Good morning, WA2K radio folks.
edgar, I do wonder where the O'Jays got their stage name. Certainly not from Orange Juice, right? Thanks, Texas, and I am not familiar with the group, but they put a different slant on Bob's song.
firefly, Those two songs from Perry in Tokyo are unbelievable. Often I wonder if if the man's compassion and talent preserved that lovely voice of his right up to the end. What a lovely tribute and thank you.
Well, it seems that today is Beatrix Potter's birthday, so let's hear a tribute to her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm73GEirIwY&feature=related
One of the people to perform at JFK's inauguration was The Queen of Gospel Song, Mahalia Jackson. Here she offers one of her typically stirring renditions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in9dBuA_sIk
firefly, Although I listened to all of your great music this morning. I could not take my "ears" off Pablo Casals and Chopin. Thanks, gal, for the wonderful way to start the day. A cello has the most perfect sound. In viewing Casal's photo, I could not help but look behing those eyes. Somehow, he looked sad, but a genius such as he, just as Chopin, doesn't often fit in the world. Well, I read Jackie O, but found the entire book was mostly about John; nevertheless, Happy Birthday, Jackie.
UhOh, folks, today is Marcel Duchamp's birthday, and here is an unlikely tribute to him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFNOHxrio0g
I agree, Letty, that Casals' recording is just incredible.
I think I could spend my day listening to music that the Kennedy's embraced. It is truly very varied. But the musical influence in the family was mainly Jacqueline. I don't know that JFK was particularly a music lover. Rather than remember Jackie for her beauty or style, I'd rather remember her through music she enjoyed and helped to bring to public attention. And it wasn't just the music from Camelot.
According to reports, this song, and the dance it inspired, found it's way into the White House.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5PqydMA1kA
A White House guest and, later, a sometime escort of Jacqueline Kennedy, was Leonard Bernstein. She personally commissioned his work, Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players & Dancers, for the opening of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 1971.
Here is Bernstein conducting the overture to his delightful work, Candide.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=422-yb8TXj8&feature=related
Enjoying your music ladies.
Welcome back, O Cosmic One, and Thank You. I tried to listen to Leonard, but some doctor from the AMA overrode the symphony. Typical, no?
My goodness, folks, the tribute to Duchamp omitted his piece de resistance.
Here it is for all to try and see.
Happy Birthday to Jim Davis, creator of Garfield.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUUNslMcGh8
A small contribution from downunder, I always liked Glen Campbell.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=3d8cHq7td5Q&feature=related
Rudy Vallée
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Background information
Birth name(s): Hubert Prior Vallée
Date of birth: July 28, 1901(1901-07-28)
Birth location: Island Pond, Vermont
Date of death: July 3, 1986 (Aged 84)
Death location: North Hollywood, California
Genre(s): singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer
Spouse(s): Leonie Cuachois (anul)
Fay Webb (div)
Jane Greer 1944 (div)
Eleanor Norris 1946-86
Rudy Vallée (July 28, 1901 - July 3, 1986) was a popular American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer. Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée. Both of his parents were born and raised in Vermont, but their parents were immigrants; the Vallées being of French Canadian origin, while the Lynches were from Ireland. Rudy grew up in Westbrook, Maine. In high school, he took up the saxophone and acquired the nickname "Rudy" after then famous saxophonist Rudy Wiedoeft[citation needed].
Having played drums in his high school band, Vallee played clarinet and saxophone in various bands around New England in his youth. In 1917, he decided to enlist for World War I, but was discharged when the Navy authorities found out that he was only 15. He enlisted in Portland, Maine on March 29, 1917, under the false birthdate of July 28, 1899. He was discharged at the Naval Training Station, Newport, Rhode Island, on May 17, 1917 with 41 days of active service. [1] From 1924 through 1925, he played with the "Savoy Havana Band" in London. He then returned to the States to obtain a degree in Philosophy from Yale and to form his own band, "Rudy Vallee and the Connecticut Yankees." With this band, which featured two violins, two saxophones, a piano, a banjo and drums, he started taking vocals (supposedly reluctantly at first). He had a rather thin, wavering tenor voice and seemed more at home singing sweet ballads than attempting vocals on jazz numbers. However, his singing, together with his suave manner and handsome boyish looks, attracted great attention, especially from young women[citation needed]. Vallee was given a recording contract and in 1928, he started performing on the radio.
Vallee became the most prominent and, arguably, the first of a new style of popular singer, the crooner.[citation needed] Previously, popular singers needed strong projecting voices to fill theaters in the days before the electric microphone. Crooners had soft voices that were well suited to the intimacy of the new medium of radio. Vallee's trombone-like vocal phrasing on "Deep Night" would inspire later crooners such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como to model their voice on jazz instruments[citation needed].
Vallee also became what was perhaps the first complete example of the 20th century mass media pop star.[citation needed] Flappers, mobbed him wherever he went.[citation needed] His live appearances were usually sold out, and even if his singing could hardly be heard in those venues not yet equipped with the new electronic microphones, his screaming female fans went home happy if they had caught sight of his lips through the opening of the trademark megaphone he sang through.
