Aretha Franklin performs at the Festival of Families as Pope Francis looks on Sept. 26, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
BUT BEFORE …
One amazing performance came in 1998.
It was 30 minutes into the 1998 Grammy Awards and Gary Simmons, the assistant to the show’s co-producer, Tisha Fein, got a phone call:
Luciano Pavarotti would not be performing.
Franklin had been booked on the show to perform a Blues Brothers number with Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman and Jim Belushi. Two nights before, however, she had actually performed “Nessun Dorma” in honor of Pavarotti at a Music Cares dinner. The Grammys producer had an empty hole where Pavarotti’s performance was supposed to be, crossing into the third hour of the show.
Could she possibly …?
Luciano Pavarotti, too unwell to perform at the Grammy Awards, was replaced at the last minute by the Queen of Soul herself, who was a friend of the opera singer.
However, instead of opting for one of her own hits, Franklin stuck with the aria most synonymous with Pavarotti, “Nessun Dorma”.
More than a billion viewers watched live on TV across the world on as Franklin hit the Puccini number’s signature high B with ease, stunning the 1998 Grammy Awards audience in Radio City Music Hall and sending the jaws of artists including Celine Dion to the floor.
Several years later, Franklin performed the track yet again – this time for Pope Francis at a show in Philadelphia.
Festival of Families, Philadelphia, September 26, 2015
~~Published on Sep 27, 2016~~
Aretha Franklin performs Nessun Dorma following Pope Francis’ attendance at Festival of Families in Philadelphia, September 26, 2015
~The Aretha performance that changed Chris~
“The ability to own something this hard, that’s not her own or from her own experience, she didn’t write it, in another language and still communicate so much, not to mention doing it last second, on such a major stage.”
The transgender community, (the “T” in LGBT), hasn’t had an easy existence
There was plenty of hope during the recent years when rights for the LGBT community were recognized as basic human rights, including transgender rights.
However, the Drumpf administration has taken it upon themselves to start the dismantling of these human rights.
From Melanie Nathan, a blogger I follow …. “Today, February 22, that transphobic homophobe the putrid Trump AG, Jeff Sessions, did exactly what we thought he would do the moment he assumed office – AND so hand in hand with that other homophobe and transphobic piece of work Pence – as well as an apparently forced Betsy DeVos Of the Department of Education – announced that Title IX will no longer be enforced to protect transgender students equally in all school facilities, including restrooms.
Title IX guaranteed students the right to a safe and supportive learning environment regardless of gender and protects them from discrimination.
There is no reasonable basis for them to do this except spite and hate of a community that deserves protection and recognition.”
So disgusted!!
I think this is the beginning.
Like the #MuslimBan, the LGBT community is in the cross-hairs now. Bad things are headed this way!!
Transgender Children & Youth: Understanding the Basics
One of the most important and difficult tasks that parents face is how to best support their children while also setting the kind of boundaries and structure that helps them grow up to become responsible and successful adults. Sure, children and teens love to test the boundaries that adults set for them. But it is important to make distinctions between instances where “kids are being kids” and when they’re asserting things about themselves that are critical to their identity and development – as is the case with gender identity and expression.
~Gavin Grimm: Meet the Boy Laverne Cox Shouted Out at the Grammys~
(this case is so much more important now)
by MARY EMILY O’HARA
February 13, 2017
Who is Gavin Grimm — and why does Hollywood’s most high-profile transgender actress want you to learn about him?
Grimm is a 17-year-old high school senior in Virginia whose fight against the local school board will be argued at the Supreme Court on March 28. The transgender boy’s long road to the highest court in the country started at age 15, when he was forced to endure a series of school board meetings at which adults debated whether or not he should be allowed to use the boys bathroom at school.
ACLU attorney Josh Block told NBC News that Grimm’s case has taken on a new significance with President Trump now overseeing federal agencies like the Department of Education.
For the last 20 years the overwhelming majority of lower courts have been holding that out civil rights laws against sex discrimination protect transgender people,” said Block. “Gavin’s case is the first time the Supreme Court will consider the question and reaffirm that transgender people are protected. With a presidential new administration, these protections are more critical than ever.”
But the case, “Gloucester County School Board v. G.G.,” stands to impact every transgender teen and child in the nation: the Supreme Court will use it to decide whether Title IX protections on the basis of sex can be interpreted to include gender identity, and whether Obama-era guidance from the Department of Education can be considered the law of the land.
“I realize now this is much bigger than myself. And my greater goal now is to try to make things better for those who come after me.” Gavin Grimm is taking his fight for transgender rights to the Supreme Court this spring.
I first saw and posted about Lady Gaga’s performance honoring David Bowie at the 2016 Grammy’s. I thought it was well done and showcased David’s music and Lady Gaga’s talent.
Today I say Bowie’s tribute performed by Lorde at the BRITS Award in London.
I don’t particularly agree with detractor who say that Lorde’s performance was better than Gaga’s. I think it’s a matter of preference in styles.
I can understand a sense of “ownership” in view of the fact that David was British.
I have included links for both performances in this post.
Check them out and you be the judge.
I can say that I liked both of them.
The main purpose was honoring a British musical icon:
Lorde’s tribute to David Bowie, Brit Awards 2016: ‘heartbreaking’
Neil McCormick, music critic 24 FEBRUARY 2016
Well, the Brits got something right. Their tribute to Bowie was powerful and affecting, showing up Lady Gaga’s Grammy award extravaganza for the superficial, soulless travesty it was.
Nineteen-year-old New Zealand songstress Lorde delivered a sombre version of one of David Bowie’s greatest songs, Life On Mars, backed by musicians who played with Bowie for decades.
With Mike Garson on piano, Gail Anne Dorsey on bass, Gerry Leonard and Earl Slick on guitars, they delivered a dark, moody rendering of a big, complex song of one of that classic that was all the more emotional for its sense of dignity and restraint.
Lady Gaga at the Grammys last week went so over the top, her ridiculous mash-up of 10 hits turned into a Bowie cabaret medley that was really all about Gaga, putting the focus on costume changes and digital computer effects sponsored by Intel.
~5 Ways Lorde’s David Bowie Tribute Was Better Than Lady Gaga’s~
~Published on Feb 24, 2016~
Lorde later recalled the event in a moving letter written after his death,
saying:
“That night something changed in me – I felt a calmness grow, a sureness.
I think in those brief moments, he heralded me into my next new life,
an old rock and roll alien angel in a perfect grey suit.
I realised everything I’d ever done, or would do from then on,
would be done like maybe he was watching.
I realized I was proud of my spiky strangeness because he had been proud of his.”
REASONS
It was backed by Bowie’s band
Lorde knew that one outfit was good enough
It had Bowie’s stamp of approval
It was actually about Bowie
(You can read detailed information in the actual YouTube video)
It Is What It Is 