Saturday, March 1, 2014

Musical

Yesterday I mentioned April showers, May flowers and somthing in June. I didn't know what the something in June was and a friend suggested it came from the musical Carousel by Rodgers and Hammerstein. I went to have a look and the song, " June is bustin' out all over " is in that musical. That wasn't the reference I was looking for however. A little looking around and I found a Judy Garland song, " April Showers. " That is the one I was thinking of. I did learn more from this. When it is raining have no regrets, it is raining Violets ! Didn't know that part. Also when you see clouds up on the hill they bring crowds of Daffodils ! And I should be looking for the Bluebird and listening for his song whenever April showers come along. Well that was a learning experience. I also ran across a nursery rhyme. March Winds and April Showers Bring forth May flowers ! I think I probably heard that one and it was in the recesses of my mind. Amazing what can be dredged up isn't it ? I have a large hard cover book of nursery rhymes that I bought for the grandchildren. It has ones in there I had never heard before. That book has been used a lot over the years. I'm thinking now some of those rhymes will be stuck in the grandchildrens head to be rediscovered one day. I wonder how many children are read nursery rhymes these days ?
In thinking about the rhyme, when it was suggested it came from a musical I thought that may be correct. The person suggesting that I'm sure is quite knowledgeable in that area. She is quite an accomplished singer. In fact she comes from an entire family of singers. I do not like musicals. I have seen very few of them but for some odd reason I am somewhat familiar with Carousel. My mother would watch it every time it came on television. We only had two channels to choose from so Mom wins ! Every time. I remember Billy Bigelow and that the story took place in Maine. Something to do with being in love and all that mush. Every once in a while the characters would bust into song. Magically a band would be playing and everyone starts dancing. I could never buy into that scenario. Fact is, I still can't. I enjoy a good story and I enjoy good music but in my opinion the two should be enjoyed separately. All that singing and dancing in the middle of the story is just a distraction to me. I will admit that an awful lot of the songs from musicals are stuck in my head anyway. We got trouble, right here in River City. What musical was that from ? Songs from the Sound of Music and West side story. Still I would not knowingly go to a musical.
One other thought came to mind regarding all this. The person suggesting it came from a musical, this musically gifted person, is from my era. I wonder if we had had shows like The Voice or American Idol with the opportunities they afford, if this person, or anyone in her family, would have appeared on those shows ? They certainly have the talent. The closest thing I think we had was The Gong Show ! There were people on there with genuine talent but I don't think they got anything more than a prize. No big recording contracts or anything like that. No, singers back in my day had to do the nightclub circuit and hope to be discovered. They had to actively pursue that occupation over a long period of time, pay their dues as the saying goes. Now you can just audition and rise to the top. I wonder ? In my opinion any of them could have been singers of national note. I know they are stars to there friends and family but I think they could have made it. Just a thought.

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