#bette Armstrong

[yourheartinyourmouth]

me listening to Mockery Manor for the 100th time: oh ho ho not quite Bette

[biwonderland98]

The Armstrong girls really need to get out of these goddamn theme parks

[deadflytrachea]

Ain’t it funny how I scare myself sometimes?

[incorrectbatfam]

The batfam as people I've encountered at concerts

Dick: the guy who brought a bunch of dollar store beach balls to toss into the crowd

Jason: the dude who shoved his way to the front of the pit just to flip off the security guards

Tim: the guy who "accidentally" spilled his drink on someone wearing a Republican shirt at a Green Day show

Damian: the little kid who really shouldn't have been there

Duke: the substitute guitarist who was just some mildly talented dude they picked from the audience

Cullen: Billie Joe Armstrong's Gen Z doppleganger

Stephanie: the girl that crowdsurfed five times in a row

Cassandra: the lady who bit someone in the armpit

Barbara: the woman whose friend bailed so she brought her Uber driver

Harper: whoever gave me a black eye while moshing

Carrie: the girl who brought a K-pop light stick to My Chemical Romance

Kate: the two 50-year-old roadies who have been to every Killers concert

Helena: the woman who dressed like the dancer in the music video for Helena by My Chemical Romance

Luke: the guy who somehow caught 3 drumsticks (??)

Bette: the two girls who drove 4 hours to see Fall Out Boy's opening act and left before Fall Out Boy came on

Alfred: New Found Glory. I met the band. It was dope

Selina: the lady who got in with a fake ticket

Bruce: the opening act's dad

[panoramicireland]

Red Sails in the Sunset, the famous song penned by Irishman Jimmy Kennedy in 1935 has been recorded by dozens of artists in its 89-year history including Bing Crosby, Vera Lynn, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Earl Grant, Fats Domino, Connie Francis, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Frank Patterson, Engelbert Humperdinck and most recently by Van Morrison. 

But Kennedy didn't just write this one well-known song, he also penned The Isle of Capri covered by Gracie Fields, Frank Sinatra, Frankie Laine, Fats Domino and Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney; South of the Border first recorded by Gene Autry and later covered by Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Patsy Cline, Mel Tormé, The Shadows, Dean Martin, Fats Domino, Herb Alpert, Bing Crosby (lol), Chuck Berry, Willie Nelson and Chris Isaak; Istanbul (Not Constantinople) covered by Frankie Vaughan, Bing Crosby (as if you had to ask), Bette Midler and perhaps most famously by They Might Be Giants; Teddy Bears' Picnic covered by, you guessed it, Bing Crosby again and so many others; and that Hokey Cokey (widely disputed), please don't!

[anonymouspuzzler]

Do you have like a family tree anywhere with all the characters listed n their names n stuff?? I'm super interested in that hehe

I haven't in part because I haven't decided everyone's names yet!! (& also some spoilers & stuff you know how it is). but the basics for you are...

1ST GEN ARMSTRONGS: Captain Armstrong (Buck & Leo's dad, Minnie's grandpa, deceased) & Lady Armstrong (Buck & Leo's mom, Minnie's grandma, whereabouts & status unknown)

2ND GEN ARMSTRONGS: Buck Armstrong AKA The Invincible Bulkhead (49 years old), Leo Armstrong AKA Captain Armstrong the second (45 years old)

MINNIE'S FAMILY: Leo Armstrong (dad), Betty Armstrong AKA Acro-Bette (mom, 35 years old), Minerva "Minnie" Armstrong AKA Last Nerve (13 years old)

THE VILLAIN-CODED HOUSEHOLD: Buck Armstrong, Davey [LAST NAME REDACTED] (46 years old), Minnie, Cookie The Rat (Is A Rat)

[demifiendrsa]

Primetime Emmy Awards 2023 winners:

Outstanding Drama Series: Succession

Outstanding Comedy Series: The Bear

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Sarah Snook, Succession

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Kieran Culkin, Succession

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series: Beef

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Ali Wong, Beef

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Steven Yeun, Beef

Outstanding Variety Special (Live): Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Mark Mylod, Succession

Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Lee Sung Jin, Beef

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Jesse Armstrong, Succession

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird

Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Lee Sung Jin, Beef

Outstanding Talk Series: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Outstanding Reality Competition Program: RuPaul's Drag Race

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Christopher Storer, The Bear

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Christopher Storer, The Bear

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie: Niecy Nash-Betts, Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story'

Outstanding Scripted Variety Series: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series:  Matthew Macfadyen, Succession

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series: Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series: Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series: Ayo Edebiri, The Bear

Governors Award: GLAAD

[byneddiedingo]

Dorothy Mackaill in Safe in Hell (William A. Wellman, 1931)

Cast: Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harolde, Morgan Wallace, John Wray, Ivan Simpson, Victor Varconi, Nina Mae McKinney, Charles Middleton, Clarence Muse, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Noble Johnson, Cecil Cunningham, George F. Marion. Screenplay: Joseph Jackson, Maude Fulton, based on a play by Houston Branch. Cinematography: Sidney Hickox. Art direction: Jack Okey. Film editing: Owen Marks. 

