I have seen some talented folks in the New York City subway systems, but I missed the performance a few days ago when Michael Bublé and the group Naturally 7 did an acapella performance of “Who’s Lovin’ You.” The song is from Bublé’s new album To Be Loved (2013).
I am not sure I believe that the highlight of Bublé’s tour is actually singing in the subway station at W. 67th Street, but it does look like everyone had a good time.
Where would you like to see Michael Bublé and Naturally 7 sing next? Leave your two cents in the comments.
George Jones, one of the greatest country singers, and the owner of one of the best voices in any genre, passed away today. The Possum was 81.
You may find more detailed accounts of his life in the obituaries, but each one will mention “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” the great song written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putnam and recorded by Jones in 1980 not long after his divorce from Tammy Wynette disintegrated into cocaine use and added to the legend of “No Show Jones.” Many call the song, which is about a man who never loses his desire for a lost love, the greatest country song of all time. It also has one of the best twist endings of any song. And the brokenhearted have probably played “He Stops Loving Her Today” on more honky tonk jukeboxes than any other song. Here’s a live performance on The Ronnie Prophet Show in July 1980.
While any discussion of Jones will begin and end with “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Jones had other hits and other great songs like “The Race is On,” “White Lightning,” and “A Good Year for the Roses.” As the hits stopped in later years he remained a respected country music living legend. In 1999 he had some success with an album I love, Cold Hard Truth. The album included the wonderful song “Choices,” which, like “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” seemed to fit Jones like a glove:
“I was tempted, by an early age I found, I liked drinkin’, oh, and I never turned it down; There were loved ones but I turned them all away; Now I’m living and dying with the choices I’ve made.”
When Jones was supposed to perform “Choices” at the 1999 Country Music Association Awards show, the producers asked him to omit verses from the song, apparently so they could focus on younger artists. Jones stood up for what was right and refused to cut the song and boycotted the show. But Jones was so respected that Alan Jackson cut his own performance of “Pop a Top” short to sing Jones’s song, a tribute that yielded a standing ovation.
Below is Jones’s version of “Choices,” added to a video played during George Jones’s 2013 Farewell Tour. It is a perfect way to say goodbye to the man. RIP.
What is your second-favorite George Jones song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
I have been listening to Steve Earle’s new CD, The Low Highway, and enjoying it. I will probably have more to say about it after some more listens, but in the meantime, check out this video. Earlier this week, Steve Earle was on the Late Show With David Letterman, where he performed his new song about the homeless, “Invisible.”
According to Rolling Stone, that is Chris Masterson playing the pedal steel and Eleanor Masterson playing the violin.
In other Steve Earle news, Earle and Shout! Factory announced that on June 25 they will release a box set entitled, Steve Earle: The Warner Bros. Years. The box set will feature his three great post-prison albums from the 1990s, Train a Comin’, I Feel Alright, and El Corazón. The package will also include a fourth CD of an unreleased concert album Live at the Polk Theater from 1995. The Nashville concert was his first after being released from jail. Additionally, the box set will contain a DVD of a 1996 concert at the Cold Creek Correctional Facility in Tennessee, To Hell and Back.
American Songwriter has the track listings and Billboard has the audio of a live version of “Devil’s Right Hand” from the new set. Because I already have the three previously released albums (and they are among my favorite CDs of all time, I hope they also release the additional material separately.
What is your favorite Steve Earle song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On April 25, 1917, Ella Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia. The great jazz singer eventually became known as “The First Lady of Song” and “The First Lady of Jazz.”
Unlike many other great jazz singers of her era, Fitzgerald is probably remembered for her upbeat optimistic songs instead of sad jazz ballads, although she did those songs justice too. But her childhood was anything but happy.
After moving to Yonkers, New York with her her mother, Fitzgerald’s mother passed away. Thus, the young girl found herself an orphan at the age of fifteen. After running away from an abusive stepfather, Fitzgerald lived in a variety of places, including an orphanage, a reformatory, and on the streets.
But Fitzgerald pursued her dream. She found some success performing at an amateur night at The Apollo Theater in Harlem and later as a regular singer at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom with Chick Webb‘s Orchestra (later renamed “Ella and her Famous Orchestra” after Webb’s death). But it was a nursery rhyme that gave Fitzgerald her first huge hit.
A-Tisket, A Tasket
Fitzgerald, along with Van Alexander, took a nursery rhyme about a little yellow basket and she recorded it as a catchy popular song in 1938. Her version of “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” became a huge hit. If you have never heard her swinging original version, you are in for a treat. Check it out.
Fitzgerald performed “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” in her first big screen appearance in Abbott and Costello’s Ride ‘Em Cowboy, a 1942 comedy film. She played a ranch employee, singing the song for other employees on a bus. A complete high-quality clip is not available, but you may see a clip — covered with some narration — on YouTube.
Later Years
For Fitzgerald’s take on a more modern song, check out her performance of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” She performs at the Hollywood Palace in February 1968, with an introduction by Jimmy Durante. Fitzgerald would later perform the song at the 1969 Montreux Festival.
In Fitzgerald’s later years, she suffered a number of health problems. On June 15, 1996, Fitzgerald passed away in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 79.
As for the yellow basket, there was a happy ending. Fitzgerald later recorded a sequel to “A-Tisket, A Tasket” with Chick Webb called “I Found My Yellow Basket.”
What is your favorite Ella Fitzgerald performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.
For twelve M*A*S*H episodes from 1973 through the series finale in 1983, actor Allan Arbus created one of the great recurring character roles in television history. Arbus, who played the psychiatrist Major Sidney Freedman, passed away in 2013 due to complications of congestive heart failure. He was 95.
Anytime I am flipping around the TV channels and come across a M*A*S*H episode with Arbus, I stop and watch it because I know it is something special. Arbus’ portrayal of Major Sidney Theodore Freedman provided part of the heart and soul of the series. The psychiatrist even allowed the long-running heart of M*A*S*H, Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce, to digress into troubled waters while Dr. Freeman assumed the role of providing some sanity in insane circumstances.
Arbus, whose first wife was photographer Diane Arbus, went on to other TV and movie roles. But he was so good as Dr. Freedman, that Alan Alda claimed he had assumed that Arbus had psychiatric training. While Arbus did not have such training, he had served in the Army as a photographer.
When Arbus first appeared during the second season of the series, Dr. Freedman’s first name was “Milton,” but in subsequent appearances his name was changed to Sydney, possibly in a nod to the initials of Sigmund Freud.
Reportedly, Arbus was offered a more regular role after Gary Burghoff (Radar O’Reilly) left the series, but he preferred his occasional appearances. Yet he still managed to make a memorable impact on the show with only twelve appearances. Summaries of his episodes are available here).
On the final episode “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” after caring for a troubled Hawkeye, Dr. Freedman exited by repeating advice he had earlier given to the members of the 4077th: “Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.” Remembering Arbus and his passing today, it is still good advice in our insane world to take a moment to enjoy the good things in life. Thank you Dr. Freedman.
What is your favorite episode of M*A*S*H with Allan Arbus? Leave your two cents in the comments.
. The box set will feature his three great post-prison albums from the 1990s, Train a Comin’, I Feel Alright, and El Corazón. The package will also include a fourth CD of an unreleased concert album Live at the Polk Theater from 1995. The Nashville concert was his first after being released from jail. Additionally, the box set will contain a DVD of a 1996 concert at the Cold Creek Correctional Facility in Tennessee, To Hell and Back.
