Category Archives: Music

WEEK 43 / 17 – 23 APRIL 2015

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295 FRIDAY 17 APRIL 2015

Who’s That Woman? – Terri White

061 Follies (New Broadway Cast Recording)

Often I wonder how I could have gone on for so long without knowing anything about Sondheim’s “Follies”. I only discovered it four years ago. Of all the songs from the show, Who’s That Woman is one of my favourites. A group of old showgirls and their former selves gather once more on the stage to do their signature number from thirty years ago.

I recognised Terri White as one of the women who was part of the ensemble of “Liza Live at Radio City”. Her potent voice is hard not to remember. I felt a bit sad when I learned of her misfortunes. Around 2009, she lived on a park bench in Washington Square in New York. Fortunately, a good Samaritan lent her a hand, and she could put her life together and continue her career in theatre.

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WEEK 42 / 10 – 16 APRIL 2015

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288 FRIDAY 10 APRIL 2015

There’s No Business Like Show Business – Ethel Merman

The Ethel Merman Disco Album

I’ve always been fond of La Merman. I’m unsure if she reminds me of my mother’s favourite cousin, Isabel, or if Ethel was the first diva I ever became aware of.

I’m sure I first saw her on a rerun of “The Lucy Show”, where she played herself but pretended to be someone else. In typical Lucy fashion, she tries to get Merman to perform in a PTA benefit or something like that; not only was I charmed by her, but what a set of pipes she had. Probably around the same time, I saw her on an episode of “That Girl” with Marlo Thomas. Again, she played herself doing some sort of show where Thomas’ Anne Marie had a walk-on. Once again, she charmed me.

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WEEK 41 / 3 APRIL – 9 APRIL 2015

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281 FRIDAY 3 APRIL 2015

The Saga of Jenny – Maria Friedman

Lady in the Dark 1

How often do we need to make up our minds until we finally get it right? Actually, will we ever get it right? We’re a product – or a victim, depending on how you see it – of the decisions we have made in our life. No master plan or supreme being is deciding how our lives will unfold, and if there’s one, you often feel he must be using contractors to run your life; or he’s just a cunt.

No, we and only we are responsible for how our lives take shape.

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WEEK 40 / 27 MARCH – 2 APRIL 2015

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274 FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2015

Noche de Chicago – Mirla Castellanos

Baladas Inolvidables_ 20 Grandes

When you grow up in a non-English speaking country, like I did, sooner or later, the big hits of America or the UK make their way to your radio stations in your local language. That was the case with The Night Chicago Died. The Paper Lace hit made its way to Venezuela shortly after it topped the US and UK charts.

During October and November 1974, the Spanish version by Mirla Castellanos dominated the radio waves. The song was so popular that they even made a music video, which I believe is probably the first music video I remember watching. Every time I hear this song is 1974 all over again.

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WEEK 39 / 20 MARCH – 26 MARCH 2015

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267 FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2015

Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off – Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald

Ella & Louis

Back during the first weeks of the list I included “Just In Time” (See Week 4, #24). At the time, I told you about an independent study I had done during the summer of 1991. The idea was to write a series of scripts for a TV show to ease the integration of Central America refugee children into the American culture.

My scriptwriting professor at American University, John Douglass, helped me with the script treatment for the series; its basic premise and the places the plot could go. The series name was “Living In Monte Placer” or “Living in Mount Pleasant”, a mostly Latino neighbourhood in the District of Columbia. Each episode was to deal with many things, such as immigration issues, language barriers, and employment matters affecting the members of an El Salvadoran family, five adults and three kids. Among the supporting characters, there were three elderly tenants, an Italian immigrant, her husband, and an African American woman.

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WEEK 38 / 13 MARCH – 19 MARCH 2015

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260 FRIDAY 13 MARCH 2015

Hello, Dolly – Barbra Streisand

Hello Dolly

I have always loved this song. As with any Jerry Herman song, there’s enough material to write a short story. It is one of Herman’s most famous songs. I’d be willing to bet that, even if you’re not into musicals, you’ve hummed the first bars of this ditty at some point in your life.

Based on Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker”, “Hello, Dolly” tells the story of Dolly Levi, a widow whose favourite pastime is to meddle in people’s lives. One day she decides to stop mourning her late husband and return to the cheerful life she once had.

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WEEK 37 / 6 MARCH – 12 MARCH 2015

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253 FRIDAY 6 MARCH 2015

Candy – Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford & The Pied Pipers

Your Hit Parade - 1945

Candy belongs to a group of songs that I discovered in the early 1990s, mostly through Time’s “Your Hit Parade Series, The War Years”. The song was also featured in the movie “Bugsy” which it is perhaps where I listened to it for the first time.

I’ve always been intrigued with the melancholy that varnishes this song. I guess that by trying to make it a romantic ballad, the arranger ended up with a sad tune. However, the reason could be that most likely this is a song about lovers separated by war. Whichever the case may be, I think it is one of the prettiest songs from that era.

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WEEK 36 / 27 FEBRUARY – 5 MARCH 2015

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246 FRIDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2015

(I’m a Dreamer) Aren’t We All – Johnny Gale & Little Isidore

Boardwalk Empire, Vol. 3_ Music From the HBO Original Series

Being a dreamer. When is a good time to wake up and deal with the real world?

I’m not entirely sure how this song ended up on the list. First time I heard it was a few months ago when I bought the “Boardwalk Empire” album. I’m pretty sure it was a younger part of me who felt attracted to this song.

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WEEK 35 / 20 – 26 FEBRUARY 2015

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239 FRIDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2015

Ferryboat Serenade (La Piccinina) – The Andrews Sisters

1940

I haven’t owned a car in 12 years. I simply don’t like driving, never did. Unlike my brother, who started driving at 14, I didn’t show any desire for driving when I was growing up. As a matter of fact, I waited until I turned 20 to get my driver’s licence. Several factors played a role in me getting my permit then. First, my university schedule became very erratic, and I found hard finding a ride to and fro the university, which was 45 minutes away from the city. Second, my parents thought I was getting too old to depend on them to ferry me around the city, or all the way to the university. Third, and I think this was the deal breaker, my musical taste. My brother and sister didn’t want me to tag along with them and play my music during the 45-minute-long ride to the university campus. I know, how can someone’s exquisite taste in music have him kicked out of a car ride? That’s unheard of.

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WEEK 34 / 13 – 19 FEBRUARY 2015

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232 FRIDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2015

Rich Man’s Frug– Orchestra

Sweet Charity - 1966 Original Broadway Cast

Could there be another song more mid-1960s sounding than the Rich Man’s Frug? I doubt it. This silly psychedelic tune comes from Bob Fosse’s 1966 musical “Sweet Charity”. During a swanky affair, a group of velvet-clad dancers do the “Frug”, a dance craze at the time. The style, full of lateral movements came to represent everything Fosse’s choreography was about. Take, for instance, “The Aloof”, walking with shoulders back and swinging your arms from side to side, which is a Fosse signature move.

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