[Dixielandjazz] Belatedly........................

[Ron Wheeler]

Will Connelly wrote...

> Thank you, Brian Harvey, for posting the "Ragged Old Flag". And screw
> you, National Park Service, for the Urethra Franklin desecration of
> another American song that stirs this old heart.

And others expressed similar opinions of Ms. Franklin, all well justified.
What amazes me, however, is that nobody made any mention of the other
also-rans, has-beens, and never-weres who populate this program year after
year.  I thought it was criminal to drag poor old Chuck Berry away from his
nap to show the world how poorly he's aged.  He was great in his day and we
should be left with memories of those days and not the realization of what
time does.

The host [what is he? some sort of game-show guy or off-off-broadway type??]
set the tone by opening the show with the National Anthem as though
arranged, dirge-like, by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Then there was the chubby
pair doing fairly good work on the Richard Rogers tunes followed by some
grinning goon in a plum-colored suit [The People's Tenor?!?! - WHAT people?]
doing damage to Nessun Dorma from Turandot and rolling his rrrr's until I
thought his teeth would vibrate out.

In sum, Aretha was no better and not a whole lot worse than the crowd she
was lumped in with.  There was enough criticism to share and not have to
heap it all on her overly ample bosom.  The program only comes on once a
year and that's unfortunate.  It gives me time to forget how poor it was the
year before and hope to enjoy it the next time.

Cheers from Wake Island,

Ron Wheeler