A Song For Today: June 2023

June 1, 2023 (Song #1978): “Let It Be Me” (2021) by Joy Oladokun. Let’s kick off Gay Pride Month with kindness. Happy Birthday to Colleen Cooney, Ellen Hardy, Sarah Kochanski, Laura Curley Pendergast & Lesli Shapiro. xoxoxo LYRICS & CHORDS SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 2, 2023 (Song #1979): “Give Me Love” (1973) by George Harrison. LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 3, 2023 (Song #1980): “Y.M.C.A.” (1978) sung by the Village People and written by Jacques Morali and Victor Willis. Rolling Stones list of 25 Essential LBGTQ Pride Songs LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 4, 2023 (Song #1981): “I Can’t Begin To Tell You” (1945) sung by Joni James and written by James V. Monaco and Mack Gordon. Happy Birthday, Aunt Maggie Sherman (and thanks to her adoring husband, my Uncle Donny, for the song suggestion!) Here’s another version with Harry James & Betty Grable (but with no lyrics): https://youtu.be/iJiOXnYNyFc Love you both… xoxo LYRICS & CHORDS SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

T-60

June 5, 2023 (Song # 1982): “So Much In Love” (1963) sung here by The Tymes and written by George Williams and Bill Jackson. LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY #1 SONGS FROM 1963

Counting down 60 songs until my 60th birthday! For the next 60 days we will have 60 of the songs that give me chills when I hear them, songs that are integral to the life I’ve lived so far. Currently, the list of songs that give me that special feeling (not including any classical pieces, which would definitely include at least another 20 pieces) has more than 80 songs; I’m not sure how I’m going to wean the list down, but STAY TUNED! And, of course, SING DAILY! Today is T-60, the number 1 song from August, 1963 and a song that made me melt when I first heard it sung by The Colgate 13 in college.

June 6, 2023 (Song #1983): “A You’re Adorable” sung by Perry Como, with The Fontane Sisters and written by Sid Lippman, Buddy Kaye and Fred Wise. Today is T-59, and this is a song my father used to sing to us a lot. We also listened to Perry Como and then, in 2009, I recorded it with Peter Propp & Josh Margolis. Here’s our version, if you’re curious (posted as the 2/14/18 Song of the Day): https://youtu.be/m92N3whVNLA LYRICS & CHORDS SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY Happy Birthday today Julie Owen Bain and Lesley Addario Bentivegna and Happy Anniversary to Emma & Sean!

Counting down 60 songs until my 60th birthday! From June 5 to August 6 we will have 60 of the songs that give me chills when I hear them, songs that are integral to the life I’ve lived so far. Currently, the list of songs that give me that special feeling (not including any classical pieces, which would definitely include at least another 20 pieces) has more than 80 songs; I’m not sure how I’m going to wean the list down, but STAY TUNED! And, of course, SING DAILY!

June 7, 2023 (Song #1984): “Carolina In My Mind” (1968) by James Taylor. T-58* is in honor of the year 1965, when my sister Caroline was born (thank you, mom & dad). She has brought joy to me and everyone who knows her every day since then. This song was written in 1968, but it gave Caroline one of her best nicknames (thank you, Alison). Happy Birthday today to Griffin Burke (hope you enjoy the planes in the lyric video!). xo LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 8, 2023 (Song #1985): “I Got Rhythm” (1930) written by George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin and performed here by Judy Garland. My favorite version is this one performed by Gene Kelly in the 1951 musical film An American in Paris: https://youtu.be/mM-K2xVFyk0.

T-57 is a nod to all of the old movies I love to watch with my mom. Special shout-outs to John Bayers, whose father passed away this week but not before singing this song, and to the birthday girl, 95-years young, Dodo Bacharach (I hope she likes this one as much as I do). LYRICS & CHORDS SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 9, 2023 (Song #1986): “The Sky’s On Fire” written by me and Caroline in honor of our friend Noel DeCaprio; and performed by me and my brother Alex.

T-56 brings me back to 1967 when Alex was born; he has been an amazing brother and sings beautifully. Today his daughter Sophia celebrates her 23rd birthday and, coincidentally, she was nicknamed “Fire” by her aunt Caroline. APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 10, 2023 (Song #1987): “Teenager In Love” (1959) by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman and sung by Dion and The Belmonts. LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

Happy Birthday to Richard Foxhall, Maura Keating Hirschler & Sharon Freeman! xoxoxo

T-55* brings me to 1968 when my brother Russell was born; how lucky was I to get another amazing brother? This was his solo on our many car rides to and from Boston.

June 11, 2023 (Song #1988): “Frank Mills” (click the CC button below the video to get lyrics to sing along) from Hair (1968) written by Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot and performed by Shelley Plimpton. T-54* brings me to consider 1969; I wanted to be a hippy and this song was my anthem.

