Category: #MusicMonday

Positively 4th Street #MusicMonday

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Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña and Richard Fariña by David Hajdu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Positively 4th Street

A better for Positively 4th Street might be Positively 4th Street: The Lives, Loves and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña and Richard Fariña. It chronicles Bob Dylan and Joan Baez’s romance and the causes of its dissolution.

More interesting, however, are the life, loves and times of Richard Fariña, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident, on the day of the 21th birthday party he threw for his wife Mimi Baez Fariña (Joan’s younger sister).   Why there isn’t a cult surrounding Richard Fariña, I don’t know. I came away wanting to know more, read Richard’s one novel Been Down So Long It Looks Up to Me, and discover the recordings by Richard and Mimi Farina.

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Norah Jones’s Top Murder Ballads #MusicMonday

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Norah Jones is one of the top selling recording artists of the past 10 years.  She is featured in Lucky Magazine’s first music issue (August 2012).

Norah Jones

I used to belong to an Indian women’s discussion forum, in which someone waxed indignant about Norah’s alienation from her Indian roots (her father is Pandit Ravi Shankar).  I wrote, what positive incentive does Norah have to embrace her Indian roots, given that her father was out of her life during her childhood and youth?  To which someone agreed.

On the other hand, Norah is a champion of American music, and this playlist of murder ballads compiled for Lucky demonstrates this.  You will need to download the Spotify player to listen.  The ads between the songs are irritating, but that’s Spotify’s business model.

We had hoped to see Norah Jones in concert at Wolf Trap, but the concert was sold out before we could buy tickets.  It seemed only right, as we have seen her sister Anoushka Shankar perform live three times – and we got to chat with Anoushka at CD signings following two of the concerts.

Dinah Washington – What a Difference a Day Makes #MusicMonday

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As I wrote, I got hooked on Female jazz vocalists, especially the classic women jazz singers.  I remember Ella Fitzgerald as an older woman appearing on network TV, and I knew that she was renown for her scat singing.  I didn’t know how silky her voice could be.  Then, of course, there is Billie Holliday.

When I first heard Dinah Washington, I wondered “Who is she?” “Where has she been all my life?” which betrays my ignorance more than anything else. Here she sings what is probably her best known song ‘What A Difference A Day Makes’ and picks up the tempo with ‘Makin’ Whoopee.’ Louis Jordan and his band back her in this TV segment.

And the announcer is none other than our prez Ronald Reagan!  What could be better??!!

Lol.  This will be heresy to true believers, but I don’t think that the Reagan years were all that great.

Petula Clark – "Downtown" #MusicMonday

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Petula Clark might well have been the top female pop vocalist of the mid-1960s, with hits such as “Downtown” “Colour My World” “I Know A Place” “My Love” “Don’t Sleep in the Subway.”

Here’s my favorite: the peppy “Downtown”:

Petula Clark today:

Petula Clark at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Arts Party in May, looking terrific for a lady who will turn 80 on November 15.  Name her a Dame to mark her 80th birthday!  

Nina Simone performs Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne #MusicMonday

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After my recent #MusicMonday features on Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne and Female jazz vocal compilations, it seems fitting that I feature Nina Simone’s unique styling of “Suzanne”:

In the 60s, Nina Simone was known for protest songs such as “Mississippi Goddam.” She also performed songs such as The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s “Feeling Good,” Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s “I Put a Spell on You,” and “Ain’t Got No/I Got Life” from the musical Hair with her one-of-a-kind styling.

In a future #MusicMonday feature, I’ll present Nina Simone’s cover of Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn’s “Love Me or Leave Me.”

Female jazz vocal compilations #MusicMonday

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It all started with a TV commercial for the 2-CD set Lady Sings The Blues of songs performed by female pop and jazz vocalists.  Perhaps Capital Records was trying to, er, capitalize on the success of Norah Jones (Norah is signed with Capital subsidiary Blue Note and her cover of Roxy Music’s More Than This is featured on the CD set).  Curious, I purchased the 2-CD set, and I was hooked.  I began buying similar CD compilations from places as diverse as The Sharper Image (before it closed its brick-and-mortar stores), Bed Bath & Beyond, Whole Foods Market, and my local Hallmark store.  Here’s a list of some CD compilations of songs recorded by female pop and jazz artists:

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In upcoming weeks, I’ll feature videos of Nina Simone and Dinah Washington.

Leonard Cohen’s "Suzanne" #MusicMonday

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Can you tell that I’m a fan of Leonard Cohen?  An inductee into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, he was most recently awarded the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize.  Love this: one great Canadian artist wins a prize named in the memory of another great Canadian artist.

Leonard Cohen’s song “Suzanne” has been covered by many artists, but “Bird on a Wire” and, of course, “Hallelujah” are his most popular songs.

Here is the earliest recording (1966) Of “Suzanne,” by the folk group The Stormy Clovers. The video comprises photos of The Stormy Clovers, Leonard himself, and the Montreal waterfront.

And here is Leonard performing “Suzanne” with Judy Collins, who brought his songs to the attention of the broader listening public:

In an upcoming #MusicMonday post, I’ll feature Nina Simone’s unique styling of “Suzanne.”

k.d. lang sings Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah #MusicMonday

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It’s been several weeks since I had a #MusicMonday feature. This week, I present k.d. lang’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s much-recorded Hallelujah.  You will have to click through the freeze-frame to watch the video:

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been a fan of Leonard Cohen’s songs for over 40 years (I was precocious), when Judy Collins introduced Leonard Cohen to the listening public.

Watch the end of the video, when k.d. lang honors Leonard Cohen, who is sitting in the front row.  Don’t blink, or else you’ll miss Anne Murray 🙂

A distant cousin posted this video to Facebook.