Tag Archives: songwriting

The Real Jersey Boys

21 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by in Writing, Performance, Music

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

***

Monday morning, Big Girls Don’t Cry.

Last week I saw an excellent revival of the musical Jersey Boys, the play about the rise and fall of The Four Seasons, but I don’t think even the amazing Aaron DeJesus as Frankie Valli sang in as high a key as Frankie does in this clip. In this live performance (voices are live, music pre-recorded) Frankie falters on one of the notes, but it’s still great.

Thanks to YouTuber onepapa2

Ooh Baby Baby

14 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by in Music, Performance, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

***

Monday morning, loosen your tie with the man, besides Berry Gordy,  most responsible for the success of Motown, the brilliant singer and songwriter Smokey Robinson.

Gotta love the swivel 1.0 choreography for the Miracles, too.

Thanks to Youtuber QuentinCoxBOI

That Musical About The Two Rival NYC Gangs…

09 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Comedy, Life, Music, Performance, Theatre, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

***

A delicious parody of West Side Story with Will Ferrell and his SNL compatriots.

Thanks to YouTuber

Quintet

30 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by in Music, Performance, Theatre, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

***

Monday morning, The Jets, The Sharks, Tony, Maria, and Anita get ready for the big night. Lucky them to have the Bernstein/Sondheim music to prepare to. Still the best score from an American musical in my opinion.

Thanks to YouTuber John Long

Where or When: Rodgers and Hart

20 Friday Sep 2019

Posted by in Music, Performance, Theatre, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

***

I like the songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein very much, but it’s the Richard Rodgers songs written with Lorenz Hart that I appreciate the most.

Hart’s lyrics were always several notches more interesting than those of the usual love song; he was always exploring a different side of love in each song.

“Where or When” is one of my favorites with its evocative lyrics. Brian d’Arcy James and Susan Egan do the honors.

Thanks to YouTuber fschnell

Little Girl Blue: Janis Joplin

09 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by in Life, Music, Performance, Writing

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

***

Monday morning, a blues.

When an artist has so much raw talent sometimes the skill and hard work are overlooked. Recently I watched the American Masters documentary about Janis Joplin and it really brought home just how intentional her work was. She knew exactly what she was doing and her idols were Nina Simone and the other great blues singers.

Her version of the great Rodgers and Hart song takes it into a different stratosphere.

Thanks to YouTuber TheJairo1710

Get Your Plane Right On Time

22 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by in Music, Performance, Writing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

***

It’s not enough that Josh Turner plays perfect guitar and the best Paul Simon covers you’ll ever hear, but the freakin’ guy actually does the Artie Garfunkel part for “Only Living Boy In New York” as well. Just amazing.

The reverb is courtesy of a tunnel in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. And stay tuned for the announcement after the song. Wish I could hop on a plane.

More at Josh Turner Guitar

Fool’s Gold

26 Friday Jul 2019

Posted by in Music, Performance, Theatre, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

***

The great and idiosyncratic Anthony Newley, singing, in costume, the song from Stop The World, I Want To Get Off! that had him laughing all the way to the bank.

Thanks to YouTuber Anthonay Newley

That Business Called Show

15 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in Life, Music, Performance, Theatre

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

***

Monday morning, Miss Merman doing what she did best.

Years ago, I was visiting someone in Roosevelt hospital in NYC, and to my surprise, there was Ethel, unpretentiously doing volunteer clerk work.

Thanks to YouTuber Alan Eichler

All The Things You Are: Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald

01 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in Music, Performance, Theatre, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

***

Monday morning, we go legit. If you follow my blog regularly, you might know that this is one of my favorite jazz standards (see here and here and here for other versions). But it was originally written for a Broadway play for two duets with a lush orchestra. Here are  two wonderful legit singers, Norm Lewis and the extraordinary Audra McDonald, with their heavenly version.

Thanks to YouTuber Kylie Briggs

Floods Of Florence

21 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by in Life, Music, Performance

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

 

***

The Phil Ochs song about the 1966 Florence, Italy floods (fifty straight days of rain breached the walls of the River Arno which runs through the city) set to BBC footage of cleaning up the aftermath, as people attempted to save some of the artwork stored in the lower levels of museums, churches and warehouses.

Thanks to  YouTuber OnionFart (!) for the great job of putting this together.