Happy Birthday to Carole Robinson, Nancy Walker & Jenni Wilson Sinek. xoxoxo

June 12, 2023 (Song #1989): Today we post two songs, since I realized that I’m a day behind (the older I get, the more mistakes I make!). “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970) by Simon & Garfunkel. T-53* brings me to 1970; this record was played over and over and over again in our house on Lone Pine Lane and there’s something about it that elicits memories of New York City and the Auto Pub restaurant and my Uncle Kenny, but I can’t, for the life of me, connect the dots, so I just enjoy the comforting feeling (I think Uncle Kenny, my dad’s twin brother, was acquainted with Art Garfunkel, but I’m not sure of the exact story or if that’s even true.) LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

Song #1990: Here’s song #2 for today to bring us to T-52* and 1971, another memorable and formative year for me: the year I started playing guitar. The story goes: on April 2, 1971, my sister Caroline received a Giannini classical guitar for her 6th birthday. She started taking lessons from Hank Anderson and I spent every lesson lurking in the doorway of the living room watching and listening to him teach her “Here Comes The Sun”. Caroline was not at all interested in learning to play the guitar and Hank told my parents that she might be better off with a ukulele (prescient for the Propps?). Caroline resolutely refused the ukulele and later told us that she never wanted a guitar, much less a ukulele and was completely confused by the gift. I, on the other hand, took to it all like a duck to water. Thank you, Caroline, for graciously and unintentionally giving me the best gift ever, second only to having you as a sister. P.S. There are no lyric videos with good fidelity for this song, but the visuals on this one are pleasing. LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 13, 2023 (Song #1991): “Brand New Key” (#1 in 1972) by Melanie. Here’s my version recorded by Josh Margolis with Peter Propp. T-51* brings me to 1972, when this song was #1 on the Billboard charts. (I was torn about what to play today, since 1972 is also the first year I went to Camp Pembroke, which has had a humongous influence on my life.) After taking my first guitar lessons from Hank Anderson, I took group lessons at the YMCA with a woman named Pru Gabert. She gave us tons of cool songs printed out on beautiful pastel-colored paper, but this one adhered to me like chain grease on a pant leg. It always makes people smile when they hear it; I hope you love it as much as I do. LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 14, 2023 (Song #1992): T-50* brings me to 1973. Today is a big day for me in the recognition of my own little history: we are celebrating the moment this lucky human discovered harmony. I remember, distinctly, being in the back of a Gibb Family’s Volvo on a trip home from Aspetuck where we went apple picking. While we were concentrating hard to shine our apples using our t-shirts (I believe we were competing to see which of us could make her apple the shiniest), I became aware that the family was singing. The song was “Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose” and their voices were sweet and soothing. But then, the proverbial lightning struck when they started to sing the same song at different times. The sound stopped me in my apple-shining tracks and brought me into a totally new sphere. I am now, thanks to the Gibbs, forever chasing – and stumbling upon – beautiful harmony. I will always be grateful to have been in the way back of that Volvo; thanks for inviting me, Cyn. xoxo LYRICS & MUSIC Happy Birthday to Marissa Zeitlan & Suzanne Urban! Xoxo

June 15, 2023 (Song #1993): “Seasons In The Sun” based on Jacques Brel‘s “Le Moribond” (“The Dying Man”) with lyrics rewritten by Rod McKuen and performed by Terry Jacks. T-49* celebrates 1974, the year that this song was the #2 hit on the Billboard Chart and a huge hit during bunk clean-up at Camp Pembroke; all the key changes motivated us to sweep and clean the toilets with a little bit more enthusiasm. Happy Birthday to Justin Heller, Steve Dodd, Paula Harvey, Kurt Anderson & Linda Ronstadt. SONG HISTORY LYRICS & CHORDS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY P.S. If you want to hear the song I wrote that was inspired by my time at Camp Pembroke, click HERE to hear “World Outside“.

June 16, 2023 (Song #1994): “Your Song”(1970) by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and performed by Elton John (here live on “Tops of the Pops”. ORIGINAL VIDEO LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

T-48* brings chills from two separate memories.

Memory #1: When the town of Westport closed Bedford Elementary (now Town Hall) and split us up into the remaining elementary schools, families on our street were sent to Hillspoint while others went to King’s Highway, Coleytown El, Saugatuck, Green’s Farms and Burr Farms (Long Lots was a junior high back then); needless to say, it was devastating. Teachers got moved, too, though, which was a good thing; we got Ed Clarke, the cool, leather & handlebar mustache wearing, motorcycle riding Art Teacher.

Mr. Clarke knew how upending this move was for us, especially those who’d spent 1st-5th grade just waiting to be 6th graders at Bedford El (where we’d have had the privilege to sit in the balcony during assemblies). One day, Mr. Clarke told me to bring my guitar to school and he had me perform outside (I remember sitting on a stone wall with my classmates on the grass in front of me at what is now A Child’s Place preschool & The Learning Community & Children’s Community Development Center – is it still all those things?). I played “Your Song” – taught to me by Linda Clifford (upon whom my whole family had a crush). I remember feeling funny about this, but trusting Mr. Clarke; it sealed me in my classmates’ minds as “the guitar player” but inspired one boy to call me “conceited”, a word I had to look up and didn’t get over until I went to therapy, which I highly recommend. Despite the confusion caused by unkind words, I’ve always been grateful to Ed Clarke for encouraging me to perform, so I, in turn, encourage my own students to perform for their peers as often as possible.

