David Bowie & Bing Crosby (!) - Little Drummer Boy #MusicMonday #Christmas

Happy holidays from my home to yours!

Marilyn and Ella #MusicMonday

Ella Fitzgerald wanted to play at Mocambo, a very popular club in the 50’s but they wouldn’t book her because she was black. Marilyn Monroe called the owner and said she would sit at the front table every night Ella sang. And she did.

Brava, Marilyn!  Ella, as you know, is part of the Holy Trinity of female jazz vocalists that also includes Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington.

Source: dodsonandross.com via STYLE on Pinterest

Source: todaystruffles.com via STYLE on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Julie on Pinterest

Can you imagine a female jazz vocalist CD compilation that features both Ella and Marilyn?

Divas of Jazz

Divas of Jazz features performances by Ella and Marilyn (although not together :-).  It also features Lena Horne and her signature song "Stormy Weather" and Peggy Lee in a live version of "Fever."  Add Billie and Dinah to the mix, and it's a complete collection!   I found Divas of Jazz at my local Hallmark store - seriously!

Jazzy #Halloween playlist

hip hip gin gin  @HipHipGinGin put together a great playlist with Halloween themes that I put on Spotify:


Enjoy, and Happy Spookin' Halloween!

I love Dinah Washington playlist #MusicMonday

The Holy Trinity of female jazz vocalists: Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington:

Dinah Washington (1925-1963)

You will need to download and install the Spotify player to enjoy the Dinah Washington playlist. Remember - Spotify inserts commercials, which can be irritating.

Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made for Walkin' #MusicMonday

Time to bring out the go-go boots!


You keep lyin' when you oughta be truthin'
You keep losing when you oughta not bet
You keep samin' when you oughta be a'changin'

Andy Williams #MusicMonday

Lately, it's seemed the death of music.  Composer Marvin Hamlisch died August 6; Burt Bacharach's lyricist Hal David died September 1; and smooth crooner Andy Williams died September 25.

Here's Andy singing his signature song Moon River, on his television show:

You will recognize Moon River as the song that Audrey Hepburn sang in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

And here is Andy singing in a very special duet:

Mica Paris - My One Temptation #MusicMonday

Last week's #MusicMonday feature of the Hal David/Burt Bacharach song I Say a Little Prayer for You, as performed Dionne Warwick, inspired me to select My One Temptation, which has a Bacharach-esque intro, as this week's feature:


My One Temptation was composed by Peter Vale, Mick Leeson, and Miles Waters.

Although My One Temptation received play time on VH1, Mica Paris never really broke out as a star in the U.S.  In her native England, she continued to perform, succeeded Trinny and Susannah on the Beeb's What Not to Wear, and even wrote a self-help book.

Dionne Warwick - I say a little prayer for you - #MusicMonday

I pay tribute to lyricist Hal David, who died last week at age 91, in this week's #MusicMonday feature.  Hal David was best known for his collaborations with Burt Bacharach.  In the 1960s, Dionne Warwick interpreted many of their songs.  Here's a video, actually a montage of pictures of Dionne from the sixties, that features Bacharach/David's "I Say a Little Prayer for You":


And the relevance to what's ostensibly a beauty blog? Check out the opening verse:

The moment I wake up 
Before I put on my make up 
I say a little prayer for you 
While combing my hair now 
And wond'ring what dress to wear now 
I say a little prayer for you.

Lebanese Blonde - Thievery Corporation #MusicMonday

I present Lebanese Blonde by electronica duo Thievery Corporation as this week's #MusicMonday feature:


According to a comment on YouTube,

the title is in reference to a particularly potent strain of hashish from Lebanon. the color is a light shade(blonde, not black/tar colored). no doubt they were really baked when they made this tune :)"

However, the instrumentation features a sitar, which is distinctly Indian.  If they wanted authentic Middle Eastern instrumentation, they would have chosen an oud (lute) - not to be confused with the fragrance :-)

Bobby Short for Charlie #MusicMonday

Following on my last #MusicMonday feature Mel Tormé for Charlie #MusicMonday, I present Bobby Short for Charlie.  Bobby Short was a fixture at New York's Carlyle Hotel.  In 1980, heiress-turned-jeans mogul Gloria Vanderbilt (now perhaps better known as Anderson Cooper's mom) charged that a co-op wouldn't sell to her because of her friendship with Bobby Short.

Once again, the video features an effervescent Shelley Hack with her confident long strides:

Mel Tormé for Charlie #MusicMonday

If Giorgio was the signature fragrance of the 1980s, if Calvin Klein Escape was the signature fragrance of the early 1990s, and if Chanel No. 5 is the forever classic fragrance, then Charlie by Revlon was the signature fragrance of the 1970s.  A lot of Charlie's appeal came from its TV commercials featuring a confident, carefree and full of joie de vivre Shelley Hack. Here's Mel Tormé aka "The Velvet Fog" for Charlie:


That was when songs for TV commercials were tuneful, memorable, and original.

Fun fact: did you know that Mel Tormé penned The Christmas Song ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ...")?

Positively 4th Street #MusicMonday

Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña and Richard Fariña by David Hajdu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Positively 4th Street

A better for Positively 4th Street might be Positively 4th Street: The Lives, Loves and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña and Richard Fariña. It chronicles Bob Dylan and Joan Baez's romance and the causes of its dissolution.

