Dark Monday • It's Not Where You Start

Left: Tommy Tune and Ken Howard in 'Seesaw'. Right: Barbara Cook.

"It's Not Where You Start" written by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields for the musical 'Seasaw', the 1973 musical with a troubled pre-Broadway run, but went on to have a very successful New York run. The show earned a Tony Award for Tommy Tune for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, and for Michael Bennett for Best Choreography. The show featured many excellent songs, but it is hard to not call "It's Not Where You Start" the standout, especially with a standout delivery by Tommy Tune in the original production. So I was delighted when I first found this great performance by the amazing Barbara Cook, and couldn't wait to share it with you! Here is Barbara Cook singing "It's Not Where You Start".

"It's Not Where You Start" can be found on 'Close As Pages in a Book', and amazing 1993 release. The album showcased the songs written by the great Dorothy Fields, and it is a wonderful part of my music collection. You can purchase it on iTunes and Amazon.

Songs From the Hart • Rodgers & Hart

Clockwise: Anita O'Day, Barbara Cook, Dinah Washington, and Peggy Lee.

Richards Rodgers and Lorenz Hart were a monumentally successful writing team in the 1920s and 1930s, making hit Broadway scores filled with songs that went on to be an essential part of the Great American Songbook. And when they weren't working ion Broadway, they were making Hollywood sing! With songs like "Blue Moon", "With A Song In My Heart", "Isn't It Romantic", "Blue Moon", "My Funny Valentine", "The Lady Is A Tramp", and so many others, it is no wonder they rank among the top songwriters of the day. I offer you four very talented ladies singing four great songs I haven't mentioned yet, starting with one of my favorites, Anita O'Day. Her vocal instrument is a magical thing to me, So when she takes on a great song like "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered", I get warm just thinking about it. The song, from the 1940 musical 'Pal Joey', is so soft, so tender, and Anita delivers it so sweetly. So I hope you enjoy when Anita O'Day sings "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered".

There are just some special voices out there, and I have to say Barbara Cook is one of them. She was a glowing light on Broadway in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, including winning the Tony Award playing Marion in the original production of 'The Music Man' in 1957. In 1959, Cook released the album 'Barbara Cook Sings From the Heart', featuring the music of Rodgers and Hart. One of the tracks she sang was fro the 1936 musical 'On Your Toes', a show that was directed by C. Worthington Miner and choreographed by George Balanchine. It featured Ray Bolger, and the show ran for over 300 performances. It was originally written as a movie for Fred Astaire, but he thought it was not right for him, and it went to Broadway and made Ray Bolger a star. From that score came a delightful number that certainly grabs my attention, especially when sung by Cook. Please enjoy Barbara Cook singing "There's A Small Hotel", off her 'Sings From the Heart' album.

While many of her hits had a sexy, sultry feel, Peggy Lee was a great singer who showed through time and many styles just how great she could be. Lee began her career as a singer on the radio, and in fact had her own local show while still a teen. She moved to California, and was singing at club when she was discovered by Benny Goodman, and became his singer at the age of 21. Just a few years earlier, in 1937, Rodgers and Hart had a hit Broadway musical that was quickly made into an MGM musical. With a score that included "My Funny Valentine", "The Lady Is A Tramp", "Johnny One Note" and more, the 1939 film starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney was a surefire hit. Another of the songs was recorded in 1941 by Lee and the Benny Goodman Trio, one of their early recordings. I hope you love Miss Peggy Lee singing "Where Or When", their romantic look at déjà vu.

There is something so delicious and spicy about the vocals of Dinah Washington. Both her voice and her phrasing were unique, making her a must-hear vocalist. The woman was singing from an early age, first with the Gospel choir in church, and soon was singing solo, wining a talent contest at age 15, and launched a career singing in Chicago clubs. It was there she was heard by Lionel Hampton, who helped launch her recording career. By the late 1940s, Washington was making hit records, topping the R&B charts. In 1955, she released the album 'For Those In Love', made up by some of the great love songs of the time. That would include "This Can't Be Love", from the 1938 musical 'The Boys From Syracuse'. The song is a real look at love, as opposed to the romanticized look at it. I hope you can enjoy Dinah Washington singing "This Can't Be Love" as much as I do.

Rodgers and Hart wrote so many great songs, I could put together another 50 posts. And, given time, I just might. But I hope this Jazzy interlude makes for a nice moment in your weekend.

