FEBRUARY: THE BEST OF TIMES, THE BETTER OF TIMES — HONEST (32)
All I Want Is Loving You & Music, Music, Music
KUDOS TO CNN’S February 2, 2025, truly riveting “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” on charismatic actor Christopher Reeve. If you viewed it, and noticed the dazzling Gentlemen’s Quarterly cover en passant from the October 1979 issue, James A. Fragale wrote the Reeve profile inside. Thank you for sharing.1
NICE ITALIAN GIRL MAKES GOOD AS A SINGER AND FIDDLER WITH A SENSUAL, SEXY, QUIRKY, SONG YOU MAY KNOW.
Something more now from my next-door neighbor David Browne’s terrific book Talkin’ Greenwich Village, a narrative that kept on giving from Page 1 to the last. In passing, Browne mentions Maria D’Amato, a sassy-voiced Italian American “who’d also grown up in the neighborhood,” later to be known as Maria Muldaur. Why, in 1973, Maria Muldaur recorded a quirky, offbeat, sexy single I loved, “Midnight at the Oasis,” that became a hit, changed everything, and made the earth move.
Maria, part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s, began her career as Maria D'Amato, performing with John Sebastian, David Grisman, and Stefan Grossman as a member of the Even Dozen Jug Band. She then joined Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band as a featured vocalist (and occasional fiddle player.) Talent has no limits. During that period, she was part of the Greenwich Village scene that included Bob Dylan. Some of her recollections, particularly with respect to Dylan, appear in Martin Scorsese's 2005 documentary film No Direction Home.
Her first solo 1973 album contained by then the world famous hit single, David Nichtern’s "Midnight at the Oasis,” which reached Number Six on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard would later to rank it as the Number Thirteen for all of 1974. The hit was also nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards. Up North: in Canada, the song reached Number Two in the RPM singles charts and ranked Number Forty-five in the year-end chart.
Why am I telling you all this? I loved that record…wore out my copy. The song offers you, me, and the universe the titillating story of a hot desert love affair in a fantasy setting that prompted AllMusic reviewer Matthew Greenwald to gush as a song "so sensual…evocative that it was probably one of the most replayed records of the era and may be responsible for the most pregnancies from a record during the mid-'70s."
In a 2008 interview, Muldaur revealed she added it at the last minute as an "afterthought,” to her album. Later, she shared that people now approach her at concerts, claiming that this song has inspired sexual encounters, loss of virginity, and pregnancy. Don’t you just love it? And it took me all these years to find that out and makes me love her rendition even more. I need to exert greater effort to be hipper.
HIT SONGS FASHIONED, APPROPRIATED (?), FROM CLASSICAL MUSIC. THERE ARE MANY.
This is my nod to up-and-coming song writers. Listen up.
My favorite… SMILE – “Smile" is a song based on the theme song used in the soundtrack for Charlie Chaplin's 1936 film Modern Times. Chaplin composed the song with the help of composer David Raksin and was inspired by a sequence in the first act love-duet in Puccini's opera Tosca that began with Cavaradossi singing "Quale occhio al mondo può star di paro." In 1954, lyrics and the title were added by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons to create one of the most magnificent popular songs ever penned to paper and sung aloud. The lyrics, based on lines and themes from the film, the singer suggests the listener to cheer up… that there is always a bright tomorrow as long as they smile. “Smile” is one of my top favorite popular songs, if not Number One. If you’re at a loss, listen to Nat King Cole or Michael Jackson’s version.
THERE’S NO TOMORROW - written by Al Hoffman, Leo Corday and Leon Carr, is one of two popular records based on the Italian song, "'O Sole Mio," — composed by Eduardo di Capua. (The other, "It's Now or Never,” a hit for Elvis Presley.) A booming rendition, charting in 1949, was recorded by Tony Martin on RCA VICTOR as a 78 rpm record, and later, re-released as an 45 rpm. The record reached the Billboard chart, November 4, 1949, at Number Two, and remained 27 weeks on the chart. Martin attended a Friars Club of Beverly Hills roast for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on November 24, 1958. And the story goes… if we are to believe this online tale.
After comedian Harry Einstein (alias "Park-yark-ark-us") brought the house down with his amusing roast, Einstein suffered a heart attack, slumping into Milton Berle's lap. Emcee Art Linkletter directed Tony Martin to sing a song to divert the crowd's attention; the Martin’s unfortunate, inappropriate choice: "There's No Tomorrow." Einstein's heart attack proved fatal. Martin was a pallbearer at the comedian's funeral.
DISCO! Hit it! Fifth of Beethoven,” a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band, adapted from the First Movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The record was produced by Production Music with sound effects recording producer Thomas J. Valentino. The "Fifth’s" song's title is a pun, referencing a liquid measure approximately equal to one-fifth of a gallon, the popular size for bottles containing booze, you bet, as well as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
Released as a single by Private Stock Records in 1976, the song debuted at Number Eighty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart then, within 18 weeks, climbed to Number One. In 1977, the cut was licensed to RSO Records to be included on best-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. This rendition is still heard, still played live today. It’s catchy.
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH … JON BATISTE’S 5TH SYMPHONY, a single and an album titled BEETHOVEN BLUES, released in 2024. Jon Batiste, Grammy Award-winning composer, jazz and R&B artist, performed his "5th Symphony In Congo Square" live, then it became part of his LP, “Beethoven Blues.” Batiste re-imagined versions of Beethoven's most famous classical works then blended in the Beethoven's compositions themselves with improvised jazz, blues, and funk (Sheer genius). Batiste explained it this way, he found “soul” in Beethoven’s work. NOTE: Dusklight Movement, a cut on his LP, counterpoints the "Sonata” — more on that later.
Jon Batiste’s effective pitch for his “Beethoven Blues” CD: “5x Grammy and Oscar winner Jon Batiste returns with a pure piano album, Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1). Reimagining the transcendent works of Beethoven alongside original compositions inspired by his youth competing in piano competitions and gigging in New Orleans, the album extends timeless classics across the genre spectrum.”
