I swoon for chippy paint, a gorgeous patina and a fabulous song!!! I love great music (read: Bruce Springsteen & Otis Redding), white lilacs, walking in freshly fallen snow, the Golden Girls, road trips and the fall!!!
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Last month singer/songwriter/pianist Gary Brooker died at the age of 76 in England. If you do not know his name, I am quite sure you knew his voice. He was the co-founder & lead singer of Procol Harum, so it is his glorious vocal that is front & center on their iconic 1967 hit. I have adored this song forever and it is featured in three of my favorite movies of all time: “The Big Chill”, “The Commitments” and “Pirate Radio” as the last song on the airwaves of “The Boat That Rocked”.
Brooker was also one of the composers of today’s phenomenal song, but he also played with several other artists, most notably for George Harrison (on 1971’s All Things Must Pass), Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman. Brooker also appeared in the 1996 film adaptation of “Evita”. But for me, nothing else he ever did would compare to his pensive melodic delivery of some of the greatest sing along lyrics ever written or recorded.
“The room was humming harder As the ceiling flew away When we called out for another drink The waiter brought a tray“.
Top: Gary Brooker (pictured front left) with Procol Harum in 1967. Bottom: (Pictured left) with Ringo Starr circa 1999. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)
Procol Harum: “A Whiter Shade of Pale“ (1967, written by Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher and Keith Reid).
Hi everyone. Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing. But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.
Six months have now passed since the pandemic came into our lives. I will refrain from using the terms that have become our new language and just say as difficult as this time has been, I am thankful for this outlet because it has given me back the magic of music. Listening to songs and artists I somehow lost track of or denied myself the joy of because I felt obligated to put others first in enabling ways or because of work or domestic monotony or anything else “I was supposed to do”. Well this time has taught me I come first-finally-and I will no longer deny that nor will I apologize for it. In the middle of a pandemic, I found me. How can I not be grateful for that? So, to quote Casey Kasem, on with the music. And a virtual road trip to clear out the cobwebs.
The voices I have heard in music have affected me in different ways. Some were subtle, some were intense and some were massive. Today’s singers fall into the last category. The first time I heard The Band, I fell in love with not one but three distinct beautiful voices-the ones belonging to Rick Danko, Levon Helm & Richard Manuel. Danko’s vocal on “Long Black Veil“, Helm’s vocal on “The Weight” (see day 60) and Manuel’s vocal on “I Shall Be Released“, with each of the other singers providing harmony on those songs, is some of the most remarkable music I have ever heard. After the original group broke up in 1976, the three singers along with fellow bandmate, multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson, reformed as a band in 1983. And despite the heartbreaking loss of Manuel in 1986 to suicide after an ongoing battle with drug & alcohol addiction, the other three members carried on.
Every time I heard their music or saw one of the singers, I felt at home. I remember sitting in a movie theatre watching “The Big Chill” and doing an internal cartwheel as soon as I heard the acoustic guitar intro to “The Weight” during the breakfast scene where every one gets their running shoes. Or when I was in the same theatre watching “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and seeing Levon Helm on the big screen as Loretta Lynn’s father, Ted Webb. Or whenever I needed to see “The Last Waltz” just one more time.
Danko died of heart failure in 1999 which is when this stunning group ended their career for good. Helm kept acting, performing and making music on his own, right up until he died in 2012 from cancer. With all three of these beautiful voices gone now, there is a place inside my soul that just yearns for them. Their contribution to music in general and my world specifically, is immeasurable, despite the efforts of others to downplay or forget their roles in one of the most extraordinary bands to ever make music.
“Everything dies, baby, that’s a fact But maybe everything that dies someday comes back Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty And meet me tonight in Atlantic City“.
Hello, Everyone!!! Did you watch the Golden Globe Awards last night?
Don’t you just love awards show season??? I do. I adore it. I love the escape into a dress up ball I will never get to go to but will always have a front row seat to every year. I find out about new TV shows and movies I have not heard about yet like “The Wife” which led to Glenn Close’s win for Best Actress in a Drama. I have loved her since “The Big Chill” & “The World According To Garp”. Her acceptance speech was empowering to every woman watching her, wherever they watched her from.
Glenn Close accepting her Best Actress in a Drama award (Getty Images).
I also love getting to see some of my favorite people in Hollywood. Like “The Dude” himself, Jeff Bridges, who won the Cecil B. DeMille Award (and looked unbelievably gorgeous doing so).
Jeff Bridges accepting the Cecil B. DeMille award (Getty Images)
And Sandra Oh & Andy Samberg who were hilarious as the hosts of the evening. I always liked her on “Grey’s Anatomy” & he killed me in his regular “Saturday Night Live” skit, In The Cage with Nicholas Cage, where Samberg impersonated-you guessed it-Nicholas Cage.
And two of my favorite funny ladies, Amy Poehler & Maya Rudolph. They always make me laugh till I ache.
Amy Poehler & Maya Rudolph sharing an intimate & hilarious moment (Getty Images)
And speaking of funny ladies, how about the Grand Dame of Comedy herself, Carol Burnett??? Not too many people have awards named for them. But not too many people set the bar as high as she did. But it was sad when she talked about how her show would never make it to air today. Sometimes progress isn’t all it is cracked up to be. What a tragedy it would have been if this woman never got the chance to share her meteoric talent & gifts with all of us!!!
Carol Burnett accepting the first award named for her (Getty Images)
Then there is the red carpet. I love to see all the fashion. Here are some of my favorite looks of the night. The first two are the ones I loved the most. Soooo pretty.
Kiki Layne in a dreamy pink custom Dior dress (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images).
One of my favorite “Community” alums, Alison Brie, in a beautiful Vera Wang gown with an embellished bralette (Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock).
Keri Russell & Matthew Rhys (Ftazer Harrison/Getty Images).
Irina Shayk & Bradley Cooper (Steve Granitz/WireImage).
Alaina Meyer & Johnny Galecki (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images).
Katherine Ross & her swooon-worthy man, Sam Elliot (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images).
Another of my “Community” faves, Ken Jeong & his wife Tran Jeong (Steve Granitz/WireImage).
Joanna Newsom & Andy Samberg (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP).
Susan & Jeff Bridges (Getty Images).
Maya Rudolph & Amy Poehler (Getty Images)
I firmly believe Dolly Parton’s song. “The Girl In The Movies” (which she co-wrote with Linda Perry for the Netflix film “Dumplin’ “) should have won the award for Best Original Song In A Motion Picture. It has a great message of empowerment, gives hope to those of us who might be thinking our time to shine is over (or worse, might never come) and Parton delivers a vocal with so much passion we know her own rags to riches story is part of where this song originated from. And it is Dolly freakin’ Parton, for crying out loud!!!
“I want to be the girl in the movies
Wish I had a nickel for each dime I’ve spent
Watching others live their lives with confidence
Here’s a preview of some things to come
It’s not too late for me to be someone
I can’t keep living in their make-believe
Coming attractions will be starring me
Gonna stand up And I’m gonna matter ‘Cause I’ve had enough of my dreams being shattered And I’ve had enough of my tears being splattered I’ve already been that girl
I want to shine (I want to shine) I want to shine (I’m gonna shine) It’s my time And I want to shine I want to be happy, I want to be free Just like the girl in the movies”.
I do not own the rights to anything. I am just sharing some things that I love with you 🙂
Lilacs & Rust 