March 26 - Diana Ross (The Musical Birthday Series, 8th Annual Cycle)

Previous postings for March 26th may be found here: Pierre Boulez (2019), Diana Ross; Pierre Boulez (2020), Pierre Boulez (2021), (2022), (2023), Rufus Thomas; Pierre Boulez (2024), and Pierre Boulez (2025)

++++++++++++++ 

Diana Ross (b. 26 March 1944) is an American singer and actress; she was the lead singer of the vocal group The Supremes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supremacy

Of all the top musical teams

That the pop music world esteems,

There isn't a trio

With half of the brio

Of Diana Ross's Supremes.

 

 

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.]  

 

March 13 - Neil Sedaka (The Musical Birthday Series, 8th Annual Cycle)

Previous postings on Hugo Wolf may be found here: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, Sammy Kaye (2023), Hugo Wolf (2024), and Hugo Wolf (2025)

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Neil Sedaka (13 March 1939 – 27 February 2026) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keeping Us Together 

Neil Sedaka, as you've read,

Is only very lately dead.

He had an easy-going mode,

And though his career had ebbed and flowed,

His songs remained benign and sunny,

And even, on occasion, funny,

(And yes, of course, they made him money),

But even tabloids seemed to lack a

Reason to attack Sedaka.

 

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.]  

 

March 6 - Mary Wilson; Gina Cigna (The Musical Birthday Series, 8th Annual Cycle)

Previous March 6th entries can be found here: Oscar Straus (2019), Norman Treigle (2020), H. C. Robbins Landon (2021), Sarah Caldwell; Julius Rudel; Oscar Straus (2022), Stephen Schwartz (2023), Yannick Nézet-Séguin (2024), and Bob Wills (2025)

++++++++++++++++++++++ 

 

Mary Wilson (6 March 1944 –8 February 2021) was an American singer. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of the Supremes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once a Supreme…

Mary Wilson spent her career

   Rekindling early dreams,

And ever after she'd appear

   As one of The Supremes.

 

 

 

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪ 

Gina Cigna (6 February 1900 – 26 June 2001) was a French-Italian dramatic soprano. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Limericks on the Same Rhyme Sounds for Cigna

 

Gina Cigna, who has died aged 101, was a prima donna of the old school, grand in manner. -- The Guardian obit

 

1.

In an era when opera was grand,

And acting could never be bland,

The public was wowed

By a voice that was loud,

And Cigna could swamp any band.

2.

From critics who heard her first hand

We know her theatrical brand.

And we know, when she bowed,

She had stirred up the crowd,

And anything subtle, be damned!

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.] 

 

 

February 6 - Fabian (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 6th are here: Natalie Cole; Arthur Gold (2020), Bob Marley; Natalie Cole (2021), Claudio Arrau (2022), Charles Wheatstone (2023), Fabian (2024), and Thurl Ravenscroft (2025)

+++++++++++++++++++++

 

 

Fabian  (b. 6 February 1943) is an American singer and actor. He became a teen idol in the late 1950s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sic transit gloria

Fabian, when still a teen,

Exploded on the music scene,

And though untrained and lacking skill,

The audience response was shrill

With adolescent female shrieks;

But such a career whose instant peaks,

Are mounted in just days or weeks,

Cannot sustain its frenzied pace,

Endangered in its fragile place

By any newer pretty face.

 

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.] 

 

January 17 - Eartha Kitt (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 17th are here: Eartha Kitt; John Stanley; Benjamin Franklin (2020), Kid Rock (2021),  François-Joseph Gossec (2022), Thomas Linley the Elder (2023), Klaus Mäkelä; Johann Gottfried Müthel (2024), and Klaus Mäkelä (2025)

++++++++++++++++++++ 

 

Eartha Kitt (17 January 1927 – 25 December 2008) was an American singer and actress who spent a significant part of her career in Europe.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitt and Caboodle

The lasting hit

Of Eartha Kitt,

Of course was "Santa Baby,"

With the arch bon ton

Of "C'est si bon,"

A distant second, maybe.

 

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.] 

 

 

December 18 - Christina Aguilera; Michelagnolo Galilei (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 18th are here: Keith Richards; Edward MacDowell (2019), Christina Aguilera; Fletcher Henderson (2020), Charles Wesley; Edward MacDowell (2021), Betty Grable (2022), Keith Richards (2023), and Camille Pleyel (2024)

+++++++++++++++++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Good Note Deserves Another

John Eskow of The Huffington Post named Aguilera a main proponent for "oversouling", described as the "gratuitous and confected melisma".   — wbssmedia.com

When Aguilera sings a note

Some impulse in her supple throat

Compels her to embellish it.

As if she cannot relish it

Without her own embroideries

And vocal hoity-toiteries.

Melismas as a fad have faded,

And I, for one, am thrilled that they did.

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brotherhood

His relationship with his brother Galileo became especially difficult in his last years. Many of the letters between the two have been preserved; Michelagnolo (sometimes spelled Michelangelo) ceaselessly implored his elder brother for money. – Wikipedia

When you choose to play the lute,

You might not end up destitute,

But think it through before you start

Employment in this field of art.

Musicians often ask, will they be

Able to survive, well maybe,

But if your efforts aren't successful,

Sponging from your kin is stressful.

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]