Seamy and salacious, Safe in Hell is sometimes cited as an example of what finally scared Hollywood into accepting the Production Code, except that you could hardly find a more conventionally moral fable than this tale of a call girl who gives up her sinful ways when her sailor comes back from sea and proposes marriage. Unfortunately, the man who done her wrong intervenes and Gilda (Dorothy Mackaill) is forced to flee to a Caribbean island populated mostly by men of the wrong sort. Still, she manages to hold on to her renewed virtue and rise to self-sacrificing heights at the end. Mackaill is terrific in the role, making me wonder why she's not well-known today. It's probably because most of her work was done in silent films and she was turning 30 when sound came in, putting her at a disadvantage against younger actresses like Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck when it came to landing lead roles. Director William A. Wellman had a steady hand with this kind of tough-edged melodrama, introducing touches of comedy like the crowd of lecherous barflies who live in the hotel Gilda moves into while waiting the return of Carl (Donald Cook), her sailor. When she moves into her room on the balcony at the top of the stairs, they turn around their chairs to face it, eager for whatever action may occur. They're not disappointed: Piet Van Saal (Ralf Harolde), the man she thought she killed, forcing her to flee to the island, turns up alive, and the island's lawman, its "jailer and executioner" in his words, the unsavory Mr. Bruno (Morgan Wallace), also takes an interest in her. It's a middling movie, mostly of historical interest, particularly in the appearance of two important Black actors, Clarence Muse and Nina Mae McKinney, in roles that don't call for them to kowtow too much to the whites or speak the standard dialect concocted for Black people in the movies. McKinney, best known today for her performance as Chick in King Vidor's Hallelujah (1929). gets to introduce the song "When It's Sleepy Time Down South," which became a jazz standard when Louis Armstrong popularized it. Muse, who plays a hotel porter, was one of its composers, along with Leon René and Otis René. 

[yourheartinyourmouth]

“he used to call me his little mamarracha, it means ‘cutie pie’ or something, i don’t speak spanish”

uhm bette you should look at a spanish english dictionary sometime

[prapasara]

 เพลงสากลที่นิยมเปิดในพิธีศพ

The Best Funeral Songs and Memorial Songs

Traditional Funeral Songs and Funeral Music

1) Amazing Grace – Traditional

2) Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler

3) His Eye is on the Sparrow – Mahalia Jackson

4) My Heart Will Go On – Celine Dion

5) Precious Lord, Take My Hand – Mahalia Jackson

6) You Raise Me Up – Josh Groban

7) I’ll Fly Away – Albert E. Brumley

8) The Rose – Bette Midler

9) As – Stevie Wonder

10) Angels – Robbie Williams

11) Going Up Yonder – Walter Hawkins

12) Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers

13) Oh Happy Day – Edwin Hawkins Singers

14) Candle in the Wind – Elton John

15) Total Praise – Richard Smallwood

16) Time to Say Goodbye – Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman

17) Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – Traditional

18) Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel

19) Lean on Me – Bill Withers

20) Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton

21) Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

22) Ave Maria – Franz Schubert

23) You Are Not Alone – Michael Jackson

24) Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley

25) I’ll Be There – The Jackson 5

26) I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston

27) Victory is Mine – Dorothy Norwood

28) Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – Monty Python

29) Soon and Very Soon – Andraé Crouch

30) Danny Boy – Traditional

 

