Solitaire
Since Neil Sedaka died recently, I’ve done a few strolls down memory lane listening to some of his songs. Of course I know many – especially “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” But “Solitaire” is a song I only knew very slightly, although it’s apparently quite popular and was covered by many people:
Sedaka originally was inspired by Frederic Chopin (his favorite classical composer) for the chorus and by Roberta Flack in the verses. When he presented the tune to Cody, he came up with the words based on his recent divorce; Cody had been playing solitaire frequently as a coping mechanism. Both Sedaka and Cody considered the composition to be a spiritual experience.
Sedaka was a Julliard-trained classical pianist.
Here Sedaka is singing the song himself, live, and playing the piano. He could do both very very well.
Cody had been playing solitaire frequently as a coping mechanism.
Or you could play Doom: https://youtu.be/4RSht_aV7AU?si=-XwLJUi_c-ZV-z1r.
Beautiful and deeply sad.
I do remember this!
This song of Neil’s brought to memory Eric Carmen.
He, too, was quite a musician.
A couple of his sad hits:
All By Myself
Boats Against the Current
… among others.
Marlene:
His singing is wonderful in this clip – first soft and understated, but then building and yet still sad and poignant and not overdone.
He didn’t often belt out a tear-jerker, but he takes this one on.
Karen Carpenter’s cover got a lot of airplay, but always struck me as a bit vacant.
Neil was a true American Institution. Wonderful singer and composer.
Wendy K Laubach:
She apparently didn’t like the song, according to her brother I think.
SiriusFM in my car radio has worthy channels, like the 1950s or ’60s. It is startling how I can, with a cue, remember those pop songs of so long ago. Sadly, their lyrics and melodies were superior to what we are fed today.
Neo, I totally agree!
And the orchestra was “right there” … Not adding too much!
I bet they enjoyed it, too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIh0z9TY0yo
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Start at 00:35. Miss Brodie calls it.
“All By Myself”. That brought back an instant memory of years ago, the last time I was in Fenway Park. They had a terrific organist back then, somebody that really knew his tunes and was highly, highly skilled on the organ.
A visiting pitcher ran into some trouble and was struggling hard in the top of, I think it was, seventh or eighth inning. There was a string of hits, 3 men on base, and then a walk on a full count, that put Boston within a run or two, no outs. That was it; the bullpen was called. And as the dejected, defeated pitcher slumped at the bad news, and walked off, sure enough, the organist showed no mercy, really strapping it on, with ‘All By Myself’. The crowd was roaring. The organist, trash-talking with popular tunes.
Does anyone else remember the duet he recorded with his daughter Darah? I think the title was “Should Have Never Let You Go.”
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