Once a week on Friday, Uncle Bardie celebrates the creativity in others by shining a Spotlight on a movie, a song or a creator. This week’s Spotlight is the song: “Songbird”.
This week I have something special, two arrangements of the same song, both standouts. The first is like a relationship has ended. It is by the composer, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac:
The second sounds like the relationship is just beginning. It is by Eva Cassidy:
A great song by two great artists. We don’t always understand how much an arranger brings to a song. This shows the skill it takes to be an arranger. It also shows how a good song can be.
Once a week on Friday, Uncle Bardie celebrates the creativity in others by shining a Spotlight on a movie, a song or a creator. This week’s Spotlight is the song, Bruce Springsteen’s “The River”.
I first saw this song performed watching the “No Nukes: Musicians United For Safe Energy Concert” Documentary. As soon as I heard it, I knew this Bruce Springsteen knew the kind of place I’d sprang from. You don’t write songs like this ‘less you’ve lived it. And I was on board the E Street Band express.
Once a week on Friday, Uncle Bardie celebrates the creativity in others by shining a Spotlight on a movie, a song or a creator. This week’s Spotlight Song is Bette Midler and a gang of backup singers celebrating Arif Mardin with the song, “The Greatest Ears in Town”:
Arif Mardin was a composer, arranger and producer first at Atlantic Records, then at EMI. During his tenure with both companies, he either produced or arranged or composed music for such artists as the Rascals, Aretha Franklin, Phil Collins, the Bee Gees, Hall and Oates, Chaka Khan, Queen, Roberta Flack and Norah Jones.
In celebration of his contribution, give a listen to Bette Midler singing her tribute to Arif Mardin. It will make you smile.
Once a week on Friday, Uncle Bardie celebrates the creativity in others by shining a Spotlight on a movie, a song or a creator. This week’s Spotlight Creator is Gordon Lightfoot:
It was late 1969 and I was at the Air Force Base Exchange. I found myself flipping through the records when I chanced upon an album called “Sunday Concert”. In those days, I had gotten into the habit of buying albums based on the cover art. The cover on the album was simple. It was a side view of Gordon Lightfoot on stage. It was a live album.
I liked the cover but I wasn’t sure who this Gordon Lightfoot was. Seems the name had come up before. Didn’t he write a Peter, Paul and Mary tune, “Early Morning Rain”? I checked out the songs. They had interesting titles and it looked like this Lightfoot guy was a folk singer.
This was in the days before Pandora and Spotify. If no one you knew had heard an artist, you took your chances. So I took my chances. Man, am I glad. I loved this Lightfoot and his “Sunday Concert”. Every song was a gem. Little did I realize that this was the last album he was to do for United Artist. His next album, “Sit Down, Young Stranger”, was on the Reprise label and it was a gem too. Had a big hit on it. “If you could read my mind”.
Gordon Lightfoot was something. He wrote great songs. He had a great voice. And he looked like what you would expect a troubadour to look. Over the years, I bought album after album of his as they were released. Twice I saw him in concert. And he’s still out there on the road, doing what a troubadour does.
In his honor, I wrote this lyric:
The ballading man Spanish guitars play a South-of-the-Border song On the stage the man sings out loud and clear Of a land made great by sweat and by blood, A rose in the wilderness of every man’s fear.
The songs the ways of the past almost forgotten: Of love’s wisdom, of life, glory and death, Of battles raging and courageous men, Conquistadors, el dorado tales of fabulous wealth.
Children, gather ’round and hear a ballading man Warm as a winter fire by a family hearth Wild as mountain flowers in early spring, A natural theology of every man’s worth.
Once a week on Friday, Uncle Bardie celebrates the creativity in others by shining a Spotlight on a movie, a song or a creator. This week’s Spotlight is the song: “Party All the Time” by Eddie Murphy and Rick James:
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