Memory #2: In 5th grade, my two best friends and I dubbed ourselves “The Three Musketeers” (original, I know) and the closing of Bedford El was especially unkind to one of our squad: Ann was sent to King’s Highway by herself, while Cindy & I were sent together to Hillspoint (scene of memory #1). There is a line in “Your Song” about sitting “on the roof and kicking off the moss” and I have very strong memories of sitting on both Cindy and Ann’s garage roofs. One day Ann and I had the genius idea to slide down her mom’s asphalt roof in an attempt to wear out a pair of jeans so they’d look cool (Ann even had her mother drive over the jeans with her car). Geniuses, I tell you: afterward, the jeans still looked brand new everywhere except on the butts where there were two big holes. My friendship with Ann survived the forced split imposed upon us by the closing of our beloved Bedford El; we bonded again in full force at Bedford Junior High (now Saugatuck) and now I talk almost daily to Ann and let her know “How wonderful life is while you’re in the world.” xoxo.

If you’ve read this far, allow me to add two more thoughts: (1) today is the last day of school in Westport and I feel for the 5th graders & 8th graders & 12th graders who are about to embark on a huge change in their life; they are ready, but it is still hard. Here is the song our Grade Five Singers sang yesterday at their Moving Up Ceremony: “Am I Ready?” (it’s not the Lizzo one, though, it’s mine). And (2): today is also the last day of school for our beloved principal, Kevin Cazzetta, who is retiring from life as a principal, but embarking on a new adventure. Kevin: As Elton & Bernie put it so beautifully: it’s been wonderful to have you in our world. xoxo

June 17, 2023 (Song #1995): “Freight Train” by Elizabeth Cotten. T-47* brings me back to Linda Clifford, who was an amazing influence on my life. I had so many great guitar teachers and I’m grateful to them all: Hank Anderson, Pru Gabert at the Westport Y, Joan Slosberg, Terese Keenan, Joan Sprung, (plus a teacher at Yale who taught me classical guitar, but that didn’t really take) and the beautiful Linda Clifford. (Thank you, also, to my generous, supportive parents for researching, paying for and driving me to all these lessons.)

Most of you already know that I wanted to be a hippy: I wanted to look like Linda Ronstadt or Melanie Safka – and Linda Clifford was all of this but even prettier and nicer AND she actually came to my house (I started out going to her chic cottage on Rayfield Road, but that ended when we discovered that I was allergic to cats).

Linda taught us how to grow and eat mung beans, encouraged Alex to walk on her back, hugged me when she saw that I wrote “I love Linda Clifford” all over the cover of my spiral music notebook (much to the amusement of my friends) and, best of all, taught me how to fingerpick. I remember spending hours practicing this song in my bedroom, staring at my hands.

Here’s my version of “Freight Train” (with Josh Margolis, Peter Propp and Emily Mikesell) which we added to the end of “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad”, a song that I loved because it has 3 different melodies mashed together. I am including it today so that you can hear the results of Linda’s amazing teaching, but I do so hesitantly because this song is on the list of songs with a questionable past and disrespectful roots and I know that it needs to be reconsidered.

Happy birthday to Deirdre Daly and Pam Einarsen! xoxo

LYRICS & CHORDS SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 18, 2023 (Song #1996): “Blossom” by James Taylor. T-46* brought me back to 1977 and 8th grade (and, weirdly, the SOTD is late today because in 8th grade I was a horrible procrastinator and, when I channelled my 13/14 year-old self, I suddenly felt the urge to do everything except the thing I was supposed to do. My mom is not laughing at this one…)

Weirdly, I chose today’s SOTD before realizing it was Father’s Day: this song will always make me think of my dad, an amazingly supportive father whose eyes are welling up with tears as he reads this. When dad hears me start to play the first two measures of this song, he settles in for a long smile. I learned this song from Terese Keenan, my guitar teacher after Linda Clifford; Linda must have moved away, or something, and I remember needing a new guitar teacher. All the cool girls at Bedford Junior High took guitar with Terese, thanks to Margaret Silverman, the ultimate cool girl. Like Linda, Terese also lived in a very hippyish shabby-chic apartment above a garage on Red Coat Road and she would spend the first 2 minutes of our lesson hearing me play the song we’d learned the week before, then 5 minutes playing songs for me to choose from, then the next 15 minutes writing the new song out in my notebook. This left about 8 minutes for an actual lesson, but I didn’t care because I was so happy sitting in her space and absorbing all her hippy coolness. If anyone knows were she is now, please tell her I say hi and thank you. Happy Birthday To David Burke and Happy Father’s Day to all who celebrate! LYRICS & CHORDS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 19, 2023 (Song #1997): T-45* brings me to 1978 and 9th grade, but, as I am acutely aware that today is Juneteenth, a seriously important day in our country’s history, I have chosen to honor it with one of my favorite songs: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” sung by Etta James. This is a song I learned in 3rd grade when I was in a play that celebrated the life of Marian Anderson (click here to read yet another story, if you’re up for it). Later, I learned from Judy Miller Wheeler (my amazing and beautiful general music teacher at Bedford El) that it could be sung as a “partner song” (two or three different songs sung at the same time). Here’s my version of that arrangement, sung by me with Peter Propp and Josh Margolis. SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

P.S. Normally, SingDaily would solely focus on the holiday at hand, but, since I’ve committed to a T-60 countdown AND I have so many amazing memories of my 9th grade year, I’m going to also share some personal memories that have nothing to do with the rest of the world and everything to do with me (naval gazing, I’ve heard it called). Please know that I’m 100% aware that everything I’m about to tell you is due to my privilege as a white person in an unfair and unbalanced society that needs to change. That being said… if you’re in the mood, visit today’s www.singdaily.com Song of the Day post.

