A Week of Anniversaries

Noting that this week has anniversaries, a combination of births and deaths of people in music and politics, I cite the following five because they stood out in my mind as being worthy of this one blog topic thanks to timing.


Brenda Russell
The sublime songwriter and singer Brenda Russell turns 70. She was born April 8, 1949, in Brooklyn, New York. Russell’s career took off more in the late-1970s, with her 1979 self-titled album including “In the Thick of It,” “A Little Bit of Love,” “So Good, So Right,” “Way Back When” and, later as a 1985 hit for Luther Vandross, “If Only for One Night.” Russell received a 1988 Grammy nomination in the key category Song of Year, awarded to the songwriters, for her haunting pop hit “Piano in the Dark.” (Video of that recording, which was on Billboard’s Top 10 Pop Chart, follows.) An excellent songwriter, a strong singer, this surprisingly underappreciated talent was nominated for five Grammy Awards as well as a 2006 Tony for Best Original Score for the stage-musical adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film, which was an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple.

Laura Nyro
The groundbreaking songwriter, not quite as well-received as a singer, wrote late-1960s and early-1970s hits for other musicians. Among them: “And When I Die,” which she sold to Peter, Paul & Mary, who were first to record it, and was best-remembered as a late-1968 hit for Blood Sweat & Tears; “Wedding Bell Blues,” a hit for Fifth Dimension; “Stoney End,” recorded by several artists, including Nyro, was mostly remembered in 1970 by Barbra Streisand. Nyro’s albums included More Than a New Discovery (1967), Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968), New York Tendaberry (1969) and, from the late-1970s, Smile (1976). An intriguing and striking achievement was Nyro collaborating with Labelle—which were Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash—on Gonna Take a Miracle (1971), with the four performing with a sound of classic soul with the likes of “I Met Him on a Sunday,” “Jimmy Mack,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” and, of course, “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle.” Laura Nyro was born October 18, 1947, in New York, New York, and died from ovarian cancer, at age 49, on April 8, 1997, in Danbury, Connecticut. (The following video is her June 17, 1967 performance, at age 19, at the Monterey Pop Festival in Monterey, California.)

Phil Ochs
It was 43 years ago that Phil Ochs (December 19, 1940–April 9, 1976), the folk singer and songwriter, died. (Source: Wikipedia — Phil Ochs.) Ochs’s “Love Me, I’m a Liberal” is a fantastic commentary on the hypocrisy of left-wingers who wear their hearts on their sleeves and give a good deal of lip service—yet, when it comes to time to stand up, not only do they refuse but they also betray their allies to their left. (The following is a video tribute to that great song which is as fresh here in 2019 as it was with its original release in 1966.)

Franklin Roosevelt
On April 12, 1945, the 32nd president of the United States Frankin Roosevelt died. (Source: Wikipedia — Franklin Roosevelt.) So, this year marks the 74th anniversary of the death of who is, arguably, the greatest president in United States history. Next year will be the 75th anniversary. Roosevelt, born January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, won all four of his elections (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944) in landslides with electoral-vote scores north of 400. The only Democratic president, after Roosevelt, who achieved that was Lyndon Johnson with his full-term election in 1964. A revered Ken Burns documentary on The Roosevelts, which originally broadcast on PBS in 2014, is available on both Blu-ray and DVD. (The following video, from C–Span, in 2013, is of Franklin Roosevelt’s first inauguration and speech.)

Tulsi Gabbard
The U.S. Representative from Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, and a 2020 candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States, Tulsi Gabbard was born April 12, 1981, in Leloaloa, American Samoa. She turns 38. Given the fact that we have been following progressive politics, there is no need for me to write more, with this birthday mention, on Gabbard. It is pretty interesting timing. (Source: Wikipedia — Tulsi Gabbard.) Gabbard is a very important person in U.S. politics. As I mentioned, in a previous blog topic, only two 2020 Democratic candidates have the ability to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. president Donald Trump. One is Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. The other is Tulsi Gabbard. (The following video is her February 4, 2019 presidential candidacy speech.) So, Happy Birthday to Tulsi Gabbard!