One of the pleasures of doing a Throwback Thursday blog post — as you may well know — is rediscovering something one once wrote (which one may have completely forgotten!)
In the case of this Throwback Thursday, I also rediscovered a song by Stephen Sondheim called “Everybody Says Don’t” which I had forgotten I’d recorded.
You can click here to check it out if you are curious.
A new biography of Mr. Sondheim came out earlier this year which my sister gave me for my birthday.
I just finished reading it and — not surprisingly — come away with renewed respect and gratitude for the wealth of songs and shows he helped to create over the course of a 50+ year career…
If you are not very familiar with his work, he wrote the lyrics for two blockbuster Broadway favorites — WEST SIDE STORY and GYPSY.
But what he really wanted to do is create both music and lyrics — which is what he finally got to do with A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, COMPANY, SWEENEY TODD, INTO THE WOODS, ASSASSINS, PASSION and other shows.
Mr. Sondheim experienced a few flops along the way, including ANYONE CAN WHISTLE and MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG.
But he continued to work on the latter show for decades until he (and various collaborators) finally arrived at a version which was one of the hottest tickets on Broadway — starring, among other talented human beings, Daniel Radcliffe (the original Harry Potter) — during 2023-2024.
A version of this production was filmed and can be watched via various streaming platforms.
And I learned from Wikipedia that Richard Linklater is filming his own version of it over many years (as he has done with other creative projects). Sounds like we may have to wait for a decade or more to see THAT version…
Mr. Sondheim did not have many of his songs become big pop hits, although Judy Collins recorded a lovely version of “Send In The Clowns” from A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC.
He crafted his songs to advance the plot of each show and often wrote them for particular actors to perform.
This specificity may have made it more challenging for pop musicians like Frank Sinatra or Barbra Streisand to pluck one of this songs out of the context of a particular show to become a more generic pop hit — although Ms. Streisand DID include many of his compositions in her two albums devoted specifically to Broadway songs.
And Mr. Sondheim, bless him, did agree to write additional lyrics for Ms. Streisand’s version of “Send In The Clowns” so that it made more sense for her to sing it (out of the context of the original show).
I think I may have featured photos of hydrangeas in a previous blog post, but they are what is blooming right now in my neighborhood as summer officially gets underway in the Greater Boston area…
And I LOVE them.
Happy summer to any and all readers in the northern hemisphere of planet earth!
amusicalifeonplanetearth 
Stunning
I can’t get enough of hydrangeas — especially the blue bushes with pink/violet creeping into some of their blooms… I have read that their color depends upon how acidic or alkaline the soil is (which affects how the plants can or cannot absorb aluminum!)
A fun throwback, Will. We saw that filmed version of Merrily We Roll Along in a theater. The Arden Theatre in Philadelphia had a relationship with Sondheim. We’ve seen Sweeney Todd there twice, and several others of his plays. Judy Collin’s version of Send in the Clowns was the first I heard–I had that album way back when.
The hydrangeas are lovely!
Hurrah for Sondheim having a relationship with the Arden Theatre in your hometown! And hurrah for hydrangeas in bloom! Thank you, as always, for reading and listening and commenting…
You’re welcome, Will!
Fun and fact filled biography Will. Enjoy your music, musings, and summer.
Thank you, Brad!!! Please keep your poems and photos flowing as the spirit moves to you to make/take them….
Thanks Will. I seem to be in the flow again.
Yay!!!
Boy oh boy, “Everybody Says Don’t” must have really given you a work out trying to keep the words crisp and understandable at that speed. Wonderful job!
I love the idea that children need to be free to respond music in their own way, and this works so well in small groups. I’m also reminded of my time sharing music with 25 first graders in a classroom, always searching for the balance between the desire to let my students express themselves and the chaos that can easily ensue with a group that large. Ah, the life of the public school teacher. 😉
I love Judy Collins’ rendition of “Send in the Clowns”, but never knew the context it came from. I just thought of it as understandable on so many levels. That simple phrase ” send In the clowns” seems so totally apt and current these days, eh?
Thanks for sharing the info on Sondheim. Hurrah for never giving up after failing!
Wishing you a good summer. Hoping you are staying cool this weekend.