Tracklist: Two cuts form Batiste’s Beethoven Blues: 8. 5th Symphony in Congo Square & Cut 10. Life of Ludwig
BEYOND THE SEA, though considered a “cover record,” the popularized and best known version, was recorded in 1959 by multi-talented, versatile Bobby Darin at least the English-language version of French song "La Mer" composed by Charles Trenet. Originally an ode to the sea, but the brilliant American lyricist, highly underrated genius Jack Lawrence—turned it into a love song that reached Number Six on the Billboard Hot 100, Number Fifteen on the US R&B Chart, and Number Seven in Canada. (It’s worth noting, Jack Lawrence was an openly gay lyric writer who penned the English version of “Beyond the Sea,” as well as the beloved “Tenderly,” and many other wonderful songs.) Before Bobby Darin's version of “Beyond the Sea,” two instrumental recordings reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Benny Goodman's rendition charted in 1948, then featured in the Cary Grant romantic comedy Every Girl Should Be Married. In 1955, pianist Roger Williams’ rendition reached Number Thirty-seven. Giving credit where it’s due, it was originally recorded by Harry James and Orchestra in 1947; before that—as “La Mer”— the first recording was by French musician Roland Gerbeau. Oddly enough, the composer Charles Trenet, did not lay it down until the following year. American R&B singer George Benson recorded his take under the title "Beyond the Sea (La Mer),” hitting the UK Singles Chart in 1985, peaking at Number Sixty, and remaining there for three weeks. Hardly a footnote, Robbie Williams recorded the song for his album Swing When You're Winning, which was then used in the closing credits of the film Finding Nemo.
Bobby Darin was born Walden Robert Cassotto, May 14, 1936, and passed away way too young, on December 20, 1973, at 37, in a Los Angeles hospital recovery room from open heart surgery. I admired Darrin over the years loving his versatility, and as I wrote above, multi-talents — as singer, songwriter, and actor, he performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music.
Darin started his career as a songwriter for Connie Francis. Then in 1958, Darin co-wrote and recorded his first million-selling single, "Splish Splash," followed by his own song "Dream Lover," next he covered "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea," bringing him international fame. Even better, in 1962, Darin won a Golden Globe Award for his first film, Come September, co-starring his first wife, actress Sandra Dee.
BUT SAD FAMILY DRAMA: In June 1968, Bobby Darin learned the woman who had raised him was his grandmother, not his mother, and found out that the gal he thought was his sister was actually his mother. Those events deeply affected Darin, sending him into a long period of seclusion. Although Darin made a successful comeback in television, early 1970s, as his health was beginning to fail due to a weak heart and hence to open heart surgery. The revelation of Darin's vulnerability had invariably spurred him on to use his musical talent while still young. We’re glad he did. I’m amazed at how much he packed into his early life. I can’t name very many as versatile and competent in jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music.
DON’T YOU KNOW - Don’t You Know?," is a 1959 popular song written by Bobby Worth, and a smash for singer Della Reese. The song, adapted from aria ("Musetta's Waltz") from Puccini's La bohème, was Reese's first single on RCA Victor. The hit secured her a nomination for Best Female Vocalist Grammy. Reese's belting, hard-to- miss rendition, reached Number One on U.S. R&B chart. Previously entitled "You," it charted Number Twenty-eight for Sammy Kaye in 1952. When Reese’s power rendition is on, it’s hard NOT to listen.
TILL THE END OF TIME – “Till the End of Time," the 1945 song written by lyricist Buddy Kaye and composer Ted Mossman, has a melody based on Frédéric Chopin's Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53, the "Polonaise Héroique." Several other recordings of the Kaye-Mossman song were waxed in 1945 — the Biggest Hit was by Mr. Perry Como; another version by Dick Haymes charted; and not to be ignored, the Les Brown Orchestra with Doris Day made noise, also. (Ginny Simms, too, record the song.) Note that Como's single first reached the Billboard magazine charts on August 9, 1945, lasted 17 weeks on the chart, peaking at Number One, and spent 10 consecutive weeks on top. “Till the End of Time” was Como's original Number One and first single to sell two million copies. A poignant footnote, the record lent its title to the 1946 film of the same name: American veterans returning home from World War II with Como's version included several times in the feature film.
BIG TIME! KISMET, BROADWAY SHOW – USING Russian composer
KISMET is a musical adapted by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis from the 1911 play of the same name by Edward Knoblock with lyrics and musical adaptation as well as some original music by Robert Wright and George Forrest (with Russian composer Alexander Borodin’s melodies.) The story concerns a rascal poet who talks his way out of trouble multiple times; meanwhile, his beautiful daughter meets and falls in love with a young caliph. (Caliph: Islam spiritual leader.)
First produced on Broadway in 1953, Kismet won the TONY for 1954 Best Musical and was also a hit in London's West End; and later enjoyed several revivals. Not to be ignored, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released a film version in 1955. Superb popular songs from Kismet, STRANGER IN PARADISE and BAUBELS, BANGLES, BEADS— worth a listen by every recording artist who waxed them. You might be enthralled.
BRIEF DETOUR: WITH BAUBLES, BANGELS, AND BEADS – AND WORTH IT!
LONG BEFORE BLING WAS BLING, Miss Peggy Lee recorded a brilliant, breathy, breathtaking version of “BAUBLES, BANGLES, AND BEADS,” on Decca Records. Psssttt. The song is also among the tunes on my favorite album of all time, “Antonia Jobim and Frances Albert Sinatra.”
Baubles, bangles, hear how they jing, jinga-linga
Baubles, bangles, bright shiny beads
Sparkles, spangles, her heart will sing, singa-linga
Wearin' baubles, bangles and beads
So she'll glitter and gleam so
Make somebody dream so
That some day I may buy her a ring, ringa-linga
I've heard that's where it leads
Wearin' baubles, bangles, and beads
She'll glitter and gleam so
Make somebody dream so
That some day, some day, I may
Buy her a ring, ringa-linga
I have heard that's where it leads
Wearin' baubles, bangles and beads
All those nosey bangles and beads.
