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The “Go-To Girl” for Love Songs
I sing songs that were mostly written in the 1930’s and 40’s. Every year around Valentine’s Day, to my surprise and delight, my calendar thankfully fills up with requests for concerts of love songs from that era. A typical day of performances might look like this: I will sing for an hour long set at a ladies’ luncheon, followed by an all-ages concert at a local public library, break for dinner and wardrobe change, then end the day swinging with my quartet in a jazz club or at a dinner-dance. This may sound exhausting, but it’s more like a vacation. As I deliver each song designed to carry the audience away on a magic carpet of melody and wordplay, the transcendental power of this wonderful music never fails to relax and delight me.
This year I did 12 shows. It was a fantastic run, and I got to sleep in my own bed and see my family besides. On this latest local “tour” of love songs, I witnessed grown men cry as the lyric moved them, as well as two different male audience members reach for their wallets during “Big Spender”. I saw a toothless guy grin widely with such joy as I sang to him that his face will forever be imprinted in my memory. People blushed when they told me the names of their first “crush”, even if it was over 70 years ago! In general, it was great practice at working many kinds of rooms, but mostly the greatness, sweetness and depth of this music is a powerful tool for connection. I even learned something about technique, finding my way around the highest note in “My Funny Valentine” which I never used to be able to sing the way I wanted to, but finally today I found the right combination of air and shape to make it work suitably. Success!
My repertoire reflects a time when songwriters went to their offices every day and, with a high level of caring and craftsmanship, churned out songs that were mostly about falling in and out of love. Many of these melodies found their way into our psyches, and we hum and whistle them even if we don’t know the words. During a performance, I watch as people reach for each others’ hands or put their arms around one another. Something stirs inside them and they smile, or wipe away a tear as the lyrics unfold to reveal the emotional landscape that is the human condition: longing, euphoria, pathos, lust, and humor are all topics covered in the course of exploring that weighted goldmine of a theme: love. We come in all shapes and sizes, why not love?