More interesting, however, are the life, loves and times of Richard Fariña, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident, on the day of the 21th birthday party he threw for his wife Mimi Baez Fariña (Joan's younger sister).   Why there isn't a cult surrounding Richard Fariña, I don't know. I came away wanting to know more, read Richard's one novel Been Down So Long It Looks Up to Me, and discover the recordings by Richard and Mimi Farina.

View all my reviews

Norah Jones's Top Murder Ballads #MusicMonday

Norah Jones is one of the top selling recording artists of the past 10 years.  She is featured in Lucky Magazine's first music issue (August 2012).

Norah Jones

I used to belong to an Indian women's discussion forum, in which someone waxed indignant about Norah's alienation from her Indian roots (her father is Pandit Ravi Shankar).  I wrote, what positive incentive does Norah have to embrace her Indian roots, given that her father was out of her life during her childhood and youth?  To which someone agreed.

On the other hand, Norah is a champion of American music, and this playlist of murder ballads compiled for Lucky demonstrates this.  You will need to download the Spotify player to listen.  The ads between the songs are irritating, but that's Spotify's business model.

We had hoped to see Norah Jones in concert at Wolf Trap, but the concert was sold out before we could buy tickets.  It seemed only right, as we have seen her sister Anoushka Shankar perform live three times - and we got to chat with Anoushka at CD signings following two of the concerts.

Nina Simone - Love Me or Leave Me #MusicMonday

In my #MusicMonday feature Nina Simone performs Leonard Cohen's Suzanne, I promised that I would feature her cover of Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn's "Love Me or Leave Me."  Here she demonstrates her skills as a pianist, with a fugal interlude worthy of Glenn Gould!

Dinah Washington - What a Difference a Day Makes #MusicMonday

As I wrote, I got hooked on Female jazz vocalists, especially the classic women jazz singers.  I remember Ella Fitzgerald as an older woman appearing on network TV, and I knew that she was renown for her scat singing.  I didn't know how silky her voice could be.  Then, of course, there is Billie Holliday.

When I first heard Dinah Washington, I wondered "Who is she?" "Where has she been all my life?" which betrays my ignorance more than anything else. Here she sings what is probably her best known song 'What A Difference A Day Makes' and picks up the tempo with 'Makin' Whoopee.' Louis Jordan and his band back her in this TV segment.

And the announcer is none other than our prez Ronald Reagan!  What could be better??!!

Petula Clark - "Downtown" #MusicMonday

Petula Clark might well have been the top female pop vocalist of the mid-1960s, with hits such as "Downtown" "Colour My World" "I Know A Place" "My Love" "Don't Sleep in the Subway."

Here's my favorite: the peppy "Downtown":



Petula Clark today:

Nina Simone performs Leonard Cohen's Suzanne #MusicMonday

After my recent #MusicMonday features on Leonard Cohen's Suzanne and Female jazz vocal compilations, it seems fitting that I feature Nina Simone's unique styling of "Suzanne":

In the 60s, Nina Simone was known for protest songs such as "Mississippi Goddam." She also performed songs such as The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun," Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse's "Feeling Good," Screamin' Jay Hawkins's "I Put a Spell on You," and "Ain't Got No/I Got Life" from the musical Hair with her one-of-a-kind styling.

In a future #MusicMonday feature, I'll present Nina Simone's cover of Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn's "Love Me or Leave Me."

Female jazz vocal compilations #MusicMonday

It all started with a TV commercial for the 2-CD set Lady Sings The Blues of songs performed by female pop and jazz vocalists.  Perhaps Capital Records was trying to, er, capitalize on the success of Norah Jones (Norah is signed with Capital subsidiary Blue Note and her cover of Roxy Music's More Than This is featured on the CD set).  Curious, I purchased the 2-CD set, and I was hooked.  I began buying similar CD compilations from places as diverse as The Sharper Image (before it closed its brick-and-mortar stores), Bed Bath & Beyond, Whole Foods Market, and my local Hallmark store.  Here's a list of some CD compilations of songs recorded by female pop and jazz artists:

View this list »

Female jazz vocal compilations

In upcoming weeks, I'll feature videos of Nina Simone and Dinah Washington.

Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" #MusicMonday

Can you tell that I'm a fan of Leonard Cohen?  An inductee into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, he was most recently awarded the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize.  Love this: one great Canadian artist wins a prize named in the memory of another great Canadian artist.

Leonard Cohen's song "Suzanne" has been covered by many artists, but "Bird on a Wire" and, of course, "Hallelujah" are his most popular songs.

Here is the earliest recording (1966) Of "Suzanne," by the folk group The Stormy Clovers. The video comprises photos of The Stormy Clovers, Leonard himself, and the Montreal waterfront.

And here is Leonard performing "Suzanne" with Judy Collins, who brought his songs to the attention of the broader listening public:

In an upcoming #MusicMonday post, I'll feature Nina Simone's unique styling of "Suzanne."

The beauties of 60s folk music #MusicMonday

Fashion magazines love to do stories on 60s style "icons."  They've overlooked the beauties of 60s folk music.  With their long hair and acoustic guitars, they had a style all their own.  View this list to see pictures of them and the men who loved them:

View this list »

The beauties of 60s folk music