BACK TO THE BUSINESS AT HAND: FUN, FUN, FUN…
A LOVER’S CONCERTO – a/k/a “Lover's Concerto" is a pop song written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, based on the 18th century composition by Christian Petzold, "Minuet in G major," and recorded in 1965 by The Toys. Their version of "A Lover's Concerto" sold more than 2 million copies — 2 million copies! — and was awarded RIAA gold-record certification. In 1965, the recording was a major hit in the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as other countries, peaking on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at Number Two. "Lover's Concerto" reached Number One both on the US Cashbox Magazine, and in Canada on the RPM national singles chart. It peaked at Number Five in the UK as a Single.
Clever gents, Linzer and Randell used the melody of the familiar "Minuet in G major,” which first appeared in J.S. Bach's Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. The difference!? "Minuet in G major" is written in three-quarter time whereas "Lover's Concerto" is arranged in 4/4 time. Although often attributed to Bach himself, the "Minuet in G major" is now generally accepted as having been written by Christian Petzold. Who?
Nothing new under the moon. Already popularized by bandleader Freddy Martin in the 1940s recording that was released under the title "A Lover's Concerto." Critic Dave Thompson wrote of The Toys' version: "Few records are this perfect.2 Riding across one of the most deceptively hook-laden melodies ever conceived ... and marks the apogee of the Girl Group sound." The song also has an unusual structure that blurs the differences between its verses and choruses. Added to that, in the late’60s, it was popularized by Sarah Vaughan at Mercury. The lyrics begin:
How gentle is the rain / That falls softly on the meadow, / Birds high up in the trees / Serenade the clouds with their melodies.
The Toys appeared on most of the major TV rock programs, including “Shindig!”, Hullabaloo, and American Bandstand, plus a rousing cameo in the 1967 beach movie, It's a Bikini World. No small thing, Mr. Bach.
THE MOONLIGHT SONATA - “Dusklight Movement:” A cut on Jon Batiste’s “5th Symphony In Congo Square” album that counterpoints “Moonlight Sonata.” The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked Quasi una fantasia, Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by Beethoven, completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Julie "Giulietta" Guicciardi. Although known throughout the world as The Moonlight Sonata (German: Mondscheinsonate), it was not Beethoven who named it. Likely long after Beethoven's death, the name caught on. The Sonata is one of Beethoven's most famous piano compositions--popular even in his own day. Beethoven composed the Moonlight Sonata around the age of 30, after he had finished with some commissioned work, however, no evidence surfaced that the Sonata was a commissioned piece.
“The Moonlight Sonata,” influenced many. A Grad Course Here, aspiring songwriters take notice: Carl Bohm composed a piece for violin and piano called "Meditation", Op. 296, in which he adds a violin melody over the unaltered first movement of Beethoven's sonata. Modern popular music pianists have included core motifs of the piece in their adaptations. Examples: George Shearing, in his 'Moonlight Becomes You,' on his White Satin album; Alicia Keys's 'Remixed & Unplugged' version of her Songs in A Minor album. Depeche Mode released a version of the piece, performed by Alan Wilder, as a B-side on their 1988 single Little 15. The Beatles song Because is based upon the chord progression of Moonlight Sonata played in reverse. Psychedelic rock band Vanilla Fudge covered the piece (along with Fur Elise) that is part of "Phase Two" on their 1968 album, The Beat Goes On. In July 1975, Dmitri Shostakovich quoted the Sonata's first movement in his Viola Sonata, op. 147, his last composition. The third movement, where the quotation takes fragmentary form, is called an "Adagio in Memory of Beethoven." The C♯ minor sonata, particularly the third movement, is thought to have been the inspiration for Frédéric Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu, and the Fantaisie-Impromptu to have been in fact a tribute to Beethoven. It manifests the key relationships of the sonata's three movements, chord structures, and even shares some passages. WOW. WOW. WOW. Ernst Oster writes: "With the aid of the Fantaisie-Impromptu we can recognize what particular features of the C♯ minor Sonata struck fire in Chopin. Chopin is our teacher as he points to the coda, saying 'Look here, this is great. Take heed of this example!' ... The Fantaisie-Impromptu is perhaps the only instance where one genius discloses to us – if only by means of a composition of his own – what he actually hears in the work of another genius." MY TAKE: “Graduation is so near, my love,” to quote, “Teach Me Tonight.”
MEMOIRES – “Memories” is a show tune from the 1981 musical Cats—the musical's most well-known song, often considered one of the most recognizable musical theater songs of all time. Andrew Lloyd Webber originally composed the tune for a Giacomo Puccini project; then used it in Cats instead. The tune was intentionally written in the Puccini style, Lloyd Webber knowingly lifted it from one of Puccini's works with lyrics by Trevor Nunn, based on poems by T. S. Eliot. In the musical, CAT-character Grizabella sings "Memory" as a way to recall her past and ask for acceptance. Elaine Paige was the first to perform "Memory" on stage in the West End production. For the record, and accuracy, Barbra Streisand's beautiful version of "Memory," a semi-hit, took the Number 52 spot on Billboard's singles charts.
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter from Camp) is a novelty song recorded by Allan Sherman released in 1963. The melody, appropriated from the ballet Dance of the Hours from the opera La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli, had hilarious novelty lyrics written by Sherman and Lou Busch. Allan based the lyrics on letters of complaint which he received from his son Robert Sherman, attending Camp Champlain, a summer camp in Westport, New York. (More amusing? In 2020, the song was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”) The words mention of "Leonard Skinnerm," a boy at the camp who "got ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner," — an inspiration for the name of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd; the band's name was also inspired by a physical education instructor of the same name. The parody complains about the fictional "Camp Granada," set to the tune of Amilcare Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours, from the opera La Gioconda. The name derives from the first lines:
Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh.
Here I am at Camp Granada.
Camp is very entertaining.
And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.
The lyrics go on to describe unpleasant, dangerous, and tragic developments, such as fellow campers going missing or contracting deadly illnesses. He inquires how his "precious little brother" is doing, and begs to be taken home, afraid of being left out in the forest and fearing getting eaten by a bear, promising to behave, and even letting his aunt hug and kiss him. At the end, he notes that the rain has stopped and fun activities such as swimming, sailing, and baseball have begun again, and asks his parents to "kindly disregard this letter."
