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April
21, 2011 - And still, once again, remember to always Keep A Song of Joy Inside Your Heart. !!!!!!! September 13, 2010 - “TENNILLE SINGS BIG BAND” CONCERT IN PRESCOTT COMING UP!!! | UPDATE ON DARYL’S HEALTH - “ SINGS BIG BAND” CONCERT IN PRESCOTT COMING UP - My big band concert here in Prescott is less than two weeks away! The concert has been sold out for quite a while, and I feel terrible when people ask me about tickets and I have to tell them there are none to be had. We did no advertising for the show. The local newspaper, the Prescott Courier, did a story about the concert a week before the tickets went on sale in May, and all of the tickets sold rather quickly on word-of-mouth. - I have been spending the last 3 1/2 months choosing the songs, and putting together a FANTASTIC group of musicians for the band. Those of you who are long-time fans will remember Rusty Higgins, who joined Captain and Tennille in 1979, and then went on to conduct symphony orchestras and big bands for me for 20+ years. He will be here to conduct. - Scott Lavender, who was keyboard player and pianist for Captain and Tennille for many years, and who has been my symphony and big band piano accompanist on many occasions, will be here also. He has been music director and accompanist for Johnny Mathis for at least a decade, but Johnny is not performing on the weekend of my concert, so Scott was able to come to Prescott to accompany me on piano. - C&T fans will remember our terrific drummer, Kevin “The Kid” Winard. He will be back behind the drums, kicking the big band with his usual authority and verve. - We will have beautiful lighting, courtesy of Greg, Danny and the wonderful staff at Yavapai College Performance Hall, and great sound thanks to Spike, of Sound on Site here in Prescott, in collaboration with Danny at YCPH. - I am thrilled to announce that my long-time symphony and big band arranger, Sammy Nestico, will be in the audience for the concert with his beautiful wife Shirley, and his grandson. He has written a brand new opening number for me just for this occasion.... a swinging version of Hank Williams’ HEY GOOD LOOKIN’. I’ll be singing it for the very first time in this show. - Our long-time Personal Assistant, Becky Greenlaw, has done a terrific job of handling all of the logistics for the concert.... a very, very tough and time-consuming job, which she is accomplishing with her usual expertise and thoroughness. I simply would never do a concert without her. - My dear friends and neighbors here in Prescott, Kathy, Carol and Penny, along with Angie and John, are handling many tasks for the show... such as driving musicians to and from rehearsal and the concert, handing out programs (the hall doesn’t provide people to do that for “renters”, although they DO provide ushers), dog wrangling (you’ll understand when you see the concert), backstage security help, etc. - Oh....and we will be offering no longer available (but timeless) CDs for sale at very affordable prices in the lobby. There will be two of my big band CDs and the 6-CD boxed set of C&T albums. UPDATE ON DARYL'S HEALTH - There is only one thing that has not worked out the way I had hoped. Daryl told me this morning that he is not up to performing the three C&T songs I had hoped he could do. Many of you know he is dealing with a neurological condition (not Parkinsons, but something similar) that causes him to have tremors...pretty severe at times.... that interfere with his ability to play keyboards. Some days he does pretty well.... other days his playing is severely compromised. His condition is exascerbated by any kind of stress, and worrying about his ability to play has made his condition worse. Also, his sister, Carmen, passed away recently, and he is trying to deal with that loss in his own way. I hope all of you understand that he would be there if he could, but it isn’t possible this time. Maybe next year. - Until then, Keep A Song of Joy Inside Your Heart. May 11 , 2010 WHAT A HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!! | SEPTEMBER BIG BAND CONCERT UPDATE - WHAT A HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!! - 
On May 8th, the morning of my 70th birthday, I drifted up from a lovely dream, cozily wrapped in the arms of my husband of 35+ years. The day could not have been more beautiful. It was the kind of morning where you wake up full of joy and grateful for being alive. The first thing my dear Captain said to me was.... ”Are you awake?” I snuggled down even more, relishing the warmth and comfort of the cozy bed. “Huh?”, I mumbled. “I have a birthday card for you,” he said. “Oh, how sweet,” I said, still only half awake. Then he reached over to his nightstand and handed me an envelope . “Can you see it? Do you need glasses?” he asked. “NOPE!!!!” I said, smiling, “ I can see just fine!” - Daryl and I have a tradition of giving each other birthday cards the moment we wake up. The cards are usually store-bought, but we always write a special note inside. I must say that this was the sweetest note he has ever written to me! I think I’ll have it framed! - That was just the beginning of what would turn out to be a perfect birthday. Daryl planned and hosted a birthday dinner for me with a few close women friends and my youngest sister Melissa who was able to drive over from southern California for my “special day”. The dinner was held at a romantic gourmet restaurant called THE ROSE in downtown Prescott. He wore his Captain’s hat and looked quite handsome. He was the ONLY man there! At his request, the table was decorated with beautiful pink roses, with pink and orange balloons arranged about the room. The restaurant even printed up a special birthday menu for me. I was so proud of Daryl! . . . 
