September 25 - Glenn Gould; Will Smith (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 25th are here: Jean-Philippe Rameau; Glenn Gould (2019), Dmitri Shostakovich (2020), Jean-Philippe Rameau (2021), and Glenn Gould (2022)

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Glenn Gould (25 September 1932 – 4 October 1982) was a legendary Canadian pianist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enough is Enough

Glenn Gould thought the Goldberg’s were nice,

And so he recorded them twice.

When asked now and then

If he’d do it again,

He responded that twice would suffice.

 

 

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Will Smith (b. 25 September 25) is an American actor, rapper and film producer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caveat

Successful in acting and rap,

Will Smith had his careers overlap,

But a man can go far

As a bankable star,

And throw it away with a slap.

 

 

 

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October 26 - Jacques Loussier; Domenico Scarlatti (The Musical Birthday Series; 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for October 26th are here: Domenico Scarlatti; Henry Smart; Mahalia Jackson (2019) and Hans Leo Hassler (2020)

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Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer, long resident in Spain, who is best known for his keyboard music. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too Much of a Good Thing?

There once was a pianist who thought he

Would learn all the works of Scarlatti.

With sonatas a-plenty,

He learned ten or twenty,

Then abandoned the project as dotty.

 

 

 

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Jacques Loussier (26 October 1934 – 5 March 2019) was a French pianist and composer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source Material

In March 2002, Loussier filed a $10 million lawsuit against rapper Eminem and producer Dr. Dre, claiming that the beat for the track "Kill You" was stolen from his composition Pulsion. The case was settled out of court.  - adapted from Wikipedia

It troubles me to have to say

That Eminem and Dr. Dre

Once sampled from Jacques Loussier.

The latter getting wind of them

Sued Dr. Dre and Eminem.

About the upshot of this tort

There’s very little to report ---

The case was settled out of court.

 

 

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

 

 

April 9 - Florence Price; Paul Robeson; Lil Nas X (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 9th may be found here: Tom Lehrer (2019) and Emanuel Schikaneder (2019).

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Florence Price (9 April 1887 – 3 June 1953) was an American composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Price of Fame

“My dear Dr. Koussevitzky, To begin with I have two handicaps—those of sex and race. I am a woman; and I have some Negro blood in my veins.” —Florence Price

Price’s style, wrote Eileen Southern in The Music of Black Americans, “is best defined as neoromantic, which was rather conservative for her time.” — encyclopedia com

The musical works of Florence Price

   After long neglect

Have re-emerged to gain a slice

   Of concert hall respect.

She briefly was a well-known name

   She briefly held a place;

Three factors worked against her fame:

   Her gender, style, and race.

 

 

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Paul Robeson (9 April 898 – 23 January 1976) was an American bass baritone and stage and film actor who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political activism.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left Right Left 

 

Paul Robeson, the radical singer,

Went through the McCarthyite wringer.

He was willing to fight

For the things he thought right

As a Stalinist, Red, and left winger.

 

 

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Lil Nas X (b. 9 April 1999) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and internet personality. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloody Hell

 

Lil Nas X

In matters of sex

   Is frank and outspokenly queer.

He stirred up debate in

A lap dance for Satan

  With droplets of blood in his gear.

 

 

 

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