NEVER GONNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN, “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” is a song co-written and recorded by talented American pop rock artist Eric Carmen — released as the second single from Mr. Carmen's self-titled debut solo album with peaked at Number Eleven on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1976 — remaining in the Top 40 for ten weeks, reaching Number One on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. In Canada, it was a hit at Number One on both charts. A lot! And more.
NOTE: You’ve read this far, be alert to the title, because it could be confused with several other similar hit pop songs. It’s “NEVER GONNA’ FALL IN LOVE AGAIN,” by Eric Carmen, and I liked it a lot. The melody is based on the third movement (Adagio) from Symphony No. 2 by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.
PRAISE: Billboard described it, a ballad with characteristically solid Carmen lyrics, fine vocals, lush orchestration. Cash Box weighed in with"a hook-filled melody and chorus," … "tune will doubtless be covered by many artists; will have to work hard to measure up." Record World said, "lush offering driven by an emotive performance."
Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it to be Carmen's 2nd greatest solo song, stating that "the melody and the groove were one for the ages." Carmen's first two solo singles were chart hits in 1976 —both were built around themes by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The first of these singles, "All by Myself" – based on Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 – hit number 2 in the United States, and Number 12 in the UK where it was his only charting hit, selling over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in 1976. The follow-up single, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again"—again, based on the main theme of the third movement of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, reached Number 11 on Billboard’s Hot 100; hit Number One on the US Contemporary Chart, as well as Number Nine in Cash Box. In UK, Dana took it to Number Thirty-one; in Australia, Mark Holden reached Number Thirteen. Those two songs featured on his 1975 self-titled debut album enjoyed a companionship with "That's Rock and Roll," Number Three —hit for Shaun Cassidy. The album, Number 21 on the Billboard album chart, certified; sales: more than 500,000 copies. Sadly, at 74, Eric Carmen passed in his sleep; is wife prevented release of his autopsy.
NO OTHER LOVE is a popular song with words by Bob Russell with music credited to the great Paul Weston but is actually derived from Frédéric Chopin's Étude No. 3 in E, Op. 10; what’s more, practically identical to that of the song "Tristesse," a 1939 hit for French singer-actor Tino Rossi. (Caveat: It should not be confused with "No Other Love," written and composed by Broadway team Rodgers and Hammerstein.) Jeez!
A version recorded by “purity of voice,” outselling all others in 1955 — superb Jo Stafford, Weston's wife—Weston's orchestra backing her — was released on Capitol Records, reaching Number Eight on the Billboard chart in 1950. Jo Stafford has one of the best popular song voices, ever! NOTE: The piano artistry of George Greeley is also credited on the recording. This version, featured in the trailers and soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson's 2012 film, The Master with Ambassadors of Harmony men's Barbershop Chorus Championship, vocalizing a cappella. A rare treat.
I’M ALWAYS CHASING RAINBOWS — a popular Vaudeville song, really!? The music is credited to Harry Carroll; the melody, adapted from Fantaisie-Impromptu by Frédéric Chopin. The lyrics, by Joseph McCarthy, published in 1917, were introduced in the Broadway show Oh, Look! which opened,March 1918. The song was sung in the show by the Dolly Sisters, but it was Miss Judy Garland who made it known —singing it in the 1941 film Ziegfeld Girl. Subsequently, Jack Oakie did his version in the 1944 film The Merry Monahans, then again featured in the 1945 film The Dolly Sisters, where this time, sung by John Payne. It was also included in the cast album of 1973 revival of Irene. Ah ha! The pre-chorus would not have been included until later covers in the 1940s, where the song would gain its iconic libretti.
The biggest from the 1946 revival were by Perry Como, Helen Forrest, Dick Haymes, and Buddy De Vito, backed by Harry James's Orchestra. The Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians outing, with a vocal by Erno Rapee, had some traction in 1946 also. Alas, the 1945 recording by Helen Forrest and Dick Haymes with the flip side “Tomorrow Is Forever,” reached Billboard at Number Ten, with only week on the chart.
A bunch of G. D. geniuses, huh, each and every one! I’m in awe. I wish I’d been aware of all of them when I was a whippersnapper, but maybe we don’t run into stuff, ‘til ready for it. Unsure. But glad to know it now… HEADS UP: some truly serious news.
THE BEST OF TIMES, THE BETTER OF TIMES. YOU’RE GOING TO LIKE THIS
In mid-January, the dead of winter, a gym buddy stopped me to ask, “Jim, Is David Brooks really your favorite writer? “My answer was, yes, and I like a lot of other writers, too, but Brooks remains at the top.” Which brings me to the better of times.
To begin at the bottom. Nicholas Kristof recently wrote at the end of an a knockout Opinion Page essay in the New York Times, “The world is a mess … but it’s also valuable to take a nanosecond break at the beginning of each year to put it all in perspective. Look at the data, and it’s difficult to deny a larger truth: For all the challenges we face, there has been no better time to be alive.”
Over the years, I’ve found Mr. Kristof’s essays fascinating, weighty, and invariably, worth my time. I’m inclined to believe him when he writes “…even in our messed-up world, many trends are still going right…” Then this direct quote, not my words, “a felon I consider unstable and a threat to democracy is about to move into the White House.” … “For starters, let’s note that the worst thing that can happen is not a Trumpian rant; I’d say it’s to lose a child. And 2024 appears to have been the year in which the smallest percentage of children died since the dawn of humanity.” Okay, promising and heartfelt…
“Likewise, consider extreme poverty, defined as having less than $2.15 a day, adjusted for inflation. Historically, most human beings lived in extreme poverty, but the share has been plummeting. In 2024 reached a new low of about 8.5 percent of the world’s people.” … “Every day over the past couple of years, roughly 30,000 people moved out of extreme poverty worldwide. And here’s something to look forward to: This year will probably register even more progress against child deaths and poverty alike.” That sounds great to me even if it’s a “probably.” Some significant specifics:
EDUCATION: “…Now we’re approaching 90 percent literacy worldwide, and the number of literate people is rising by more than 12 million each year. Every three seconds, another person becomes literate.” I love the sound of that and wonder how they came to this conclusion. Ours is not to reason why… moving along…
WARS: “…wars and other tragedies still unfolding? Fair enough. But don’t lose sight of the cease-fire in Gaza or the toppling of the brutal Assad regime in Syria. Three of the world’s worst humanitarian crises of the last decade — Yemen, Ethiopia and Syria — are now in better shape because wars have subsided.” Hurrah! “Biden administration diplomacy, knitting together Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia in a common front, appears to have increased deterrence and reduced that risk.” If you read the papers… watch network and cable news networks, you have a sense of that.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: “…one of my [Kristof’s] concerns in recent years has been that an authoritarian China would master A.I. before the West does. For now, that risk seems to have receded.” Readers, I want very much to trust Nicholas Kristof on that, bigtime. I’m embarrassed to admit I am baffled by A. I. and in awe of those who understand it. I’m going to have to swing with it while trying to grasp the concepts. Meanwhile, the subject has made headline news since Kristof’s essay.
