Music of the Oscars 2013

Left to right: Barbra Streisand; Adele Adkins; and Dame Shirley Bassey.

When I saw the picture above on Facebook (thanks, Casey Stratton!), I knew I wanted to do a post. But then there was the tricky issue of finding a YouTube link that wasn't either crappy or would stay up long enough. So I went to Daily Motion, and found what I needed. But first, I have a confession. I did not watch the Oscar telecast. I was watching hockey for a while, and then tuned in to watch 'The Walking Dead' on AMC. And then 'Talking Dead', with The Nerdist, aka Chris Hardwick. I did follow on Twitter, which told me who won, what worked, and what didn't. But I figured I could find the musical performances that interested me later. But as I documented earlier, it wasn't as easy as I thought. With all the build-up and the Twitter twaddlings, there were three performances that I craved to see, and that pictures said it all for me. The women whose music I love, and all three have been on this blog before. It is Adele, Dame Shirley Bassey, and Barbra Streisand. In those three ladies, there is such a wealth of talent, it is scarey. I shall begin with the newest of the three, the exquisite Adele, who came on to sing the theme song of the latest Bond movie, 'Skyfall'. It is a wonderful song, and she sings it beautifully. After listening to the video, I was slightly disappointed, but not really by Adele, but but the sound mixer for the show. Adele was on the the entire song, but the chorus was mostly lost, overpowered by the band. But still, I will take a badly mixed Adele over so many other artists, so here is Adele singing "Skyfall".

And the second singer from the United Kingdom to make me happy would be the always brilliant Dame Shirley Bassey. I am old enough to remember the original recording of her Bond themes on the radio, and knowing they were something special. And certainly aware that she was special as well. What I didn't realize until this week was that Dame Shirley was the only person in the Bond series to sing theme songs to three different movies. There is no doubt I remember the themes to 1971's Bond film 'Diamonds Are Forever, as well as the 1979 effort, 'Moonraker'. And while I was a bit young to remember the original release of the 1964 theme, I certainly heard it for years to come, as it was something amazing. And forty-nine years after the original release, Dame Shirley returned to sings the theme to 'Goldfinger', and made it special once again, at the age of seventy-six. Enjoy listening to, and watching, as Dame Shirley Bassey sings "Goldfinger".

And last but not least, there is the magnificent Barbra Streisand, a singer I have adored for as long as I can remember. Indeed, I remember being a teenager and buying her albums, including the early ones with some spectacular music from the Great American Songbook. I wasn't sure what she was going to sing, but if I gave it any thought, it was a no-brainer that she would be offering a tribute to the late Marvin Hamlisch. Once the 'In Memoriam' video rolled, Streisand came out singing one of the many amazing songs written by Hamlisch, sung by Streisand as the theme of the movie 'The Way We Were', starring Streisand and the stunning Robert Redford. The song was released in 1973, making this the 40th anniversary. Like Dame Shirley, Barbra was looking and sounding great. Please enjoy the clip of Barbra Streisand singing "The Way We Were", just a few months shy of her seventy-first birthday.

Memories Fade...

Clockwise: featuring the music of Tears For Fears; Marshall Crenshaw; Barbra Streisand; and Bronski Beat.

When thinking of what to post about tonight, a flood of memories came to me. You know, the musical kind. Songs began began to play, in a random way. And that is when it occurred to me, I should post about memories. You see, so many of our memories are anchored in music. The songs and artists you were listening to at any point in your life begin to play, and you are brought back to a time, to a place, surrounded by the people you knew. How would I apply this to a blog post? I went into my iTunes, and typed in 'memory' and 'memories' and settled on four songs that fit that bill. One of those that did was by Tears For Fears off their 1983 debut, 'The Hurting'. I loved that album, with the dark and brooding music it contained. That could definitely be said about the song "Memories Fade", written by Roland Orzabal, who also took on the lead vocals.

I remember listening to a lot of music by Marshall Crenshaw, brought to me by my sister Kim. Together, we saw him playing live a couple of times, and enjoyed him. I think my personal favorite album was his 1985 release, 'Downtown', a slightly darker collection, with a bit of a raw edge. It also included a wonderful song written by Crendshaw, "Like A Vague Memory".

It was in the early 1980s that I started by love affair with Jimmy Somerville, then singing with the Bronski Beat. I loved every measure of music on their debut album, 'Age Of Consent', one of my favorite albums of 1984. And while many of those songs immediately invoke memories of an apartment in Brooklyn, or going out to a club in the Village, I love it all. So I decided to go by the rules here, and include a song that was included in the reissue of the album. This is the beautiful "Memories", which I swear has mystic qualities. It was written by Jimmy Somerville, Larry Steinbachek and Steve Bronski. I might add that the Bronski Beat and Somerville were the first openly gay musicians I remember listening to, and following. I still follow Jimmy's music today.

And, finally, I decided to bread the rules just a bit, for this song really is all about memories. In fact, the first that is the first lyric of the song. I am, of course, talking about the great song with lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman and music by Marvin Hamlisch, "The Way We Were". It was sung impeccably by Barbra Streisand, the theme song to her 1973 movie of the same name. It is amazing, for it not only discusses how memories are strewn like scattered snapshots in our brain, but it also engages so many memories of listening to that song, when my heart was broken. It was always one of those songs I went to when a relationship ended.