Starting in the summer before 9th grade, my family left Lone Pine Lane and moved across town, thanks to Paula Leonard, to the Old Hill section of town. From the minute we moved in, the house was filled with kids playing, singing and having fun. My parents treated the house as a thing to be played in: it came with furniture and toys and shampoo in the showers (because the house had been previously owned by George Barrie, the owner and CEO of Fabergé Inc.). In addition, the house had enough bedrooms for us all, an indoor kitchen and an outdoor kitchen, too many bathrooms, a sauna, a tennis court (though none of us became great players) and a swimming pool that, legend has it, was enlarged three times because Cary Grant insisted that George Barrie make it so. Dad, of course, added a hot tub (why not?!) and it became the center of many parties. My mother purposefully decided not to recover any of the furniture right away, even though it wasn’t in her style (she had very hip and great taste), because she wanted us to enjoy the house as a place to hang out and not worry about being careful with brand new upholstery. I remember respecting her decision (my brothers were wild), until I walked in my bedroom and saw pink satiny-swirly wallpaper and green velvet curtains surrounding the bed. As a wannabee hippy, this was appalling to me; I immediately and unceremoniously tore the paper off the walls, much to my parents’ chagrin (now they felt they had to paint it right away, which wasn’t part of their laissez-faire plan of house decorating.) But, paint it, they did…with a huge rainbow covering both walls. (Reading this now I’m overwhelmed by my parents’ patience and generosity ALL of the time.) Another amazing thing that came with the house was a new best friend: right around the corner was the huge, loving, caring Bacharach family complete with 5 kids and a young girl just for me: Jeanie! It would take a few years for our friendship to cement into the rock-solid heart center of my life that it is today, but I remember laughing every single morning at the bus stop even before we were bffs.

As far as music memories go, there are too many to list here, but you can imagine me and my friends in the “lower” living room (adjacent to the “upper” living room), eating Baskin-Robbins ice cream from the soda fountain (what!?), all of us singing songs from 9th grade chorus (“All For The Best”, a song from Godspell was a big hit in our family), plus songs from Bedford Singers where Barbara Bayers (then Candee, then Muller, now Douyard) led us with her amazing piano skills (she became a mentor to me even before I decided to pursue teaching as a career). I could go on and on, and am afraid that, as I get closer to 60, these reminisces will get longer and longer, but I will try to refrain.

June 20, 2023 (Song #1998): “The Water Is Wide” sung by Karla Bonoff. T-44* brings me to 1979 and 10th grade – another year with so many memories (meeting new friends at Staples High School, Latin Class with the juniors, Sophomore Chorus with the inimitable George Weigle, Orchestra with John Hanulik and his son, my crush, Chris Hanulik) but this morning, the blog gods gave me a little gift when I saw my friend Kevin Gillespie’s name pop up in my Facebook notifications.

Kevin and I met at Bedford El and he was by far the cutest thing you’d ever seen. In 6th grade, Kevin, Cindy and I hid in the closet in our classroom at Hillspoint School to avoid music class (I did what?!) with Mr. Itner, who had to roll an upright piano into every music class since he didn’t have a dedicated music space (we should’ve been his best students, but we were definitely not; I’m sorry, Mr. Itner.)

Fast forward to ninth grade when we spent many nights on the phone singing harmony with each other (my parents generously bought me a phone and gave me a dedicated phone line; more privilege, more to be thankful for). Kevin cracked everybody up with his rendition of a local commercial: “everybody in the pool!” and his special party trick: crying on demand. At the end of ninth grade, he was distraught because he was voted “best looking” and “most popular” and I think he had to choose; it was not the choosing that caused him stress – rather, it was the thought that people were focusing on him that made him super uncomfortable. He deserved the accolades, though.

We sang together in choirs all the way through middle and high school, ending with the Orphenians and our incredible trip to Europe in 1981. However, my favorite, favorite memory is of Kevin, me and Ed Jordan: The Ex-Orph Trio (the name did not stick, but we thought we were clever). We thought we were the Crosby, Stills & Nash of Westport; we could make harmony out of anything with me on guitar and Ed on piano and Kevin with his incredibly gorgeous voice (I’m getting weepy just thinking about it). We performed at Grass Roots (the hippy wine bar on the Post Road at the Riverside Intersection between Ye Olde Bridge Grille and the Premiere market across from Art’s Deli) and at two fundraisers for the Susan Davis Lloyd Educational Memorial Fund. We sang together until life pulled us apart. I miss you, Kevin (and Ed) but I thank you so much for the harmony and friendship. Happy Birthday to you and Mary Ellen Barry and Happy Anniversary to Lisa & Russell. xoxoxo

P.S. Around this time, I realized that many of the good songs I loved were written by Karla Bonoff; it was the first time I realized what a singer/songwriter was and I remember being disappointed that Linda Ronstadt didn’t write her own music (I’ve gotten over that. 🙂 Though Karla Bonoff didn’t write today’s SOTD (it’s “traditional”), her version, with her sweet, unassuming voice, always gave me chills.

