T w e n t y S i d e d

I’ve had a couple of musical ideas filed away to talk about, one for quite a while. But it didn’t tip over the edge until earlier today, when I saw something that ground my gears a bit. So I have three things to mention, one of which is a bit of a rant. That was the thing from earlier today. Although, as an introduction, I will tell you about the word “Cromarty.” I knew this word exclusively from Cromartie High School, the English title of the manga and anime Sakigake!! Kuromati Koko. Or literally translated “Forging valiantly ahead! Cromarty High School!” The use of “ie” instead of a “y” seems to be derived purely from common practice, rather than author’s prerogative. “Kuromati” is a Japanese phonetic pronunciation of “Cromarty,” a Scottish word that is likely derived from combining the Gaelic words “crom,” “ard,” and “bati” meaning respectively “crooked,” “heights,” and “bay.” Given the nature of the manga story, “crooked” is certainly applicable in multiple senses. What led to this odyssey was the newest Rex’s Hangar video about the “Cromarty,” the Short Brothers first flying boat, which of course led to all the other Short Brothers flying boats, especially in WWII and the 1950’s. Some still claim the Short Brothers manufactured the first “production airplane” in 1909, despite the Wright Brothers having entered into contracts to produce airplanes based on their Flyer III in 1908. (The argument is valid because the airplane produced to be sold under those contracts was the Wright Model B, which became available in 1910. But likewise the first “production” Short is claimed by some to be either their No. 2 or No. 3, both of which were “ordered” by someone else in quantities of ONE EACH; in 1909 and 1910. It’s also worth noting, I think; that the Short designs were based on the Wright’s Flyer.

Most of you are aware that a popular use of YouTube is hobbyist or aspiring professional singers uploading covers of popular songs. I see a lot of these, as one of the things I use YouTube for is listening to music. Earlier today I saw one of these videos, someone performing a (quotes used to make the point) “cover of “Rascal Flatts’ ‘Life Is A Highway’.” Now of course, part of my objection is the old person in me screaming “Get off my lawn!” at the kids. Because Rascal Flatts’ “Life Is A Highway” is a COVER. And not one of the many Brooks and Dunn “covers of middling 60’s and 70’s songs that you didn’t know were covers,” but a cover of a HIT from the early 1990’s. Tom Cochrane hit big in 1991 with “Life Is A Highway” in Canada, and it was pretty big the next year in the U.S. While the Rascal Flatts cover for the movie Cars in 2006 had a larger presence on digital media for a few years, I would still point out that this version is a pretty straight-forward cover. There are examples of covers that fundamentally change a song…consider Marilyn Manson’s “version” of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)”. Manson changed the tone and speed, presented the lyrics with different emphasis and style, and by doing so created a different response and thought process. The song is about different things than the original.

Tom Cochrane finished out the original lyrics as a response to seeing the horrible effects of famine in east Africa. His message was trying to be positive; “you can’t control all this stuff, you just do the best you can” (paraphrased from the original quote). Life is a highway. You can’t really do anything ABOUT the highway, you just deal with what comes. You don’t STOP of course, you just keep driving every day. Not a bad message for Cars, either; I suppose. But you could argue the Rascal Flatts version has a different message, as well (and more banjo): here’s a car driving on the “highway.” Life is a highway. Cars are meant to drive. The car is living life. That sounds like I’m being demeaning, but I’m really not. If there’s anything demeaning, it would be that Disney/Pixar contracted Rascal Flatts to do a cover of Tom Cochrane’s song so they could have a bit more control and profit. I’m guessing.

Here’s another one from the early 1990’s. In fact, the same year “Life Is A Highway” hit the charts in the United States. Remember Whoopi Goldberg’s Sister Act? The first one, not the 1993 sequel or the (fates help us) THIRD MOVIE CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT. Whoopi must need a new hot tub. The plot of the movie is about a Vegas lounge singer and Diana Ross and The Supremes cover act leader having to run from the Las Vegas mob and hide in a Catholic Church as a nun in a “run-down inner-city neighborhood.” Therein she proceeds to revitalize the church choir with 1950’s and 1960’s R&B, bebop, and cover integrations. Her “star pupil” is slight, quiet, Novitiate Mary Robert, played by Wendy Makkena. Mary Robert’s fabulous singing voice is coaxed out by Whoopi Goldberg and debuts in a new rendition of “Hail Holy Queen,” or “Salve Regina” as many of you might know it.

