VOCAL CHORDS IN THE FAMILY
My Grandma Bradley (My
Dad’s mother) sang in the church choir and with a group called the “Mother
Singers” in Berkeley, CA until she was 80 – literally, till her last day. She sang in a concert with the Mother
Singers, and that night passed away from a stroke. She loved singing, so it could be said she
‘went out’ doing what she loved.
My father had a wonderful bass/baritone
voice when the family sang together around campfires in the summer, or the piano
during the holidays, but he never sang with any group that I know of.
Speaking of the bass
voice, I’ve always wondered why it’s spelled that way instead of the way it
sounds. Here’s an example of what I mean
. . .
Okay, comic interlude over. Back to where we were. (Pearls Before Swine is my #1 favorite comic strip!)
My mother had a lovely
voice and sang professionally with a band in her late teens and early
twenties. And I remember her singing
around the house all the time when I was growing up. But she never joined a chorus or choir.
However, I and my brother and sisters all sang in school choruses and church choirs – me singing alto at first, then soprano, my sisters singing alto, and my brother singing baritone. My middle sis and I, in addition to singing in church choirs, went on to sing in other groups – sis with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and an East Bay choral group, and I, with the Oakland Symphony Chorus, the Fresno Oratorio Society, the Fresno State Community Chorus, and the Columbia College Community Chorus as well as the “Pine Cone Singers” of which I have been a member for 42 years! I’ve also given concerts of my own and continue to solo when asked.
In the late ‘70s &
early ‘80s I was active in the Golden Chain Theater in Oakhurst, CA, singing, dancing,
and acting in melodrama performances.
Music and singing is simply an integral part of my life! I was 12 years old when I took to the stage
with 11 other grade school singers selected from the entire Richmond (CA)
school district to sing with the San Francisco Symphony and I never looked
back. J
I never made it or even
tried to make it to the ‘big time’ but I’ve had a wonderful time singing my way
through the years in many different places for many different events including
concerts, stage shows, and singing our National Anthem for football and
baseball games, and I’ll keep on singing till the old vocal chords finally wear
out. They’re still going pretty strong,
yet, though. I can’t reach all those
tip-top high notes I used to be able to sail over, but that’s okay. So long as I can reach a note somewhere on
the scale, I’ll be singing!
Below are pix of yours
truly doing 1890s American and British Music Hall numbers for the
Golden Chain Theater and elsewhere.
Other favorite 1890s American theater and British Music Hall numbers I’ve done in the Golden Chain Theater and otherwise include:
“An Old Man’s Darling”
“Cleopatra had a Jazz
Band” (1923)
“I Don’t Care”
“In the City of Sighs and
Tears”
“Mamie (Don’t You Feel
Ashamie)”
(she was a cleptomamie)
“Rhoda and Her Pagoda”
“She does the Fandango all
over the Place”,
“She is More to be Pitied
than Censured”
“That Gorgonzola Cheese”
“Tuner’s Oppor-tuner-ty”
“Waltz Me Around Again,
Willie”
“Where Did You Get That
Hat?”
“You’re Not the Only
Pebble on the Beach”
:->
La Nightingail
P.S. Bonus:
So glad you and your family like to sing. It is like living with birds. A source of great joy! I got a kick out of hearing Sills and Kaye. Several friends of mine are classically trained, and at least 2 teach singing lessons. But spelling bass and base are problems beyond my mental capacity today! I'll say what it is, and someone else can figure out how to spell it. A stand-up stringed instrument is among my favorites...whether in jazz bands or classical concerts.
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