​Yesterday I watched the musical La La Land. I’m not sure exactly what I had expected, but this was not it. I am aware that the movie has received critical acclaim and a bunch of awards, and I read that the chemistry between the two stars is often praised. I find myself wondering if they saw the same movie I did.
Something that I am becoming increasingly annoyed by is the tendency to cast people who cannot sing in musicals. 

I think the movie that began this trend was Phantom of the Opera from 2004. Gerard Butler made a surprisingly virile and sexy Phantom. Unfortunately, he could not sing. I recall sitting in the theater bracing myself for the high notes in “Music of the Night.” I told myself that was silly because of course he would be able to hit them: the music was, after all, pre-recorded. That did not stop me. He did succeed in hitting those high notes; but only just.

In the same movie we had Emmy Rossum starring as Christine, a woman with a voice so beautiful it took the operatic world by storm. Unfortunately, our female lead had the voice of a middle school girl. Her voice was so thin and weak that it made her success impossible to believe.  

I do find it impossible, in this instance, to blame the actors for their lack of singing ability. In this case all of the blame, I feel, rests firmly on the shoulders of Andrew Lloyd Webber. He is the one who had final casting say for these roles. It was his decision to give the Phantom a more virile, rock persona than was usual. 

Going to 2008 and the movie Mamma Mia we had the very attractive Pierce Brosnan trying to sing. His singing was so bad that it was embarrassing. I recall cringing repeatedly through the performance. I remember leaning forward in my seat, as if there was anything I could do to help him along. While most of the performers in this movie were only adequate singers, it was Pierce Brosnan who stood out as being incapable of singing at all. 
Not long ago, we were given a live action remake of the Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast. The animated version was ground breaking, beautiful, and well-sung. I understand why Disney is busy making live action versions of all of its animated classics. There is money to be had. But that does not explain the insistence upon remaking a musical with leads who cannot sing. 

The Beauty and the Beast remake gave us Emma Watson as Belle. In the animated version Belle (as sung by Paige O’Hara) has a beautiful, evocative singing voice. Emma Watson does not. Her voice is auto tuned, but that is not enough to turn her into a decent singer. 

Dan Stevens, who played the Beast underneath a great deal of CGI effects, has a decent voice. Unfortunately, he is a tenor where the Beast needed to be a bass-baritone. His voice was electronically augmented to make up for this deficit. 

Cast as the wardrobe, Audra McDonald was without a doubt the best singer in the movie. And yet, they hardly gave her anything to do. I thought that Emma Thompson did a fine job as Mrs. Potts, but why she sang more than Audra McDonald is beyond me. 

This brings me to LaLa Landand our two leads: Emma Stoneand Ryan Gosling. Both had a tone so breathy it was often difficult to tell what note they were singing. (Usually I complain about wide vibrato doing that. This time, it was just that hard to hear the note!) I do not know what would have been a better range for Emma Stone to sing in, but this was seldom it. I found the music uninspiring and their chemistry nonexistent. 

When I was younger the solution to the problem of casting actors who could not sing was to have someone else provide the singing. Even in the movie Singing in the Rain, Debbie Reynolds’s singing voice was dubbed by Betty Noyes. (If you have not seen Singing in the Rain, it is about the transition from silent to talking films and the need to dub someone else’s voice to make a movie saleable.) But Debbie Reynolds has a fine singing voice and has done her own singing for many other musicals. One of the factors that lost Audrey Hepburnthe best actress Oscar in 1964 was the fact that she was not singing in the role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Julie Andrews won the Oscar that year for Mary Poppins, a role she both acted and sang. 

Natalie Wood playing Maria in West Side Story studied and worked very hard to improve her voice in order to sing the music herself. She was devastated when she found out that they were using Marni Nixon to do all of her singing. (Marni also provided the singing for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.)

We have had many a musical with leads that could sing. But even some of these had questionable choices. Julie Andrews supplied her own voice for Maria in The Sound of Music, but Christopher Plummer, playing the Baron von Trapp, was dubbed by Bill Lee. Hello, Dolly gave us Barbra Streisand somewhat miscast as an older widow, but the casting of Walter Matthau as Horace Vandergelder was surprising. At least he supplied his own speak/singing. (That movie also gives us a young Michael Crawford as one of the secondary leads. Later, he would be the first Phantom of the Opera.)

There are so many talented actors who can also sing and dance. Why is it necessary to cast someone in a musical when they cannot sing? I have stated several times that I would often rather see an actor who can sing a little bit than a singer who can act a little bit. Often the actor is capable of communicating the song in the context of the role better than someone who is only a singer could do. But not always. With the amazing pool of people out there, I wish that Hollywood would begin casting for ability and not for name. Emma Watson was cast as Belle on the strength of her name, not on the strength of her ability. 

