Music, new folder

It's outdoors . Hopefully the weather will be nice by then . You never know though.

Music video from my new favorite group, Young at Heart:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McCpBsH9cOQ

OK, now it's MY new favorite group!

That is a riot!

So, a friend of mine and I were discussing, as the lead singer of Men at Work called it, "The Best New Artist/Kiss of Death Award" and I decided to see how many people who won the award actually deserved it. I found it fascinating.

This Wiki Entry tells you the nominees and the winners.

I hope y'all find it as fascinating as I did.

GE, verrry interesting. Looking at the list I would say the winners have a very high rate of going on to be big stars, not even just working performers.

The ones I found interesting, based on what actually happened with their careers (in other words, the people who won and you never heard from them again, winning over someone/a group that had a long career and/or became a legend:

1970's:

A Taste of Honey over Elvis Costello
Debby Boone over Foreigner
STARLAND VOCAL BAND (they sang "Afternoon Delight") over Boston

These are just interesting in that both had long careers, but the loser surpassed the winner:

Bette Midler over Barry White
America over The Eagles
The Carpenters over ELTON JOHN

1980's

Rickie Lee Jones over Dire Straits
Christopher Cross over THE PRETENDERS!!!
Sheena Easton over Luther Vandross (!)

1990's
What the HELL was "Andrea Bocelli" doing in a category with Lauryn Hill???

Some interesting stuff! Hey, I loved Sheena Easton! I used to go see her in concert with my first hubby She had an amazing voice and put on a great show!

Anyone beating out Elton is just wrong

(but Karen did have a gorgeous voice!)

Oh, I adored Sheena too, but C'MON.

The Carpenter's "Superstar" is one of the most beautiful haunting songs ever. I think Karen was an amazing talent. I just think it's bizarre looking at all this stuff in retrospect.

I know. I wonder where the heck she is now?

You mean Sheena, not Karen, right?

Elton John was around for a long time before he found his voice and manner of presenting himself. He performed many times at the rock joint I worked at in college, and he wore denim overalls and a t-shirt, was very low key, and had none of the fabulous flamboyance he later showed. People liked him (that is why he was there several times) but there really wasn't a hint that he would later become the kind of showman he became, so I can understand that.

I love it that he eventually did find his way, but I do not think it is stupid that his future self was not recognized from his earlier self.

And Bette Midler was extremely important as a woman who had sass and brass for us baby boomers at the time. I mean, really, she was the coolest thing my friends and I dad ever encountered in a female performer for her first few albums!

Green Eyez wrote:

You mean Sheena, not Karen, right?

Yes Sheena. Sadly, I know what happened to poor Karen

You can find out about Sheena here.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I think Bette Midler is amazing and an awesome performer (I've seen her live and it's really a show. Even if you don't like her, you can't help but like her). I just mean that in terms of a singing career, that really wasn't her bread and butter. Movies and performing on-stage is.

As for Elton, again I guess what I mean is that when they were a "new artist" they may not have been at the top of their game when they came up for their grammy, but later wound up FAR surpassing the person who won.

I just think it's funny to look back in retrospect and see two promising artists, one person/group won the grammy, the other didn't and sometimes the person/group who won just disappears like five minutes after they won the grammy and the "loser" winds up having a huge career and becoming a legend.

This sort of thing has always been fascinating to me. You know, like when you have a decision to make, it would be great to see into the future what would happen as a result. I guess that's why I love the movies "Sliding Doors" and "Back to the Future" so much.

Thanks GE! I guess she ended up recording some standards and oldies.

But I am tellin ya, for a few years Bette really was the hottest thing on records, radio, tv, newspapers, really, really, hot. Everybody around my age can sing songs from her first two hit albums, just as much as they can sing Beatle songs.

Just saying that it did make sense at the time to vote her the super big star nobody had ever heard of before because, briefly, she WAS a super big star. No longevity as a recording star, but blazing hot while it lasted.

Actually, her career was kind of similar to Cyndi Lauper's, later. SMASH hit with the first album, big success with the second, and then thy wandered off into other things.

Oh, I loved Cyndi!! I went to see her in concert too! She was so talented and funny! We had a blast at her concert. At the time I was sure she was the one who was going to be bigger than Madonna. They came out about the same time. Boy, I was sure wrong about that one!

Me too. I was asked, at the time, to develop a script, as a writer for whichever one of them (Cindi and Madonnna) I thought would be the big star. I chose Cindi. Wrong choice.

But I would still much rather do something for Cindi.

I guess that's what I'm saying. That Elton was nowhere near the top of his game and that Bette, at the time, totally was. She had the entire package before he did. She worked it out before she became famous. He didn't.

So, that's why I was saying it's just funny to look back and see Elton John as a big loser and now he's a living legend.

I totally adore Cyndi Lauper. If any of you heard the Celine Dion horrible watered down version of "I Drove All Night" I desperately urge you to find Cyndi's and listen to the original. That is one hot song and her vocals on it are just incredible.

If you listen to "We Are The World" she (and of course my Stevie) are the hightlights of it.

Cyndi Lauper has a way more technically superior voice than Madonna. Madonna just knew what to do with herself better. She declared on American Bandstand that she wanted to be the biggest star in the world. That woman just passed GO and kept going.

I have the album and cassette with "I Drove All Night" and listen to it a lot! It was so funny to hear Celine do that song Celine has a great voice but something about her bugs

I have a theory. In keeping with myself, I will explain that theory:

Celine sings every song exactly the same. Every song is over-emoted. Over-dramatized. Just too TOO. There's not subtlety (to me) in her songs. No layers.

I do get that her voice is totally amazing, and I get her appeal to a certain demographic, but I just cannot listen to her.

I told a friend it's like an actor who only knows how to do very big over-blown dramatic scenes. Like, everything is a soliloquy (sp?) from a Shakespearean play.

I do enjoy the hammy actors in real life who do everything as though it is a Shakespearian soliloquy. My father was like that. Gross, but funny, too. I inherited a bit of it, also.

BUT...I totally agree that something about Celine and her wonderful voice just does not add up to anything that moves me. WIth her is has something to do with heer personal taste, which just is not appealing to me (he costumes, her real life clothes..just not my cuppa.

Cindi is an artist, in the way we have talked about regarding actors.

Madonna (and Celine) are not. THey are fabulously successful for other reasons.

Now, see, I have always seen "hammy" in a different way. Like, I think James Woods is very hammy, but I still love watching him.

I guess I'm talking about the actors who think they're in Hamlet when they're in some cheesy comedy on the CW.

Quote :

Cindi is an artist, in the way we have talked about regarding actors.

Madonna (and Celine) are not. THey are fabulously successful for other reasons.

I couldn't agree more with this. I was always a Madonna fan, but it was never because of her amazing voice.

When I bought Cyndi's greatest hits CD, I got to hear the songs that weren't on the radio. I played one for my friend and she was amazed that the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" singer could do that with her voice. The emotion in her songs is also amazing. She has a wonderful connection and tells a story.

I think Madonna tried that for a time, but eventually knew she'd better go with the trend.

Celine will be Celine and always Celine.