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I've never encountered a sweeter soul and more considerate artist than Sarah Dash. I first met her at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd Street in 2011.
My mom had died and I'd just returned from Florida after the funeral. My good friend, Kevin Scott Hall, a cabaret critic and performer, knew I loved Sarah both for her solo work and as part of the glam-rock group Labelle, along with Patti Labelle and Nona Hendryx.
At the time, I didn't feel I was ready to go to a show as I was in mourning, but my friend insisted. And so, I went.
Sarah didn't disappoint. During her performance, she talked about the death of her own mom.
At the meet and great after the show, I told Sarah about the death of my mom and how touched I was hearing about hers. We both broke into tears and hugged. The club's handlers had to break us up so the line of greeters could move along.
Sarah is a woman of true heart and soul. Warm, caring, sensitive.
Four years later, I attended her birthday brunch at 54 Below. It was a great show with tributes by the likes of Melba Moore and her former Labelle partner, Nona Hendryx, who tooked to the stage with Ms Dash to sing "Lady Marmalade." As for Miss Patti, she sent a congratulations via video.
Prior to that epic afternoon, I had met Patti afternoon, I saw Ms Dash at a tribute to the recently deceased Lesley Gore. I got to meet her once more after her performance, also at 54, where I first met Denise Spann-Morgan and The "Marvelous" Marvelettes. Sarah remembered me from our Laurie Beechman moment.
It was my privilege and pleasure to briefly get to know Sarah in my lifetime, a beautiful woman inside and out.
Melba Moore basically needs no introduction. She is a diva to be reckoned with; one who has conquered the Broadway stage, the recording industry and, now, cabaret. I am thrilled, then, to present to you our exclusive Q&A. This is it!
Buddy Beaverhausen: I understand you come from a musical family. Could you tell us more about that?
Melba Moore: Absolutely. My father was a musician as was my mother, who also sang. She married my stepfather, also a musician. My brother, who passed away, was a wonderful pianist who majored in Music in college. I went to college at Montclair State Teacher's College, New Jersey, majoring in Music. So music was the centerpiece of our lives.
BB: You'll be performing at the Metropolitan Room on October 30th. What might audiences expect?
MM: I hope to do a few little surprises because this is going to be my third or fourth time at the Metropolitan Room. Cabaret audiences have really evolved and they have even more sophisticated tastes nowadays. I'll probably perform songs from Broadway shows and some things from the Great American Songbook. Maybe something by Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra or Streisand. Of course, I'll be singing songs from my own Broadway shows.
BB: And will you be singing "This Is It?"
MM: You know, we're getting several request for that song. So I'll consult with some people and, if we feel it's appropriate for the room, well do it.
BB: You've worked with so many great people throughout your career. Who were some of your favorites?
MM: Oh, so many, it's hard to think. I just worked with Jeanie Tracy, who worked with the late, great Sylvester. Recently sang with Jean Carne. So many wonderful voices!
BB: Anyone you've worked with, then thought, "Mmmm... Maybe not again?"
MM: You know, I'll work with anyone. We don't need to have an ideal relationship personally. I've had some bad experiences with promoters, but not talent. Even Anita Baker, who is known for being not easy to get along with. She was always nice to me. Maybe because I don't compete with other singers when I sing.
BB: I remember seeing you as a guest on Bea Arthur's variety special in 1980. What was it like working and singing with the late Ms Arthur?
MM: Oh, she was so sweet and kind to me. She also came from a stage background and had a really good voice. I enjoyed singing Fats Waller songs with her. A gentle lady and a kind spirit. And, of course, she was so tall and white and I am so short and dark, we made a good pair. I sang "Your Feets Too Big" to her. [laughs] And the costumes and gowns were to die for. It was great fun. Great, great fun! And everything on that show was top-notch: the production, the musicians. Rock Hudson was on that show too, and Wayland Flowers and Madame, his wonderful puppet. I had a ball!
Thanks to Ron Richardson, Bernie Furshpan and Sarah Dash for helping set up this Q&A.
Ellie Greenwich was born October 23, 1940 and died in 2009 of a heart attack due to complications from pneumonia, six years ago today, August 26, 1999. She was born in Brooklyn (isn't elmost everybody?) but, at age 10, moved with her family to Levittown, Long Island.
I grew up listening to Ellie's songs (written with then songwrting partner and hubby, Jeff Barry) on the radio on on my turntable. I loved these songs though, at the time, had no idea who wrote them. She and Barry frequently wrote for Phil Spector. She also recorded lead vocals as The Raindrops and as a solo artist. She and Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991.