Skip to about 2:25 if you want to see the debut of Novitiate Mary Robert. The “show-stopper” from this movie was the later performance of “I Will Follow Him,” which features a full solo. “Salve Regina” remains my favorite, for the record. Here’s the thing, though: that’s not Wendy Makkena. Makkena may be a fine singer, I’ve heard she is. But the “singing voice” of Novitiate Mary Robert was performed by singer Andrea Robinson. Who is Andrea Robinson? A singer who has performed as the singing voice for several live action and many animated characters. While her most-widely acclaimed role is the one we’ve discussed, as anyone who bought the soundtrack to Sister Act will have noticed that Wendy Makkena is NOT listed as a singer on any of the songs “she” performed; she has appeared most often as an animated voice or as a live-action background character. In live-action she frequently appeared as characters such as “Blonde” in the 165th episode of Deep Space Nine, where she played a blonde-haired woman seen in the background. She was more prominent in animation, singing in Disney sequels Ariel’s Beginning and The Enchanted Christmas. An early appearance was covering Heart’s Nothin’ At All for Disney’s The Parent Trap 2 in 1986. I presume they got Robinson to do the cover of that song for the same reason they paid Rascal Flatts to cover “Life Is A Highway”. The Parent Trap 2 IS NOT the remake with Lindsay Lohan, by the way. This was a “legitimate” sequel to the 1961 movie, starring Hayley Mills playing twins Susan and Sharon, and young actress Carrie Kei Heim as Sharon’s daughter Nikki. Most will remember Heim as the redheaded girl from Santa Claus: The Movie. Robinson’s range is quite wide, as well; consider the following performances of “Bad Girl” from the 1989 anime Riding Bean

then this performance of “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (not a cover) from 1997’s Cats Don’t Dance.

Last topic. Do you remember Shelby Flint? Probably not. You would not believe how much information there is available now compared to when I first started researching her. She’s not a recluse or anything; she just never was that big. Her zenith occurred during a very brief period in pop music that featured kind-of-sappy, vocal-centered soft pop. This popped up occasionally in the 1960’s to the early 1970’s. Flint had the ideal style and voice for this kind of music. Here is arguably her biggest hit, 1961’s “Angel On My Shoulder.”

1966’s “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” was more adventurous, but Flint’s simultaneously quiet yet overwhelmingly powerful voice remains the center. Both songs were successful; neither was THAT big. Shelby Flint was, however; an influence in the music industry. She was a frequent background vocalist, was well-connected, and suffered most from having a pretty singular voice and performance style. This all culminated in the performance that gave her a permanent place in the hearts of Gen X: the The Rescuers soundtrack for Disney. For this 1977 release that for many years seemed to only hold a special place for those of a certain age, Flint performed three songs. “The Journey” which plays over the film’s opening, “Tomorrow Is Another Day” and its Reprise, and “Someone’s Waiting For You” which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1977.

Both “The Journey” and “Tomorrow Is Another Day” are closer to Flint’s soft-pop history, but as her voice is the central character of all her performances, you can see the obvious connection. “Someone’s Waiting For You” lost Best Original Song to Kasey Cisyk’s “Cast” recording of “You Light Up My Life” from the same-titled movie. This song is best known from its 1977 Debby Boone release. Also nominated that year were “Candle In The Water” from Disney’s own Pete’s Dragon, “He/She Danced with Me” from The Slipper and the Rose (a British musical production of Cinderella), and “Nobody Does It Better” performed by Carly Simon from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. One of my favorite James Bond movies, and one of my favorite James Bond original songs. So, you can see that Shelby Flint’s vocals were right in line with what was popular that year.

Please look up the songs I didn’t embed. All of them lead to hours following various leads. If you like listening to music, anyway.

Stay safe out there. Winter is coming.

Paige Francis He/him