IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS: September 24

Today is quite a special day.  32 years ago, a young man was born and is now embarking on a writing career.  As with most artistic careers, it has been a bumpy road but still creatively satisfying.  For today, I want to share with you, my readers, a very special Birthday blogpost.  I want to dedicate this post to all the special people who were born on this day.  Below, I have listed 25 amazing, important, influential and dynamic people who each contributed something to the world in their own way (be it through the arts, entertainment, sports, politics or anything else!).  So let us see which people (besides yours truly!) have helped make September 24 a very special day.

BORN ON

John Marshall (1755-1835): The longest serving Chief Justice in U.S. Supreme Court history was one of the leading Federalists in the early 19th Century.

Franklin Clarence Mars (1883-1934): Founder of the prominent candy company Mars Inc., along with his son created the timeless candy classic M&M's.

Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929): The "Father of the Texas Blues" influenced blues legends from Robert Johnson to B. B. King.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940): One of America's most celebrated writers lives on through his works, especially his most enduring: The Great Gatsby.

Audra Lindley (1918-1997): Best known as Mrs. Roper from Three's Company, one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1970s.

Jim McKay (1921-2008): For over 30 years, he hosted ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as hosted 12 Olympic Games and many other sports (ranging from the Kentucky Derby to the Indy 500!).

Theresa Merritt (1924-1998): This lovable character actress of Stage, TV and Film is perhaps best known for her title role on the 1970s cult series That's My Mama!

Sheila MacRae (1924): Actress and singer who was married to the late Gordon MacRae and (most famously) played the role of Honeymooners' Alice Kramden on Jackie Gleason's late '60s variety show.

Anthony Newley (1931-1999): British actor, singer-songwriter and all-around performer is best known for is work in films like David Lean's Oliver Twist and the 1967 Doctor Dolittle as well as his songs for Goldfinger, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and the Broadway hit Stop the World-I Want to Get Off!

Chick Willis (1934): A controversial jazz & blues singer who started by working for his famous singer-cousin Chuck Willis.

Jim Henson (1936-1990): One of the most influential creative minds of all-time (jn my humble opinion!) made millions of people happy with his Muppet creations especially the lovable Kermit the Frog.

Linda McCartney (1941-1998): She served as Paul McCartney's muse, especially during his Wings period, and we are all thankful that she made him "Amazed."

Lou Dobbs (1945): The former CNN anchor who now works for the FOX Business network worked as CNN's money and business reporter since its inception in 1980  but left in 2009 due to issues stemming from his conservative-leaning political beliefs.

Joe Greene (1946): Known to the world as "Mean" Joe Green, the retired Pittsburgh Steeler is now best remembered for a famed 1980 Coca-Cola commercial.

Gordon Clapp (1948): Emmy Award-winning character actor for his work on the landmark ABC series NYPD Blue also received a Tony nod for his work in the 2005 revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross.

Phil Hartman (1948-1998): The famed Saturday Night Live comic actor who also did brilliant work on shows like The Simpsons and NewsRadio was sadly murdered by his wife who then killed herself.

Kevin Sorbo (1958): He started as a model, jumped to acting in the late 1980s (auditioning for the leads on Lois & Clark and The X-Files) and got his big break as TV's Hercules on the cult favorite Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

Steve Whitmire (1959): This protege of Jim Henson was the Henson family's choice to take over the role of Kermit the Frog upon Jim Henson's death in 1990 and he has performed him ever since.

John Logan (1961): This Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated playwright/screenwriter has worked on several critically-acclaimed films (like Gladiator, The Aviator, Sweeney Todd, Rango, Hugo and the upcoming Bond film Skyfall).

Nia Vardalos (1962): She let us into a little bit of her life and family with her hilarious one-woman show turned hit romantic comedy movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Rafael Palmeiro (1964): He was a popular left fielder for teams like the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles until it was discovered in 2005 that he tested positive for steroids, pretty much ending his baseball career.

Robert Irvine (1965): The Food Network chef/host has an abrasive and honest style that serves him well when helping restaurants turn their business around on his popular shows Dinner: Impossible, Restaurant: Impossible and Worst Cooks in America.

Stephanie McMahon (1976): Daughter of the famed Vince McMahon, who owns the Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment company, has made a name for herself as a wrestler and dominant "McMahon" personality.

Morgan and Paul Hamm (1982): The twin American gymnasts who made names for themselves during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens where they (along with the US Men's team) won a Silver medal and Paul earned the All-Around Gold medal (despite some controversy).

10 FAVORITES (54): Happy Birthday, Lord Lloyd Webber!

What does the Bible, Argentina, a Hollywood studio, a Parisian Opera House and the London back alleys all have in common?  They each serve as the settings for some of the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Lord Lloyd Webber is celebrating his 64th birthday today (coincidentally he shares his birthday with another Broadway musical legend, Stephen Sondheim, who turns 82 today!).  For over 40 years, Lloyd Webber's musicals have thrilled audiences, broken box-office records and reshaped the musical theatre landscape.  His legend has been fully cemented especially with two new revivals of his earliest hits (Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita) opening on Broadway within the next month and the most financially successful musical of all-time now celebrating its 26th year on the London stage (Phantom's 25th anniversary on Broadway will occur in January of next year!).  His sumptuous and epic musical scores have won Tonys, Grammys and even an Oscar.  But what are the songs of his that this "Broadway Baby" will treasure most.  So, in honor of Lord Lloyd Webber's birthday, this week's 10 FAVORITES are devoted to the best songs the man composed for some of the world's most famous musicals.