I wore out most of the records on which she'd written the songs -- singles like "Be My Baby," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Maybe I Know," "Chapel of Love," "He's Got the Power" and "River Deep, Mountain High" to name but a few.
In 1983, Ellie wrote a hit single for Nona Hendryx, "Keep It Confidential." She followed that up with the song, "Right Track, Wrong Train." It was written specially for Cyndi Lauper, whose voice Ms Greenwich admired. It appeared on the B-side of the original "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" 45.
Shortly thereafter, Alan Pepper ~ my old boss at The Bottom Line, and all-around great guy ~ had a show created around Ellie's songs. Leader of the Pack was such a long-running hit at the club, it was brought to Broadway, featuring Darlene Love, Annie Golden and Ms Greenwich herself. I was lucky enough to see both versions.
RIP, Ellie (Eleanor) Greenwich. Your quintessential pop songs are forever in our hearts and on our "turntables," whatever media that is nowadays.
Sarah Dash's 70th birthday celebration at 54 Below was an epic luncheon that included a two-course meal, birthday cake, a cocktail named and surprise guest Nona Hendryx of Labelle and, prior to that, of Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles. It was three hours long -- but made us want even more!
A packed house turned out for the $100-per-seat affair. As for me, I ordered the poached eggs w/ chipotle hollandaise on grilled bread with spinach and a side of asparagus. I was seated with two very personable table companions, April Sette of the NJ Buzz Radio show and her friend Nancy Pertschuk, a professional shopper. I also saw friend/ musician Tracy Stark on my way into the club.
Sarah, like Pia Zadora, is a diva with her own drink. Pia has her Piatini, Sarah has her Sinner Man. I said no, I said no, I said no no no... but the cocktails kept coming. Four to be exact. Sinner Mans are prosecco with oj, honey syrup and grenadine. Yummy! I had coffee afterwards to help me get over them when the whipped cream-with-fruit cake slices came for dessert.
A Sinner Man
Best of all, however, was the entertainment. Melba Moore belted out a couple of her numbers, including "You Stepped Into My Life" and D-Train got the house up on its feet with his soulful hiNRG. The ladies from Chic (now known as Next Step) sang some '70s gold, including 'Le Freak,"I Want Your Love" and "Everybody Dance." I got to speak with Luci Matin, with whom I recently did a Q&A along with Alfa Anderson & Norma Jean Wright.
As For Nona, she praised her singing partner of many years but, unfortunately, had nothing prepared for singing. Understandable as she flew in from the West Coast at the last minute to be a part of this affair. Nona had some pretty funny things to say, like how she loved but hated Sarah for bringing her into the world of entertainment when she wanted to be a teacher.
Nona, Sarah and Melba. Photo by April Sette
Nona said, with a straight face, that Patti Labelle wanted to be at 54 Below but couldn't because she was in Maine, catching crabs. "No, really," Nona assured us, "That girl loves her crabs!"
When Sarah Dash took to the stage at the end of the show, she sang her ballad "Im Still Here" (not the song from Sondheim's Follies), "Sinner Man" with Ari Gold and a few other guests, and, finally -- of course -- "Lady Marmalade" with a host of friends. Sarah played her birthday wishes from Patti via cell phone, with Patti saying she was unable to come because she was catching crabs. Poor dear.
Sarah said she was proud to be a groundbreaker in her support for transgendered people and the LGBT community. We love her right back.
Ms Dash said she had a cold but was in fine voice as far as her sold-out crowd was concerned. We spoke briefly after the show. Sarah Dash is a great performer but, more importantly, a survivor, an inspiration, and a kind, sweet individual it is a privilege to know. Expect a Q&A shortly.
By the way, when I mentioned Piatinis, Sarah asked if it was good. I told her it was more potent than a Sinner Man and that one doesn't fall out of a golf cart and get a concussion without a few Piatinis under her belt. I love making a diva laugh out loud.
Here I sit, up late on a Friday night (Saturday morning, actually), in my Bay Ridge Fortress of Solitude. I don't believe I've shared this on my blog as of yet, but I've been down with a serious flu since January 31 and, consequently, not out and about much. Also, I have some serious Q&As pending that I am sure my readers will enjoy once they're in. At home, I am my own superhero and maybe I could be yours too.
And so, I apologize if everything is at a little bit of a standstill on this blog right now, but things should be back in order very soon, and I should be out and about during the upcoming week.