Dark Monday • Not A Day Goes By

Barbara Cook, left, and Vanessa Williams, right.

I am still sad that I managed to not be in the audience of the 2010 production of 'Sondheim On Sondheim', a musical revue much like 'Side By Side By Sondheim' which was first heard 34 years earlier, in 1976. Both picked some of the great music written by Sondheim over the course of his career, with the latter revue having the benefit of some additional great musicals written in the years since. It featured the amazing talents of singer/actress Vanessa Williams, as well as the legendary singer Barbara Cook. The ladies appeared on 'The View' together to perform a number from the show, which was a mash-up of two song from two different shows. Enjoy as the ladies deliver the goods on "Not A Day Goes By" from 'Merrily We Roll Along' and "Losing My Mind" from 'Follies'.

Both ladies are brilliant performers, as can be seen in the clip above. You can purchase the Original Broadway Cast recording of Sondheim On Sondheim on iTunes and Amazon.

Dark Monday • She Loves Me

In the Spring of 1963, a new musical opened on Broadway featuring a great cast, and with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music by Jerry Bock. They are perhaps best known for their brilliant work with 'Fiddler On The Roof', which would take the world by storm the next year. The show is a classic tale of boy becomes pen-pals with girl, and neither realizes they already know one another. It is a musical adaptation of the play 'Parfumerie' by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, thought to also be the inspiration for the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film 'The Shop around the Corner' and the 1949 Judy Garland-Van Johnson musical 'In the Good Old Summertime', among others.

Left to right: Barbara Baxley and Barbara Cook.

The musical was directed by the great Harold Prince and choreographed by Carol Haney, a great talent who worked with Gene Kelly and Bob Fosse, before striking out on her own on such musicals as 'Pajama Game' and 'Funny Girl'. The stellar cast featured Daniel Massey, Barbara Cook, Barbara Baxley, and Jack Cassidy. Listen to the overture, followed by a clip of Barbara Cook singing "No More Candy", from the first act of the show.

Now, it is tough to find a better voice than that of the amazing Barbara Cook. She did a particularly brilliant job with the second act show-stopper, "(Vanilla) Ice Cream". In fact, the song became a trademark song of Cook, who sang it often, including in this appearance on a 1979 French talk show.

You can purchase the Original Broadway Cast album for 'She Loves Me' can be found on iTunes and Amazon.

Dark Monday • Losing My Mind by Barbara Cook

Barbara Cook was a big star on Broadway in the late 1950s, capturing hearts of many with starring roles in Candide and The Music Man. She made her Broadway debut in 1951 in a short-lived musical, Flahooley. Not only did the audiences love her, but her peers were equally impressed, and she earned a Tony Award for her role as Marion the librarian in original production of Meredith Wilson's The Music Man. By the time the 1970s rolled around, Cook struggled with her demons, a battle that continued through music of the decade. But by the end, she was gaining back her life, and started headlining concerts that were must-have tickets. Her voice was still angelic, and she was known as a great interpreter of the Great American Songbook, and the new music of the American theater as well. Listen as she sings Losing My Mind from the great Stephen Sondheim show, Follies.



You can purchase the Original Broadway Cast recording of Sondheim On Sondheim on iTunes and Amazon. Cook as a member of the original cast, and, in fact, sung "Losing My Mind" and "Not A Day Goes By" with the beautiful Vanessa Williams. You can also check out her official website, where you can hear more great music, and find out more about this amazing artist.

Dark Monday • Sutton Foster, Patti LuPone & Audra McDonald

Top: Barbara Cook. Bottom: Audra McDonald; Sutton Foster, and Patti LuPone.

For tonight's Dark Monday, I had discovered this wonderful trio of women who raised their voices to honor a true Grand Dame of the musical theater, Barbara Cook. Ms. Cook was featured in the Kennedy Center Honors in 2011, and Sutton Foster, Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald where chosen to sing a few songs Cook had sung over her long and illustrious career.



The clip began with Sutton Foster singing Everybody Says Don't, from Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle. Then it was time to hear Patti LuPone sing the glorious Come Rain Or Come Shine, written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The amazing Audra McDonald comes out to sing Till There Was You from The Music Man, with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson. Finally, a chorus led by McDonald sings Make Our Garden Grow from Candide, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Richard Wilbur. Cook was in the original cast of both Candide and The Music Man, as well as featuring the music of composer Sondheim in An Evening of Mostly Sondheim.