"The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" - Walt Disney (1946)

One of the greatest things about the old cartoons was that they opened up different avenues of entertainment for millions of kids. As a matter of fact, most kids of my generation were probably first exposed to the classics through cartoons such as this one by Disney from 1946.

The plot is fairly simple; a sailor has brought home stories of a singing whale named Willie, which nobody believes. Professors are called in to study the mammal, and all agree that he has swallowed a man. But when he begins to harmonize with himself in several voices, they are all stumped.

A seagull is dispatched to ascertain the validity of the story, and when it is revealed to be the truth, the Captain sets out to capture Willie. He has dreams of making the whale a star, as well of his own grandeur. In his mind Willie will travel the world, singing opera on stage, and making the Captain rich.

But, in his quest for fame and fortune he kills the whale, ending his own dreams. But Willie goes on to sing forever in the depths of the sea. There are something’s in nature that can never be captured, or caged.

Beautifully directed by Directed by Clyde Geronimi and Hamilton Luske, this cartoon has Nelson Eddy performing all of the singing. This is a wonderful introduction, for children of all ages, to the world of Opera.

"Going My Way" with Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald (1944)

I'm not in the best if shape to really read right now, what with this lump on my head, so I'll be doing movies for the next few days while I get back to normal, whatever that is. Luckily for me, the Mooreville Public Library has outdone itself this year with their acquisition of some of my favorite classic movies. This one turned up just the other day; you can tell by the marking on the cover that it was just purchased in the last few weeks. I used to watch this every Christmas when I had a larger VCR collection. When I made the switch to DVD I found it too cumbersome to change from one format another every time I was watching something, so a lot of those tapes were given away. And sometimes it's just plain fun to run across an old favorite unexpectedly, rather than have it at your disposal constantly. Somehow it loses value when it can be taken for granted. I suppose that’s true of most things.

At any rate, this one was a sheer delight to watch again. Briefly, Bing Crosby, playing Father O'Malley, comes to the aging parish of Saint Dominic's, which has been the domain of the aging Parish Priest Father Fitzgibbon, played by Barry Fitzgerald in his unique and mischievous way. Unknown to the elder Priest, Father O'Malley is there to replace him. But who would break this old man's heart with the news? His life, after all, has been spent in this one Parish, where he is known, and loved, by all.

Through a series of mishaps, Father O'Malley manages to get off to a bad start with some of the local parishioners, but manages to strike a chord with some of the neighborhood roughnecks. The Parish is in an impoverished area of the city, which makes it all the more challenging for Father O'Malley, while Father Fitzgibbon has grown a bit too "long in the tooth" to be completely effective.

The church is in debt and in threat of foreclosure if it cannot meet its financial obligations. The same bank also owns the tenements which exist in the neighborhood. At the same time in which the owner is evicting one of the tenants; an old woman with no visible means of support; the owner's son is becoming romantically involved with a young woman, Carol James, played by Jean Heather, who aspires to become a singer. He has even installed her in an apartment in the same building in which the destitute old woman lives. This sparks a scandal, which must be handled by the irrepressible Father O'Malley.

O'Malley is no stranger to love, having once been in love with opera star Genevieve Linden, played wonderfully by real life opera star Rise Stevens. Their reunion scene; and her part in helping Father O'Malley with the children; form some of the more poignant parts of the film.



While attempting to navigate this veritable mine field, O'Malley, with the help of a fellow Priest named Father O'Dowd, played by Frank McHugh, manage to help Father Fitzgibbon overcome a fire at St. Dominic's, while quietly engineering a re-union of the old man and his mother, a woman of 90 who still resides in Ireland. They also find the time to form some of the local kids into a Boys’ Choir with the help of Ms. Stevens. When Christmas Eve arrives , and the Boys’ Choir is performing, Father Fitzgibbon is re-united with his aging mother on Christmas Eve, bringing this movie to a beautiful finish, and leaving the viewer a bit misty eyed in the process.

"I Feel Good" by James Brown

To put it quite simply, James Brown was to music as Muhammad Ali was to boxing; that is to say that they both changed all the rules, resulting in a more equitable share of the profits generated by their efforts. Prior to these two men of color, African-American artists, and boxers, were routinely "ripped off" by their managers, as well as the media who exploited them.

His early life consisted of virtually no formal education, yet he had a vision of the sound he wanted to achieve. Teaming up with Bobby Byrd, he altered the course of R&B forever, while at the same time giving birth to "Soul" Music. He is, of course, known as the "Godfather of Soul", as well as the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business". Just You Tube "Please, Please, Please" sometime and watch this man work his incredible talent. Few people realize that James Brown could play several instruments, arrange and even conduct his own music when necessary. The result was always staggering.

After only a brief stint as a member of the Flames, Mr. Brown took over the group, in the same way that Chuck Berry took over Johnnie Johnson's band. It wasn't sinister, they simply were the best front men for those bands.

When Boston was about to erupt into violence, on the evening of Martin Luther King's assassination, it was James Brown who quelled the riot. Using only words, he was able to turn an angry mob at his show, who were being harassed by the police for climbing on the stage to touch him, back into an audience. This video shows part of that concert, with the action described here taking place between 1:58 and 3:40 into the video. This man commanded "respect", and got it, too!



In May of 2002 he teamed up with Luciano Pavarotti and performed "It's a Man's World" at the Opera House in Modena, Italy. Pavarotti sang, using his famous voice, in a stunning counterpoint to Mr. Brown's. He even sang a completely different melody, though I do not know the name of the song which he used. The effect is amazing. You can watch it here with the translation;



Although his later years were shadowed by drug use, including the infamous 2 state, crack fueled police chase, James Brown was the man. This book takes the reader on a lifes journey in the author's own words, including his views on race and politics. In the book, just as in life, James Brown gives it his all, holding nothing back.