We saw Harry Chapin perform this song, Taxi, in one of his last live performances. This timeless ballad continues to feed my post-Zen-glow of San Francisco…
It was raining hard in ‘Frisco,
I needed one more fare to make my night…
Tag: Singer
Friday Night with Missy
Melissa “Missy” Morrison Higgins, 30, is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and actress. She learned to play classical piano from age six but realized she wanted to be a singer at about 12 when she appeared in a Primary School production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Hoping for more freedom, she urged her parents to send her to a boarding school attended by her siblings. There she took up the piano again, this time playing jazz. She was introverted and found that piano practice helped her cope with living at boarding school.
Friday Night: Sky Blue and Black
Now I wouldn’t consider myself a groupie (and that would depend on the definition of groupie)…but I’m a fan. A Large One. “Running on Empty.” The Pretender.” “Stay Just a Little Bit Longer.” “Here Come Those Tears Again. “You’re A Friend.” “Rosie.” And I can go on and on, yet…Yet, somehow, I’ve never heard this song. Shaking my head in wonder. How’s that possible?
And if you’re a purist, here’s Jackson Browne’s acoustic version of the same song (and a far superior version in my opinion) to ease you into the weekend:
↓ click for audio (Jackson Browne: Sky Blue and Black)
jackson-browne-sky-blue-and-black.mp3
Music Inspiration: Thank you gene-how. Image Source: Image Credit: Rollingstone
Sunday Morning with Julia Lezhneva
Julia Lezhneva, 23, is a Russian soprano and opera singer. She was born on Sakhalin Island into a family of geophysicists. She has travelled the world at a young age performing at concerts, competitions and festivals at some of the world’s greatest venues. I’m not an opera fan but this young lady is inspiring. She has found her calling. She has achieved Mastery and Excellence at a very young age. The joy in her face, her words and her music lights up the room. This CBS-like “Sunday Morning” clip leaves me invigorated about the generations coming behind us. Bravo Julia. You are something special.
And if you are interested in hearing more from Julia Lezhneva, here’s a 2-minute excerpt from Handel’s “Saeviat tellus inter rigores”.
Sources: Thank you Rob @ The Hammock Papers for posting this clip and pointing me to Lezhneva. Be sure to check out his blog for similar inspiring posts. It’s a daily stop for me.
Happy Birthday Noel…
My importance to the world is relatively small. On the other hand, my importance to myself is tremendous. I am all I have to work with, to play with, to suffer and to enjoy. It is not the eyes of others that I am wary of, but of my own. I do not intend to let myself down more than I can possibly help, and I find that the fewer illusions I have about myself or the world around me, the better company I am for myself.
~ Noël Coward
Happy Birthday, Noël Coward, who was born on this day in 1899. In his bio, he is defined as having “virtually invented the concept of Englishness for the 20th century. An astounding polymath – dramatist, actor, writer, composer, lyricist, painter, and wit — he was defined by his Englishness as much as he defined it. He was indeed the first Brit pop star, the first ambassador of ‘cool Britannia.’…Coward was on stage by the age of six, and writing his first drama ten years later…His between-the-wars celebrity reached a peak in 1930 with “Private Lives,” by which time he had become the highest earning author in the western world…Since his death in 1973, his reputation has grown. There is never a point at which his plays are not being performed, or his songs being sung. A playwright, director, actor, songwriter, filmmaker, novelist, wit . . . was there nothing this man couldn’t do?”
Noel Coward: Top 10 quotes
- It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. Continue reading “Happy Birthday Noel…”