5 on Friday -- Set 316

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Although I started this year's April A to Z Blog Challenge with a strong opening week, I'm also continuing to retrain at my day job following a year-long medical leave. In the new era of pacing for strength and endurance, my old mind-over-matter thing is now history. Once again, I'll get back to the entries for the remainder of the challenge over time. I've missed three 5 on Fridays, so I've adjusted the set list number to reflect a total that includes the three missing sets -- they'll be posted as soon as I can get to them.

Now, onward to my once-a-month project for 2016.

This year I'll be focusing on Songwriters. Check back on the first Friday of each month as I take a look at the work of artists whose creative voices are most often brought to us through the performances of others.

May belongs to Cole Porter. 

My attraction to his work definitely began with the Sergio Mendes Brasil 66 version of Night and Day, which has been a favorite of mine since childhood. I've been lucky enough to sing some of his pieces in choir, which gave me a deeper insight into just how brilliant he was.

There's a reason that some artists' work rise above their contemporaries to become standards and classics, performed over changing decades and in all kinds of styles. The reason is simple: the authenticity of the work resonates deeply, speaking to all of us about what it feels like to live, to love and to survive.

The hardest part of getting this set list together was not the exquisite pleasure in assembling a long 'short list' of songs. The hard part was leaving off so many glorious gems.

1 - Let's Misbehave - Irving Aaronson and his Commanders featuring vocals by Phil Saxe 

2 - So In Love - k d lang 

3 - Night and Day - Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 

4 - You're the Top - Ella Fitzgerald 

5 - I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra 

If you'd like to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

A to Z Blog Challenge -- A -- 5 on Friday - Set 311

Welcome to Day 1 of this year's April blog event -- the A to Z Blog Challenge!

This is my sixth year participating. I've finished the challenge every year except for last year -- ironically enough, I was home from work on medical leave and was shocked to find that my wide-open time schedule could not make up for the fact that I was not feeling well enough to keep up the pace.

However, as this year's challenge dawns, I am back to work and feeling up to taking on twenty-six blog posts in thirty days.

Let's begin!

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Time for my once-a-month project for 2016.

This year I'll be focusing on Songwriters. Check back on the first Friday of each month as I take a look at the work of artists whose creative voices are most often brought to us through the performances of others.

April belongs to Andy Razaf.

The Jazz Age and Depression-era songwriter was born as Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo, the grand-nephew of the last queen of Madagascar. His father died during the French invasion of Madagascar, forcing his pregnant mother to seek refuge in New York City.

Raised in Harlem, Andy worked as an elevator operator while writing poetry and lyrics. When he met up with Fats Waller, a songwriting duo was born that turned out classics such as Ain't Misbehavin' and Honeysuckle Rose.    

1 - A Porter's Love Song to a Chamber Maid - John Dyer  

2 - Honeysuckle Rose - Mildred Bailey

3 - Stompin' at the Savoy - Judy Garland 

4 - Ain't Misbehavin' - Leon Redbone 

5 - The Joint is Jumpin' - Fats Waller 

If you'd like to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

5 on Friday -- Set 307

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Time for my once-a-month project for 2016.

This year I'll be focusing on Songwriters. Check back on the first Friday of each month as I take a look at the work of artists whose creative voices are most often brought to us through the performances of others.

March belongs to Irene Higginbotham. 

Tuesday, March 8th will bring International Women's Day, so this month's Songwriters feature showcases that rarity among the composers who will grace A Piece of My Mind this year. African American Irene Higginbotham managed to hold her own in a competitive field of songwriters known collectively as Tin Pan Alley, dominated by white males in the early 20th century.

In her late twenties, she even managed to join the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, a significant accomplishment.

1 - Good Morning Heartache - Billie Holliday 

2 - I'm Pulling Through - Diana Krall 

3 - Hello Suzanne - Ella Mae Morse 

4 - It's Mad, Mad, Mad! - Duke Ellington featuring Dolores Parker 

5 - Harlem Stomp - Louis Armstrong 

If you'd like to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

5 on Friday -- Set 303

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Time for my once-a-month project for 2016.

This year I'll be focusing on Songwriters. Check back on the first Friday of each month as I take a look at the work of artists whose creative voices are most often brought to us through the performances of others.

February belongs to Burt Bacharach. 

Along with his longtime lyricist Hal David, Bacharach is responsible for so many of my favorite love songs that I simply had to turn the month for valentines over to him.

Nine years ago, on February 5th, 2007 I posted my very first blog post here at A Piece of My Mind. Crazy to think that next year I'll be celebrating an entire decade of blogging.

And now, it's over to you Burt Bacharach.

1 - The Look of Love -Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 - 1968

This one is simply it for me. The song itself and this version of it. 

2 - Baby, It's You - The Beatles -1963

If you're going to spend the rest of your career writing legendary songs, you might as well cover a songwriting giant like Bacharach on your debut album. This song's lyrics were written by Luther Dixon and Mack David.

3 - Walk on By - Dionne Warwick - 1964

What's a love song set without a little heartache?

4 - What's New, Pussycat? - Tom Jones - 1965

Is it me, or did it just get a little hotter in here?

5 - This Guy's in Love With You - Herb Alpert - 1968

It's probably not very fair to follow Tom Jones' powerful voice with Herb Alpert's, but the unaffected delivery of this song is a huge part of its charm for me. I just adore the fact that this love song compelled a trumpet player to become a singer. That's the power of the Bacharach/David one-two punch. 

If you'd like to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

5 on Friday -- Set 298

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Happy New Year, Everyone! Hope you had a wonderful New Year's celebration last night. The photo above is a still from my favorite Russian New Year's movie Ironiya sudby, or The Irony of Fate. I fell in love with that film about seven years ago and I now watch it every year. In fact my husband and I will be doing just that, later this weekend.

As we head for my 300th set, coming up in two weeks, it's already time to launch my brand new once-a-month project for 2016.

This year I'll be focusing on Songwriters. Check back on the first Friday of each month as I take a look at the work of artists whose creative voices are most often brought to us through the performances of others.

One of the reasons I embark upon challenges like these is because of my own insatiable curiosity.

Over the years doing 5 on Friday, I've noticed my increasing tendency to seek out music by songwriter rather than by artist. I've come to really enjoy a well-done cover song, when a singer takes a tune associated with another artist and really puts his or her own stamp upon it. So this year's project has taken root over several years of putting sets together.

January launches with Paul Williams. Among his varied accomplishments, he has acted, scored films and television series, and is also an author.

This month's look at Paul Williams' work shows the breadth of his composer's voice, from quirky scores (like one of my husband's favorite's, The Phantom of the Paradise) to universal hits.    

1 - Faust - Phantom of the Paradise soundtrack - William Finley - 1974

2 - Talk it Over in the Morning - Anne Murray -1971

3 - An Old Fashioned Love Song - Three Dog Night - 1971

4 - We've Only Just Begun - The Carpenters - 1970

5 - The Rainbow Connection - Willie Nelson - 2001

If you'd like to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.