LYRICS & CHORDS SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 21, 2023 (Song #1999): “Older Sister” by Carly Simon from the “Hotcakes” album (1974). T-43 brings me to junior year of high school and 1980. Around this time, my Uncle Kenny’s third wife, Emily, gave me Carly Simon’s “Hotcakes” and “No Secrets” albums.

She also introduced me to sushi and gave birth to my wonderful niece, Natascha. All three were life-changing.

Happy Birthday to my brother’s wife’s brother’s wife, Alisyn Camerota! xoxoLYRICS & CHORDS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 22, 2023 (Song #2000): “To The Morning” (1972) by Dan Fogelberg. T-42* is the ROAD TRIP edition of the SOTD 60-day countdown. This song comes from senior year of high school during a coach bus ride to Jorgensen Hall at UConn for an All State Orchestra concert; a younger classmate (Julia Hendrickson, I think) introduced me to this record and couldn’t believe I didn’t know it already. I’m so glad she did! (If the YouTube link doesn’t work, try clicking HERE.) Thanks to Kerstin & Vijay for their beautiful meadow. xoxo Happy Birthday to Alison Stone Steiner! xoxo LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

P.S. Many of my musical memories take place in moving vehicles:

Our parents sang in the car all the time: “Oh, You’re So Much A Part of Me”, “Abba Dabba Honeymoon”, “We’re All Together Again”, “The Quartermaster’s Store” (we sang it a lot faster than Burl Ives and we added hysterical words, like “well, it’s tea, tea, tea, that makes you have to…” We were a hoot!), “Teenager In Love” (see SOTD from June 10), and, as we got a little older: “Only One” by James Taylor and “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” (the Hall & Oates version).
During our Orphenian trip to Belgium, France, Holland and Germany in the summer of 1981 we sang “Fa Una Canzona” every chance we got, plus, we memorized every word from the two cassettes that Jeff Provost thought to bring on the trip (it was a different world, kids): Stevie Wonder’s “Hotter Than July” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born To Run”.
After a full day on the mountain skiing with Melissa Balaban we sat in traffic waiting to get out of the parking lot and she introduced me to Rickie Lee Jones (sigh);
Steve Grune coming over and getting me to sit in his car in our driveway so I could hear Jimmy Buffett sing “Chanson Pour Les Petite Enfants” and inducting me as a Parrothead;
Sitting at the light at King’s Highway North and the Wilton Road driving to Staples captivated by the harmonies in The Spinner’s: “Working My Way Back To You”.
Driving to football games, tailgates and tunks during college in Van Goat with the amazing Swinging ‘Gates, singing, eating, laughing for four years (too many songs to mention, but stay tuned to future SOTD posts for one of my faves).
Ann, Cindy, Jeanie, Lisa and I singing along to every song on the radio every time we got in a car (and my father always saying: “How do you know the lyrics to every song??”, then me asking my own kids the same thing 30 years later), but especially: Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” in Spring Lake, NJ during Ann’s bachelorette party. Good times, good times…

I’m sure there are a hundred more that I’ll think of as soon as I hit “send”, but for now… you get the picture. Now, go sing…

June 23, 2023 (Song #2001): “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” (1982) by Chicago (written by Peter Cetera & David Foster) Happy Birthday to Chrissy Brennan, Jen Purdy, Brianne Chasanoff and Ann Mueller. Xoxoxoxo LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

T-41* brings me to 1982 and one of the saddest days of my life (sorry to be a downer), but it also opened a door on something that has sort-of become my special party trick, so to speak: you’ve heard of “The Wedding Singer”? Well, I’m “The Funeral Singer”.

It was a super sad time for all of us and, if you don’t want to read about it, I suggest you skip today’s story.

In the summer of 1982, people in our town endured several horrible teenage deaths within just a few days of each other.

At first, I couldn’t figure out what was going on when the yellow phone rang while I was still in bed. It was my friend Tommy McMahon’s sister, Ann Marie. We’d spent the entire day before at the McMahon’s house, hanging out in Tommy’s bedroom (where I heard today’s SOTD), and she’d meant to ask me, but she’d forgotten, which is why she was calling now, a few hours before the actual funeral: “Will you sing in Tommy’s funeral today?”

I remember saying: “What?!”, then her saying “Tommy always loved your voice.” then me thinking: “This is not something you can say ‘no’ to.” then saying “Of course, which song would you like?”.

Ann Marie said that Tommy and Sharon, his girlfriend, loved the song “Yesterday”. “Of course, of course, no problem,” I said, even though I’d never played the song before. I quickly got out of bed, dressed without showering, grabbed my guitar and ran down to the living room to the Great Songs of the Sixties songbook to learn the chords.

When my friends came to pick me up for the funeral, they were aghast to see me standing in the door with my guitar. “What are you doing with that??” and, then, speechless as we made our way to Assumption Church on Riverside Avenue.

Our friends all filed slowly into the church and someone led me to the choir loft – by myself. I could see all my friends and half the town filling the aisles and seats (Tommy was a very popular football player from a well-loved Westport family). When it was time for me to sing, I remember singing the first few words, but then nothing else; I must have blacked out.

