On this week's edition of Mark Steyn on the Town Mark celebrates the great Josephine Baker and observes the International Day of Human Space Flight with Nat King Cole, Linda Ronstadt's nephews, and a totally spaced-out Sinatra. He also remembers an old friend and colleague, Serenade's mid-morning man Dick Fisher, who died last weekend.
To listen to the programme, simply click here and log-in.
~Thank you for your kind comments about last week's edition. Michael Smith, a Maryland member of The Mark Steyn Club, sums up the show:
Thank you Mark for this lovely show. Eliot was wrong, March not April is the cruelest month.
Someday let's have an hour of 'I'll Remember April' sung by Willie Nelson, Marc Anthony and other tax, uh, rebels.
April, a First Hour Founding Member from Illinois, took it personally:
I often dream of April in Paris (or Spain!) but I'm still here in Illinois, dammit. Sorry, couldn't help myself.
I'd forgotten the Spike Jones take on April showers. Thanks for this birthday gift because that's what I'm calling it.
Happy birthday, April. First Month Founding Member Anne Kearney says:
Wonderful show as always, Mark! What a shockingly horrible rendition of My Man by Peggy Lee! LOL what were they thinking?! She could've been great at it. For the first and probably only time in my life, I have to say Barbra Streisand did it so well, bite my tongue. Has she left the USA yet? One can only hope.
Mary Martin, wow. I haven't really appreciated her, being not so well acquainted with Broadway shows. What a talent.
Thank you for Chevalier's "I Remember It Well," one of my favorites from Gigi. Doesn't get much better than Lerner and Loewe.
Finally, meant to commment on your Song of the Week with Mack the Knife that I appreciated your pointing out the stair-stepping of the keys and amping up of it in Darin's rendition, thanks to Richard Wess ... it makes all the difference.
Thanks for another great show.
First Fortnight Founding Member Ray Finocchiaro enjoyed our cavalcade of Kurt:
As a Kurt Weill enthusiast, I enjoyed your mini-tribute to Kurt in this week's On the Town. I was intrigued by Dalila's version of Moon of Alabama and tried to find a copy. After looking through about a hundred albums and singles by Dalila on Amazon's playlist, I found nothing. Where did you (and can I) find it? Do I have the right Dalila? I've enjoyed your work for the eight years I've been a member and hope to follow your contributions to our culture for years to come. Thanks for everything! And where's Dalila?
That would be not Dalila, but Dalida, Ray. She was a great talent, and Mark misses her to this day, but hers was a terribly sad life.
One more, from First Week Founding Member Laurence Jarvik:
I really enjoyed today's April-themed show, thank you! BTW, Kurt Weill also wrote some Zionist scores after he broke with Brecht. For example, The Eternal Road, We Will Never Die! and A Flag is Born. If you ever do an Israeli-themed show, they might make for some interesting listening...
Thanks for all your comments - including the critical ones. On the Town is Mark's weekly music show on Serenade Radio every Saturday at 5pm British Summer Time - that's 6pm in western and central Europe or 12 noon North American Eastern. You can listen from anywhere in the world by clicking the button at top right here.
As you know, Mark is a great believer in old-school appointment listening, and loves the way Serenade's Saturday schedule flows through the day. However, we appreciate that many potential listeners are, at the appointed hour, shampooing the cat. So, as a bonus for Steyn Club members, we post On the Town at SteynOnline every weekend. You can find all our previous shows here.
We do enjoy your comments on our weekend programming. Steyn Clubbers are welcome to leave them below. For more on The Mark Steyn Club, see here - and don't forget our special Gift Membership.
Mark Steyn on the Town can be heard on Serenade Radio back at its regular times next weekend:
Saturday 5pm London time/12 noon New York
Sunday 5am London time/9pm Los Angeles
Steyn's Song of the Week continues on Sunday, Monday and Thursday.