What do you think? Are there talented actors who can also sing that could do these roles? Do you think we should cast name over ability? Let me know what you think. 

I was Googling “Songs for April,” looking for ideas for this month when I found the old song, “April Showers.” It has a lyric “so keep on looking for the bluebird and listening for his song.” And that got me thinking. (I know, that can be dangerous.)

Not long ago, I was preparing a program for a senior center and sang the song “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” which has a melody that is based on Chopin’s “Fantaisie-Impromptu.” In practicing the song, I was struck by one line (“I'm always chasing rainbows, waiting to find a little bluebird in vain”) that seemed awfully similar to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (“If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can’t I?”) This got me wondering how long the bluebird has been associated with happiness and good fortune. Apparently, quite some time.

The first reference to a bluebird comes from ancient China and dates back all the way back to 1766 BCE. During the Shang dynasty, a blue or green bird was the messenger bird of the Queen Mother of the West. Among many Native American nations, the bluebird is an animal associated with dawn and good fortune. In Russia, the blue bird is often seen as a messenger of hope. Throughout the rest of Europe, the blue bird appears in many stories and fairy tales, apparently always as a symbol of happiness and prosperity. 

It is interesting that if we tell someone we are “blue” it means we are sad. When we sing “the Blues” we are singing a lament. And yet the bluebird has become a symbol of happiness. Why? Is the bluebird’s song particularly lovely? To me, most birds have a very pleasing song. I am personally fond of the robin and the house sparrow, as far as their songs go. The bluebird is neither more nor less cheerful than other birds. The Audubon society website says that the bluebird’s song is cheer, cheer-lee, chur. Maybe that’s why they are associated with happiness? But the same site lists the robin’s call ascheer-up, cheerily, cheer-up, cheerily. I think a lot of birdsong is going to fall in the cheercategory. (Except for the finch. I have it on excellent authority that they kept calling a dear friend a bitch. Bitch, bitch.)

Perhaps it has to do with how bright and colorful they are. But the indigo bunting is also a bright vivid blue, and yet no one refers to the indigo bunting of happiness. Cardinals are a lovely shade of red. And yet no one refers to the cardinal of happiness. 

I have no answers. Do you have any ideas? Why are bluebirds more cheerful thank other birds? What is your favorite song that includes a bluebird reference? I’ll be playing some bluebird songs this week on my Minnich Music Facebook page, so check those out.
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Until next time!

The year was 1997, and we had only been back in the United States for a few months after living in Germany for seven years. I was asked to sing at a wedding. Not being up to date on music in the States, I was unaware that the song the couple wanted was actually a country hit. I don’t remember the name, but it was a very long song. Over 12 pages. Since the song was not sacred, the minister insisted it could not be part of the ceremony. A compromise was made, and the song was sung as the processional. Since it was such a long song, everyone processed while I sang it. And by everyone, I mean not just the bride and her attendants, but the groom, best man, and the minister starting the whole shebang. 

At the rehearsal we carefully timed out how long this huge procession would take. We discovered that if the minister started walking during what's often called the “middle 8” of the song then this would be the correct length of time. 

The middle 8, or bridge as it is often called, is a section of a song that sounds different. It is called the middle 8 because it is frequently in the middle of the song and generally takes 8 measures. It is called a bridge because it is the connection between one section and another. Because of all of this, it often sounds different from the rest of the song. 

This particular minister sang in the choir. He understood music. He decided that rather than paying attention to the music, he wanted me to nod my head when it was time for the procession to start. I bet you could see the problem to this already. So could I. But I could not convince him otherwise. 

Time for the wedding to start. My accompanist played the introduction. (She had an interesting way of turning pages. She didn't. When she was done with the page, she threw it on the floor.) I start singing. I notice the minister and the groom standing at the back of the church, not paying attention to the music. They were talking. (How rude!) We came to the bridge. I began nodding my head. The minister and the groom continued to talk, oblivious to my head nods. I began to feel like one of those bobble heads: smiling and nodding my head. At one point, the minister glanced my way. He saw me nodding my head. He smiled back, nodded his head at me, and went back to talking to the groom. 

12 pages of the song had come and gone when they finally started the procession. My accompanist could see none of this. She had her back to the procession. I realized I had to do something. So, I cut the ending and jumped back to the bridge. (Remember, the accompanist has been throwing used pages on the floor.) I sang almost two pages a cappella while she was on her hands and knees picking up the music. She gathered it together and began to play again. Fortunately, I managed to stay in the right key. 