-Julie
25 first graders is a lot of first graders! I am fortunate that the pedagogy of Music Together involves active participation by an accompanying adult for each child (or in some cases a grownup brings two or even threee children with the…) Some might make the case that Music Together actually is designed to inspire grownups to include/integrate more musical activities into their daily interactions with the children in their lives. And yes, “Everybody Says Don’t” can be a bit of a tongue-twister (especially at the pace DOug and I recorded that particular version). And yes, “Send In The Clowns” is a title which has a particular resonance right now in the USA. THANK YOU for reading and listening and then for leaving such a long comment, Julie. Let’s stay cool in the days/weeks ahead!!!
I looked up Music Together. It sounds like a wonderful program.
I think the people who dreamed up Music Together — and then refined it over several decades — have done an excellent job of providing teachers with BOTH form/structure/guidelines AND freedom/flexibility to add one’s personal mark (such as including a couple of one’s personal favorite songs as a play-along song or a dance-along song in one’s lesson plan for a particular week…) I’ve been leading classes for 12 years (I think?) and am still happy/grateful to be doing it.
That’s so cool. Just curious- Obviously, you sing and play the ukulele. Do you play other instruments, as well? And I bet you have instruments for the kids to experiment with? What are you favorite songs as a play along or dance along? When I was teaching, I led a sing-along every Friday morning for the first graders in our school combined with students with profound disabilities in the classroom next door. It was an upbeat way to end the week. The music we made together helped our first graders get to know and be comfortable with those who often couldn’t speak or walk, or sometimes barely move at all. Truly, music was a universal language for all those students!
Wishing you more Music Together, and some more star songs….star light star bright, first star…..
Julie
Hi, Julie! That Friday morning sing-along sounds like it was a profoundly important ritual. And fun, too! The Music Together program includes a CD of songs (and/or downloads for those living in the 21st century…) for each term. These CDs include some familiar songs such as “The Water Is Wide” and some songs without words such as the William Tell Overture, and some songs/chants they have created in order to introduce participants to different melodic modes and different time signatures. So I usually use on of the Music Together songs for our large movement/dance experiences. But, of course, there are great dance songs like “Happy” by Pharell Williams and “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake and great songs by Earth, Wind & Fire and by Stevie Wonder… and we are allowed/encouraged to include a few favorite non-Music Together songs in our lesson plans if the spirit moves us. Thank you for reading and listening to yet another blog post AND then leaving such a lovely comment.
My pleasure!
Love the song, such fun. And the hydrangeas are beautiful. Such a deep blue. My uncle used to feed his hydrangeas to deepen the hue. It does depend on how acidic or alkaline the soil is. I seem to remember it is acidic for blue but I could be wrong. Have a good weekend.
Yes, I think you are correct. More acid soil leads to blue hydrangeas — which are SO beautiful. I hope you are able to stay cool this weekend.
Thank you, here is Scotland there’s a smittering of rain so we are cooler thank you. Happy Fourth!
The hydrangeas are beautiful. I enjoyed the story, Will. I always enjoy learning more about artists- musicians and singers. And I know exactly what you mean about reading something written earlier. I’m posting again the story of Milly the quilter, nearly ten years after I wrote the episodes. I’m enjoying reading it again! Stay cool and Happy Fourth!
Happy Fourth! And hurrah that the story of Millie is back in circulation! I hope you are dipping yourself in your pool at regular intervals to stay cool. We have had some rain in upstate NY (where I am visiting family) which has helped a little bit with the extreme heat.
Happy Fourth, Will! I’m so glad you’re visiting family in NY. The post you wrote about your visit quite a while ago is one of my favorites. Yes, Milly back in circulation is a wonderful thing. Today is the last day of the heatwave, thank goodness, and the pool has been bathwater. Haha!
Sometimes one is hoping for a cool, refreshing dip in a pool (not bath water!) But maybe bath water is better than no swimming at all? Hurrah that the heatwave has ended for now. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
Thank goodness the bath water has returned to pool water!
A great post, Will. Gorgeous hydrangeas.
Thanks for catching up on so many of my recent posts, Dwight! The sight of blooming hydrangeas always lifts my spirits…
Sometimes it is hard to keep up with everyone. I am happy to connect with you.