31) Order My Steps – GMWA Women of Worship

32) The Prayer – Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli

33) Take Me to the King – Tamela Mann

34) When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – Traditional

35) I Need You to Survive – Hezekiah Walker and The Love Fellowship Choir

36) In the Arms of an Angel – Sarah McLachlan

37) We Fall Down – Donnie McClurkin

38) What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong

39) Stand – Donnie McClurkin

40) Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles

41) We Shall Overcome – Traditional

42) I’ll Be Missing You – Puff Daddy and Faith Evans

43) Lift Every Voice and Sing – James Weldon Johnson

44) Nearer My God to Thee – Traditional

45) I Am Not Forgotten – Israel Houghton

46) How Great Thou Art – Traditional

47) You’ll Never Walk Alone – Mahalia Jackson

48) The Sound of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel

49) He Has His Hands On You – Marvin Sapp

50) Auld Lang Syne – Traditional

51) Bridge Over Troubled Water – Aretha Franklin

52) Over the Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

53) Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens

54) A Time for Us – Nino Rota

55) Let It Be – The Beatles

56) Broken Halos – Chris Stapleton

57) Never Would Have Made It – Marvin Sapp

58) Don’t Cry for Me Argentina – Julie Covington

59) Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin

60) Old Rugged Cross – Traditional

61) Hold On – Yolanda Adams

62) The Way We Were – Barbra Streisand

63) You’ll Never Walk Alone – Gerry & The Pacemakers

64) His Strength is Perfect – Cece Winans

65) He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother – The Hollies

66) We’ll Meet Again – Vera Lynn

67) Keep On Movin’ – Soul II Soul

68) Love Me Tender – Elvis Presley

69) Oh How He Loves You and Me – Edwin Hawkins Singers

70) God Bless America – Irving Berlin

71) Memory – Barbra Streisand

72) Be Grateful – Walter Hawkins

73) Angels Among Us – Alabama

74) Amazing Grace – Aretha Franklin

75) My Way – Frank Sinatra

76) Stand By Me – Ben E. King

77) Hold On – Mighty Clouds of Joy

78) I Smile – Kirk Franklin

79) Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley

80) The Dance – Garth Brooks

81) You Are My Friend – Patti LaBelle

82) When the Saints Go Marching In – Traditional

83) On Eagle’s Wings – Michael Joncas

84) Angel – Sarah McLachlan

85) Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve

86) Ave Maria – Andrea Bocelli

87) The Lord is My Shepherd – Traditional

88) The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles

89) There You’ll Be – Faith Hill

90) Into the West – Annie Lennox

91) Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Bob Dylan

92) I Will Remember You – Sarah McLachlan

93) You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler

94) I’m Already There – Lonestar

95) When You Believe – Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey

96) Fields of Gold – Sting

97) He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones

98) If I Die Young – The Band Perry

99) Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) – Billy Joel

100) Always On My Mind – Ane Brun

101) Dancing in the Sky – Beverly Ann

102) Home – Aron Wright

103) Living Legend – Club Danger

104) Be Still – The Fray

105) I Shall Believe – Sheryl Crow

106) To Build a Home – The Cinematic Orchestra, Patrick Watson

107) Supermarket Flowers – Ed Sheeran

108) Future Days (Acoustic) – Eddie Vedder

109) Heart – Rainbow Kitten Surprise

110) See You Again – Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth

111) See You Again – Beth

112) These Are Days – 10,000 Maniacs

113) Wonderwall – Zella Day

114) Lay Me Down – Sam Smith

115) I Will Always Return – Bryan Adams

116) The Story – Brandi Carlile

117) Send Me On My Way – Rusted Root

118) When We Were Young – Adele

119) Amazing Grace (Chains Are Gone) – Pentatonix

120) Do You Remember – Jack Johnson

121) In Christ Alone – Christina Grimmie

122) When I Get Where I’m Going – Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton

123) I Will Follow You Into the Dark – Death Cab for Cutie

125) Proof of Your Love – King & Country

126) Home – Edith Whiskers

127) My Best Friend – Tim McGraw

128) Work Song – Hozier

129) Biscuits – Kacey Musgraves

130) Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

131) Waves – Imagine Dragons

132) I Lived – OneRepublic

133) 7 Years Old – Lukas Graham

134) Excavate – Macklemore, Saint Claire

135) Gonna Fly Now – Bill Conti 

136) Solsbury Hill – Peter Gabriel

137) Unforgettable – Nat King Cole

138) Yet – Nathan Morris

Christine Rose Photography / Moment via Getty Images

50 Songs to Play at a Funeral

Rock

1.    Tears In Heaven – Eric Clapton

2.    Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd

3.    Babe I’m Gonna Leave You – Led Zeppelin

4.    Scream – Chris Cornell

5.    My City of Ruins – Bruce Springsteen

6.    November Rain – Guns N’ Roses

7.    Hallelujah – Bon Jovi

8.    Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin

9.    I’ll Back You Up – Dave Matthews Band

10.  Man of the Hour – Pearl Jam

Alternative Rock

1.    Surround You – Echosmith

2.    The Trapeze Swinger – Iron & Wine

3.    Heartbeats – Jose Gonzalez

4.    Blood – The Middle East

5.    The Funeral – Band of Horses

6.    Awake My Soul – Mumford & Sons

7.    While We Were Dreaming – Pink Mountaintops

8.    Higher Love – James Vincent McMorrow

9.    The Night We Met – Lord Huron

10.  Twenty Years – Augustana

Pop

1.    Supermarket Flowers – Ed Sheeran

2.    Breathe Me – Sia

3.    Fix You – Coldplay

4.    See You Again –Charlie Puth

5.    Somewhere Over The Rainbow -  Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (and other artists)

6.    I’ll Be Missing You – P. Diddy & Faith Evans

7.    Angel – Sarah McLachlan

8.    Angles – Robbie Williams

9.    Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol

10.  Gone, Gone, Gone – Phillip Phillips

Classics

1.    Take Me Home – John Denver

2.    Yesterday – The Beatles

3.    My Way – Frank Sinatra

4.    You’ll Never Walk Alone – Gerry & The Pacemakers

5.    Turn Turn Turn – The Byrds

6.    Always On My Mind – Elvis

7.    Amazing Grace – Celtic Women

8.    In My Life – The Beatles

9.    Imagine – John Lennon

10.  Heaven Can Wait – Meatloaf

Country

1.    If I Die Young – The Band Perry

2.    Go Rest High On That Mountain – Vince Gill

3.    Angels Among Us – Alabama

4.    If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away – Justin Moore

5.    I Drive Your Truck – Lee Brice

6.    Drink a Beer – Luke Bryan

7.    Who You’d Be Today – Kenny Chesney

8.    One Hell of an Amen – Brantley Gilbert

9.    If You’re Reading This – Tim McGraw

10.  See You Again – Carrie Underwood

nikkytok / iStock via Getty Images

Funeral music  ,  Funeral   ,   Popular music for funerals   ,  Traditional Funeral Songs and Funeral Music  ,   Funeral Music   ,    Popular Songs for Funerals  ,   Funeral Services

CR   ::   https://gather.app/blog/funeral-songs-list/  ,  https://www.funeralmatters.com/blog/Article/25/50-Songs-to-Play-at-a-Funeral

[pixiestix05]

the coastal grandmother aesthetic

The coastal grandmother aesthetic, term coined by TikToker Lexi Nicoleta, is one of the many niche aesthetics making its rounds of the internet right now- and my personal favorite. It represents a life spent valuing the little things, romanticized by the image of a slow-paced, quaint, seaside summer. A coastal grandma is typically an affluent older woman, a confident, lives-life-on-her-own-terms sort of person enjoying a slower summer by the coast before she returns to her busy urban worklife. The aesthetic is defined by comfy-chic clothing, knickknacks reminiscent of the ocean, and an emphasis on a life well lived.