We surried down to a stoned soul picnic that was happening in Damrosch Park Saturday night. It was the free concert celebrating the music of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Laura Nyro and it was nothing short of magnificent at a compact 90-minutes. But what a tribute, what talent, what a dazzling experience of songs and voices!
We arrived an hour early for the event that officially kicked off at 6 pm so we could get choice seats. On my way back for a pino grigio at the concession stand, I ran into one of the back-up singers from Nona Hendryx's new album, Mutatis Mutandis, Kenyata Hawkins. She was quite sweet and demure. The last time I saw her, onstage at Nona's B.B. King's gig, she was decked out in hot pants and a tight white tank top. She informed me she helped write the album's stirring funk-disco "Mad As Hell," though she is noticeably not credited on the liner notes. No matter, she was there to support Nona.
The back-up singers on the park's stage, fronting a full orchestra, included back-up singers Ula Hedwig and Charlotte Crossley (two of Bette Midler's original Harlettes). Is there a hot gig in Manhattan at which Ula does not turn up as a back-up girl?
Songwriter, producer, musician, ex-member of The Young Rascals, Felix Caviliere, conducted and even performed "Blowin' Away." Mr Caviliere was the producer of Ms Nyro's Christmas and the Beads of Sweat album.
"They had voices then" is a message one might take away from this show's line-up of seasoned veterans, though it opened with relative newcomers, Jan Nigel & the Ebony Hillbillies who nicely presented Laura Nyro's classic, "And When I Die," and Kate Ferber who strongly put across "Stony End" with a lively arrangement.
But it was the seasoned diva superstars who really drove the musical legacy of Laura Nyro home for us.
Desmond Child & Rouge were a welcome sight (and sound) from halcyon days. Their extended version of "Eli's Coming" (a huge hit for Three Dog Night) was wonderful. Ms Nyro's son, known theatrically as Gil T, joined in during the bridge to do a rap that, unfortunately, seemed to add nothing to the number, aesthetically, and was off-topic as far as I could tell.
I was in college when the Gonna Take a Miracle album was released. As part of fulfilling her contract with Columbia records, Nyro put together an album of her favorite '60s pop tracks (including a forever haunting version of "The Bells") that has become a classic. At the time of its release, it largely received tepid reviews. At a party on campus, I overheard the album being dismissed by many as "decadent nostalgia" that was hoping to cash in on Bette Midler's then-trending reinvention of pop standards for a '70s rock'n'roll audience; something that rose up from the gay camp underground. Culturally, the '60s were just over and early-'70s music wanted to move in a different direction. Still, the album was then, and now remains, a favorite that spoke to me in a special way. It still does. Aching, haunting, soulful and dance-oriented; something new was being born from what was freshly old.
Columbia also brought in the group Labelle to do back-up for Ms Nyro. At the time, Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles were transforming into the glam-rock Labelle, to take flight after their work on this iconic album.
In concert, then, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx powerfully put across Nyro's arrangements on tracks like "I Met Him on a Sunday," "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," "Gonna Take a Miracle," and the "Monkey Time/Dancing in the Streets" medley that brought all of Damrosch Park to its collective feet, dancing in the park and clapping to the beat. It didn't matter what we wore just as long as we were there. And we were -- not just in body, but in heart, spirit and intellect. Unfortunately, Patti was not there as she has a lot of Lady Marmalade brand marinades to sell. It was irrelevant, as the diva combination of Dash & Hendryx already was through-the-roof sonically, their vocal power and soulfulness inspiring.
Tony award-winner Melba Moore established something of a comeback at this show, looking swell and svelte in black, and in great voice. She belted out "Time & Love," an L.N. song she'd recorded, and the popular "Wedding Bell Blues," shaking the stage rafters with her voice, and even returning for a series of bows while holding her exiting high note.
Melissa Manchester, Grammy winner and a recipient of last year's Bistro Awards, was a goddess in white as she danced across the stage to her piano and launched into "Save the Country," with such force and theatrical flare (not to mention excellent timing of the title message), it roused the crowd once more.
She concluded the show by singing "Stoned Soul Picnic," but not before talking about the influence of Laura Nyro on her own work. Manchester discussed Nyro's rich and inventive vocabulary.
"Anyone know what 'surry' means?" We all did, of course, in our souls. We were all connected in spirit. We were all, artists and audience, paying tribute to the legendary and unique Ms Laura Nyro. It was communion, it was perfection, it sent us into the streets with joy and hope.
I last saw Laura Nyro perform at The Bottom Line. A live recording was made from that show. I will never forget her. She led me, musically, through adolescence to young adulthood, and the concert was a peon to that voice, that uniqueness, that influence. Bless you, Laura, we were together to celebrate and remember.
