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 and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES— an exhibition entitled Bearden/Picasso: Rhythms and Reverberations - showcasing work by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and his influence on Romare Bearden (1911-1988) who added social justice to his oeuvre — is at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson to March 3rd.
YOUR WEEKEND READ is this short essay by the American Prospect’s Harold Meyerson about how the ongoing troubles at Boeing result from the company’s transformation from a production-led organization to a Wall Street orientation.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Papa Legba the Cat— an indoor/outdoor cat who — when venturing out recently — comes home dressed in a sweater.
SPORTING NOTES— at this year’s Australian Open tennis tournament now underway: Court Six displeases purists and advocates of a “quiet please” approach by having both a court-side bar and DJ, and has become a fan favorite.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Ripley the Hero Cat— who alerted her family to a house fire in the making.
BRAIN TEASER— try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz.
ELECTION NOTES— the always perceptive E. J. Dionne has a comforting WaPo essay entitled Trump is Not a Colossus.
SEPARATED at BIRTH— NFL quarterback Joe Flacco and baseball’s Chris Taylor.
...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… a musical What If? performer is cabaret singer Jane Olivor, who had a solid six-year recording career from 1976-1981 (including an Oscar-nominated duet) before withdrawing due to several personal issues. She was able to return a dozen years later to a low-key club circuit career, yet one wonders … what might have been.
Born Jane Cohen in 1947, she molded herself into a cabaret singer named Olivor ( with a style not unlike Édith Piaf) yet who cited as influences both Johnny Mathis and Gene Pitney ... and was able to record with both, later in life.
Early on, she recreated classics as diverse as Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Some Enchanted Evening to The Fleetwood’s 1959 hit Come Softly to Me. She also sang on cruise ships out of New York and — in the manner of Bette Midler — found herself with a notable gay male audience, appearing on the 1975 film Saturday Night at the Baths.
Signed to a Columbia contract in 1976, First Night was her debut release: with favorable reviews and Some Enchanted Evening as the minor radio hit (#91 on the charts). 1977’s Chasing Rain garnered more praise and Jane was able to headline Carnegie Hall. The 1978 album Stay the Night featured a cover of the Chiffons’ 1963 hit He’s So Fine, which rose to #77 on the singles charts (her best-seller) though album sales were her mainstay.
In 1979, she was able to record a duet with Johnny Mathis, for the film Same Time Next Year, starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn (who won an Oscar for her role). With music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Marilyn & Alan Bergman, The Last Time I Felt Like This was a Best Song nominee (and the two sang it on Oscar night).
She went on to release another studio album and a live recording at the Berklee College of Music in Boston (from 1980-1981) before leaving the music business for a twelve-year hiatus. While not all aspects are known (including some unpleasant experiences in the music biz), she had a case of stage fright when appearing on the larger stages she was now playing, protracted contract disputes and a case of depression. She also was a caregiver for her husband during his battle with prostate cancer before his death in 1986.
She re-emerged in 1993 and resumed her small club/cabaret career, releasing one further album in 2000 — including a duet with Gene Pitney on a rendition of his 1962 hit Half Heaven, Half Heartache, completing another circle.
She retired in 2009 (and has become somewhat reclusive at age seventy-six) yet her 2004 career retrospective album leaves a good account of her career.
My favorite of hers was the first song of hers I ever heard: the title track of her 1978 album Stay the Night.
Feel I'm trying to swim the North Atlantic ocean I'm traveling on a different kind of train Heaven saves a place for fallen angels I need someone to take me home again
I'm living with a clock for a companion Waiting for the telephone to cry If you stay and love me till the morning Maybe we won't ever say goodbye
It takes a while to know just where you're going And sometimes you get lost along the way And since I feel the need inside me growing I hope that you won't mind it when I say
Stay the night Baby say you love me Stay and love me Need you to need me Say you need me Stay the night