He even paid the bill, with
a limited amount of moaning and eye-rolling at the expense, with his
own credit card! That card hasn’t seen the
light of day in YEARS!!!!- I want to make sure to thank all of you who took the time to email birthday wishes to me! It was so heartwarming to read your kind words. You know, even if I wanted to let my 70th birthday slip away unnoticed, many of the newspapers and magazines still print it each year, so I still receive emails and ecards from our fans, and it is a joy to read them. - I have to say that I have never been happier in my life. I never thought that, at 70 years of age, I would have such a happy and fulfilling life. I don’t really know what I thought it would be like, except 70 sounded pretty darned OLD. But, surprise! Other than the fact that my body occasionally reminds me I’m not 30 anymore (especially after running Smoky in agility trials), I’m feeling great! I have a wonderful husband, four beautiful and accomplished sisters that I love, and many, many dear friends. And yes, I have “gone to the dogs.” Smoky, my Australian Shepherd Therapy Dog partner, and I visit patients and families at the local hospital every week. He and I were also on hand at the regional Special Olympics a few weeks ago to offer friendly support to the athletes and their families. Starting in June, we will again visit children every other week in Sedona at the Kids and Kritters Day Camp at the beautiful Humane Society facility there. - I am also proud of Daryl for the way he is coping with his Parkinson’s. His attitude is wonderful and getting better all the time. He exercises at the gym three days a week and walks every day... often with Smoky and me. He practices his keyboards every day, and thinks he will be ready to do a C&T song or two with me during my big band concert this September. - SEPTEMBER BIG BAND CONCERT UPDATE - Speaking of my September Big Band concert..... tickets went on sale yesterday, the morning of May 10th. As of 4:30 PM we had sold half the house! I was totally surprised, but so pleased. The Yavapai College Performing Hall is a beautiful 1100 seat theatre, and there are really no bad seats in the house. If you are thinking of getting tickets and haven’t done so yet, you should probably do so soon. I’m hoping that everyone who wants a ticket will be able to get one. Probably the best way to order tickets is through tickets.com. They take orders 24 hours a day. You can also order by phone through the Yavapai College Performance Hall Box Office Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM.... or you can go there in person on Thursdays and Fridays. - Once again, thank you all so much for your birthday wishes. It could not have been a more perfect day to turn 70! Until next time, Keep A Song of Joy Inside Your Heart. - [ Birthday Photos above, courtesy of Kathy Bryan, Prescott, AZ ] April 3, 2010 WE HAVE A CONCERT DATE!!!!! | WILL DARYL BE APPEARING? - I am very happy to officially announce that I will be performing a Big Band concert here in Prescott this fall. The concert will be held at 7:30 PM on Saturday night, September 25th at Yavapai College Performance Hall. Tickets will go on sale Monday, May 10th. - As many of you already know, for the past two years I have donated my performance to the Prescott Jazz Summit to help raise money for young musicians. I did this to help out the brilliant musician who created the Jazz Summit, Mike Vax. Mike was lead trumpet with the legendary Stan Kenton Orchestra and is a music educator. He now leads the Kenton Alumni band, which tours all over the country. - However, I was never really comfortable in a pure Jazz setting, since I am definitely NOT a "jazz singer" or "jazz singer-II". If I had to categorize myself, I'd say I am a "pop" singer who is comfortable in several pop genres. Most of you also know that I have had a "side career" singing the great American standards of the '30s and '40s with symphonies and big bands and have recorded several CDs in that mode. - Last year's big band concert for the Jazz Summit was so much fun for me, and the audience seemed to love it.... especially when Daryl strolled out on stage at the end and said, "Prescott" ('Press-kitt'). He brought the house down with just that word (after I had been singing for at least 75 minutes!!!). - Although