Afterwards, as I came down the narrow stairs from the choir loft, I grabbed a friend’s arm and said: “Did I do okay?” and she patted my arm and said: “You did fine…” I thought: “No, no, no, I’m not asking if I was good, I’m asking if I actually sang the whole song.” To this day, I still don’t know.

P.S. I’ve never posted “Yesterday” as a SOTD, mostly because it’s too sad for me. I chose today’s SOTD instead, because it reminds me of that time more than any other song and there’s a sweetness that makes me grateful for friends, even if their time with us is too short.

June 24, 2023 (Song #2002): “I’ll Dance At Your Wedding” (1946) written by Herb Magidson & Ben Oakland and performed by Ray Noble & His Orchestra with Buddy Clark. T-40* brings me to 1983, but today we’re going to skip my sophomore year of college and zoom to the present where my parents have their first grandchild getting married!!!!! When I was growing up, this was one of the songs my dad used to sing a lot; I especially remember him singing it to me during the days leading up to my own wedding day in 1992. Today, I used the Buddy Clark version to make a lyric video in honor of our first nephew, Jeremy and his beautiful wife Lindsey. Happy Wedding Day!!!! (We love you!)

Also, happy anniversary to Jen & Artie!

xoxo

June 25, 2023 (Song #2003):

“Softly” (1962) written by Tony De Vita and Hal Shaper and sung by Matt Monro. LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

T-39 brings me to 1984, my junior year and the year that my Swinging ‘Gates mentors graduated from Colgate. At this point, you’ve heard me talk about a bunch of important moments in my life and it must seem that I have as many pivots in my journey as I have days I’ve lived. But, seriously people, being a Swinging ‘Gate was, for me, like being in a sorority in the movie “Legally Blonde” – there is no story without it. The seed for becoming a Swinging ‘Gate was planted in a letter I received the summer before I went to Colgate. Colgate totally knew what it was doing when they assigned Alison King to be my “big sister” (hence, the letter): she became one of my closest friends, the Alto 2 to my Soprano 2 (her ba-dums and “Steam Heat” brought the house down), my roommate in NYC, my work partner at GRP, a bridesmaid in my wedding plus a soul sister to my daughter Rose (since they have the same birthday). At first, the idea of being in a women’s a cappella group didn’t resonate until I heard the group sing at convocation. I was immediately struck by Jenni Wilson’s golden locks (all brunettes want to be blonde, people) and solid soprano, Ellen Rosen’s hysterical intros and flirty “Freddy, My Love”, Alison’s aforementioned bass lines, Cindy Dietzel’s beautiful voice and incredible lead on “Never My Love”, and their leader: Leslie French with her outrageously gorgeous voice and solo on “The Rose” (move aside, Bette). When I found out that Leslie was just a sophomore (and had been elected leader as a freshman!), I knew I had to get to know her. Fast forward 35+ years and she continues to blow me away with knowledge and clear vision of the world around her, not to mention her sharp sense of humor. I’m still grateful to her and all the others for letting me in the group and giving me a song to sing and friends who I still love.

June 26, 2023 (Song #2004): “Only You” Sung by The Flying Pickets, written by Vince Clarke of Yaz (known as Yazoo in Europe) (Here’s the YAZ version: Only You by Yaz) SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

T-38* brings me to 1985, the year I graduated from Colgate. I learned this song while in London on a semester abroad in the spring of 1984, then it was my solo in the Swinging ‘Gates on an arrangement that was done (or brought to the group?) by Betsy Morris. Betsy is just one of the many friends I made in the ‘Gates but she stands out for many reasons (she had the most beautifully striking voice – and face – and she was an incredible musician); it crushed us all to pieces when she died a few years ago, but I have amazing memories of her (she took me to my first Bonnie Raitt concert in Boston and she and I and Emily Mikesell sang a beautiful Sarah McLaughlin song – “I Choose You” at Jen Dowd & Artie Spangel’s wedding.) (I could write an entire blog post on Emily Mikesell and Jen Dowd; stay tuned?!)

1985 is also the inaugural year of the “Celibacy Retreat”, which kicked off with a trip to Delaware during Colgate’s “Senior Week”. There are 16 of us – Amy, Elizabeth, Jeannie, Jenny, Jenny, Judy, Kathy, Leslie, Liz, Meg, Megan, Sandy, Sonya, Storey, Susie & me – and we’re still friends (we had our most recent reunion a few weeks ago in Westbrook, CT at Liz’s and my belly still hurts from laughing.) Today’s SOTD was a huge favorite for most of us and was sung at at least one of our weddings.