MEDICINE: “…Scientists have newly developed the first anti-psychotic medication for schizophrenia in decades, and a vaccine against a form of breast cancer may enter Phase 2 trials this year. And with ‘semaglutide’ medications, Americans are now becoming thinner, on average, each year rather than fatter, with far-reaching health consequences.” Great news. One of the other medical strides he left out…helps to make us hopeful: Dementia. Even Nostradamus alluded to dementia. More on that later…
CLIMATE CHANGE: “Climate change… is a growing peril, of course, but stunning improvements in solar, wind, nuclear and other technologies, coupled with advances in batteries, offer a credible path toward de-carbonizing the world economy—and might even result in energy becoming cheaper than ever before.” Loud applaud. I often run into poo-poo-ers of Climate Change. Wonder what planet they’re living on.
ALAS, WRAP, RAP, AND ZAP ON KRISTOF’S TAKE ON “THE BEST OF TIMES:” And if I may repeat, “The world is a mess, and I promise to barrage you with woe every other day of the year — but it’s also valuable to take a nanosecond break at the beginning of each year to put it all in perspective. Look at the data, and it’s difficult to deny a larger truth: For all the challenges we face, there has been no better time to be alive...”. Alas, “…the arc of human progress is still evident in metrics that matter most, such as the risk of a child dying, and that we truly can get over the next damn hill.”
Nicholas Kristof’s “It’s Still The Best Time To Be Alive,” appeared on the New York Times’ “Columns & Commentary Page,” Sunday, January 19, 2025. Thank you, Mr. Kristof.
LET’S FLY AWAY… NEW YORK IS NOT FOR US. Listen up!
For all you New York City haters who kvetch (Yiddish for complain) about our town all the time and threaten to leave, recall what Buckaroo Banzai said in the 1984 adventure science fiction comedy film, “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, “Hey, hey, hey, hey-now. Don't be mean; we don't have to be mean, cuz, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.” HI-HO, the quote was around long before, with similar versions in a 1400s spiritual work by Thomas à Kempis. Confucius said it; dozens used it as titles to their blogs; mindfulness guru Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote a book with the Confucius’ quote as the title. It has been centuries since Confucius (551-479 BCE) made that astute observation. Plagiarism ain’t the issue…
Let’s note, two pop singers had a hit — Margaret Whiting and Dick Haymes — with "It Might as Well Be Spring" — a song from the feature film 1945 State Fair, the ONLY original film score by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Not chopped liver! (Note: "It Might as Well Be Spring" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in ‘45.) All that information, bud, only to share a lyric with you from that song, “…I keep wishing I were somewhere else walking down a strange new street…”. Why would you want to get away? You unhappy with, not enjoying, The State Fair?! Fairs are supposed to be fun, off the record, I dislike street fairs on N.Y.C. avenues.
Which brings me to my favorite get-away-tune by jazz singer Jeri Southern from her bestselling Cole Porter album with the sophisticated lyric (below), “Let’s Fly Away.” Frankly, it’s hard to imagine that New York is not for them while singing these savvy words, but they’re entitled, I guess:
Let's fly away
And find a land that's warm and tropic,
Where Roosevelt is not the topic
All the live long day!Let's fly away
And find a land that's so provincial,
We'll never hear what Walter Winchell
Might be forced to say!I'll make your life sublime,
Far across the blue.
I'll take up all your time
Compromising you!Let's not delay,
Make Mother Nature our Messiah,
New York is not for us,
Let's fly away!I'll make your life sublime,
Far across the blue.
I'll take up all your time
Compromising you!Let's not delay,
Make Mother Nature our Messiah,
New York is not for us,
Let's fly away,
Let's fly away! Let’s Fly Away lyrics
Hold on! I’m not finished yet! In my lifetime, one of our best, wisest, Italian American and fellow Aquarian, Gaetano "Gay" Talese, the writer-journalist who during the 1960s, helped to define contemporary literary journalism, now considered — along with Joan Didion, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe — one of THE pioneers of “The New Journalism.” THE POINT OF ALL THAT: A few days ago, Gay Talese, answered this way, when asked in a Times interview, “Would you ever move from New York City?” Talese’s answer:
“I can’t remember an unhappy day in the New York City. I can’t imagine leaving.”
Now that’s an endorsement. I can’t imagine doing any better than Gay Talese, friends, on the way out of this Socratic nightmare… One More, por favor…
HOLD THE PHONE. STOP THE PRESSES. I got it. You disgruntled ones … don’t like N.Y.C? — so then become an ex-patriot. American Paul Theroux, author of three best-sellers lived as one 1965 to 1990, then wrote about his experience in the New York Times. NOTE: Coincidentally, he was touted Times Book Review, January 25, 2025, with stories about that in “The Vanishing Point: Stories,” HarperCollins.
Theroux wrote, (LOVED THIS!): “Other writers who (for material, for refuge) chose to live abroad. Mark Twain was happy in Germany. Henry James migrated to England and never looked back. James Baldwin thrived as an expat in Turkey and lived in France. Edith Wharton also lived in France. Josephine Baker, who was a writer as well as a force of nature, was the ultimate expat, though ‘exile’ is nearer the mark. O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), fleeing the law, escaped to Honduras. Paul Bowles retreated to Morocco. John Irving is a contented Torontonian…”. Wowwee! Yessiree!
