WE Could Be Royals
. . . how these regal commoners bring it!
I have a great deal of affection for the Royals. Though each was nothing special at birth, most have done a pretty good job helping other people and using their positions of privilege as a force for good. Particularly the Queen.
There would not be enough room in St. George’s Chapel if everybody who wanted to attend had an invitation, but most of us don’t anyhow. So . . . as a way of tipping my hat to the Windsors and celebrating some of the music that makes me feel regal, I have curated a few selections from artists with royal-sounding names and nicknames.
Together we can celebrate the connubial bliss of the UK’s new royal couple with some great music.
All of these artists were born of humble means, and all rose to super-stardom with their incredible musical talent. The main courses here are from LIVE performances with a couple of studio-produced clips for dessert!
PS. I have peppered this piece with lots of lovely and entertaining hyperlinks. Some of them will surprise you. If you can find the G&R cover, you are in for a special treat! I do hope you enjoy.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
Basie fronted his Orchestra for over 50 years! Quincy Jones provided some of Basie’s arrangements when he was a young man perfecting his craft and everybody who was anybody performed with The Count including: Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bing Crosby and Sarah Vaughan. Basie was known to be a skilled collaborator, modest, relaxed, witty, fun-loving, considerate of other musicians and always enthusiastic about the music.
We played “Li’l Darlin” in high school jazz band about a million times. It’s a great laid-back tune with an easy chord progression that even the most limited musician can learn how to improvise over. In the hands of skilled musicians, though — a thing of beauty.
The Thin White Duke:
With a musical career over 5 decades long and a knack for re-inventing himself there’s just so much to say about David Bowie. My personal favorite Bowie was the Let’s Dance personae, probably because it coincided with the New Romantic / Pop waves crashing through my teenage years.
And who could forget the enormous package he sported as Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth?
Others will praise his Ziggy Stardust or any of a half-dozen images the shape-shifting genius crafted for himself. None will deny his spot in the musical firmament. This performance from Berlin in 2002 reveals his humanity, humor, and generosity alongside his amazing musicianship. He told us all that we can be heroes. Heroes, I tell you! You know you are a BAD-ASS when the German government, upon your death, thanks you for “helping to bring down the Wall.” With your music!
Prince:
Of all of the gone-too-soon’s in this list, maybe this one is currently the most painful — certainly as tough as Freddy’s passing, but for entirely different reasons. Prince was our Mozart, a musical genius unparalleled since that little Austrian whipper-snapper, and Bach before him. Once his heirs and the lawyers and the music executive get through fighting over everything, we will be listening to new Prince tracks until our dying days. I just wish Prince had found someone he could trust to be his majordomo, and I wish his lil’ baby had not died.
My favorite Prince track is Sometimes it Snows in April, a tender masterpiece about a life cut too short. It’s as apt a remembrance of the man himself as any of his other musical wonders. We now know that Prince was an incredibly generous and low-profile philanthropist; we will likely never know the extent of his kindness.
Most any other artist would have seen the TORRENTIAL POURING Miami rain as something of a setback for a Superbowl half-time show. Not so his Purple Badness:
Producer: Hey Prince, are you OK to perform?
Prince: Can you make it rain harder?
Prince strapped on a doo-rag, grabbed his purple axe, and gave the performance of a lifetime. Will we see this sort of genius ever again?
Beyonce
A phenomenon who engenders such loyal and intense fan support that one is reluctant to offer criticism. Fortunately, I have none to offer. The diva is flawless.
The mind it took to conceive this performance and the work it took to produce such perfect precision is simply awesome.
Ladies and gentleman, the Queen B:
Queen
Maybe the only reason why Freddy’s death is not more painful for me now is that TIME has healed the wounds a bit. Queen have been the very soundtrack to my life. I have to force myself not to sign-off on many of my essays with a Queen number so integrated are the music and lyrics to my own thought-process.
I was not old enough to see Queen when they toured the States while Freddy was alive. Since then, I have experienced the remaining members live, first in Prague with Paul Rodgers and again in Atlantic City with Adam Lambert. Both concerts were nearly a religious experience for me — particularly so with Lambert. Freddy would have been pleased.
I can only imagine I might have felt actually transfigured to have been in the crowd at Live Aid back in 1985 when Queen reigned over the entire planet. Anything else I try to add to this performance is inadequate so, just here:
Queen Latifa
This diva and I were born during the same week in 1970. Whom do you suppose Maya Angelou called to cover for her when she was unable to speak at Michael Jackson’s funeral herself? Yep, Queen Latifa.
Ok, so I lied. I could not leave this Queen out and my favorite performance of hers is this one from the film Chicago showcasing both her singing and acting chops:
The King of Pop
Gosh, what to say? A genius on stage and in the studio who touched the hearts of so many. His troubled childhood led him to lead a mysterious private life leaving a legacy that will likely never be free of innuendo and speculation. Regardless, this King definitely deserved his crown — nobody could move like that, sing like that, or write like that. Very few could could draw the kinds of crowds Michael did or become as fixed in our cultural DNA.
Many consider this piece of footage to be among his very best live performances. I’d like to hear from those who disagree — not sure my choice here is the best. In any case, look for Liz, McCauly and other familiar faces in the audience.
If my life was defined by Queen, my Mama’s was defined by the King. I remember when I was a little boy, Elvis’ were the LP records that she would play. The Moody Blue album in particular sticks out because it was stamped into transparent blue vinyl. My favorite from that LP was Way Down.
Mama also had a record by Barbra Streisand that featured a song called The Queen Bee which stuck in my head. It’s probably responsibly for me being gay. Thanks Babs! Oh — hey Beyonce, Babs did a number called Queen Bee. Who knew? But I digress . . .
I remembered the entire world in mourning for The King. I recall watching the white hearse pulling up to the gates of Graceland on TV and feeling really sad that such a great performer, one who’d made so many members of my family happy had died. Elvis would continue on in the afterlife, however, releasing a single not too long ago. Last year, his estate was ranked 4th in terms of wealthy departed musicians. Elvis was the last and greatest analog superstar.
Here’s the King of Rock & Roll with one of my favorites tunes live in Vegas in the year of my birth:
Bonus: Fred Astaire dancing to The King of Pop
Bonus: Puddles Pity Party
One of my favorite musicians who produces great covers and manages to do some really creative things beneath that sad-clown personae.
Here he is covering the Lorde song, Royals that inspired this little piece of Royal Wedding Pastiche.
Take it
away Puddles:
