Candye Kane
I have always loved music. As a teenager I started to really relate to popular music from all eras and styles. My music collection began growing at a pretty fast rate...much to my Mother’s concern that ALL my money was going towards albums instead of savings! Sometimes I had to sneak home a new record so I wouldn’t get a lecture. Needless to say my music collection continued to expand and I became educated in many areas. I always dreamed of photographing album covers and with enough time I eventually did have the honor of taking many CD covers for artists like Smokey Robinson, Etta James, Bebe Buell and so many more!
This blog begins a three week, three part series featuring quotes from all the sensational singers I have featured from 2009 through 2011. This week will spotlight the artists from 2009.
When asked what her future goals included, Karina Nuvo said, “first to be happy in my life , sounds cliche' but I truly search for what makes me joyful and, next to my son, music does that for me, so if allowed, I would like to continue this journey I have started and create - sing and share the music I LOVE TO DO so much.”
Speaking about her musical influences, Jules Day said, “A lot of instrumentalists like Stan Getz, John Coltrane, horn players really inspire me, trumpet players like Chet Baker, as far as singers go, I like B.B. King, and other Blues Singers now. I take a little bit from everybody as far back as Billie Holiday to Bonnie Raitt today.
When I told Wanda Jackson she was ageless, she responded, “In that sense I am. The music has proven it, hasn’t it? If you get together with another person that likes the same music as you do, you have a friend and you can listen to music and talk all night.”
When asked about her wisdom Candye Kane told me, “I believe everyone has this thing inside them that they can draw on and capitalize on it when they really need it. We’re just all too busy looking for a quick fix and that will not help us.”
When I asked Gregg Allman how he avoided the drudgery of singing the same songs over and over on tour he told me, “You just get up there on stage every night and you think about last night and go, I think we can do better than that. You try to do it better. You don’t do the same songs in the same way two times or it becomes routine.”
Peggie Perkins on her musical experience, “From Rock & Roll, Hard Rock, Classic Rock, Doo Wop, Las Vegas Shows, Choirs, Standards, Jazz, R & B, and everything in between I have sung all styles of music in many parts of the US, Canada and Japan! I have been a live performer for over twenty years and 15 of those years were 6 nights a week! I love every single minute of it!”
Frank D’Rone just celebrated his 80th birthday, when we talked he told me about the earliest years of his life, “When I was three years old my Dad was taking me downtown and I saw a ukulele. I pointed to it and said I wanted it. He bought it for me. I learned to play ukulele by myself. So I realized that I had the gift of musical talent.”
Lulu Roman told me about a conversation she had with God, “I said, if you give me my kid, I won't do anything except what you want me to do. I've since discovered that God has a plan for us. I've been walking with the Lord for 36 years.”
Commenting on her early years with Motown, Thelma Houston told me, “I learned to work with a whole bunch of different producers. It was good to be with Motown because I came away with a Grammy and an international hit!”
Patrick Basile told me about singing the song ‘Cry Me A River’ associated more with a female singers, “It really is a song for a woman, but I knew that I could give it a "male" point of view. It is funny, both male and female listeners, love my version of that song, and the music video that was produced for it.”
Sheena Winchester told me the kind of voices she likes to listen to, “I love voices that have power at the bottom range as well as the top. There is a richness in the lower end that takes it up to the next level.”
Yvonne Elliman talking about her vocal qualities, “They say it is the tone of my voice. For years I didn't know what people liked about my voice. I don't have a huge range.”
The Singers Talk Part Two next week