Of course, it isn’t a necessity to be a grandmother or live in a quaint beach town to embody this aesthetic- at its essence, the coastal grandma aesthetic is all about romanticizing everyday life, breezy, chic clothing and a relaxed small-town vibe

Here’s how you can embrace the coastal grandma in you!

ACCESSORIES: delicate gold jewelry, sunglasses, sunhats, straw tote bags, hair scarfs

FOODS: freshly picked fruit, homemade sandwiches, lemonade

ACTIVITIES: long walks on pretty streets, cooking with ingredients from the garden, beach picnics, book club with friends, thrifting quaint knickknacks

MUSIC: a good playlist sets the mood! Consider the below songs your soundtrack to a coastal grandma summer:

Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin

Feeling Good by Michael Buble

La vie en Rose by Elaine Paige

Girl from Ipanema by Esther Phillips

Under the Boardwalk by The Drifters

Do you Wanna Dance by Bette Middler

Blue Skies by Ella Fitzgerald

Come Away with Me by Norah Jones

Summertime by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald

The Writer by Elle Goulding

Carolina by Taylor Swift

Flowers in Your Hair by the Lumineers

Starting over by Chris Stapleton

[sporadiceagleheart]

Rest in peace Those Who died deserves this honor of their names that's why this is Thursday edit April 18th to remember the legacy of the Angels that died Jesus healed them and they went on to heaven home in the sky

Rebecca Jeanne Riley, Sally Ann Chesebro, Jane Eilish Preston January 3, 2017 - October 3, 2020, Calla Adelaide Andrus, Gabrielle Renae “Gabby” Barrett, Lauren Victoria “Tori” Windsor Whetzel, Gabrielly “Gabi” Magalhães de Souza, Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Terence Pinder the 18 year old that was shot and killed in 1800 block of Hicks Street, Star Hobson, Saffie-Rose Brenda Roussos, Lily Peters, Olivia Pratt Korbel, Elizabeth Shelley, Sara Sharif, Charlotte Figi, Jersey Dianne Bridgeman, Charlotte Bacon, Charlotte Louise Dunn, Emily Grace Jones, Ava Jordan Wood, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Emilie Parker, Jackie Cazares, Makenna Lee Elrod, Eliahna Torres, Nevaeh Bravo, Layla Salazar, Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, Jailah Nicole Silguero, Bianca Devins, Catherine Violet Hubbard, Taylor Jean Moore, Destiny Norton, Destiny Riekeberg, JonBenèt Ramsey, Kelly Ann Fleming, Judith and Maria Barsi, Heather Michele O'Rourke, Lucille Ricksen, Indie Rose Armstrong, Rachel Joy Scott, Skylar Annette "Sky " Neese, Tristyn Bailey, Olivia Dahl, Lily Rose Diaz, Riley Faith Steep, Rylie Nicholls, Ava Martin White, James Bulger, Amerie Jo Garza, Maite Rodriguez, Alexandria Rubio, Joan of Arc, Jimmy the Crow, Dickey Betts, Kinsleigh Welty, Gracie Perry Watson, Inez Clarke Briggs, Annie Kerr Aiken, Grace Budd, Sloan Mattingly, Audrii Cunningham, Happy Birthday Isabella Nardoni, Bella Claire Callaway, Calla Adelaide Woods, Rose Pizem, Riley Ann Sawyers, Riley Ann Fox, Anne and Margot Frank, Shan'ann, Bella&CeCe, Lallie Charles, Isobel Elsom, Jordan Rosales, Jeremiah, Ava Cole Nichols, Pauline Adelaar and Peter Fuchs, Anna D. Crnkovic, Irmgard Christine Winter, Olga Chardymova, Eliza Adalynn Moore, Lois Janes, Louis XVII, Sarah Payne, Alicia Lynn Clark, Mercedes Losoya, Norah Lee Howard, Sandra Cantu, Jessica Lunsford, Sierra Lynn Newbold, Samantha Bree Runnion, Samantha Davis, Dr. Jeremy and Avielle Richman, Beatriz Mota, Danielle Van Dam, Baby LeRoy, Shirley Temple and more kids

[captainclickycat]

Bette Armstrong gleefully shouting “VAGINA” at a moment where most shows would have cut the character off at that point made me spray my coffee all over the place

[missellafitz]

**The concert dates for this Caesars Palace engagement were June 6-18, 1974, which begs the question, why did this take place on the 19th? Was Frank doing an additional show without Ella? How was she a surprise? Was the show itself a surprise? Love the possessive pronoun of "my" though, hehe.

