Friends!

I had a nice lunch today with a dear friend. His name is James. I cannot say enough good things about him! Genuine, kind, loving, caring and talented are just a few adjectives to describe him! Oh yes, he happens to also be the minister of my church! I am grateful that he had the time to hear my thoughts and it was nice to be able to listen as well. I am posting a few songs that resulted from our conversation. One is Roy Orbison and K.D. Lang and their duet, CRYING....



I also mentioned the touching tribute that K.D. Lang wrote in Rolling Stone's IMMORTALS--THE GREATEST ARTIST OF ALL TIME issue. Roy was listed as number 37.....here are her words.

I've always compared Roy Orbison to a tree: passive and beautiful yet extremely solid. He maintained a sense of humility and sensitivity and gentleness uncommon to his era. He wasn't effeminate but extremely gentle. He was someone you felt entirely safe with, whether you were listening to his records or being around him. It wasn't like Elvis: It wasn't like your loins were on fire or anything like that. It's more like Roy was a private place to go -- a solace or a refuge.
He broke the mold of the Fifties tough-guy thing, and even the style of his music was a kind of fine art for somebody from Wink, Texas. It was cosmopolitan in a mysteriously soft and romantic way.

Roy Orbison was like a folk opera singer. I think he was influenced by Spanish opera in structure and in feel. He also loved to express his voice in this upper range, in falsetto. He was vulnerable and strong at the same time. He was extremely earnest in his voice and his appearance, and yet he had this veil of mystery to him.

In 1987, Roy and I recorded a version of "Crying" for a movie called Hiding Out. We ended up recording "Crying" in Vancouver, which is where I lived. I walked into the studio, and it was like staring at the huge image of the Marlboro Man on Sunset Boulevard -- so immediately ominous and present. We were rehearsing the song in the studio with the band, and Roy and I happened to be sharing a mike. When we got to a part where we were singing at the same time, we both leaned into the mike and our cheeks touched. His cheek was so soft, and the energy was so amazing. Not sexual but totally explosive, like the chemistry of some sort of kinship. I'll never forget what that felt like. I can hear that voice right in my ear. His vibrato was sort of fast and had a small waver within it, and that's what gave him the vulnerable sound. That voice.

[From Issue 946 — April 15, 2004]

We talked about Vicki and the last time Dianne (Jame's Wife) saw her in the hospital. I was there and so was James. Vicki quickly told Dianne that her singing voice reminded her of Paula Cole. I sit near Dianne in church and she does have a beautiful voice! She seems to be able to sing in many different voices and yes I have heard that Paula Cole like sound! So I will post a couple of Paula's biggest hits....





I want to post another great song by The Calling that I truly love (to sing)...raw emotion and soul! This is the original music video and since most and not able to be embedded this one may get pulled at some point!