No, sorry, Jazzyjack; just a happy face, I'm afraid...! ...and good for you, for adding a comedy number to your set! I know I have to stretch a bit to add them in, but I think the overall outcome is worth it. (Thread creep here; sorry, purists--I'm moving into entire performances from the song thread.) I sincerely think that part of what makes a "personal song-singer" really good is the ability to be versatile. Looking over recordings I enjoy, I don't see any where every song is similar in style, topic, etc. The songwriters mentioned in this thread so far are all people whose works have quite a variety of topics/styles. Jazzyjack mentioned that some songwriters need to seek out other people's material to add variety, and I agree. Almost all of the professionals that I go and see do their own material AND some of other folks, too--and I don't mean covers of 60's pop hits. I've heard, for example, Anne Hills do songs by David Roth, and Chuck Mitchell do songs by Cheryl Wheeler...etc.--not because they're incapable of writing good material themselves, but perhaps because the song speaks to them, or says something they'd like to say, or is just something they enjoy which is a little 'off the beaten path' from their regular repertoire. I think that the ability to perceive when you can benefit from performing the work(s) of others is one of the things that separates the "bees" from the "wannabees." denise:^)
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