Sunday, August 19, 2018
My sister, Marcia, and our mutual father, Sol Schlosberg, used to fight for my musical soul. In those pre-TV days, we only had one radio, a treasured Stromberg-Carlson, and they had an arrangement where they would alternate control over whose turn it was to choose the radio programs. Marcia loved the big bands like Glenn Miller, Harry James, the Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, et al, and vocalists with names like Frank, Bing, Dinah, and Ella. My daddy loved classical music, particularly symphonies and arias from operas. Both would sing, but Marcia had much the better voice. Both tried to interest me in their own preferences, and my father once complained that Marcia switched me to swing. Fortunately, I learned to love and appreciate pop music and the classics. I still believe that timeless love songs and great operas share a priceless commonality, beautiful melodies.
For Sol Schlosberg and Marcia Neiman, the song has ended, but the melody lingers on.