Do you have songs that being back your favorite memories?

Remembering Marvin Hamlisch

Earlier today, composer Marvin Hamlisch passed away following a short illness. It seems like a tall order to talk about a career that cut such a wide swathe, having not only worked but truly conquered so many mediums with music. Hamlisch was born in New York City, and as a child of a musician/conductor, he was always infatuated by music. Before he was 7 years old, he was accepted into a pre-college program at Julliard. In his teens, he made extra money playing rehearsal piano for another young star-to-be, Barbra Streisand, on Funny Girl. As a composer, he won awards for his work in the theater, television, music, and movies. His first exposure to the public was good, as he had written "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" with Howard Liebling, a Top 20 hit for Lesley Gore in 1965. Marvin was just a kid of 20 when he wrote that song that appeared in the film Ski Party.



That was a song that came and went, and soon he was back to work. In 1973, he gained attention with his work on movie soundtracks, most notably for two movies released within months of one another. The first was the unforgettable movie The Way We Were, starring the brilliant Barbra Streisand and gorgeous Robert Redford. Along with his friends Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Hamlisch wrote a song for the film, aptly called "The Way We Were". That became a monster hit for Streisand, a song that still touches my heart. It spent 3 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Here is a clip of Streisand singing it live on a television special in 1975.



The second movie was a little hit called The Sting, starring the handsome duo of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Hamlisch adapted and arranged the ragtime music of Scott Joplin for the film, including an amazing instrumental version of "The Entertainer" made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Soon he was at work in another medium. Marvin managed to increase his profile when he worked on a little musical called A Chorus Line, with Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood, Nicholas Dante, as well as director Michael Bennett. The show was nominated for an amazing 12 Tony Awards, and won 9 of them. Of the three they did not win, two were categories that were won by fellow cast members. It was a huge, smash hit. The show took a look at the lives of the ladies and gentlemen in a Broadway chorus line. My family took a trip to London and we saw it on London's West End, and it was brilliant. I had never before seen any TV show or movie that had such a positive portrait of a gay man. In fact, two of the handsome boys were gay, a real revelation. The show opened up with a look at the casting session of the chorus line for a new show. Here is the original cast for A Chorus Line performing "I Hope I Get It".



In 1977, Marvin was again back at work for the movies. This time, he worked with then-girlfriend Carole Bayer Sager for the 1977 Bond thriller, The Spy Who Loved Me. The theme song sat at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three straight weeks. This is Carly Simon singing "Nobody Does It Better".



There is much more work I could share with you, but I think as I bring this to an end, I must return to A Chorus Line once again. You see, there was plenty of great music, and some amazing performances. When Priscilla Lopez sang "What I Did For Love", there was not a dry eye in the house. And when the cast performed the show-stopping "One", no one was left in their seats. Here is a video of those two numbers.



So you can tell by just the few songs featured and mentioned in this post, Marvin Hamlisch left a rich history of music that will be featured in piano bars, karaoke bars, and in the hearts of many for a long time to come. With such a rich legacy, you may now rest in peace, Marvin.

Sunday Night with Gladys Knight & the Pips

There are times when you just have to go back to the original, a talent so big you know they will always have a place in your heart, with songs you will never, ever resist. Some might call that 'going old school', but I prefer to think of it as appreciating fine talent. William Guest, Edward Patten, and Merald "Bubba" Knight are names to remember, especially when coupled with Gladys Knight. They, of course, were the Pips. Knight had an amazing rich voice, and a brilliant ability to interpret the songs she tackled. In 1966, they were signed to Motown Records by the immortal Berry Gordy. In 1968, they were the first to suggest to Gordy that he sign an Indiana group, the Jackson Five. They had come across them while they were touring with the hits they had in 1967, starting with the amazing Heard It Through the Grapevine. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, Gladys & the Pips took the song to #2 on the Billboard charts. It was a track from their Everybody Needs Love album. A year later, another version by Marvin Gaye made it to #1 on the charts.



Their final album for Motown, Neither One of Us, also spawned another great hit. Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) went up the Billboard singles chart to the #2 spot, firmly establishing them as a Pop power to be listened to.



By 1973, Galdys and the boys moved from Motown to Buddah Records, and their first album was Imagination. That album contained their greatest hit. When Midnight Train To Georgia, written by Jim Weatherly, hit the airwaves, it was enough to make the stars become superstars.



Another hit from Imagination was written by Gerry Goffin and Barry Goldberg. I've Got To Use My Imagination went to #4 on the Billboard singles chart, and was a song that



The Way We Were was written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman and Marvin Hamlisch for the legendary Barbra Streisand in 1971. Streisand had a #1 hit with the song, the theme to a movie of the same name. In 1975, Gladys and the Pips had their own live version, which also used bits of the song Try To Remember, a song from the musical The Fantastisks, with lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt. The song took a life of it's own on the radio, and made it to #11 on the singles chart.



Following a final tour in 1988, Gladys Knight & the Pips disbanded and Gladys pursued a solo career. They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2005, Edward Patten lost his lifelong battle with diabetes, although the rest of the group still survives. There is a rumor that Gladys is back in the studio recording a new solo album with producer (and American Idol judge) Randy Jackson.