Also, this engagement apparently brought Frank out of retirement and was the catalyst for "The Concert" that he, Ella, and Basie had at the Uris Theater in NYC the next year. One thing I'll say is that Frank LOVED to sing with Ella, so maybe she really was enough to bring him back to the stage.

A Secret Caesars Palace Trove Captures Sinatra, Ella and Scores of Others, Unaware

By Anna Wilde Mathews Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

March 19, 2001 12:01 am ET

LAS VEGAS -- On June 19, 1974, Frank Sinatra took the stage at Caesars Palace. Backed by the Count Basie Orchestra, he delivered a set of standards before telling the audience, "Surprise! My girl's gonna sing for you." On that cue, Ella Fitzgerald joined him for a rollicking duet of "The Lady Is a Tramp." The two traded lines and improvised harmonies, punctuated by Mr. Sinatra's exhortation: "Swing, baby!"

It was a special evening, even by the lofty standards of the Caesars showroom, then a premier venue for the biggest names in entertainment. But the two singers themselves probably weren't aware of one thing that made their performance exceptional: Every note was captured by a reel-to-reel tape recorder wired directly into the Caesars sound system.

It was only one of scores of acts recorded in secret over a quarter of a century at Caesars Palace -- a playlist that includes Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Sarah Vaughan and dozens of other show-business luminaries.

Behind it all was Dave Rogers, the longtime sound engineer at the hotel and casino's 1,000-seat Circus Maximus showroom. Mr. Rogers stored the tapes at home, keepsakes that he occasionally played for the memories.

Then, in 1998, he died, and the tapes were in the hands of his stepson, Gilbert Cebollero, a former craps dealer who set out to turn them into a profitable endeavor. Since then, Mr. Cebollero has managed to strike an unlikely deal with a fledgling company backed by television impresario Norman Lear to release the material on compact discs and, possibly, over the Web. Already, singer Andy Williams and the estates of Mr. Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. have tentatively agreed to participate, and the first CD is in the works.

The obstacles are big, however, and many of the recordings may never reach a mass audience. Mr. Lear's company, Neon Tonic, is still struggling to secure release rights from many of the artists, their estates or their record labels -- which have been surprised to learn of the tapes and aren't all eager to strike a deal. Some of the artists worry that their performances may not be good enough for public consumption.

Yet the tapes themselves aren't the typical muffled bootlegs. Mr. Rogers created recordings of startling clarity, often with nearly commercial sound quality. And the collection is more than just live music; it is an unedited record of Vegas culture in its heyday. As the curtain falls on Mr. Sinatra's duet with Ms. Fitzgerald, a microphone picks up his parting remark: "OK, baby, the bar's open." On another tape, a disoriented Judy Garland stumbles off-key through "Over the Rainbow." Moments like those may never make it to record stores, but if Mr. Lear and his partners succeed, many hours of unique recorded entertainment will.

In 1966, when Andy Williams performed on opening night at the new casino and its showroom, the venue was among the most glamorous in the world. The hotel feted its first visitors with two tons of filet mignon, 300 pounds of crab and 50,000 glasses of champagne.

Mr. Rogers helped build the sound system that was used on that first evening. A veteran engineer at the Flamingo and the Sands, Mr. Rogers had moved over to Caesars about a month before the opening. For much of the next quarter of a century, he could be found in an open booth suspended above the rear of the Circus Maximus. There, he twiddled dials on the soundboard to ensure that the mix was clean and balanced. He almost never missed a night. "His home was Caesars," says Donovan Belian, a son of Mr. Rogers who is now a carpenter in Las Vegas.

A constant tinkerer, Mr. Rogers worked hard to please the most finicky artists. He built an echo chamber under the stage to add depth to performers' tone. As a special favor, he once set up a VCR in Mr. Sinatra's hotel room.

Such services put Mr. Rogers on a first-name basis with many stars. He collected autographed pictures from the likes of Raquel Welch and Burt Bacharach. One of his backstage photos shows Bill Cosby arm-in-arm with Sammy Davis Jr., who is wearing a "Caesars Sound Crew" T-shirt. In another, Mr. Rogers hugs a smiling Nancy Sinatra. The pictures weren't his only souvenirs. A pack rat, he also filled a wooden locker backstage with old tools and gadgets, and at home collected discarded televisions, radios and other electronic debris.

Then there is the stash of Caesars recordings, made from the showroom's soundboard over a period stretching from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. Mr. Rogers kept the reels and cassettes in his workshop at home and occasionally listened to them while he puttered around, his stepson Mr. Cebollero says.

The taping may have begun as a way for the sound engineer to catch technical mistakes and thus hone his craft, says Mr. Rogers's daughter Suzynne Fowler. Michael Rogers, the sound engineer's oldest son, says, "I think he wanted to record his history, and maybe even the industry's history." The younger Mr. Rogers, now a Las Vegas theatrical electrician, worked at Caesars with his father in the mid-1970s.

Dave Rogers took a leave of absence in 1994 as he battled liver disease brought on by years of diabetes. He never returned to work. In January 1998, he died at age 66. A brief obituary published in local newspapers noted his National Guard service and his membership in the theatrical stage employee union. It gave his occupation as "director of sound in the entertainment industry."