And yet, Theroux went on to reveal, “There is … an existential, parasitical, rootless quality to being an expatriate, which can be dizzying: You are both somebody and nobody, often merely a spectator. I always felt in my bones that wherever I went [as an ex-pat], I was an alien. That I could not presume or expect much hospitality, that I had nothing to offer except a willingness to listen, that wherever I was, I had no business there and had to justify my intrusion by writing about what I heard… Most travel, and a lot of expatriate life, can be filed under the heading ‘Trespassing.’” Hence, Paul Theroux ultimately described the experience as a balancing act between trespassing and self-discovery where one stays an outsider while remaining an outsider in your own country. You…you wouldn’t want that, would you?
So, maybe it’s NOT such a good idea for ya,’ buddy. You, nor I, are secure enough. So, “stay here and suffer with the rest of us.”3
Q… R… S… T… U…V…W… X -- XENON VISITED – YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE OLD TO GET OLD.
“Six percent of Alzheimer cases are early-onset impacting those in their 30s to mid-60s…” Oh My God. I have a longtime friend I’d often run into in the neighborhood for decades and occasionally in a Twelve Step Program meeting. Suddenly he disappeared. I asked around. A mutual acquaintance said, he was suddenly struck with Alzheimer’s and is now in a nursing New Jersey home (New Jersey?!) The last time I saw him he seemed to be perfectly fine. And friends, he wasn’t that old, and this condition came on overnight? Scary. Where’s the cure?
As of 2020, approximately 50 million people worldwide Alzheimer's. Most often, it begins in people over 65—,although up to 10% of cases are early-onset impacting those in their 30s to mid-60s affecting about 6% of people 65 years and older; women more often than men. Named after German psychiatrist, pathologist (Mr.) Alois Alzheimer, first described it in 1906. (I’ll bet his offspring were glad about that.) Know this: Alzheimer's financial burden on society is huge, with estimated global annual cost of US $1 trillion. It is ranked as the seventh leading cause of death worldwide.
HOPE? Some treatments being pursued today to protect against Alzheimer’s disease focus on amyloid plaques and tangles that accumulate in the brain, but new research from Mass General Brigham and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis points to a novel, noble approach: using Xenon gas. The scientific study found t Xenon gas, inhaled suppressed neuron inflammation, reduced brain atrophy, and increased protective neuronal states in mousey of Alzheimer’s disease. Science Translational Medicine, says: with phase 1 trial of the treatment in healthy volunteers.
The gas Xenon, like the other noble, or inert, gases, is known for doing very little. The class of elements, because of its molecular structure, don’t typically interact with many chemicals. That new mousey study — those white mice again — shows this new possible use case for Xenon — a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. So, the serious, study, with rats, inspired that Phase 1 clinical trial, recruited patients, now in the works. I sure wish they would hurry. Perhaps Mr. Alzheimer’s offsprings will ultimately forgive him if they succeed, We’re all forgetful from time to time. It’s unnerving… Meanwhile, hurry up, guys with a cure, please hurry.
Factoids: The number of people with dementia is expected to double by 2060. Right now, Congress is considering more than $2 trillion in cuts — CUTS?— to the Medicaid program, our primary source of funding for home-care. Unconscionable.
Relevant and sad, note author Charles Piller’s New York Times Opinion essay, January 26, 2025, headlined, “Fraud Has Delayed A Cure for Alzheimer’s.” Not an UP read.
BEST CITIES IN THE ENTIRE WORLD - 2025
Times Out magazine named Cape Town as Time Out’s Best City for 2025. Before we begin, a quick question, “Where in the Sam Hill Is San Francisco?” Later.
For this year’s list, more than 18,500 locals told them what they thought of their city, from its food and nightlife to its safety and livability. Time Out combined their insights with those a global network of city editors, crunched the data, and rank the 50 best cities on the planet. Was it London, New York, Melbourne, or Bangkok? Nope, though these cities all made it to the top five. It was Cape Town.
The "glorious” South African hub scored highly across their board with 97% of locals saying their city makes them happy, 95% giving its food scene a high rating, and 82% describing it as beautiful. Not a shabby endorsement. Cape Town has everything from fantastic nature (colonies of African penguins, Blue Flag beaches, Table Mountain) and top-tier city musts; brilliant bars, restaurants, and a Time Out Market. Convenient.
‘Steeped in history and cultural significance, Cape Town provides visitors with a plethora of options to learn, explore, and have fun, all without breaking the bank. The fishing culture of the city in trendy Kalk Bay; East City offers a dose of Capetonian food and design; take in one with the natural world at the majestic Cape Point Nature Reserve,’ Andrew Hallett, Time Out South Africa’s content director, tells us.
Reminder, to compile the annual list, the company surveyed more than 18,500 city-dwellers, as well as its own panel of 100 experts who were asked for insights on topics that are near and dear to travelers’ hearts: food, nightlife, culture, affordability, livability and the overall city vibe. Time Out then combined all that data— a total of 44 different and trusty criteria—to rank the 2025 “50 Best Cities in the World.”
“Where else can you visit a colony of African penguins, taste world-class wines, stroll Blue Flag beaches, enjoy views from one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, and experience vibrant nightlife — all in a day?” crowed Time Out.
Number Two: Bangkok: ‘Famously friendly, culturally rich…Thailand’s capital “checks every box for a great city: famously friendly, culturally rich, and packed with iconic sites like Wat Arun and the Grand Palace,” reported Time Out. Not surprisingly, Bangkok’s world-renowned food scene ranked highly among respondents, with 86% of locals declared food in Bangkok “good… amazing;” 84% say eating out is affordable. “With the expanded BTS Skytrain and MRT, exploring Bangkok has never been easier.”