And, speaking of weddings: today is my parent’s 63rd anniversary and I am SO glad they got married. 🙂 SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 27, 2023 (Song #2005): “Cracking” (1985) by Suzanne Vega. T-37* brings me to 1986 when I lived in Alta, Utah for almost a full year (August-May). I became obsessed with this record and, in between working at the front desk of the Alta Lodge, driving downtown to purchase and arrange the flowers for the dining room, playing guitar and singing in the Sitzmark, hanging out with my roommate Julie and friends Cassie & Marcus and recording with John and skiing as much as possible, I listened to this record (in Tom’s cool room – was it called “the laundry”?? – on his record player). Five years later I started dating Peter Propp (Mr. Sing Daily to you) and then married him on this day in 1992 – Happy Anniversary, honey – ) and did it all again (this time with him at the front desk and me up in the reservations office with the iconic Mimi Muray Levitt, trying to use what I’d learned at Columbia Business School to help computerize their systems – I was passionate about Merge Letters and Spreadsheets.) LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 28, 2023 (Song #2006): “I’m Lucky” by Joan Armatrading (1981). No lyric video today; instead click on “more” below the video to see the lyrics and sing along. T-36* brings me to the 1986-1987 year and a summer visit to Moab, Utah, where Cassie & Marcus & I went hiking and I couldn’t stop singing this song; it’s definitely my theme song.

Very soon after coming home from Utah, I tried to get a job at Columbia Records, but, since I couldn’t type, I never made it past the introductory interview (but thanks to Colgate graduate Paul MacCowatt, Tom’s dad, for trying to help me out). Soon thereafter, I went to a music business head-hunter (she was a blonde version of Susie Meyerson on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” complete with cigarettes and pigeons on the windowsill); she asked me if I would take a job as a receptionist at a jazz label in Hell’s Kitchen. I said yes and went outside to call my parents from a payphone to tell them that, if I didn’t come home, they might find me somewhere around 11th ave and 57th street. When I got to the interview at GRP Records (555 West 57th Street), Mark Wexler gave me a cassette of Dave Grusin’s album with “Mountain Dance” on it; my heart practically stopped on the Metro North train back to Westport when I heard the song: Curtis Beller, one of the kitchen guys at the Alta Lodge, had used it as the background in his end-of-the-year Emp slideshow. I took it as a sign and took the job; it was an amazing experience. Lucky, indeed. LYRICS INTERVIEW WITH JOAN ARMATRADING APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 29, 2023 (Song #2007): “Summer Fly” (1987) by Cheryl Wheeler. Happy Birthday to Marcus Dippo & Meghan Murray! LYRICS & SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

T-35* brings me to 1988. I remember working at GRP when Craig Sussman, from Cypress Records/A&M, came to visit the office and put this CD on my desk (Half-A-Book). I took it home to the apartment I lived in (301 East 69th St) with Caroline (who’d just started an amazing job in M&A at Goldman Sachs – hence the fancy apartment address) and Alison King (who was getting her master’s at the NYU School of Journalism), and we listened to it over and over again. We loved Cheryl’s voice and songs; I couldn’t get her music (especially this song) out of my head. I remember asking Craig, on a subsequent visit: “How come she’s not famous???” He gave several reasons that it hadn’t worked out for her and it changed my perspective on the connection between talent and fame: I’d thought that if a person was talented enough, s/he could automatically become famous. I’d never considered the politics and fickleness of fame.

A small part of me had wanted to be a performing singer/songwriter and I’d signed up to play at a few open mics in the city; I remember not telling anyone I was performing since I’d only ever performed for welcoming audiences of friends & family and I wanted to see what it was like to perform for strangers. The performances went well enough, but they weren’t all that much fun (and, to be honest, no one ever invited me back). When Craig told me about Cheryl Wheeler’s career, I realized that being a good singer/songwriter isn’t enough; real magic has to happen on so many levels for a person to be “famous”. At some point I realized that true success for me is satisfaction and contentment and that being “famous” in the grand scheme isn’t going to make me happy. I don’t know how Cheryl Wheeler feels about not being Taylor Swift-level famous, but I hope she knows that she impacted at least one life (mine) in a beautiful way. (P.S. It turns out that being a music teacher in my hometown has given me a comfortable amount of attention and a tiny taste of “fame”; being recognized by my students in our local grocery store sparks a lot of joy in my life, even if it drives some of my friends and family crazy.)

June 30, 2023 (Song #2008): “Once In A Very Blue Moon” (1984) sung by Nanci Griffith (written by Pat Alger)

KARAOKE! Listen to Nancy singing it on “Austin City Limits” in 1985. APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

T-34* (today we should call it: TMI-34*) brings me to 1989, my 3rd year at GRP Records. Three years before, while singing in the Sitzmark Bar at the Alta Lodge, a man told me that I sounded “just like Nanci Griffith; have you heard of her?” “No, “I said, “Well, I tell ya, you sound just like her.” So, I immediately picked up my phone and found Nanci Griffith on Spotify (HAHAHA! This is almost 40 years ago, people!. Scratch that.) Rather, I drove the thirty miles down Little Cottonwood Canyon in the lodge van (which they let me use because I was buying and arranging the flowers for the dining room) and found a record store in Salt Lake City (I’m thinking it must have been a “Sam Goody’s” or “Tower”?) so I could buy a Nanci Griffith CD.

The minute I got back to the Lodge and put it on, my world stopped spinning: Nanci Griffith’s voice was nothing like mine, but it was also like nothing I’d ever heard before and I wasn’t completely sure I liked it.

