June 25 - Carly Simon; Gustave Charpentier (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 25th, both on Gustave Charpentier are found here: (2019) and (2020)

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Carly Simon (b. 25 June 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opportunity Knocks

 

The single ["Anticipation"] was written in 15 minutes while Simon waited for Cat Stevens to pick her up for a date. -- Wikipedia

When your date is a little bit late,

And you have a few minutes to wait,

The anticipation

Can be inspiration --

Take out your guitar and create!

 

 

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French composer Gustave Charpentier (25 June 1860 – 18 February 1956) had an improbably long life and one highly successful opera,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Third Time, Not the Charm; or, It's So Meta

A verse apropos Charpentier

Has been my routine on this day,

But this is the third,

And I give you my word,

I came up with nothing today.

 

 

 

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June 24 - Hugo Distler; Terry Riley; Harry Partch (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 24th are found here: Terry Riley (2019) and Harry Partch (2019)

Previous "Nopes" are found here: Nopes and Nopes

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Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942) was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer.

Harry Partch (24 June 1901 – 3 September 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of musical instruments.

Terry Riley (b. 24 June 1935) is an important and innovative composer best known for his minimalist scores.  

 

There More "Nopes" (Whistling Edition)

 

 

 

 

 

Nope 6

No one ever heard a whistler

Whistling tunes by Hugo Distler.

 

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Nope 7 

No one ever whistled while he

Grooved on tunes by Terry Riley.

 

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Nope 8

No one has been known to march

While whistling tunes by Harry Partch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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June 23 - Helen Humes (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 23rd are found here: Carl Reinecke (2019) and Stuart Sutcliffe (2020)

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Helen Humes (23 June 1913 – 9 September 1981) was an American jazz and blues singer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of Humes I Speak

She returned to the United States in 1967 to take care of her ailing mother.  At this point Humes viewed her singing career as a part of her past. She took a job at a local ammunition plant. From 1967 to 1973, she did not work as a singer, but was persuaded her to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1973. This performance led to a revival of her career in music.

Humes said of her career, "I'm not trying to be a star! I want to work and be happy and just go along and have my friends – and that's my career." ---adapted from Wikipedia

Helen Humes, whose busy career

   Kept her center stage

Decided she would disappear

   In quiet middle age.

She took a job from 9 to 5,

   No vain ambitions drove her;

No more touring dive to dive,

   Her singing days were over!

Many years went by and when

  She still remained admired,

They asked her if she’d sing again --

   And so she un-retired.

Envoi

A second harvest from the plant

   Might seem a dubious thing,

But Fate may intervene and grant

   A late autumnal spring.

 

 

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June 22 - Cyndi Lauper (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 22nd are found here: Peter Pears (2019) and Theodor Leschetizky (2020)

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Cyndi Lauper (b. 22 June 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and activist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone Knows It's Cyndi

Lauper expressed herself with a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and took a friend's advice to spell her name as "Cyndi" rather than "Cindy". Her unconventional sense of style led to classmates bullying and throwing stones at her. -- Wikipedia

With affectation that asserted

Resistance to the rank and file,

She spelled her name with vowels inverted

In a nonconformist style.

You only get one shot at living,

The life you’re living is that one,

So seize the things that life is giving,

Girls deserve to have some fun!

 

 

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June 21 - Lalo Schifrin (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 21th are found here: Alois Hába (2019) and Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (2020)

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Lalo Schifrin (b. 21 June 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor, especially known for TV and movie scores.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Biographical Curiosities

Impossible Dream

“I sat at my desk and wrote that theme in exactly one-and-a-half minutes. It was not inspiration; it was a need to do it. It was my own little mission impossible! The whole thing – including the chorus, the bongos, everything you hear – took me maybe three minutes.” -- Lalo Schifirn, as qtd, in Martin Chilton, Independent, 18 November 2018

When Schifrin concocted the scheme

Of the Mission Impossible theme,

He says that the score,

In iconic 5/4,

Arrived all at once like a dream.

Star Struck

“When Tom Cruise saw me, he hugged me twice. He said he grew up with the television series and the music was one of the biggest elements that convinced him to get involved in the movie project, not only as an actor but as the co-producer. So he made my day.” -- Lalo Schifirn, as qtd, in Martin Chilton, Independent, 18 November 2018

When Schifrin encountered Tom Cruise,

The latter began to enthuse;

He said that the theme

Made the character seem

Like a part that he couldn’t refuse.

 

 

 

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