The Tony Awards, celebrating excellence on the Broadway stages, are being presented this evening. The Tony Awards are like the gay version of the Tony Awards. That’s how gay they are.
Last year I took second place in a speech contest where I spoke about the effect Broadway had on my life. Here is that speech, followed by a playlist consisting of cover versions of Broadway classics.
As a producer, Nick Lowe has worked with Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash, Pretenders, Graham Parker, John Hiatt, The Damned, Paul Carrack, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, among others.
As a songwriter, Lowe’s works have been covered by Wilco, Dave Edmunds, and most famously, Elvis Costello, whose version of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” is a must for every music fan’s library.
As a musician, Lowe has played in Rockpile, Brinsley Schwarz (no relation to yours truly), and Little Village.
As a solo artist, Nick Lowe has had one top 40 hit in the US. Written with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ “The Love I Lost” in mind, “Cruel to be Kind” reached #12 in 1979 and was one of the 206 music videos that aired on MTV’s first day of broadcasting, August 1, 1981. The song was written by Lowe and a Brinsley Schwarz bandmate, Ian Gomm. Coincidentally, Gomm also had his only US Top 40 hit as an artist, “Hold On,” at the same time as Lowe.
Today, Tunes du Jour celebrates Nick Lowe’s 65th birthday.
Note to my future exes – when it comes time for you to break up with me, blast some old school Philly soul-disco from Gamble and Huff as you start your speech with “I don’t love you anymore – it’s just that simple.” I want horns and strings playing off each other when you say “We can’t work it out, no, not this time.” Give me plenty of percussion when you tell me “We can’t be together, we can only be friends.” Use your baritone growl to make it clear you “tried doing everything that I can but we can’t make it.” Bring in backup singers to emphasize it’s not like before. If I must go through the end of another relationship I want to enjoy it. It’s just that simple.
Today’s playlist kicks off with “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” in remembrance of Teddy Pendergrass, lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, who died on this date in 2010.
In 1971 an astrologer told Dionne Warwick to append an “e” to her last name. “It will bring you luck,” she was told. At that point in her career Warwick was a multi-Grammy Award winner with more than twenty US top forty pop hits, collaborations with the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, to her name. But who can’t use more luck?
Following the astrologer’s advice, Warwick became Warwicke, and besides a guest co-lead vocal on a Spinners record (the sublime “Then Came You”), Warwicke didn’t have any hits. Warwicke didn’t win any Grammys. The songwriting partnership of Bacharach and David split apart. Warwicke separated from and divorced her husband.
Dionne dropped the “e” and became Warwick again. Warwick returned to the top ten with “I’ll Never Love This Way Again,” which won her the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, with its follow-up single, “Déjà Vu,” winning her the Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female.
The lesson? Stay away from “e.” It’ll ruin your life.
Here is a playlist inspired by Warwick, who turns 73 today.
Every Friday, Tunes du Jour’s playlist is designed to get you dancing into the weekend. Today we kick off with The Spinners’ “The Rubberband Man,” written by the songwriting team of Thom Bell and Linda Creed, as today is Creed’s birthday.
You may not know her name, but chances are you know some of her work. With Bell, she composed several hits for 70s soul group The Stylistics, including “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” “You Are Everything,” “Break Up to Make Up,” “I’m Stone in Love With You,” “Rockin’ Roll Baby” and “Betcha By Golly Wow.” If any readers plan on marrying me, note that I insist the latter be our wedding song.
With Michael Masser, Creed wrote “The Greatest Love of All” for the Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest. George Benson took the film’s theme song to #24 in 1977. The week of May 17, 1986, Whitney Houston took her remake of the song to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, Creed didn’t get to see that. She died one month earlier of breast cancer at age 37.
As an adult my mother took night classes to earn her college degree. One of the electives she took was a course on music appreciation. During the semester my mother had to attend three concerts and write papers on each. She came to me with a deal. “If I buy you a ticket to the Pointer Sisters concert, will you write my paper for me?” Getting to see one of my favorite groups in concert without spending a dime? Deal!
Not only did my mother treat me to a great show, she taught me valuable life lessons about effective delegation of tasks and quid pro quo.
I saw the best-known incarnation of the group – as a trio consisting of sisters Ruth, June and Anita. Bonnie Pointer left the fold years earlier to pursue a solo career. As a threesome the women scored over a dozen top 40 singles on the US pop chart.
Today Tunes du Jour celebrates the birthday of the late June Pointer, who sang lead on the trio’s hits “He’s So Shy,” “Dare Me,” “Happiness” and “Jump,” which became “Jump (For My Love)” to avoid confusion with the Van Halen hit “Jump.” People were always confusing The Pointer Sisters with Van Halen.
One more thing – my mother got an “A” on her paper.
Down the street from my first job in midtown Manhattan was a bookstore that often hosted book signings. There was also a record store one block over that held album/cassette/CD signings. Between these two places I got to meet many great artists, including Prince, Joan Rivers, Liberace and Tipper Gore. I also met Tina Turner, who turns 74 today.
My main memory about that meeting was how flawless her skin was. She was 46 and there was not a wrinkle to be found. I’m now older than she was then and my face is devoid of wrinkles, which is why I’m often mistaken for Tina.
Tina-mania was high in 1986. After separating from her abusive husband Ike, she toiled in relative obscurity until her 1984 album Private Dancer put her back on the map in a big way. The album sold around twenty million copies worldwide and earned Tina a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year (alongside three other great albums – Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., Prince & the Revolution’s Purple Rain and Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual, as well as Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down. Guess who won.), with its single “What’s Love Got to Do With It” winning Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and its “Better Be Good To Me” winning Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. In 1986 she released her best-selling autobiography, I, Tina, and her follow-up to Private Dancer, Break Every Rule, which produced three top forty hits in the U.S.
Enjoy this Tina Turner-inspired playlist.