Welcome back to the countdown!!!

Enjoy this sweet vintage image of an angel holding a small Christmas tree.  Heavenly!!!

Found on Pinterest (original source unknown).  

Yesterday, we celebrated the King of Soul,  Today, we hail the Queen.

While we may never be able to agree on the greatest male voice of all time, there is only one woman who qualifies as the top female choice.  She sang everything from gospel to R&B, soul to pop, mainstream and rock to opera.  She appeared on TV and not just in music awards specials.  Who can forget Murphy Brown’s reaction when she finally met her idol?  She also sang in movies (“The Blues Brothers” and its sequel) and won every honor and award in existence during her 50 plus years as a singer.

She became a cultural icon along the way as well.  Not too many singers have had the opportunity to perform at a presidential inauguration, but this woman did.  She sang “My Country Tis Of Thee” for Barack Obama in January 2009.  Towards the end of her performance, as she sang the words “let freedom ring”, the camera cut away from her and went to an American flag waving in the wind.  It was a beautiful moment for our country, and just one of dozens this woman gave us.  How we have survived the last 16 months without her is a complete mystery to me, and a heartbreaking one at that.

                                                                      Aretha Franklin, Jones Beach, NY July 2011.

Aretha Franklin: “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” (based on a 1739 Christmas carol with various writers including Charles Wesley and George Whitefield).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing some things that I love with you  🙂

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!