last year's concert at the 700 seat Ruth Street Theatre here in Prescott was wonderfully well received, I was very uncomfortable with several technical aspects of the concert over which I had absolutely no control..... things like sound, lighting, ticket sales and audience seating. Reportedly, the concert was oversold by about 200 seats. My friends had to go into classrooms to find seats for people, and some people had to listen to the concert in the lobby since there was no room in the theatre. There were no assigned seats so it was first come first served. Frankly, if the Fire Marshall had been there, I believe he would have shut us down. - I really can't stand this kind of situation for my audiences. Daryl and I discussed last year's concert over the next several months. I so wanted to do it again, but I didn't want to go through the same kind of situation for another concert. - I started to talk to Daryl about whether or not it would be possible for us to produce a concert this year by ourselves. That would mean that we would be able to control all aspects of the presentation. It would also mean that we would be "gambling" with a great deal of money. The expenses involved in the show of this type, with 16 top flight musicians (salary, travel, hotel, etc), sound, lighting, rental of Yavapai College Performance Hall and all of its facilities, event insurance, ticket and program printing, advertising, would all fall on us. - Our wonderful Personal Assistant, Becky Greenlaw, crunched all the numbers for us, factoring in all of the expenses that we would and might encounter. One of my main requirements was that ticket prices MUST be as low as possible so people in this economy could afford it. Once again, I will NOT receive any payment for my performance. This will be our gift to the Prescott community, and it will be flat out fun for me! I love to sing, and don't get to do it very often any more. - Becky determined that if we sold out the Yavapai College Performance Hall (1100 seats at ticket prices of $40 for the front row and $35/$30 for the remaining seats) we would be able to cover all of our expenses. - Daryl and I decided to go for it! - The show will consist of wonderful songs written by legendary American composers such as Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, George Gershwin, Sammy Cahn.... and many more, with arrangements by the GREAT Sammy Nestico and terrific Matt Catingub. WILL DARYL BE APPEARING? - Now....as to Daryl's possible participation. I have asked him (actually he volunteered) to join me towards the end of the show to do two or three C&T songs with me. However, most of you know that he is dealing with Parkinsons Disease, and we'll have to just see how he feels on September 25th. Although the disease is causing hand tremors, some rigidity in his left hand, and some difficulty walking, he tells me he can still play, and practices every day. So.... I cannot PROMISE that you will see Daryl onstage.... BUT, I'd say is it a good possibility. - What I hope those of you who come to the concert will experience is an evening of musical joy... some nostalgia perhaps.... a few songs about the folly of love, the sadness love can occasionally bring, the true joy of real love... and some SWINGING big band charts! I hope you leave the concert hall with great big smiles on your faces! - Hope to see you there! Here is ticket information.
March 7, 2010 - RACING TOWARDS SEVENTY | WHAT MY PRESCOTT FRIENDS HAVE TAUGHT ME | UPDATE ON DARYL | POSSIBLE FALL CONCERT IN PRESCOTT | -
I
lived in the rarified and often superficial air of show biz and
fairly wealthy people for many years. My new friends have reminded
me how "regular" people live..... how they budget and
deal with health care issues... how they share what they have with
each other..... how they come to each other's aid in tough times.
These are the people who make up the majority of our great country.
I was one of them until Daryl and I had our first hit. We were lucky
enough to have success in the music business, which was very good
for us financially. But is very truly wonderful to be reminded of
the reality most people experience. Jan.
01, 2010
..
but in any case - - always continue to ..... Keep
A Song of Joy Inside Your Heart. - |
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