LAST YEAR’S WINNER, New York City, fell to the still-impressive Number Three spot, with Time Out noting that 78% of New Yorkers described our city as exciting, “the highest percentage of all cities surveyed.” Meanwhile, 92% of respondents approved of its world-class arts and culture scene…. YES! NYC: “From iconic attractions like Edge, the northern hemisphere’s highest observation deck, to vibrant neighborhoods like Riverdale and Coney Island, the city truly has it all.” New York attracted 64.3 visitors in 2024, 35% more than in 2023, confirms New York City Tourism Conventions. Also, check out the thorough and affable Steve Cuozzo’s January 5, 2025, column in The New York Post, titled, “Fellow Travelers, While Chicago and San Francisco surf, New York is scoring record tourist numbers.” Reassuring.
Number Four on the Time Out list, Melbourne, which just happens to be home to Time Out’s “World’s Coolest Street,” 2024. The seaside Australian city earns top marks in the “restaurants and eating out” category as well as “culture,” reads the brand.
FIVE! The fifth-place spot has been snagged by another perennial favorite, London, which Time Out says remains one of the world’s best cities, “thanks to its vibrant cuisine, iconic pubs, unparalleled shopping, and diverse communities.”
TOP 10: Rounding out the Top 10 are New Orleans, Mexico City, Porto, Shanghai and Copenhagen. As for the full list, two other US cities join New York and New Orleans in the Top 50: Chicago, (11) and Los Angeles, (40).
TA DA! Time Out’s 50 Best Cities in the World - 2025
Cape Town, South Africa / 2. Bangkok, Thailand / 3. New York / 4. Melbourne, Australia / 5. London, UK 6. New Orleans, US / 7. Mexico City, Mexico / 8. Porto, Portugal / 9. Shanghai, China / 10. Copenhagen, Denmark 11. / Chicago, 12. Lisbon, Portugal / 13. Edinburgh, UK 14. / Hong Kong 15. / Sydney, Australia 16. Barcelona, Spain / 17. Seville, Spain 18. / 19. Paris, France / 20. Medellín, Colombia / 21. Hanoi, Vietnam / 22. Madrid, Spain / 23. Berlin, Germany / 24. Dubai, UAE / 25. Singapore
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Beijing, China
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Jakarta, Indonesia
Vienna, Austria
Tokyo, Japan
Marrakech, Morocco
Perth, Australia
Brighton, UK
Prague, Czech Republic
Glasgow, UK
Brisbane, Australia
Marseille, France
Budapest, Hungary
Los Angeles, US
Lagos, Nigeria
Seoul, South Korea
Valencia, Spain
Montreal, Canada
Bilbao, Spain
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Belfast, UK
Bristol, UK
Mumbai, India
Warsaw, Poland
Which brings me to the subject of San Francisco. I had a couple of, maybe three or four terrific times, but never left my heart there; plus, some fantastic friends in S.F., no longer with us. Another issue for another time. Now, the sidewalks are dirty. Illegal drug markets, everywhere; multiple vacant downtown offices — in fact, office towers are about 3 percent empty, a higher vacancy rate than any other city.
So, who can restore San Francisco to its former golden-gate glory? Voters have grown disenchanted with politics that prioritized ideology over improvement in their everyday lives. (Sound familiar?) In reputation, no city has suffered more S. F. over the past five or six years, drawing mockery from Donald Trump and cronies. That hasn’t helped. Then there’s the coronavirus pandemic and fentanyl crises, a devastating double punch in the daring to the city. Sidewalk drug markets have overwhelmed some neighborhoods to the point, on average, two people die a day of overdoes on the streets. Then, property crimes, including home burglaries, soared through the roof.
The Great White Hope on the horizon? San Francisco newly elected mayor, a first-time candidate who never served in elective office. Promises: city employees will return to the office five days a week. Pledging, in six months, 1500 additional shelter beds for homeless. Will that help? It remains to be seen; let’s offer the new guy our support.
He is Democrat Daniel Lurie, 47, 46th mayor, heir to the Levi Strauss fortune who has promised to stick with San Francisco’s liberal values; to stand up for immigrants’ rights; to look out for transgender folks; plus women who seek abortions. He added — his focus would be “on the nuts and bolts of local government;” to grow the economy; and to get those vagrants off the streets and into those mental health beds.
Local S.F. politician, Supervisor Myrna Meltar, spoke out after meeting with the mayor elect. “The conversation was lovely,” she said, “but full of generalities. He is new, he doesn’t even know where the bathroom is,” Myrna Meltar told Heather Knight, savvy San Francisco Bureau Chief (they are lucky to have her) in a New York Times report. “San Francisco is a cutthroat, toxic place for politics. Well-meaning people get into this business, and it chews you up.” How about a little support out there, Ms. Meltar, or are you running for re-election? With friends like that, we can assume Mayor Lurie’s got a tough road ahead to hoe.
A good sign, the newly elected mayor’s model is New York’s Michael Bloomberg who helped rebuild New York after September 11 terror attacks. Reaching out beyond locals may be a good start…a wiser approach. Either way, we’re rooting for San Francisco to be restored to its former glory.
NOSTRADAMUS – 2025
Michel de Nostredame is still captivating minds and hearts in 2025 with some predictions that include medical breakthroughs and more conflict. The mysterious predictions of French astrologer, seer Michel de Nostredame, often known merely as Nostradamus, have fascinated us for centuries. Many think that the more than 900 quatrains in his 1555 work Les Prophéties, written in enigmatic verse, predict consequential world events.
The emergence of Napoleon, the world wars, and even contemporary technological developments have all, connected to his predictions. The strong earthquake that shook Japan this past New Year's was also said to be predicted by the Frenchman. He wrote, “The dry Earth will become more parched and there will be great floods.”According to the psychic's followers, he could have been alluding to the 7.5-magnitude earthquake that rocked the country's west coast, killing 48 people, destroying structures, and causing tsunamis that were three feet high.
Nostradamus's predictions for 2024 included a new Pope, war with China, King Charles's abdication, and apocalyptic events ending the world due to climate change. Hold on. That’s not true, hang in here… The French astrologer has gained popularity again, and many people are re-reading his prophecies in hopes of gaining new perspectives. Despite their well-known ambiguity, lead to multiple and different interpretations, Nostradamus's words continue to serve as a prism through which believers consider the unknown that lies ahead. Here are his predictions for 2025. England’s cruel wars and the return of the plague.