In all, Mr. Rogers had captured hundreds of hours of concerts and comedy by well over 100 performers. Upon his death, it all ended up with Mr. Cebollero.

The Balloon Drop

Mr. Cebollero's mother, Elba, had met Mr. Rogers, who was already divorced with four children, while she was working at the Caesars front desk. The two married in 1970. As a teenager, Mr. Cebollero hung out backstage at Caesars while his stepfather worked. He recalls New Year's celebrations when his stepfather let him release the flood of balloons above the Caesars audience.

https://archive.ph/s1csZ/edae5250cb4b4f7d6decc057a4570949fecb8ae5.gif

Through the 1970s and '80s, Mr. Cebollero bounced around Las Vegas as a bellboy, a stagehand and eventually a craps dealer at various casinos. More recently, he has worked as a residential real-estate agent. By the time his stepfather died, Mr. Cebollero faced a federal tax lien of more than $19,000, which he says was related to a dispute over tip income from his casino days. The lien was lifted in 2000; Mr. Cebollero says he took care of it with a reduced payment.

Mr. Cebollero says he was motivated to turn the tapes into a business in order to preserve his stepfather's work, not to pay a tax bill. In the past, "I never applied myself," he says. "But I plan to now."

Today, Mr. Cebollero, 43 years old and never married, lives with his mother in the modest two-story white stucco house Mr. Rogers had built for the family in the mid-1970s. Over the door hangs a small sign: "Mi casa es su casa." In the basement and in a shipping container in the backyard, he keeps all the things his stepfather hoarded over the years. "Everything they were throwing out, he'd bring home," Mr. Cebollero says.

His mother wouldn't comment for this article. Nor would his sister, Lorraine. Stepbrothers Mr. Belian and Michael Rogers say they support Mr. Cebollero's efforts. Ms. Fowler declines to comment, saying she doesn't know the details of her stepbrother's plans. Stepsister Trish Elliott says she "has no problem" with Mr. Cebollero's efforts.

Mr. Cebollero used an address for Nancy Sinatra obtained through a Web site to send her a compilation of Sinatra snippets from the Caesars tapes. But he sent it under the name of a friend, keeping his own identity secret: "I didn't know what kind of feedback I would get," he says.

His efforts drew the attention of Robert Finkelstein, a longtime Sinatra family attorney who represents the music-rights companies controlled by the singer's children. Mr. Finkelstein says the Sinatra estate had no knowledge of the recordings before hearing from Mr. Cebollero in 1998.

Threat of Litigation

After several months, negotiations over the rights to the Sinatra tapes stalled. Neither party will specify the terms Mr. Cebollero sought. Mr. Finkelstein then fired off a letter threatening to sue, arguing that the recordings were illegal, unauthorized bootlegs. "If someone says to you they possess tapes of your recordings, your initial reaction is, 'You have no right to those,' " he says. "That can be resolved either by litigation or by compromise."

But Mr. Finkelstein also explained the situation to longtime acquaintance Hal Gaba, chief executive of Act III Communications, a media holding company of which Mr. Lear is chairman. A jazz buff, Mr. Gaba already ran a side business distributing videos of performances by Mr. Sinatra and others, and Act III was negotiating to purchase the Concord jazz record label. He immediately saw the potential of the Caesars tapes. With Mr. Finkelstein's knowledge, Mr. Gaba contacted Mr. Cebollero.

Messrs. Gaba and Lear had already been noodling around with the idea of a music Web site that would reach jazz fans all over the world. The recordings, they figured, could provide a one-of-a-kind draw to the site. "I had this fantasy of this little guy in this obscure corner of Caesars Palace," says Mr. Lear.

In early 1999, Mr. Gaba began traveling to Las Vegas to meet with Mr. Cebollero, first over lunch at a Caesars coffee shop, and later at the home Mr. Cebollero shares with his mother. There, Mr. Gaba was ushered into a dark basement cluttered with dusty equipment, including an old Caesars soundboard and a pile of black-painted floorboards from the original showroom stage. During hours of reminiscing about oldtime Vegas, Mr. Cebollero played samples from the tapes.

Over the next few weeks, Mr. Gaba and Mr. Cebollero pinned down details of a tentative deal. Mr. Gaba would see to the daunting task of securing legal clearances from artists and record labels. Mr. Cebollero would receive royalty payments. Neither side will disclose terms.

Mr. Cebollero also insisted that he retain possession of the original tapes. "It's sentimental," he says. "My dad's handwriting is on it." And he wanted his stepfather credited on the CD packaging.

A Five-Hour Trek

More troublesome, he wouldn't let the fragile recordings out of his sight even for an overnight shipment. So starting in the summer of 1999, he and a friend drove five hours from Las Vegas every couple of weeks to deliver boxes of tapes to a recording studio in the San Fernando Valley home of a producer who works with Mr. Gaba.

Initially, Mr. Cebollero refused to leave the house while the producer and another sound engineer transferred the recordings from the original analog tapes to digital tape. Later, the music was put on computer, and song by song, they smoothed out distortions and toned down extraneous noises -- the foot-tapping of a Count Basie Orchestra musician, for example.

