Happy Birthday!
Nicholas Paul "Nic" Jones
was born
9 January 1947
in Orpington, Kent, England
On 26 February 1982, Jones was involved in a car crash which left him in a coma for six weeks and from which he has not recovered his wonderful skills as a folk musician. Live and studio material recorded in the early 80s prior to his crash was made available in 1998, thanks to the effort of Jones and his wife Julia. [from Official Nic Jones and see "English Folk Singers"]
ALSO:
(Longer than usual for an ALSO but info on the remarkable pre-revivalist is less often seen)
Miranda (Rosa Lilly Odette Baruch de La Pardo de Miranda) Marais
was born in Amsterdam, Holland on
9 Jan 1912
She trained as an opera singer but, fleeing the Nazis, she emigrated to the US in 1939.
Taking a job with the Dutch section of Radio Free Europe,
she worked for Marais for a considerable time before they accidently discovered
that they each sang and had a deep interest in folk song.
The rest is history.
Miranda died in Los Angeles Apr 20, 1986.
One day when your dvd & computer are down, rent one of those many "Casablanca" rip-offs and see "Rope of Sand," 1949. All of a sudden there's Marias and Miranda (ie, Mrs Marais) doing their nightclub act in the background. The main characters do their typical intrigue at a table in the foreground. M&M were allowed to do nearly a whole song. They performed two of Josef's compositions, "The Zulu Warrior" and "As the Sun Goes Down". Of their many hits, I sing "Dilly Song," "Around the Corner," "Johnny with the Bandy Legs," "Siembamba," "Unfortunate Miƒs Bailey." (see MaraisAndMiranda.com)
MORE ALSO:
Gypsy Rose Lee (Rose Louise Hovick) was born 1/9/1914 (d.4/26/1970)
"Take it off! Take it off!"
All the customers shout,
"Down in front! Down in front!"
While the band beats it out;
But she's always a lady, even in pantomime
And she stops...and always just in time.
"Strip Polka" by Johnny Mercer; DigTrad filename[ STRPOLKA
Copyright © 2005, Abby Sale - all rights reserved
What are Happy's all about? See Clicky