Here we are already into the second week of July. It just doesn’t seem possible that it’s been over a month since we announced the acquisition of CDs featuring Lee Tomboulian. We’ve got a brand new pile today, and you’ll find him on two of them. We’ve also got some Bach, a Georgian composer, Mario Lanza, LU performances and a mystery CD hiding in the carpeting.
Category: Resources
Only 50 Years Ago
We missed this important anniversary, but it bears relating. On July 6, 1957, a 16-year-old John Lennon and his skiffle band The Quarry Men were playing for a church function in Woolton just outside Liverpool. A mutual friend introduced Lennon to Paul McCartney, then 15 and a pretty good guitar player and singer. A few days later McCartney was invited to join the band. Then they wrote and recorded some stuff.
In Memoriam
Let’s listen to some Beverly Sills today.
The Art of Beverly Sills, includes Marietta’s Lied (“Glück, das mir verblieb”) from Die tote Stadt. Spectacular.
The Ballad of Baby Doe, a 30-year-old Beverly in a reissue of the 1959 recording.
The Barber of Seville, a videocassette of a 1976 broadcast from the New York State Theater.
Handel’s Julius Caesar with the New York City Opera Chorus and Orchestra from 1967.
Manon, videocassette, “Live from Lincoln Center,” 1977.
another Manon, this one from 1970. Compare and contrast.
Roberto Devereux, bel canto, her specialty.
I……Forgot
Today, July 2, is I “Forgot Day.” To celebrate, we must pay tribute to Steve Martin. He is, after all, the one who explained how to be a millionaire and not pay any taxes. First, you get a million dollars. Second, you don’t pay any taxes. Then when the IRS comes after you for not paying any taxes, you simply say, “I forgot.”
Try to use this handy phrase often today, and view possibly the finest Steve Martin performance in a feature film, The Spanish Prisoner. Check it out from the Mudd, but don’t forget to return it.
Golly!
Today is the 77th birthday of Jim Nabors. After his Gomer Pyle days, he made somewhat of a career as a singer. Around 1972 a studio recording of Man of La Mancha was released, with Mr. Nabors in the leading role. The rest of the cast is (and we are not making this up) Marilyn Horne as Aldonza, Jack Gilford as Sancho Panza, Richard Tucker as the Padre, and Madeline Kahn as the niece. We are very sad that we do not have this LP in the Mudd’s collection. But we do have the original cast recording on CD.
Happy Musical Birthday
Today is the 58th birthday of pianist Emanual Ax, and also the anniversary of the birth of Robert Schumann (1810.) Do we have a CD of Ax playing Schumann? You betcha.
More LU CDs
Looking at today’s pile of LU CDs, you’re probably thinking, “There’s no way there could be any performances by Lee Tomboulian in that batch.” And you’d be so wrong.
The Rippin’est, Roarin’est, Fightin’est Man
Today, June 7 is “Daniel Boone Day” and the Mudd has a bunch of Daniel Boone-related books. Books were probably considered trial technology back when the Diamond Sutra was printed in 868, and today is also “Trial Technology Day.” If you’d like to view a videocasette concerning Daniel Boone (after all, it’s “VCR Day,”) the Appleton Public library has a videorecording titled The American frontier, Appleton child video, call number 978 Ame.
Some Home-Grown CDs
It’s June, which means it used to be May, which means it’s Concert Season here at LU. The Conservatory has generated an impressive number of concerts, which in turn has resulted in an equally impressive pile of CDs for your listening pleasure.
The Best of the Beatles
Maybe we’re still feeling a little Sgt. Pepper-y, or maybe it’s because in about an hour Starbucks® is rolling out Paul McCartney’s latest album, but we must call to your attention an upcoming PBS program. On Monday, June 11 at 10 p.m., Wisconsin Public Television is broadcasting Best of the Beatles, the story of the early Beatles as told by Pete Best. Best, as you know, was booted out of the group and replaced by Ringo Starr just after they recorded Love Me Do, but he’s “not bitter.” It’s a fascinating, albeit somewhat biased, view of those early years from someone who was intimately involved.
To get another pretty good look at The Beatles’ rise to fame, read Bob Spitz’s well-documented book, The Beatles, A Biography.