We finished the song as the bride's father put her hand in the groom's hand. 

According to the website The Knot, approximately 80% of all weddings occur between May and October. Roughly two-thirds of these weddings happen on a Saturday. Oddly enough, the weekend around Columbus Day, or Indigenous Peoples Day as it is now known in several places, beats out Labor Day for the most popular time to get married. 

According to Martha Stewart, you can actually plan a wedding in two to three months. However, the average engagement is about 14 months.

Given all of this, when is it too soon to start thinking music? The answer?  It's never too soon to start thinking about your wedding music. I believe the longest notice that I have had to sing for a wedding has been three months. The shortest was four days. Believe me, three months is far better than four days.

I honestly don't know much about how other singers charge or participate in music selection. Oftentimes, the bride will have very specific songs in mind. But often they don't. I consider part of my job is to help with this process. I have a large repertoire of wedding suitable music to play and/or sing . But I am also willing to learn something new. Of course, if you do want me to learn something new there will be a small additional fee for that. The shorter the notice for the wedding the fewer options the bride has. 

The wedding with only four days’ notice, for example, the bride had very few options. I was not only singing but playing the piano for that one. I gave her two or three options for the bridesmaids’ processional and the same number for her processional. I believe they had two options for recessional. There were a few more options for music during the ceremony itself. She had other music in mind, I know. There was a song she wanted me to learn. That was not going to happen in four days. 

The day of the wedding, I arrived an hour before the ceremony to set up in order to begin playing 30 minutes before the ceremony itself started. As I was taking the cover off the piano, the wedding planner approached. The bride had changed her mind and wanted a different song for the bridesmaids’ processional. I explained as patiently as I could that this was too late to make a change. I had only brought the music we had agreed upon. The planner explained to me that the bride was going to be very angry. I had already heard this bridezilla yelling at people as I walked through the church. I shrugged and once again told the planner I had only brought the music we had previously agreed upon. 

That was one very unhappy bride. A part of me felt sorry for her. It is a shame when you cannot have what you would like on your “biggest day of your life.” The wedding planner had confided to me that they had been planning this wedding for well over a year. It was not my fault that planning the music had occurred to no one. 
Even if your music is not live but prerecorded, this still needs to be planned and organized. If you decide to go old school and have live music, you owe it to yourself and the performers to plan in advance. The farther in advance you plan, the better your chance that the musicians will have your day open and will be able to provide you with the music that you desire. 

Don't be the bridezilla I just told you about. If you plan in advance, you will be able to have exactly the music that you would like. Just be aware, you cannot change your mind the day of the wedding. 

Do you have any stories involving wedding music? I have more that perhaps I'll share another time. I'll be posting some music I like for weddings on my Minnich Music Facebook page, so check those out.
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Until next time!

April 11this celebrated as Louie Louie Day. This is the birthday of Richard Berry, (who does not appear to have been related to Chuck of the same last name) the composer of the song “Louie Louie.”

The song goes back to 1957 with the release of Rene Touzet’s“El Loco Cha Cha.” Berry had heard the song, and it gave him the idea for the famous opening riff of “Louie Louie.” 

The lyrics of the song came to Berry as he was thinking about the song, “One for my Baby, (and one for the road.)” In this song, the person singing is talking to their bartender and telling the story of their failed romance. Berry’s favorite bartender was named Louie. At the time, Chuck Berry had a song out called “Havana Moon” that influenced Richard to apply the patois of Jamaica. 

Richard Berry recorded his song on the B-side of “You Are My Sunshine” in 1957. The recording was a small hit on the west coast. Later, he released “Louie Louie” as the A-side. 

I suddenly realized that talking about A and B sides doesn’t mean anything anymore. Before CDs and the Internet, we had albums. These were flat discs of vinyl that looked a lot like huge CDs, except they were usually black. You could play each side of the album, and each side held a little over 15 minutes of music. These albums were played at the speed of 33 revolutions per minute in order to achieve the correct notes and tempo that the artist had recorded. 

I remember larger, thicker albums that were played at 78 rpms, and most stereos would also play at 15 rpms. When I was a kid, we could play albums at the wrong speed and thought that was fun, either slowing everything down or making everyone sound like The Chipmunks.

But, when I talk about A and B sides, I am talking about 45s. These were smaller discs that held only one song per side. They were cheaper to buy than full albums, and as a pre-teen, I had a larger collection of 45s than I did albums. The A-side was the one that the record company marketed as a hit. The B-side was often just a space saver. Occasionally, the B-side became the hit, or, particularly in the case of The Beatles, they were often both considered A-sides, meaning both songs were hits.

