"where... where is it written what it is i'm meant to be?..." the opening lines of what became one of my most favorite songs (of course nothing tops somewhere over the rainbow - for me that is). the enchanting timbre of the strings and the flowing music carries you slowly upward towards the climax... "papa watch me fly!!!" a 13 seconds D3 note that leaves you thinking... was that looped? i bet she'd never able to manage do it live... (yet she did! before the release of the movie "yentl" she played the soundtrack for her friends for comment. they said "oh... i bet that was looped," :-) touched a heartstring, the voice started singing and finished "a piece of sky" live, all at the dinner table was mesmerized...)
this was my first REAL encounter of who became my most respected singer. i searched online who sung this song and its origins. i discovered. barbra joan streisand. hmmm i previously knew this singer via the single most popular pop (how redundant can you get!?) song she did - - i finally found someone (tell him wasn't made yet) and her constant political bickering. i started to research on her and how was she able to do that song. and soon i was realizing that wasn't even a taste.
i discovered a few more months later - - she was the first woman ever to achieve all four major awards - oscar, tony, grammy, emmy - and the first woman recognized by the directors guild of america as best director... for the same movie where the song i am talking about comes from. she is also the highest female record seller ever and in the last few years has upstaged a few more others to become the third highest overall just behind the beatles and his highness king elvis.
i am humbled by her achievements - - from a humble beginning in brooklyn wearing clothes from thrift shops working her way up - - bitch and all. and all the while being the insecure and stage frightened girl she always was.
the longest note she ever held officially is from an unreleased song "make our garden grow" (23 seconds) and if you listen closely you will notice that she had still more to let out if needed (btw, i have a recording of this). she was asked during her early years, "how are you able to do that?" "i hold a note as long as i want to." will power sets her apart. but not only will obviously brought millions if not billions on her doorstep riding the early waves of the money market when e-bay, amazon and other net corps were just starting. she was able to make her friend donna karan's $100,000 into $160M (if i remember correctly) in a month's period playing with the market 2 hours every morning.
a lot lot more can be said and told about this woman who i just totally admire for her achievements and i just cannot continue on just from memory. recently rediscovering one of her songs, she made me realize that "there are no mistakes... just lessons to be learned"
lz
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