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This is becoming Joan's philanthropy blog. Community Servings, which delivers hot meals to people battling life threatening illness, in the Boston area, is holding its annual fund raiser, LIFE SAVOR. Joan has volunteered me for another auction item. This time the highest bidder gets to share the dedication page of a future Parker book with Joan. So, if you want a book dedicated to you or your designee, call Jennifer Tsolas at Community Servings for details: 617-445-7777. . . . I recorded MOON RIVER last Wednesday in LA. The orchestra had already laid down its track . . . Dan had laid down his and his harmonic part . . . so I was alone in the booth with the music directer and the mixer, doing mine. With the ear phones on everyone sounds like Dean Martin. I was pleased. When you listen to the rough mixed playback, not everyone sounds like Dean Martin. I was less pleased. But when they played the part where Dan harmonizes with me, Joan got teary. I think she was touched . . . or maybe it was just my singing. . . . Anyway, down the line we'll be offering it for public consumption and you can decide. Will this be my break out album? . . . had a meeting with a couple of producers about reviving "Spenser: For Hire". We'll see. . . . my debut young adult novel, EDENVILLE OWLS will be out next month (4/24). Be the first on your block to own it. Old adults will like it too . . . David Parker and The Bang Group will be at Dance Theater Work Shop in NYC on May 10 . . . and the Sox open their season in 16 days. . . . I'm still boxing twice a week. It has not made me more dangerous, exactly. But I'm less afraid of Joan than I used to be. . . . I hope to have good news about "Appaloosa" next blog, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
rbp
Joan and I are off to Los Angeles tomorrow, mostly to visit our son Dan, but also to record my contribution to his CD of Songs That Spenser Sang. He and I will do a duet of Moon River (can you say Grammy Award?), and, while he has an advantage on me (he can sing), I am after all his father, and he has promised not to laugh at me during the recording session. Joan has made no such promise. I am counting heavily on digital technology. . . both my sons can sing, but they've both had training, which I have aways considered cheating . . . For me music means the big bands and Jazz. What I think of as music dates roughly from1938 (Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall?), and ends with the advent of rock and roll (Bill Haley & the Commets?). So what I think of as "music" was dominant for maybe twenty years. . . . if you read the books (and if you don't what the hell are you doing here?) you know from the many allusions the songs and performers I like. . . . One of my all time favorites, however, is not well known. A singer named Jimmy Ricks who was the lead vocalist for a group called The Ravens. But unlike most leads he was a bass, and it is one of the most remarkable voices I have ever heard. He went out as a single for a bit, but your best chance to hear him is to get an album of The Ravens. . . . music does more than define the values of an era, I think, it probably helps create them. . . . My current favorite singer, by the way is Carol Sloane, right nowthe best girl singer in the world. . . . I want to thank you out there in blogville, for your response to the Theater Offensive Charity Auction. Cocktails with Joan and me went for a dandy amount of money . . . for only a few dollars more they could have had cocktails with Joan alone . . . the winning bidder is, unfortunately, married to the president of the New York Yankees (eek!). When we have cocktails I may have to go incognito . . . thank you Mindy, for everything! . . . So, here I go, winging coastwards. I will, of course, be in frequent and profound touch with all of the best people in Hollywood, if only they'd return my calls . . . incidentally we have an air date for Sea Change (Jesse Stone #4, starring Tom Selleck). It will be on CBS in evening of May 20. Don't miss it.
rbp
