Tag Archives: Olivia Newton-John

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 28 – 2 – 8 JANUARY 2015

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190 FRIDAY 2 JANUARY 2015

Usted Abusó – Celia Cruz & Willie Colón

Anthology

I believe this is the first Celia Cruz song I remember hearing and liking. I guess it was also the first time I heard of Willie Colón. Like most of the songs from this week, I chose this one because I like it; nothing much to say about it.

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WEEK 26 – 19 TO 25 DECEMBER 2014

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176 FRIDAY 19 DECEMBER 2014

Le Jazz Hot – Julie Andrews

Victor_Victoria Soundtrack

If “Les Uns Et Les Autres” (See Week 15 No. 100) was the movie the made me want to be a filmmaker in 1983; the year before that, “Victor/Victoria” was the film that taught me that you can tell any story you want to tell as long as you know how to do it.

A woman pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman, seemed like a very convoluted story to tell, but director Blake Edwards managed to pull it off brilliantly. Under the guidance of Toddy, Victoria Grant, an out-of-work opera singer in Paris, poses as a drag queen in order to find a job as an entertainer in a cabaret. On the night of her debut at Cassel’s, she captivates the audience with her rendition of Le Jazz Hot. Everybody is impressed, including King Marchand, a gangster from Chicago who doubts if Victor is really a man.

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