Stephen Sondheim - "Six Ladies in Red"

So, it’s been six months without posting my song of the day. I am sorry to have left you in the lurch for so long.

After 13 years of posting songs of the day every weekday, I needed a little break to realign myself with the passion to do so. When I started creating these posts they were often silly, sometimes informative, and always meant to bring a little joy and/or human connection to the world. Over time, they became a bit wrote or repetitive, possibly even stale, and eventually felt like something I was obligated to do, rather than something I was excited to do.

Thus, a six month break to make sure that this was still the proper outlet for this particular creative endeavor. I’ve come back around to the realization, that even small connections matter. Especially after two years of not truly being able to connect physically in the way we have previously, some of these small human moments are necessary.

So, they are returning just in time for my annual holiday list of music which starts in December.

However, the real reason I’m picking this back up today, is because I feel that it would be remiss of me not to post about the legend that we lost this weekend, Stephen Sondheim. For years he has been the gold standard for composers and lyricists. He took over for giants like Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Bernstein. His talent was immeasurable, but more so, was his ability to craft music and lyric that examined the human soul, the human experience, the human heart; the entire messy production of being a human.

Somehow, Stephen found a universal connection to an entire world through focusing on the tiny details that are at once specific and universal to life as a human being. He was a master of his craft, and his gift is that his music will be sung and performed for decades to come because genius like that is eternal.

I am overwhelmed with sadness and gratitude.
Thank you Stephen, thank you so very much.

So, today, with gratitude and grief, I choose “Six Ladies in Red” a Concert in Tribute to Stephen Sondheim from 2010, with performers Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Bernadette Peters, and Elaine Stritch singing "Ladies Who Lunch" (Patti LuPone), "Losing My Mind" (Marin Mazzie), "The Glamorous Life" (Audra McDonald), "Could I Leave You?" (Donna Murphy), "Not a Day Goes By" (Bernadette Peters), and "I'm Still Here" (Elaine Stritch), as my, live the best life you can, choose joy, choose gratitude, song for a, thank you, sing out, sing me to heaven, Monday.