I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers".
OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted.
CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM, our Laramie, Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES— an exhibition entitled Degas at the Opéra— featuring one hundred paintings, pastels, drawings and sculptures by one of the most celebrated depicter of dancers — is at the Nat’l Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. to October 12th.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #1 is this short essay by the Time Magazine columnist Anand Giridharadas about a Cold Civil War— between Red and Blue America.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #2 is this essay by Rafael Behr, a Guardian columnist, on Boris Johnson, saying that if you-know-who “fails to get re-elected, Britain would be isolated as the only democracy practicing tantrum diplomacy”.
THURSDAY's CHILDREN are named Dove and Tiptoe the Cats— siblings who spent more than 200 days at an Ohio Humane Society because Dove has feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) until a Facebook post enabled them to be adopted.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #3 is — albeit for those who are nautically-minded — is this Financial Times essay on the Trumpster boating affair— writing that (contra the Travis County sheriff’s office), “It wasn’t just the number of boats on Lake Travis that generated all those distress calls. It was the type of boat, the speed at which they moved, and the way they planned their route”.
AMONG THE SMALL, RURAL COMMUNITIES along the US-Canada border that have long had ties that are unusually close (often due to a shared economic necessity) are Hyder, Alaska and Stewart, British Columbia — now shut-out by Covid-19 border restrictions and whose efforts to create a special zone have so far been rebuffed: with Stewart’s mayor saying, “We’re used to isolation up here … but we don’t want to be isolated from each other.”
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Nala the Cat— who escaped from her carrier during a flight to Delhi, India and eluded security for four days ... until she was located with the help of wildlife volunteers.
BRAIN TEASER— try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz.
LAST NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at passings: the demise of a major department store chain (plus a local business) that I have ties of sentimentality towards …. and two notes on the passing of Diana Rigg.
In the "Who Lost the Fortnight?!?" poll — as Trump won/(lost) last week, he is ineligible …. and I need the space to catch-up on some unworthy candidates from last week.
SON-FATHER?— TV star Ben Savage (Boy Meets World) and film/stage star Mandy Patinkin (whom Ted Cruz is upset at for being in a Princess Bride Dem fundraiser).
...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… from a Dutch singer who – for a brief time – had quite an international following. While she had a less-visible subsequent solo career, Mariska Veres and her Shocking Blue bandmates had some great chart success (including Venus that reached #1 in the US) that helped other Dutch musicians gain a following - and her passing in 2006 was mourned by more than a few on this side of the Atlantic.
Mariska Veres was born in The Hague in 1947, and her striking appearance came in no small part from her own mixed heritage. Her father was a Hungarian violinist of Romani (gypsy) origin, and her mother was born in Germany of French and Russian ancestry. As a seventeen year-old, the strong-voiced Mariska sang in several bands in the Netherlands – with Les Mysteres in 1964 (and her you can hear their version of the classic Summertime by George Gershwin) – and then in the post-Beatle era, other bands with English names (Blue Fighters, Danny and his Favourites, the Motowns) before joining the Bumble Bees in 1966.
Meanwhile, the band Shocking Blue was founded in 1967 by guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen (with bassist Klaasje van der Wal and drummer Cor van der Beek) as well as vocalist Fred de Wilde. Shortly thereafter, Shocking Blue’s manager saw the Bumble Bees perform and was blown away by Mariska Veres (likening her to the Jefferson Airplane vocalist Grace Slick). That encounter proved invaluable: as Fred de Wilde had to join the Dutch Army in 1968 ... and the band’s manager prevailed upon van Leeuwen (who had become a prolific songwriter) to recruit Mariska Veres to join the band.
As someone whose boyhood crush was Grace Slick: I saw some definite parallels between the two singers. Both had strong voices that could break-through the (comparatively) weak PA systems of the day, both had striking looks (including long dark hair) and both were recruited to (a) leave their old band and (b) to replace departing lead singers in their new bands - in the case of Grace Slick, it meant leaving The Great Society to replace Signe Toly Anderson (who was beginning a family).
Yet unlike Grace Slick (who noted her many inter-band trysts in her vivid memoirs several years ago), Mariska Veres made it clear to her new bandmates that she wanted strictly a professional relationship with them. And unlike nearly all rock musicians of the late '60's - early 70's era who hit the big time: she neither smoked, drank nor used drugs.
The very first single they released was the Robbie van Leeuwen-written 1969 smash hit Venus (more on this later on). On their US tour, the syndicated columnist Earl Wilson referred to her as a "beautiful busty girl" (ouch) but the song reached #1 in the US.
They also had several other singles and albums that garnered sales and acclaim, such as "Blossom Lady", "Eve and the Apple" and perhaps their second-best selling tune, Never Marry a Railroad Man - part of van Leeuwen's love of Americana themes. The B-side of their big hit was, in fact, my own favorite Shocking Blue song: and at this link you can hear the band play Hot Sand - with some added sitar.
The band’s guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen later noted that when their new singer joined, everything changed - "In one year, everything that we dreamed about happened. We sold millions around the world, and gave other Dutch groups a belief in their own potential". The success of Focus (featuring the guitar of Jan Akkerman on Hocus Pocus) and the band Golden Earring would seem to bear this out, that the record industry was paying attention to Dutch bands.
Shocking Blue broke up in 1974, and Mariska Veres began a solo career (in a more low-key manner). Ten years following the break-up (due to a successful cover version of their big hit) the band reunited for a time, before van Leeuwen left to go into record producing (and he later produced some of Mariska’s subsequent recordings).
In 1993, Mariska Veres formed the Shocking Jazz Quintet– which performed both Shocking Blue tunes (plus other 1960’s-70’s rock/show tunes) ... yet in a softer, jazz format for a middle-aged performer. They released an album Shocking You in 1993. And in a nod to her father’s ancestry, she also recorded an album in 2003 entitled Gipsy Heart - and at this link you can hear "Veled Vagyok Meg Gondolatban" (listed on the video as “I Am Loving You”).
Mariska Veres died of cancer in early December, 2006 at the age of 59. Just last month, a mural of her was dedicated by the mayor of her native city The Hague.
A noted cat lover (another gold mark for her, in my opinion) she told a Belgian magazine several years earlier of how she had overcome the downside of her early fame. "Back then, I was just a painted doll – nobody could ever reach me. Nowadays, I am more open to people".
For an example of her later recording career: here is a video of her and the Shocking Jazz Quintet singing the bouncy A Lot of Living to Do from the play Bye, Bye Birdie of 1960.
But let's close with her signature tune ...which gained even more notoriety over the years. Venus was sampled by the Dutch band Stars on 45 and their medley reached #1 in the US in 1981. Five years later, the English girl-group Bananarama had a hit with Venus that also reached #1. And while allowing for the fact that the Stars on 45 only had part of Venus .... nonetheless this song has reached #1 in the US ... three times.
A few months before her death, Mariska Veres performed this song on Netherlands television, with a full band (including horns) to a sing-along audience. And below you can hear it.
A goddess on a mountain top Was burning like a silver flame The summit of beauty and love And Venus was her nameHer weapon were her crystal eyes Making every man mad Black as a dark night she was Got what no one else had
She's got it Yeah, baby, she's got it Well, I'm your Venus I'm your fire at your desire