It's delightful, it's delicious, it's dlevy!
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RIP Deanna Durbin
Of all of Hal David’s magnificent lyrics, the standout for me has always been “Are You There With Another Girl?” The long lines in the verse are unusual for a pop song, lending it the feel of an art song based on prose poetry. The rhythm of the words pushes the song forward as much as anything in the music, and the way the song both embodies and critiques the pop music the singer is singing about is far smarter than we generally think Brill Building songs of that era to be. (And the background singers, although awkward in this particular recording, are a nice touch, singing “pity the girl,” making you wonder if they are voicing how the lead singer feels about the other woman, or if they are telling us how to feel about the singer’s attempt to have faith in her cheating lover.)
It’s not a perfect lyric. “I would surely die” feels particularly stilted given how natural the rest of the lyric sounds. But genius doesn’t always require perfection.
I hear the music coming out of your radio
Are you there with another girl instead of me
I hear your laughter and there’s something I’ve got to know
Are you there with another girl instead of me
Oh, I’m standing on your doorstep and I don’t know what to do
Should I ring your doorbell or just walk away
My friends all say that you were never true
Hiding in the shadows
I see two silhouettes in back of your window shade
Are you there with another girl when I am gone
I can’t believe you’d break the promises that you made
If you’re there with another girl, I can’t go on
Oh, I only know I love you and I couldn’t say goodbye
So if there’s another I don’t want to know
If you should go, oh, I would surely die
Love requires faith, I’ve got a lot of faith but
I hear the music comin’ out of your radio
(Oom pah pah pity the girl)
(Oom pah pah pity the girl)
Oh, I only know I love you and I couldn’t say goodbye
So if there’s another I don’t want to know
If you should go, oh, I would surely die
You would never leave me, hurt me or deceive me
I’m a fool to doubt you, worry so about you
I hear the music coming out of your radio
(Oom pah pah pity the girl)
(Oom pah pah pity the girl)
(Oom pah pah pity the girl)
I was so stunned and affected by the news of Marvin Hamlisch’s death this morning that I had to stop working for about a half hour to collect myself. That reaction was about as unexpected as his death was, but when I think about it, so many of his songs are so interwoven with my subconscious and my memories, it makes sense.
“Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows” is my personal soundtrack to happy moments. A Chorus Line was not only one of the first shows I ever saw on Broadway — the film soundtrack was one of my first obsessions after outgrowing Annie. (I’m sure I’ve told the stories of my dancing around the house singing “Let Me Dance For You” more than once on the internet.) My brother’s bar mitzvah video opens (as so many of that era must) with the sound of Streisand singing “The Way We Were.” And when I fall in love, it’s always to the tune of “Fallin’” from They’re Playing Our Song.
Hamlisch’s autobiography, The Way I Was, is a fascinating and heartbreaking read. He comes across as someone who was never fulfilled by all his achievements, particularly because they were followed by so many disappointments. Listening to a track like this one, featuring Harry Groener singing the title song from Smile, one of Hamlisch’s biggest flops and most painful failures, it’s hard to think of this score as any sort of disappointment, but that’s showbiz.
Rest in peace, Mr. Hamlisch.
MIchael Feinstein & Rosemary Clooney: “Ten Feet Off The Ground” from The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, from Feinstein’s album Pure Imagination - one of my favorite recordings of a Sherman Brothers song.
RIP Bob.
You’ve got imagination, employ it.
If you see roses in the snow,
Joie de vivre will make them grow.
Voilà.
That’s life.
Enjoy it.
“Enjoy It” from In Search of the Castaways
Music and lyrics by Robert & Richard Sherman.
RIP Bob.
Yes, yes, Davy Jones was the Artful Dodger in the original Broadway cast of Oliver!, but he isn’t on the cast album because it was recorded before he replaced the kid who did it on tour.
HOWEVER, remember when he was on The Brady Bunch???
RIP Davy Jones. My first concert, and one of my first idols. Those of you who have known me long enough to remember my mullet phase might also know that hairstyle was a tribute to DJ. Somewhere, I have a carefully labeled VHS tape of his appearance on My Two Dads, excerpted above.
Going home is such a lonely ride
Rest in peace, Dory Previn.
The Lady With The Braid | Dory Previn
He wrote the song that became the theme to the Golden Girls. He was also the son of Marni Nixon. In other words, although Gold himself was a heterosexual, married with children, there will be a lot of sobbing and wailing at gay bars across the nation tonight.
