COMING UP – WEEK 38 PREVIEW

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Hello, Dolly – Barbra Streisand … Funnily enough, nobody ever mentions, La Streisand being too young to play Walter Matthau’s love interest, she was only too young to play Dolly.

I Want To Be Happy – Jack Gifford, Susan Watson, Ruby Keeler … Why would an old man sing that to a young girl? Maybe, that kind of relationship between a legal guardian and his ward was common in the 1920s, but not now.

I’m Still Here – Yvonne De Carlo

In The Still Of The Night * – Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd

It’s a Wrap, I Found a Dream – Michelle Williams, Lang Lang

Join the Circus – Jim Dale, Original Broadway Cast … I told them my story about wanting to run away with them. They reminded me that they were not a circus and that the people who joined their organization did it for the love of singing.

The King and I: Finale Ultimo – Ben Kingsley, Julie Andrews, Edmund Kingsley, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, John Mauceri, Mevina Liufau, The Los Angeles Master Chorale

* Top 10 Contender

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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COMING UP – WEEK 37 PREVIEW

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Week 37 Preview

Candy – Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford & The Pied Pipers 

City Lights – Liza Minnelli … The four of us lived happily for a few years in a row house on Capitol Hill until Miss Täche, a socialist lesbian cat, came to live with us. 

Dancin’ – Olivia Newton-John, The Tubes

Drums In My Heart – Philip Chaffin … During those days, when I finally step into the light I feel so joyful, happy to be alive and content to be part of the human race again. 

Feelings You’ve Got To Hide – Emily Skinner, Alice Ripley

Finale B (No Day But Today) – Rent Original Broadway Cast … 1997 was the year I was obsessed with “Rent”, the musical. I had seen the Tony award and Pulitzer Prize winner show twice and thought it was perhaps the most important show of the 1990s. 

H-A-P-P-Y; We’ll Take A Glass Together – David Jackson, Danny Strayhorn, Michael Jeter, Brent Barrett, Ensemble

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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COMING UP – WEEK 36 PREVIEW

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(I’m a Dreamer) Aren’t We All – Johnny Gale & Little Isidore … I used to consider myself a dreamer, actually, I still have dreams; I just don’t label myself as such anymore. 

Almanaque – Soledad Bravo

All Of You – Frank Sinatra

Along Came Bialy – Nathan Lane, Madeleine Doherty, Jennifer Smith, Kathy Fitzgerald, Matthew Broderick, Brad Oscar, Cady Huffman, Gary Beach, Roger Bart, Ensemble … George W. Bush had been elected appointed the 43rd President of the United States, and the idea of the Federal Government recognising same-sex couples, or even de-facto partnerships for that matter, seemed far away.

The Beautiful Land – Ensemble

The Best Things In Life Are Free – June Allyson, Peter Lawford … When you get to my age, you wish your share of the moon and the stars had any value so you can add it to your retirement fund.

Big Time – Lisa Kirk

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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COMING UP – WEEK 35 PREVIEW

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Ferryboat Serenade (La Piccinina) – The Andrews Sisters … I haven’t owned a car in 12 years. I simply don’t like driving, never did.

South America, Take It Away – Buddy Clark

42nd Street – Kate Levering … 42nd Street has never been more dangerous, sleazier and sexier than with the musical version of this 1932 song. 

Go Visit – Tommy Breslin, Henrietta Jacobson

Let’s Face the Music and Dance – Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

Unexpected Song – Bernadette Peters … I knew this day would arrive, I just didn’t expect it to be so soon … there’s no denying that I like Andrew Lloyd Webber.

You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby) – Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

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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COMING UP – WEEK 34 PREVIEW

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Week 34 Preview

Rich Man’s Frug– Orchestra

All About Love – Natalie Cole

Heat Wave – Marilyn Monroe … My father had a Super 8 camera and projector and through the years we had built a tiny collection of cartoons and home movies. As a matter of fact, my first work as an editor was splicing together a family trip to Mexico into just one reel.

Thoroughly Modern Millie * – Sutton Foster … We just need to make sure we keep up with new things and adapt, so we’re not left behind. In other words, we have to be thoroughly modern, and embrace change.

This Could Be the Start of Something Big – Jack Jones

She Loves Me – Buddy Greco

Out Of The Blue * – Julia Murney, Brian d’Arcy James … when I combined both “The Wild Party” albums, I went into a very dark place where I stayed for most of the summer of 2000. 

* Top 10 Contender

WEEK 33 / 6 – 12 FEBRUARY 2015

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225 FRIDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2015

Proud – Heather Small – Top 10 Contender

Queer As Folk

I’ll always associate Proud with “Queer As Folk”, the TV show.

It is a nice coincidence that I write about this song in the week I’ve just finished binge watching “Queer As Folk”, the American series. I watched and enjoyed the original run from 2000 to 2005. However, it was only this second time around that I’ve come to appreciate the cultural and, in a way, the historical significance of the show. Before 2000, no TV show had ever addressed so openly the issues of the gay community in any city, USA. For the first time, many young gay people saw themselves mirrored in real characters that captured with precision the reality of their lives.

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