The Powerhouses
October 21, 2017
Dog-1
"MACK THE KNIFE" — Ella Fitzgerald
[Ella was in a class all by herself.]
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY YOU LOVE ME" — Dusty Springfield
[Dusty gets lost in the shuffle of the really good singers from the 60s, but she was extremely popular, and man could she sing.]
"MAKE OUR GARDEN GROW" — Barbra Streisand (1988)
"LA VIE EN ROSE" — Edith Piaf, 1948
[It's required.]
"CRYING" — k.d. lang (1989)
[I saw this live on TV and I remember being stunned.]
"DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME" — Mama Cass Eliot
MORE:
"ROCK ME ON THE WATER" — Linda Ronstadt
"GYPSY" — Stevie Nicks
"THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER" — Whitney Houston
[This recording was so popular that Whitney was nominated for a Grammy Award for it. What a Stradivarius.]
MORE:
[A particular favorite of mine.]
"HIT ME WITH A HOT NOTE" — Tami Tappan
[Sizzling hot.
"AND I'M TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING" — Jennifer Holliday
[We watched this live during the 1982 Tony's in college. I was gobsmacked. None of us had ever heard anyone sing like this before. Everybody does this kind of vocal pyrotechnics now, but not before Jennifer. Jennifer was a total original.]
"FANCY" — Bobby Gentry
[A great, great story. A lot of people think Reba's version was the first, but Bobby Gentry originated this song. This burned up the airwaves. It was everywhere. I remember it all very well looking back it was the summer I turned eighteen...]
MORE:
"SON OF A PREACHER MAN" — Dusty Springfield
MORE:
"WHITE RABBIT" — Grace Slick
MORE:
"THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKIN'" — Nancy Sinatra
"RAINBOW CONNECTION" — Karen Carpenter
[Karen may have been the finest of all those 60s vocalists. Her sound was just so clean and pure.]
"SWANEE" — Judy Garland (1954)
[Recording Session for "A Star is Born" -- Short version.]
Intensely powerful.
The full five-minute take:
MORE UNEQUALED BRILLIANCE
"HONEYSUCKLE ROSE" — Lena Horne
MORE:
"PUT THE BLAME ON MAME" — Rita Hayworth
[Sizzles to this day.]
"DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND" — Marilyn Monroe
[Classy and classic.]
MORE:
"MR. MONOTONY" — Judy Garland
MORE:
"COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS" — Rosemary Clooney
"I LOVE A PIANO" — Alison Jiear
[The piano player is one of my oldest friends. Mucho talented dude.]
"UPON THIS ROCK" — Sandi Patty