THE 10 BEST 

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER 

SONGS

SONG #10
An Unexpected Song
from Song and Dance or Tell Me On a Sunday
Original Lyrics by Don Black
Additional Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr.
Originally written for the one-act musical Tell Me On a Sunday, when that show was combined with a balletic second act to create the 1986 Broadway hit Song and Dance (featuring a stellar Tony-winning performance from Bernadette Peters).  The stand-out song from the show was this charming number that has since become a popular audition song for almost every young female aspiring to stage greatness.  But of course, all these young women take their cues from the phenomenal Ms. Peters (see below!).

SONG #9
All I Ask of You
from The Phantom of the Opera
Lyrics by Charles Hart
Additional Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe
Arguably one of Lloyd Webber's most romantic songs ever written, its sweeping melody moves the audiences to tears towards the end of the first act of the gothic musical romance.  The song has become a standard at most weddings (especially ones where the brides have dragged their fiancee to a performance of Phantom!).

SONG #8
Love Changes Everything
from Aspects of Love
Lyrics by Don Black & Charles Hart
Not many shows open with a powerhouse ballad, but in Aspects of Love Lloyd Webber took a chance.  While the show was not his most successful critically (not many of his shows are exactly beloved by the critics), this song was a popular hit and launched leading man Michael Ball into super stardom in the United Kingdom.

SONG #7
Buenos Aires
from Evita
Lyrics by Tim Rice
What I've always loved about this song is the mix of rock rhythms and latin-style dance music combined with the forceful attitude of the character of young Eva Peron.  She stands there when she enters the Argentinian metropolis and (while enthralled by what she sees) she is not intimidated to tell the world what to expect from her.  It doesn't hurt that the original Broadway production had a powerhouse performance from the amazing Patti LuPone (below!).

SONG #6
Memory
from Cats
Lyrics by Trevor Nunn (adapted from T. S. Eliot)
Every time I've talked with people about this musical, they always ask me "Why the hell did a show about kitty cats run so long on Broadway!?!"  There are lots of reasons why the show was so popular (so many to mention here really!).  One of those reasons though was this extremely popular power ballad that became the show's signature tune.  Who knew that kitties could have powerful emotions!?!

SONG #5
I Don't Know How To Love Him
from Jesus Christ Superstar
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Back in 1970, this was one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's first #1 hits.  Inspired by legendary rock albums by The Who and Led Zeppelin, Lloyd Webber and writing partner Tim Rice released Jesus Christ Superstar as a concept album hoping it would be successful enough to warrant a musical production.  Thanks to hit singles like this one (not to mention the title number!), the show opened on Broadway, opened in London  and had a feature film version all within a matter of 3 years.

SONG #4
As If We Never Said Goodbye
from Sunset Boulevard
Lyrics by Don Black
Additional Lyrics by Christopher Hampton
While Sunset Boulevard is not among Lloyd Webber's shining successes (the multi-million dollar original London and Broadway productions lost most of their original investments), this emotionally charged second-act "aria" gives the actress playing Norma Desmond a chance for a true tour-de-force performance.  The sweeping melody and the lyrical poetry make for brilliant speech by someone who has felt so alone, but now has a chance at returning to her former glory.  Just watch Glenn Close below in her Tony-winning triumph.

SONG #3
The Phantom of the Opera
from The Phantom of the Opera
Lyrics by Charles Hart
Additional Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe
When it comes to Broadway title tunes, this rock-influenced powerhouse ranks among the best (right up there with Oklahoma!, Hello, Dolly! and The Sound of Music).  There are several things I love about this number. One of the things is the minute I hear that drum-beat intro, I'm immediately taken back to the first time I saw this show and this musical sequence.  When the Phantom takes Christine to his underground lair, the stage production goes all out in wowing audiences with rising candelabras, swirling mists and a moving boat.  Combine all that with the thrilling final seconds of the song when Christine reaches high E's in her vocalizing, it makes for a memorable musical number.

SONG #2
Don't Cry For Me Argentina
from Evita
Lyrics by Tim Rice
This song doesn't really need a lot of explanation.  It is a powerful and very emotional song that epitomizes the love Eva Peron had for her people (more importantly the power they could give her!).  The melody is moving and Tim Rice's lyrics are the perfect mix of poetry and politics.  Get a great performer like Patti LuPone or original London star Elaine Paige (below) to sing it and you've got a Grammy-winning hit.

AND...
SONG #1
The Music of the Night
from The Phantom of the Opera
Lyrics by Charles Hart
Additional Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe
This goes on my list as one of my favorite Broadway songs of All-Time.  It goes up there with songs by the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, George Gershwin and Irving Berlin.  When I first saw Phantom of the Opera almost 20 years ago, I remember this song just moving me to tears (which was a complete turnaround as I had just been wowed by the phenomenal staging of the title number!).  With this song you hear the Phantom's lonliness and his heartbreak, but you also hear the beauty and the passion with which he floods his soul with his art and his music.  It is a hauntingly beautiful song that celebrates the thing that brings us all together: music.