In 1929, Vallee made his first feature film, The Vagabond Lover (RKO Radio). His first films were made to cash in on his singing popularity. Despite Vallee's rather wooden initial performances, his acting greatly improved in the late 1930s and 1940s. Also in 1929, Vallee began hosting The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour.
Vallee's recording career began in 1928 recording for Columbia Records' cheap labels (Harmony, Velvet Tone, and Diva). He signed to Victor in February 1929 and remained through late 1931, leaving after a heated dispute with company executives over title selections. He then recorded for the short-lived, but extremely popular "Hit of the Week" label (which sold records laminated onto cardboard). In August 1932, he signed with Columbia and stayed with them through 1933; he returned to Victor in June 1933. His records were issued on Victor's new budget label, Bluebird, until November 1933 when he was moved up the full-priced Victor label. He stayed with Victor until signing with ARC in 1936, who released his records on their Perfect, Melotone, Conqueror and Romeo labels until 1937 when he returned to Victor.
Vallee continued hosting popular radio variety shows through the 1930s and 1940s. The Royal Gelatin Hour featured various film performers of the era, such as Fay Wray and Richard Cromwell in dramatic skits.
Along with his group, The Connecticut Yankees, Vallee's best known popular recordings included: "The Stein Song" (aka University of Maine fighting song) in the early part of the decade and "Vieni, Vieni" in the latter '30s. Remarkably for an American, Vallee sang fluently in three Mediterranean languages, and always varied the keys[citation needed], thus paving the way for later pop crooners such as Dean Martin, Andy Williams and Vic Damone. Another memorable rendition of his is "Life Is Just A Bowl of Cherries", in which he imitates Willie Howard's voice in the final chorus. One of his record hits was "The Drunkard Song," popularly known as "There Is a Tavern in the Town." Vallee couldn't stop laughing during the first take, and managed a second take reasonably well. The "laughing" version was so infectious, however, that Victor released both takes.[citation needed]
Vallee's last significant[citation needed] hit song was the 1943 reissue of the melancholy ballad "As Time Goes By", popularized in the feature film Casablanca in 1943 (Due to the mid-1940s recording ban, Victor reissued the version he had recorded 15 years earlier.)[citation needed] During World War II, Vallee performed with the Coast Guard Band,[citation needed] entertaining U.S. troops with this 40-piece orchestra until 1944.
When Vallee took his contractual vacations from his national radio show in 1937, he insisted his sponsor hire Louis Armstrong as his substitute [2] (this was the first instance of an African-American fronting a national radio program). Vallee also wrote the introduction for Armstrong's 1936 book "Swing That Music".
In 1937 Vallee attended Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts.[3]
Vallee acted in a number of Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. Displaying his comedic abilities, one of his best acting roles[citation needed] is as the millionaire playboy on whom Claudette Colbert relies on in the 1942 screwball comedy directed by Preston Sturges, The Palm Beach Story. Other films in which he appeared include I Remember Mama, Unfaithfully Yours and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.
In 1955, Vallee was featured in Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, co-starring Jane Russell, Alan Young, and Jeanne Crain. The production was filmed on location in Paris. The film was based on the Anita Loos novel that was a sequel to her acclaimed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Gentlemen Marry Brunettes was popular throughout Europe at the time and was released in France as A Paris Pour les Quatre ("Paris for the Four"), and in Belgium as Tevieren Te Parijs.
In middle age, Vallee's voice matured into a robust baritone. (In his later years he told a collector of his early records that "Everything I did before 1950 you can **** on.")[citation needed] He performed on Broadway in the show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and appeared in the film of the same name. He appeared in the campy 1960s Batman television show as the character "Lord Marmaduke Fogg".[citation needed] He toured with a one-man theater show into the 1980s. He occasionally opened for The Village People[citation needed].
Vallee was married briefly to the younger actress Jane Greer, but that ended in divorce in 1944. His previous marriage to Leonie Cuachois was annulled and the one to Fay Webb ended in divorce. After divorcing Jane Greer, he married Eleanor Norris in 1946, who wrote a memoir, My Vagabond Lover. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1986.
Rudy Vallee died on July 3, 1986 at the age of 84, and he was interred in St. Hyacinth's Cemetery, Westbrook, Maine, from which his headstone has been falsely rumored to have been stolen.[citation needed] However, it remains in place, and reads "Rudy Vallee, July 28, 1901-July 3, 1986, Loving Husband of Eleanor, Music, Radio, Films," and includes the U.S. Coast Guard Emblem.
Sally Struthers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Sally-Ann Struthers
July 28, 1948 (1948-07-28) (age 60)
Portland, Oregon, USA
Years active 1970-present
Spouse(s) Dr. William Rader (m. 1977)
Awards won
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series
1972 All in the Family
1979 All in the Family
Sally-Ann Struthers (born July 28, 1948) is a two-time Emmy-winning American actress and spokesperson, primarily known for her roles in sitcoms and television. The naturally blonde-headed Struthers is perhaps best known for playing Gloria Stivic, née Bunker, the daughter of Archie and Edith Bunker (played by Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton respectively) on All in the Family.
