Selah // Something Witty

A package of sunshine and flower.

Date: 03.07.17 -- Day 27 (Day 7 of the 30-Day Blogging Challenge)
Music: "Pennies from Heaven" / Billie Holiday

Prompt: Talk Tuesday! - Which musicians, actors or athletes do you wish you could've seen perform live while they were still in their prime?

I grew up with loads of different types of music. My parents brought a lot to the table of my musical education, and I mean that quite literally! I was quizzed at times, at dinner. Who collaborated with what band during this time period? What song influenced this chart-topper? This album was drew from what genre of music? We moved quite a bit, so long car rides meant long playlists. My siblings and I were also required to talk music lessons for at two years to help with our musical knowledge. (Fun fact: I played the violin for four years, but never really played as well as I had hoped.)

There are so many people I wish I could have seen in their prime! I've written before about wanting to see Vivaldi Recomposed by Max Ritcher performed live. Anything with Yo-Yo Ma. It's such a lovely interruption of Vivaldi's work while encompassing the full range of emotions throughout the seasons. The blues and jazz greats - Big Mama Thornton, John Lee Hooker, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Chet Baker. The hard rock bands of the 70s like the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin. And the true funk masters Earth, Wind, & Fire, in their original formation. But the person I would have loved to have seen the most is Billie Holiday.

Billie Holiday was a fond favorite on my mother's old Victrola. When I was little, we used to dance around on her bed with feather boas, sometimes silly wide-brimmed hats, and sing along to Billie's beautifully deep voice. She was the first singer I ever cried to. And her singing only grew better with age. She lived a difficult life, and those hard times were hard on her vocal chords, but it was that life experience that gave her the depth that many others don't quote have. Her heartbreak, her wisdom, her struggles made her music all the more real. To see her performing live would have been a pure joy.

Luckily, athlete-wise, I was able to see Teemu Selanne skate during his last years before retiring. It would have been something to see him at the beginning, when he was first dubbed "The Finnish Flash". Actor-wise, there are several that I hope to see one day. As someone else mentioned, Sir Patrick Stewart or Sir Ian McKellan on stage would be something amazing in Shakespeare. Audra McDonald is really getting into her prime so to see her act would be lovely. There are really so, so many to choose from!