like That There  – Bette Midler … God bless Bette Midler! The woman can take a song and make it sound as if it was written just for her.

Silky Thoughts/Cool Hand Luke  – Orchestra

* Top 10 Contender

Week 08

These are the songs I picked between 15 August and 21 August 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

I’m Putting All My Eggs In One Basket – Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald

Lullaby Of Birdland – Ella Fitzgerald … Upon my return to the United States, I came across this Ella Fitzgerald song. In a matter of days, I had already come up story of love, betrayal, jazz, murder mysteries, black magic, oil production and reincarnation.

Make Someone Happy – Brian Stokes Mitchell, Heather Headley

I Whistle A Happy Tune – Julia McKenzie & John Francis … Once, he organised a séance at my parents’ first house to get rid of a ghost who was tormenting them, particularly my father.

On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever) – Barbra Streisand

A Piece Of Sky * – Barbra Streisand …  For the first time, I saw feasible having a different life from the one I was supposed to live.

Pick Yourself Up – Mel Tormé

* Top 10 Contender

Week 07

These are the songs I picked between 8 August and 14 August 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

I Can’t Be Bothered Now * – Kirby Ward

I Got Rhythm – Jodi Benson 

Overture – Damn Yankees – Orchestra – … Overtures serve a purpose, not only they introduce the audience to the songs they’re about to hear on the show, but they also have a logistical purpose.

Fate Happens/Death Of A Mad Son – Orchestra

Almost Martyrs – The Academy Studio Orchestra

Toledo Surprise – Garth Kravits, Jason Kravits, Lenny Wolpe, Jennifer Smith, Georgia Engel, and the company of The Drowsy Chaperone – … One weekend, four weeks after I introduced them both, (yes, I introduced them) he gave me the literal “it’s not you, it’s me,” talk.

Come Fly With Me – Frank Sinatra and Luis Miguel – … If I went back in time, I’m sure I could hear myself saying fabulous for the first time.

* Top 10 Contender