MUSIC FROM THE PAST: IPHIGENIA IN BROOKLYN

The not-quite immortal P.D.Q. Bach is nowhere near as immortal as Johannes Sebastian Bach, but that's not from a lack of effort from Peter Schickele.

Enjoy this near-classic piece of non-classical music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzx5R6fZ_VE

WAY OUT: WILLIAM AND MARY -- A NOD TO FRITZ WEAVER

Veteran actor Fritz Weaver died this Saturday.  He was 90.  A consciencous objector, Weaver served in Civilian Public Service during World War II.  He began acting in the early Fifties.  He garnered a Tony nomination as Best Featured Actor in a Play for The Chalk Garden -- his first Broadway role.  He later won a Tony for Best Actor in 1970 for Child's Play.  He appeared in many films, including Fail-Safe, Marathon Man, and Black Sunday.  Weaver made a gazillion television appearances in a gazillion shows and may be best remembered for his portrayal of Dr. Joseph Weiss in 1978's miniseries Holocaust.  (He also had the distinction of playing the first ever T.H.R.U.S.H. agent to appear on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)  Often cast in character actor roles, Weaver brought a sense of dignity and professionalism to much of his work.

For an episode in Roald Dahl's chilling anthology series Way Out, Weaver was part of a talented cast that also included Henry Jones, Mildred Dunnick, and Barnard Hughes.  "William and Mary" was written by Dahl, based on his own short story.  Marc Daniels, who already earned his directing chops on such series as The Ford Theater Hour, I Love Lucy (he was the one who suggested Vivian Vance for the role of Ethel Mertz), and I Married Joan, directed.  Over his career, Daniels directed such hit shows as Star Trek, Marcus Welby, M.D., Hogan's Heroes, and Alice.

"William and Mary" first aired on March 31, 1961.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYi2hfiy_n4

MUSIC FROM THE PAST: IT KEEPS YOU RUNNIN'

The Doobie Brothers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t45QGRSXS1I

INCOMING

No incoming books this week but, because of the Thanksgiving holiday, there were a goodly amount of pies incoming...cherry, pecan, pumpkin*, sweet potato, wild berry and pear*, and blueberry,   And pies are like books -- you can never have enough!  Yum!


* Made by my granddaughter Amy.  Fantastically good!

DO SCHOOLS KILL CREATIVITY?

A TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson. Robinson is a Professor Emeritus at Warwick University and a leading proponent on education in the arts.  Among his many honors are the George Peabody Medal, the Benjamin Franklin Medal, the Gordon Parks Award, and the Arthur C. Clarke Imagination Award.

A serious TED Talk that is also seriously funny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY&list=PL0nKakcqb4tRMwpoDZOEVyt_p-QZrKIpC&index=7

HYMN TIME

Willie Nelson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXIX3Nk8cG4&index=20&list=PLoaLzoMZLsHIb7sx6bYwzhNPinsNE_51B

UNDERAPPRECIATED MUSIC: THE CRESTS

(I'm late with this.  It should have been posted Thursday, but Thursday was Thanksgiving.  Normally, I'm  distracted by bright shiny things, but this time I was distracted by turkey and pie.  C'est la vie.)

The Crests were a doo-wop group (and the first interracial vocal group in the United States) formed in the late Fifties by J. T. Carter, with original members Talmadge Gough, Harold Torres, Patricia Van Dross (sister of Luther Vandross), and lead singer Johnny Mastrangelo, who changed his name first to Johnny Mastro, then to Johnny Maestro, but sometimes recorded as "Johnny Masters."  The group's first hit was 1957's "Sweetest One," followed the next year by "16 Candles," which soared to number 2 on the charts.

As with many other groups, the line-up kept changing.  Patricia Van Dross left the group in 1958.  Johnny Maestro left in 1961, later forming the group Johnny Maestro and the Crests,and then became the lead singer for the Del Satins.  Tony Middleton came in to take over the lead, but his one single failed to hit the Top 100 -- a first for the group.  Lead vocals were then taken over by James Ancrum.  Gough left the group and was replaced by Gary Lewis (no, not that Gary Lewis).  According to Wikipedia, "By the late 1960s, Torres was gone;" whether he left the group or died is unclear.  Carter, Ancrum, and Lewis continued with the group until 1978 when the group disbanded and Carter moved on the The Drifters.  He reformed the group in 1980 with an entirely new line-up and, in the late Nineties he sold the trademark "The Crests' to Tommy Marasciullo (a.k.a Tommy Mara) who has continued the group.  This year Carter formed a new group as J.T. Carter's "Crests," performing to a sold out crowd.

Whatever the line-up, whatever the name, The Crests produced some great music.

"The Angels Listened In"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWlKmoqf6ew

"16 Candles"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZeIUI3jxPU

"Sweetest One"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQZUYd5JzMw

"It Must Be Love'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkOmFZ915r0

"Earth Angel"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjg0sRtaw4g

"Step by Step"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E284QNyoJug

 "In the Still of the Night"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHW-TFaUZbs

"My Juanita"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwDq53wBYFM&list=PLHrm6-J0OhptqR3bmee8C_f558iZvn6FV&index=32

"No One to Love"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvzU2hE7q40&list=PLHrm6-J0OhptqR3bmee8C_f558iZvn6FV&index=27

"Did I Remember"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxSu7kVivsc&list=PLHrm6-J0OhptqR3bmee8C_f558iZvn6FV&index=25

"Paper Crown"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSNq3R4c0f8&list=PLHrm6-J0OhptqR3bmee8C_f558iZvn6FV&index=24