Many of the tapes were dusty or moldy, and a few were so brittle that they broke. Some of the older ones needed a special player obtained from a used-equipment dealer. Many had only fragmentary, hand-scrawled labels, or weren't identified at all. Clues such as a reference to Watergate helped pinpoint performance dates.

The sound quality of the Caesars tapes is nonetheless impressive. Band members can be heard laughing quietly at a headliner's jokes. Comments never meant for an audience also come through clearly. When Mr. Sinatra turned to quietly thank the band after a rendition of "My Kind of Town," he added, "Sang my d--- off that time!" Then he told the audience, "I just had an intimate discussion with the gentlemen of the orchestra which cannot be repeated."

The engineers also had to make sense of a jumbled archive. A single shipment contained a 1991 routine by comedian Joan Rivers; a 1972 show by singing duo Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme; and a 1988 Red Skelton performance. Another tape in the batch came with a label that read only, "Thunder and Cow." It turned out to contain a series of moos and booms apparently meant for sound effects.

In the same shipment, Mr. Cebollero brought a vintage Sammy Davis set from Halloween 1981. It opens with the Basie orchestra swinging through "Sweet Georgia Brown." Then Mr. Davis delivers several of his standards, such as "Teach Me Tonight," along with some classic Vegas stage patter. "You're looking at the only black actor who wasn't in 'Roots,' 1 or 2," he says at one point. Later, he jokes: "I can't help it if I'm short! If I had any real class, I'd be in a bell tower someplace, saying 'The plane, boss, the plane!' "

By last fall, nearly 500 hours of concert tape had been digitized. Mr. Cebollero was now flying the tapes over from Las Vegas, though he still didn't want to check them as luggage. Mr. Gaba and Mr. Lear, meanwhile, were putting together their start-up in a Beverly Hills office lined with posters of "All in the Family" and other Lear television shows.

Calling on friends and their own resources, they raised about $3 million in seed money. The new company began a months-long process of building a Web site and picking a name and logo. Eventually, Neon Tonic beat options like "Gigolution" and "Shanghai Lobster" because, company executives thought, it suggested a sophisticated music club.

Mr. Gaba began trying to resolve the tangled legal questions surrounding the tapes' past, starting early last year with Caesars' parent company, Park Place Entertainment Corp. Mr. Cebollero insists that his stepfather never tried to conceal his taping from the performers or his bosses. "It wasn't like it was hidden," he says.

But Caesars executives say they weren't aware of the tapes before Mr. Gaba contacted them. Tom Pilkington, once Mr. Rogers's boss at Caesars and now a vice president with Park Place, says he had "no clue" that his employee was keeping a collection of such recordings. "It wasn't a policy of the hotel" to regularly record and archive shows, he says. He does remember Mr. Rogers making some tapes for performers' personal use, at their request. Generally, acts that played Caesars had contracts that explicitly banned recordings.

Still, Park Place decided to work with Mr. Gaba. The hospitality firm agreed to sell compact discs containing the showroom tapes and to allow the start-up to use the Caesars name in packaging and marketing the CDs. The Neon Tonic CDs would first be sold exclusively through Park Place retail outlets, then distributed more widely by Concord Records, the jazz label Mr. Gaba and Mr. Lear had bought. But the deal was contingent on Mr. Gaba's securing legal clearances from artists and others with rights to the recordings.

For help, Mr. Gaba looked to Mr. Finkelstein, who had been named to Neon Tonic's board. Together, he and Mr. Gaba crafted a tentative agreement to allow use of the Sinatra material. Then Mr. Finkelstein reached out to others who manage the rights to some of the other big acts Mr. Rogers had taped.

Jeff Lotman, who runs a marketing company that represents the work of Sammy Davis Jr. and others, says he was surprised when Mr. Finkelstein called him and told him of the tapes. But he liked the offer: The Davis estate would get a stake in Neon Tonic, as well as royalties from recording sales. "Our clients are not making new movies, so anything we can do to raise the awareness is obviously a good thing," says Mr. Lotman, whose company is called Global Icons LLC. Mr. Davis's widow, Altovise, agreed to participate.

Mr. Gaba personally courted Andy Williams, a longtime acquaintance, at the Grill, a Beverly Hills power-lunch venue. Mr. Williams, who became a Caesars regular after performing the hotel's first show, says, "I never knew they were recording me." When he found out that several of his shows had been taped, "I felt an invasion, a little bit, of privacy."

A tape of a June 10, 1969, show finds Mr. Williams performing a lush, brass-backed "Moon River," along with a medley from the musical "Hair." The show includes an appearance by a very young Jimmy Osmond, who delivers a squeaky "I Dig Rock 'n' Roll Music." Between songs, Mr. Williams warns: "I think I ought to tell you the truth -- I'm a swinger!"

Mr. Williams agreed to sign on as an investor, with veto power over recordings of his own performances.

Neon Tonic has offered other artists veto power, as well as royalties based on album sales. Some also have been offered stakes in the new company. The company says it is close to signing agreements with several, whom it declines to name. One problem: The Sinatra estate wants the original tapes of Mr. Sinatra that Mr. Cebollero now holds. Until the two sides agree to terms, none of the Sinatra material from Mr. Rogers's recordings is likely to be released.

