Of Thee I Sing

The other day we found ourselves in the midst of a discussion about favorite singers and musical influences, and here’s the twist! They weren’t our personal inspirations but those of other artists. We were pretty surprised at who admired whom. It seems a shame to keep all the fun to ourselves, so for your cyber amusement here’s a little quiz to start off your week. Can you match the admirer to the admired? For brevity’s sake we’ve kept it to just one per performer. We’ll post the answers in a day or two.

Performer                           Influence

1.) Madonna                       A.) Frank Sinatra

2.) Beyoncé                        B.) Maria Callas

3.) Jim Morrison                C.) Connee Boswell

4.) Stevie Wonder             D.) Judy Holliday

5.) Linda Ronstadt             E.) Mario Lanza

6.) Ella Fitzgerald              F.) The Staples Singers

7.) Christina Aguilera       G.) Bessie Smith

8.) Billie Holiday               H.) Harry Nilsson

9.) Mary Lou Williams      I.) Stevie Wonder

10.) John Lennon             J.) Etta James

11.) Elvis                          K.) Lovie Austin

Now, on a not-quite-unrelated note, if you swivel your eyes to the right of this column and take a peek at Where in the World Are the Redheads?, you’ll note that Miss Laurel has a few gigs coming up. This weekend she’s got a solo concert with Tex Arnold at the Tusten Theatre in upstate NY. Come June, she’ll be reuniting with Lauren Kinhan and Janis Siegel aka JaLaLa, for gigs at Albany’s Egg and NYC’s Birdland (in case you’re wondering, their musical influences are the Boswell Sisters, and the Ronettes). We’ve decided to give away a free ticket to the Birdland date. All you have to do to enter the fray is post a comment here about who your influences have been, musical or otherwise. Tell us who you admire and why, and the entry that inspires us the most will get the tic. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

All about JaLaLa

Over the past few weeks we’ve referred to JaLaLa, Laurel’s trio with Janis Siegel of Manhattan Transfer and Lauren Kinhan of New York Voices. Well, just in time for the centennial celebration of Johnny Mercer’s birth they’ve come out with the perfect gift. That Old Mercer Magic, produced by the formidable Miss Siegel, blends their dreamy harmonies with the work of one of America’s great tunesmiths. As they have a few gigs coming up in early February (check out Where in the World are the Redheads to the right of this column for details) we thought it was the perfect time to post the group’s official bio and a track from the album. Don’t forget, we’re giving away a copy of this very album next week, all you have to do is guess our Monday Mondegreen and you’re eligible to be chosen at random for your very own copy.

The Bio...
Janis Siegel and Laurel Massé, founding members of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer, have long shared a love of the great girl groups of American pop music like the Boswell Sisters, the Ronettes, and Goldie and the Gingerbreads. In 2000, they banded together briefly with fellow Transfer singer, Cheryl Bentyne, to form Moxie, selling out a weekend engagement at New York's famous Birdland and quickly developing a devoted following. But the Transfer touring schedule and Massé's solo career (she left the Transfer in 1979) made scheduling difficult, and when Bentyne and her family moved to Los Angeles, the three decided to part company. The dream of a close-harmony female trio stayed very much alive, though, and in 2006 Laurel and Janis welcomed New York Voices' Lauren Kinhan into the group. The three singers began to meet often to sing through arrangements of classic American standards and original material, but once again, the scheduling of performances proved difficult. With the Transfer, the Voices, and Massé actively touring, it seemed that there might never be a moment when the three women would all be available at the same time to perform together.

Then, Siegel was approached by Dare Records in 2008, and asked to produce a CD of Mercer tunes. She took the assignment, and finally the calendars aligned. This was the opportunity that had been so elusive, and That Old Mercer Magic became a showcase and tour-de-force for the new girl trio, now called JaLaLa (for Janis, Laurel, and Lauren).

JaLaLa, the collaboration of three extraordinary singers who each have formidable group and solo singing talents, is performing selected dates in the U.S. in February and June, 2010. Their debut CD, That Old Mercer Magic, is available through Itunes ,Amazon and other outlets.

Monday Mondegreen

It’s been a while since we’ve delved into our pile of fabulously misheard lyrics, and on this damp and squishy January Monday we could all use a good laugh. The year was 1995, and that’s all we’re going to tell you. We want you to tell us the title of the song, the artist, and the correct lyric. Post it in our comments section by February 5th and you will be entered into a random drawing for our fabulous prize of the month. We’re giving away a copy of JaLaLa’s new release That Old Mercer Magic. JaLaLa is Miss Laurel’s trio with Janis Siegel of Manhattan Transfer and Lauren Kinhan of New York Voices, and they’ve got a gigs or two coming up in February. Check out the calendar to the right of this post for more info.

And now…our lyric…

Is that you, baby, or just a pig in this pie?

We can’t wait to see your answers!