I was confused; the song lyrics, melodies, harmonies and instrumentation were compelling but her voice was high and wobbly (did that guy in the Sitzmark think my voice was high and wobbly?). Still, there was something about her songs and her voice that made me listen to the CD 25 times that first week. I quickly learned “Once In A Very Blue Moon” and played it constantly; the chord progression became so much a part of me that I still play it every time I sit down at a piano (I may have borrowed it and put it into at least one of my own songs).

At one point in 1986, Nanci Griffith performed in Salt Lake City and, since my brother Russell was visiting, we went to the concert together. I noticed him looking at me during the concert and I said: “What?” and he said: “Watching you watching her is way more entertaining than watching her….” Yep.

Now, back to T-34* and 1989: I was still working at GRP Records and one day my boss said to me and Alison: “You should take these tickets to this CD Release Party, no one else wants to go.” “Who is performing?” I asked and when he said “Nanci Griffith”, Alison King and I ran out of work and headed to some bar in the middle of Manhattan and down the stairs to a tiny cocktail party where no one was paying any attention at all to the music. We sat down at a table right in front of her and grinned and basked in her incredible talent while she played the songs from her new “Storms” album just for us.

Later that year, I began to get frustrated by the work/paycheck ratio of my job. I’d been hired as a receptionist and was quickly promoted when they needed someone to learn “Lotus 1-2-3” in an effort to computerize all of their written production schedules. After learning the program and transferring all the written documents to computerized spreadsheets, my boss, Dotty Kenul, quit (I’ve always felt sad about that.) They gave me her title (“Production Coordinator”) and soon added “Director of International Distribution” (since I came in to the office at 9am, and, thus, was the only person in the office who could communicate with the foreign distributors when they were at work), and I got raises – which, industry standard dictated, was 10%.

But, when I stepped back and thought of how much work I was putting in (I almost always stayed at work until the art department – who came to work at noon – was ready to go home, usually at about 8pm) and how little I was being paid, I asked my boss to reconsider my salary. He said no, but they offered to print my name in the CD credits (if you have any old GRP CDs, check it out). When I asked for more money again a few months later, they changed my job title to “Director of Production”, but still, no money.

I thanked them for the gesture and started looking for another job.

Around this time, I had been listening to a CD sampler that I loved called “Here It Is: The Music” put out by Rykodisc, which had three songs on it that blew me away: The Red Clay Ramblers’ “Home Is Where The Heart Is”, Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin’s “Henry & James” and, of course, Nanci Griffith’s “Once In A Very Blue Moon”.

Somehow I got an interview with Don Rose at Rykodisc and they offered me a job with a generous salary and an allowance for moving to Salem (I remember visiting their offices at Pickering Wharf). Though I would be sad to leave my sister, Alison and NYC, I was ready to be fairly compensated.

When I told my boss, he told the co-president of the company, Larry Rosen, that I was leaving; Larry quickly ushered me into his office: “What is going on???” I told him “I’ve been asking for a raise for months.” and he said: “I did not know that. I’ll give you whatever you want to stay.” He then proceeded to match the Rykodisc offer and then some. It truly felt like a “Once In a Blue Moon” moment and I always felt that, somehow, I had Nanci Griffith and that song to thank for that raise.

June 23, 2023 (Song #2001): “Hard To Say I’m Sorry“ (1982)
by Chicago (written by Peter Cetera & David Foster) Happy Birthday to Chrissy Brennan, Jen Purdy, Brianne Chasanoff and Ann Mueller.
xoxoxoxo LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY T-41* brings me to 1982 and one of the saddest days of my life (sorry to be a downer), but it also opened a door on something that has sort-of become my special party trick, so to speak: you’ve heard of “The Wedding Singer”? Well, I’m “The Funeral Singer”.

It was a super sad time for all of us and, if you don’t want to read about it, I suggest you skip today’s story.

In the summer of 1982, people in our town endured several horrible teenage deaths within just a few days of each other.

June 24, 2023 (Song #2002): “I’ll Dance At Your Wedding” (1946) written by Herb Magidson & Ben Oakland and performed by Ray Noble & His Orchestra with Buddy Clark. T-40* brings me to 1983, but today we’re going to skip my sophomore year of college and zoom to the present where my parents have their first grandchild getting married!!!!! When I was growing up, this was one of the songs my dad used to sing a lot; I especially remember him singing it to me during the days leading up to my own wedding day in 1992. Today, I used the Buddy Clark version to make a lyric video in honor of our first nephew, Jeremy and his beautiful wife Lindsey. Happy Wedding Day!!!! (We love you!)

Also, happy anniversary to Jen & Artie! xoxo

June 25, 2023 (Song #2003):

“Softly” (1962) written by Tony De Vita and Hal Shaper and sung by Matt Monro. LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

And, speaking of weddings: today is my parent’s 63rd anniversary and I am SO glad they got married. 🙂 SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 29, 2023 (Song #2007): “Summer Fly” (1987) by Cheryl Wheeler. Happy Birthday to Marcus Dippo & Meghan Murray! LYRICS & SONG HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

June 30, 2023 (Song #2008): “Once In A Very Blue Moon” (1984) sung by Nanci Griffith (written by Pat Alger) KARAOKE! Listen to Nancy singing it on “Austin City Limits” in 1985. APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

I thanked them for the gesture and started looking for another job.

Sing Daily & Stay Healthy!