Some of Mr. Rogers's recordings probably won't ever reach the public. Jeffrey Berkowitz, an attorney who represents Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft, says the singer's children wouldn't want "to have poor-quality stuff released" and are "more concerned about protecting the name and image of their mother" than anything else.

During an undated Garland show that Mr. Rogers recorded, the singer leaves the stage soon after the start, telling the audience, "I'll be back in a minute." Later, in the middle of "That's Entertainment," she stumbles on a line. Then, as the band plays on, she interjects, "There are too damn many words in this song. I'm sure that someone from either Warner Brothers or MGM wrote the lyrics."

Retreat From the Web

The Web downturn has altered Neon Tonic's plans. Just days before a test launch of the Web site in late January, Mr. Gaba decided to delay it indefinitely. For now, Neon Tonic will focus on the CDs.

The first disc, a compilation of individual tracks from several artists' performances, is tentatively scheduled for summer release. It isn't yet clear how many artists will be on it. Mr. Sinatra's duet with Ms. Fitzgerald probably won't be, though Neon Tonic hopes to include it in a later CD. Remarks Mr. Rogers taped that obviously weren't intended for an audience -- including Mr. Sinatra's risque private remark to his band -- probably won't make it to disc.

A Neon Tonic executive says the liner notes are likely to acknowledge Mr. Rogers in some way. As for the tapes, Mr. Cebollero hasn't told even his partners where he keeps them.

Last September, the Circus Maximus showroom closed forever with a performance by Steve and Eydie. It has since been leveled. Park Place is considering building a larger showroom at the hotel. A company spokeswoman won't comment on the type of entertainment it might provide. The hotel still has a sound engineer on staff. He works part time, mainly to handle special events.

[garudabluffs]

Ella Fitzgerald’s collaborations with jazz’s greatest instrumentalists, including Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, remain some of her most popular works.

How Ella Fitzgerald inspires today’s artists JUNE 06,2024

Nearly thirty years after the influential jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald’s death, her legacy and influence remain strong.

Two recent books are inspired by her story. A biography, “Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song,” and the novel, “Ella.”

Ella Fitzgerald’s singing career began at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York City in 1934. When she was 17 years old, she performed the song “Judy” at Amateur Night. She won the contest.

Over the course of her career, Ella gained fame for transforming jazz vocals with her trademark scatting. She remade the Great American Songbook in her voice by recording versions of legendary classics by the Gershwins and others.

Who was Ella Fitzgerald? How did she influence jazz? And what can we learn from her incredible life story? 

GUESTS :

Diane Richards author, “Ella”; singer

Judith Tick author, “Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song”

LISTEN 46:17 https://the1a.org/segments/how-ella-fitzgerald-inspires-todays-artist

Ella Fitzgerald, Berlin, 1968: The Art of Subversive Improvistion

At a little-known concert from Berlin (West Germany) in 1968, the great jazz artist Ella Fitzgerald communicated many complex cultural and political messages through her brilliant interpretations of American popular songs. The evening at the Deutschlandhalle was broadcast on German television but never commercially released

Now, YouTube uploads have made this concert available and this will be used by Prof. Tick to present a historically informed and biographically grounded case study of African American musical practices in tandem with social change through Fitzgerald’s stunning ten-minute improvisation on ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You‘.

“Soulsville,” she announces, readying her audience for her subversive version of Ray Charles’s megahit. Through ‘signifying’ or satirizing the lyrics, quoting other songs – Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect‘ floats by – and simulating a gospel trance for autobiographical word-play, Fitzgerald makes a proto-feminist statement on gender relations. Improvisation subverts the retro-lyrics offering ‘to live in misery of the lonesome kind‘: how ‘in sync’ Fitzgerald proves herself to be with 1968, a year of revolution in Europe and the United States.

Fitzgerald made two recordings of this song but nothing matched this Berlin moment, prescient with identity politics made memorable through the risky business of jazz freedom.

On request this concert of Ella Fitzgerald in Germany ( Berlin ) 1968 with the Tee Carson trio . T Carson Piano Keter Betts Bass Joe Harris Drums . Enjoy The first Lady Of Jazz .

177 Comments "at 41:10 onwards @ 48:37!" & "Oscar Peterson w/Herb Ellis & Ray Brown & Ella joined later in a 1958 Recording in Amsterdam."

+ Playlist: 00:00 - It’s All Right with Me 02:55 -Medley of three songs: Blues Skies (2:55),On a Clear Day (3:35), A Foggy Day (5:22) [short excerpt], return to On a Clear Day (5:45) 07:29 - Medley of two songs: Music to Watch Girls By (7:29), Happy Talk (9:23) [short excerpt], return to Music to Watch Girls By (9:49) 11:15 - Sweet Georgia Brown 14:28 - For Once in My Life 19:03 - One Note Samba (scat singing) 22:35 - Let’s Fall in Love (trio feature) 29:39 - Summertime 33:26 - Grooving High (scat singing) 38:30 - A-Tisket A-Tasket 40:50 - I Can’t Stop Loving You, with brief references to several other songs, among them: I Got a Woman (46:34), Well Alright, Okay, You Win (47:22), I Can't Get Started (47:31),Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man (48:07).