COULD THE BLACK DEATH REAR ITS UGLY HEAD ONCE AGAIN?
Nostradamus said: "When those from the lands of Europe, see England set up her throne behind. Her flanks, there will be cruel wars. The kingdom, marked by wars so cruel, foes from within and without, will arise. A great pestilence from the past returns, no enemy more deadly under the skies.” Conflict in global politics: The mystic foresaw a day when “great powers will class.” Maybe, a reference to the numerous conflicts currently taking place all over the world and possibly, Nostradamus’s prediction of “a decrease in the influence of established Western countries… emergence of new world powers” accords with current shifts in global politics.
It’s not all bad. Some medical breakthroughs.
Medical technology would grow significantly, according to Nostradamus, who also foresaw “significant improvements in illness prevention and treatments.” Next year, is anticipated to see advancements in personalized medicine, artificial intelligence in healthcare. And this, better preventive-healthcare options for conditions like dementia and novel treatments for chronic diseases might become available... An end to war between Ukraine and Russia. According to Nostradamus’s prophecies for 2024, a major battle spanning continents may continue. Yet, according to him, one of the protracted wars may end in ‘25, perhaps alluding to 2022 Russia-Ukraine war.
The astrologer outlined a situation in which both sides may be compelled to pursue peace due to fatigue from the conflict. (One hopes.) Further predicting, "Through long war all the army exhausted, so that they do not find money for the soldiers; instead of gold or silver, they will come to coin leather, Gallic brass, and the crescent sign of the Moon." Allusions to “the crescent sign of the Moon;” “Gallic brass” —some hypothesize that France and Turkey could be involved in settling the dispute.
THE END? Will the harbinger of fate asteroid cause human extinction?
Nostradamus foresaw that a massive asteroid with the dramatic handle “Harbinger of Fate” will approach Earth in perilous proximity. From the cosmos, a fireball will rise, a harbinger of fate, the world pleads. Science… fate in a cosmic dance, fate of the Earth, a second chance.” Human extinction may result in the Earth's “second chance,” given our heinous and ongoing exploitation; looting of its natural resources. However…
Seeing Nostradamus extends far into the future, End of the World is None too soon. In his preface to the Prophecies, Nostradamus stated his prophecies extend "from now to the year 3797" — an extraordinary date, given the preface was written in 1555, may have more to do with that 2242 (3797–1555) recently proposed, major astrological source Mr. Richard Roussat, a possible date for world’s end. Psew! Enough, enough.
FEBRUARY 2025, “JIM FRAGALE’S NEWSLETTER” ON SUBSTACK, I ask: Where have all the standards gone? Do we have any standards left standing? I like a lot of things about the world today — not the point. Today’s standards are way off. You might have guessed: For me, American Popular Standards Songs DO Hold Up?
I wanted to begin February SUBSTACK with a discussion of the world and other standards, but also, hi-ho and lack-a-day I’m not equipped to do so. But know this: that I continually question the “standards” today. That may make me an old fogy, I realize, but be that as it may… I do.
Allow me: I AM APPALLED at the way some people dress today, especially at significant occasions, theater, church. I find some hairdos unappetizing and defy description. I don’t cotton to excessive bling. A little here and there is appealing and sexy, but… OK, Live and Let Live, sure, but I don’t have to like it.
On the other foot… I love, love, love American Popular Standard Songs. If I had the power, I’d go on television with a weekly show called STANDARDS and examine the entire concept of Standards from A to Z and beyond. Standard – a Noun. SOME:
1. something considered by an authority, by general consent as a basis of comparison; an approved model. Synonyms: guide, pattern, basis, gauge. 2. an object that is regarded as the usual or most common size or form of its kind. 3. a rule or principle that is used as a basis for judgment. 5. standards, those morals, ethics, habits, etc., established by authority, custom, or an individual as acceptable. 7. the authorized exemplar of a unit of weight or measure. 8. a certain commodity in or by which a basic monetary unit is stated. Compare gold standard, silver standard, bimetallism, mono-metallism. 9. a musical piece of sufficiently enduring popularity to be made part of a permanent repertoire, especially a popular song.
Books
Step into the literary world of Jim Fragale — a realm where every page unravels a tapestry of intricate narratives, deep insights, and captivating tales from Clarksburg, West Virginia to New York City.
In the subhead, The lyric “All I want is loving you and music, music, music,” is from a song called “Music! Music! Music! (Put Another Nickel In)," a hit song written by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum, published in 1950, though first recorded 1949 in the United States, titled "Put Another Nickel In – Music, Music, Music (Also known as: The Nickelodeon Song)." The biggest-selling version, recorded by Teresa Brewer with Dixieland All Stars in December 1949, released on December 26 by London Records. The single became a Number One smash, a million-seller in 1950, and Brewer’s signature song — earning her the nickname "Miss Music.” Ergo: recorded by other artists, 1950 hits, Carmen Cavallaro (No. 5), Freddy Martin (No. 5), Ames Brothers (No. 14), Hugo Winterhalter …
HOWEVER, and there’s usually a however, hard to fathom, some radio stations refused to play the record because of the opined the lyric "I'd do anything for you/Anything you'd want me to…" might be construed as indecent. Remember, that was the early 1950s. Today, Lily Tomlin might weigh in here with “Vulgar, Vulgar.” I’d like to have Tomlin to tea along with Teresa Brewer and of course, Maria Muldaur.
Music Critic Dave Thompson opined, “A Lover’s Concerto,” by The Toys, a perfect record. Agree or not, here are some truly perfect cuts: YOU BELONG TO ME, Jo Stafford. STARDUST, Nat King Cole. Sinatra’s I’VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN, Artie Shaw with Cole Porter’s BEGIN THE BEGUINE. TA DA, and Jimmy Durante, AS TIME GOES BY.
Years back, I clipped and framed a New Yorker Cartoon: a gent, walking down the street sporting a sandwich board that read: THE END IS NEAR! A bloke stopped him with, “The World is Not Coming to an end and you’re going to have to stay here and suffer with the rest of us.” Never forgot that!
You are the best.
I never read enough words by you.much respect and Tks.
Gratefully, Tom