Biography
Personal life
Struthers was born in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Margaret Caroline (née Jernes) and Robert Alden Struthers, who was a surgeon.[1] Her maternal grandparents were Norwegian immigrants.[2] She attended Grant High School. Struthers married Dr. William Rader, a psychiatrist, on December 18, 1977. Now divorced, they had one child together, Samantha Struthers Rader.
Career
Struthers first achieved fame for her portrayal of Archie Bunker's daughter, Gloria Stivic on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family. Producer Norman Lear found the actress dancing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, a counterculture variety show whose writing staff included Rob Reiner. According to a WPTT-AM radio interview with Doug Hoerth in 2003, Struthers felt that Rob Reiner's fiancée, actress Penny Marshall, would get the role of Gloria, as Marshall resembled Edith Bunker. Struthers also stated the Queens-based bigot was the brainchild of Carroll O'Connor and was not conceived by Norman Lear. After a shaky start, word of mouth propelled the program to the top of the Nielsen Ratings heap, giving tens of millions of viewers the chance to see "Gloria" defending her liberal viewpoints about negative stereotypes and inequality. Struthers won two Emmy Awards (in 1972 and 1979) for her work in All in the Family. Struthers also reprised her role of Gloria on the short-lived All in the Family spin-off Gloria (1982-1983). In 2001, Struthers said good-bye to her well-loved television "father" when she attended the funeral of Carroll O'Connor, along with Rob Reiner and Danielle Brisebois.
In Five Easy Pieces (1970), she had a memorable nude sex scene with Jack Nicholson.
Struthers was a semi-regular panelist on the 1990 revival of Match Game. She also had a recurring role as Bill Miller's manipulative mother, Louise, on the CBS sitcom Still Standing and regularly appeared on the dramedy Gilmore Girls as the girls' neighbor, Babette Dell.
Struthers has also provided voices for a number of animated series such as The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (as a teenage Pebbles Flintstone), TaleSpin (as Rebecca Cunningham) and Dinosaurs (as Charlene Sinclair).
The seeming disparity between her activism for starving children and her own weight gain was parodied in two South Park episodes: "Starvin Marvin" (1997) and "Starvin' Marvin in Space" (1999).
Activism
Struthers is also widely known for her work with two organizations that advertised heavily on cable and late-night television. The first of these is the Christian Children's Fund, advocating on behalf of impoverished children in developing countries, mainly in Africa. She has also worked with the International Correspondence School, which offers degrees by sending lessons directly to individuals' homes.
Teaching today
After being interviewed by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect said: "Let me see if I've got this right.
"You want me to go into that room with all those kids and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning. And I'm supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their T-shirt messages and dress habits.
"You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self-esteem.
"You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, and fair play, how and where to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, and how to apply for a job.
"I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, offer advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and scholarships, encourage respect for their elders and future employers.
"And I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.
"All of this I am to do with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, and a big smile AND on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps!
"You want me to do all of this, and you expect me NOT TO PRAY?"
Thanks for the chuckle, bobsmythhawk.
After listening to Chubby Checker this morning, I think they should revive the Twist, it might get people moving again.
Another musical talent who performed at the Kennedy inaugural festivities was Al Hirt. Here he performs the dizzying theme from the Green Hornet radio and TV series, which was also featured in the movie, Kill Bill, Vol. 1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgjzHSVDEA
I'm a big fan of opera, but often I don't like the way opera singers perform Broadway or pop tunes. One big exception is the way that Sherrill Milnes does the song, Maria, from West Side Story. I love it just as much as I love his Rigoletto.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=PPSw0yBiQqI
Good morning WA2K.
Enjoying the music.
Placido Domingo has a beautiful recording of "Maria", too.
Bio gallery:
Wishing all a lovely day.
Thanks, Dutchy, for the Glen Campbell song. I dedicated that to Ticomaya earlier on our radio station. Love him still.
Hey, hawkman. Thanks for the great bio's, and believe me, I know about the teaching problems. In the sixth grade our teacher made a routine check for head lice and at the same time quoted the adage:
It's not a sin to get lice, but it's a sin to keep lice. I converted that to read: It's not a sin to be ignorant, but it's a sin to stay that way.
firefly, we appreciate your music here and you are, once again, a welcome addition to our radio studio.
You know, folks, All in the Family showed all sides of America's peccadillos. Sally, of course, was "meathead's" wife, so here is a clip from that TV show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFfx79Z05dw&feature=related
Today is Rudy Vallee's birthday. Here he does a bouncy tune he also helped to write
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=pFwpabp3h3w
I also saw Rudy on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. But it was really Robert Morse who stole the show in that one. You can glimpse Rudy in this clip from the film version.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=l_29IeEeZqo&feature=related
Oops, folks, missed our puppy's quartet. Thanks, PA, for the delightful montage.
firefly, Rudy sang the way most vocalists did in that day and time. Recording equipment wasn't advanced. Thanks for Betty Co-ed.
Well, I did not realize that Rudy wrote this song. Here they are singing about lambs, but there's another Rah Rah song about bulldogs. It goes something like: Bulldogs, Bulldogs, Bow wow wow, Eli Yale.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_dA6IyZIDc&feature=related