Nona @ BB King's NYC, from my iPhone, photo by Jade Da Ru
The 68-year-old powerhouse known as Nona Henryx arrived, ultimately, onstage at BB King's in Times Square last night, giving a rousing and extremely energetic performance that not only had the crowd on its feet, but onstage with her as well. (See above.) She also proved, beyond doubt and in spandex, that she still has, beside one of the hottest voices, one of the hottest asses in all of show business.
It was the official release performance for her fantastic new album (the first in 20 years but worth the wait), Mutatis Mutandis, available on Amazon in the US and on Amazon UK.
She took to the stage in a black jacket with attached flounce skirt, only to unzip and doff it shortly into her set, revealing an amazing, gym-fit body in black spandex, tattoo-patterned black stockings and platform shoes. Attention divas of the day: this is how to look sexy without looking cheap.
Gitcha gitcha yaya, dada!
Somewhere along the way, I realize Nona has been a musical voice throughout my lifetime. She began as a Blubelle, one of Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles, a '60s girl group that transformed famously into the glam-rock/funk/disco group of Labelle. Their smash hit, "Lady Marmalade," remains one of the best remembered and loved songs of early disco.
Nona parted ways with the group and began an outstanding solo career, writing most of her songs, with a unique funk/soul/techno/disco fusion all her own. The integrity of that style, with additional flourishes, are on Mutatis Mutandis, I'm happy to report.
Requested to sing the Ellie Greenwich-penned "Keep It Confidential," a club hit for Nona, the diva responded by doing an improv abridged version, stepping offstage and walking through the front tables of the audience, accapella, with the crowd's in-time clapping as percussion with assist from the band and back-up girl riffs. Amazing live moment!
Her new album is quite political, with timely numbers on it like "Tea Party" and "The Ballad of Rush Limbaugh." She didn't do these onstage, however, but dived right into the big, splashy funk-disco of "Temple of Heaven," "Let's Give Love a Try" and "Mad As Hell," a politically tinged number you can dance to. Get your anger out your ass!
Nona's four-piece band was outstanding, as were the back-up vocalists. There was a man in black and two bodacious black girls in trashy tight, white tank tops and hot pants. Such were the costumes of the night but, boy, could they sing!
I love Nona's unique groove, so much more than the group Labelle could possibly ever handle. Her recent vocal evolution includes a rich falsetto breaking from her alto voice, put to good and charismatic use.
The diva did the rousing "Winds of Change" and "Transformatons" (bringing on rapper/singer Shane Rose to update the '80s dance hit). The new "Let's Give Love a Try" sequed fearlessly into "Take Me to the River" mid-way through. But her hit, "I Sweat (Going Through the Motions)" was the piece de resistance as she invited up audience members to dance behind her. Nona showed off her being game and open to anything that might happen here, especially. One queen tried to upstage Miss H on her stage, but she laughed and compared him to a member of the Cats chorus boys. Don't funk with the diva!
This impomptu chorus dance ultimately ended with the audience members turning around, backs to the still seated audience members, shaking their booties for a full minute at a time, along with Nona's, largely to comic effect. At this point, a good time was had by all and it signaled the end of the set.
Labelle Reunion
But Nona returned with even bigger and better for her encore. After a very Yoko-like, avant-garde rendition of "Strange Fruit," the Billie Holiday song (a track off Mutatis Mutandis), Nona invited up none other but the equally divine Sarah Dash! The two-thirds of LaBelle then beautifully shared the stage by belting out "Lady Marmalade" together. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2011/10/dash-it-all.html
We left BB King's elevated, wrung out, blissed out, very pleased and elevated in every way, onto hot, crowded 42nd Street. Welome back, Nona. Come back with your comeback soon!
[Opening act, Ryan Shaw, did a smooth soul set, in the solid tradition of Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross, for examples. His soulful cover of The Beatles' "Yesterday" was a true highlight.]
I have seen Nona Hendryx (ex of the fabulous '70s group Labelle and the '60s Patti Labelle & the Bluebells) many times as a solo artist, but not for quite a while now, and I've missed her. So, I am extremely excited to see this phenomenal, unique singer this coming Saturday at B.B. King's in NYC!
"Keep It Confidential" was written by the late Ellie Greenwich ("Leader of the Pack") and I love it for its soulful new-wave '80s disco stylings. The Hot Tracks extended mix is brilliantly executed and perfect for the dancefloor. This is one of those numbers you feel you want never to end.