So, Richard Berry’s version of “Louie Louie” was both an A- and B-side. But, sadly, it never really went very far, so in 1959 Berry sold all the rights to the song for $750. (Which would be about $6520 in 2019.)
In 1961, Rockin’ Robin Roberts released “Louie Louie” as the A-side of a 45. But it never charted and went away as quietly as it had arrived. However, he sped the song up and added some energy to the mix.

The song rested in obscurity for a couple of years, reemerging in 1963 as the A-side of a recording by The Kingsmen, a group out of Portland, Oregon. None of them had any idea how to record a rock song. They set up the band in a circle with the lead singer, Jack Ely, in the center. The microphone was suspended from the ceiling and was so high up that Ely had to crane his neck and all but shout the song.

There are several notable mistakes in the song. At one point, the drummer drops a drumstick and shouts out the F-bomb. At another point, Ely comes in early. The band is unaware, and the drummer covers it up while they keep going. All this remains in the recording, as they only had one take. All of this, combined with the patois that the lyrics were written in, make the song all-but unintelligible.

Only a couple of weeks after The Kingsmen recorded their version of the song, another group, Paul Revere and the Raiders, recorded the song as well, but this time for Columbia Records. Both versions were released at roughly the same time. The Paul Revere and the Raidersversion was doing well on the west coast when the head of A&R at Columbia, Mitch Miller, ordered that they stop marketing the song. 

Mitch Miller had made a name for himself with a choral group that had a show calledSing Along with Mitch, where they performed watered-down versions of popular songs with the lyrics being shown at the bottom of the screen. Miller hated rock and roll, and so pulled the plug on “Louie Louie.”

Meanwhile, The Kingsmen’s version of the song was gaining traction and notoriety. Because of the garbled lyrics, it was believed that the words must be obscene. Parents were writing to J. Edgar Hoover, the infamous head of the FBI, and to Robert Kennedy, the then-Attorney General, complaining about the song. Hoover actually set FBI agents to the task of listening to the record to try and make out the words. Agents were playing the record at all of the available speeds to see if that helped. They also played it in reverse! At no point did they ask the band or even the writer what they were singing. This insanity went on for four years! (This was our tax dollars at work.) This excitement resulted in the song being banned by several stations across the country, which only increased its popularity.

I remember my best friend and I trying to figure out what the lyrics were. Her parents had a Beach Boys album with their cover of “Louie Louie.” The first two verses were easy to make out. But when it came time for the 3rd verse, the background vocals were louder, the instruments were louder, and the lead singer was very muffled. We were very confused. Eventually, we came to the conclusion that The Beach Boys had recorded it that way to titillate the listener.  

“Louie Louie” is one of the most covered rock songs ever. I’ve read articles that put Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday”as the most covered song, and I’ve read articles that place “Louie Louie”in that spot. They are very different songs, so perhaps there are other qualifiers involved.

What is your favorite version of “Louie Louie?” Do you remember “Louie Louie” being performed in the movie Animal House? I'll be playing some of these on my Minnich MusicFacebook page, so check those out.

Until next time!

In opera, we talk about composers, often overlooking the librettist (which is an operatic way of talking about the person who wrote the words.) Even when we talk about Broadway musicals, we often overlook the person who wrote the lyrics. Have you ever asked yourself who writes the words for Andrew Lloyd-Webber?

Today, I want to write about words.

When I was 17, my mother told me that she had not liked me until I hit 16. She struggled with unacknowledged mental illnesses, but she was also a horrible human being. Even today, 41 years later, those few words hurt.

Growing up, I had to carefully think about what I was going to say before I said it. I had to think about how she would react to each word and my tone of voice. Now, did this always work? Not in the least. But it has helped me tremendously in my day-to-day life. And, of course, sometimes I still open my mouth and hear myself saying things that I had not thought through. But that is a rarity.

My daughter suffers from severe mental illnesses. She is currently in a Behavioral Health Hospital. This is not her first time being hospitalized. Each time, she has been driven to the point of wanting to take her own life by the thoughtless words of others. Sometimes, it has been a few words said during a breakup. Words that were meant to cause the greatest amount of hurt possible. And they did. Those words have caused her to want to die.

Now, part of me knows that I cannot place all the blame on the other person. The decision to take your own life is your own and cannot be forced by another. But those words hurt her to the point that she felt she did not exist.

Our words matter. And these days, if those words are sent in a text or published online, they are out there forever for anyone to see. This can have even greater repercussions. 

Please, be careful of what you say. Words have power. Think before you speak or especially before you write. 

Do you have any stories about hurtful words to share? What about when words have made you feel on top of the world? Those are the more important words to remember.
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Thank you.