Matthew decided he wanted a change of career and joined the U.S. Army! He is now a sergeant in the Airborne Division and saw service in Africa for a year. This past June he had the honor for the second time of translating the ceremonies marking the D Day landings. (He speaks fluent French, another accomplishment of his.)

Today on his Birthday he flew to a base in the Mid-West for a leadership course and will shortly be posted to Poland for a year. While I had my sojourn in Weymouth a couple of years ago we managed to meet for the first time in four years! It was a marvelous reunion and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting his girlfriend, now fiancee Iwona to whom he will be getting married to in January. She is a beautiful, caring woman, true to his character he has picked well. The wedding will be in Dublin and of course I will be there with the rest of the family. I am rightfully proud of him and his achievements taking this opportunity in my post to wish him an amazing future and to say how much he is loved.

I will return this weekend with the final chapter on the St. Tropez adventure and the subsequent events.

Thank you all for your support and taking the time to read this biography.

To all that’s good,

Marcus

My gig at the Papagayo was turning out to be the highlight of my career, I was blessed with a full house virtually every night, a few famous faces popped in and I was being recognized by the “locals” as I wandered the town. I ate most days at Bar Le Gorille on the port and spent a couple of hours each day by the pool at The Byblos where I would frequently play a few games of backgammon with various people. Without being a “hustler” of the game I did make quite a bit of money on the bets! The best one being a doubled game when I collected $1600.00 from a visiting Texan. He showed up at the Papagayo later and tipped a couple of hundred when I played a few Neil Diamond tunes he requested. One afternoon the famous movie producer Sam Spiegel joined me poolside and invited me on his beautiful yacht “The Malahne” for an afternoon session of backgammon, I beat him at virtually every game and said “Kid if you ever wanna be in movies, let me win occasionally”, it made no difference to me as it was backgammon for blood! He stopped by the Papagayo on several evenings bringing quite an entourage with him, he was also a a very generous tipper! I was building quite a nest egg in virtually every European currency. The guys at The Banco Di Napoli would give me great rates on currency deals particularly Swiss francs. One day, out of the blue Rachel arrived to see how things were going and sadly to say “goodbye” as she was returning to San Fransisco to go to college in the fall. She brought me a farewell gift of a gold chain and a Chai which I still have to this day. It was a bittersweet reunion. One unwelcome visitor arrived about 3 weeks into the gig, Paul from London. He had persuaded a mutual acquaintance who drove from London to St. Tropez to bring him along. Paul attempted to get me to pay him commission on the job. I told him in no uncertain terms flat out NO. I hadn’t signed a contract with him Thank G-d and I got the gig through Harry from Morton’s. He tried threatening and pleading to no avail. he finally left and thankfully I have never seen him since. One of the well known (at least in France) people who formed part of my audience was Eddie Barclay the owner of Barclay records in Paris. He gave me his card and asked me to get in touch if I ever was in Paris. More on that in a future episode. I would sometimes go to the beaches in Ramatuelle just a few miles out of town for a change of scenery. On one visit I met Larry Collins the co-author of “O Jerusalem” a book I had thoroughly enjoyed reading. I told him that in my opinion it was a well balanced history of that glorious city. He asked when I would be at the beach again, I said “in a couple of days”. I was and he was there too with three of his books signed to me personally. “Or I’ll Dress You In Mourning”, Freedom At Midnight and “Is Paris Burning”. I treasured all three for many many years. A somewhat funny incident I recall from the Ramatuelle visits was one day I ordered “Tete D’Agneau” thinking it was a cut of lamb I hadn’t heard of, turns out it was literally the head of a lamb!! Quite gross to say the least. I apologized profusely and sent it back and ordered a cheeseburger instead. (Of course I paid for the lamb too.) Wherever I went I constantly asked “how do I say this in French?”. Most people were very patient and kind and willing to help, thus I added to my vocabulary on a daily basis improving my conversational skills.

The summer was progressing beautifully, I was in my glory performing most nights till midnight, making excellent money and quite simply having the time of my life. The adventure will continue in a few days with some more pictures and quite a “grand” finale to my sojourn in this iconic place in the South of France.

A bientot mes amis!

Marcus

My adventures in St. Tropez will continue in my next posting this coming Saturday. meanwhile, dear readers thank you for taking the time to share these elements of my life.

To all that’s good,

Marcus

Back to the story: I obviously left the house in Hampstead and was able to move into my girlfriend Rachel’s flat for the remaining time until my flight back to New York. I had about 2 weeks to kill and continued to play at Morton’s a few nights a week. On my last evening I went to Morton’s to say goodbye to the friends I made there when the piano player Harry who took over from me said “I’ve been trying to reach you all day, I have an audition for you lined up tomorrow morning at 10.30 a.m.” I told him I was booked on an afternoon flight to New York but what the hell I’ll be there. (I’m always up for a challenge). I showed up and was introduced to an elegant French lady, I played about 6 songs then left the room so Harry and the lady could confer. After a few minutes Harry came and said “You have the gig, you leave tonight for Nice, then on to St. Tropez for a 62 night contract at a nightclub called “Papagayo”. I was on cloud nine, over the moon and thanked every guardian angel and G-d I could think of. I had about 4 hours to get myself organized, (I was already packed of course). During that time Harry and the Lady (she was the ex wife of the owner of Papagayo) went over the details of the contract. Basically I was to perform every night from 7pm to 10pm, an apartment would be provided with round trip airfare from London to Nice and Nice to New York at the end of the engagement. I was profoundly grateful to Harry and as he acted as my agent we agreed his commission would be paid weekly by the club. I called Rachel with the news, she too was thrilled and said she’d come visit. She was a tour guide for American Express and had the same peripatetic lifestyle I had. That evening I landed in Nice and was met by Stephan the manager of Papagayo. It’s a couple of hours drive from Nice to St. Tropez especially in the summertime, so we had a nice long chat, he asked if I spoke French right off the bat, I said, “Not very well, but I’m willing to learn”. He made me promise we would have a random conversation all in French before I left, I agreed.

On arriving in St. Tropez, my apartment wasn’t quite ready so I was booked into The Byblos Hotel for two nights, talk about “living the life”! Tired as I was I strolled down to The Papagayo to scope out my musical home for the next two months. I was very impressed! There was a white baby grand and a good sound system and a very, very elegant night club right there on the port. I was introduced to Monsieur Frangi the owner who welcomed me enthusiastically and said he’d look forward to my debut performance the following evening.

I couldn’t believe my luck in landing this gig and the serendipity of it all, somehow I was able to get a good night’s sleep in the luxury of The Byblos.

Dear reader, I believe you will really enjoy the next chapter of my journey, I know I did! In the meantime, thank you for your support, feel free to comment or ask questions.

To all that’s good,

Marcus

And there I will leave you dear reader with another “cliff hanger”….

I’ll be back in a couple of days with more of this life’s story, in the meantime stay involved and curious!

Thank you for reading, share with only your best friends.

Marcus

I of course called Paul in London giving him my arrival date and time, he said he’d be at Heathrow to pick me up and that things looked positive with Island Records. So with great expectations I boarded another plane, arrived at Heathrow and waited and waited and waited, no Paul! I called his girl friend Gennifer’s house, she answered and apologized for his absence informing me that he was unfortunately in jail!!! Apparently he had bounced some checks (or cheques as they are called over there) to a high-end casino!!! In England a serious offense. That was a shock to say the least and it didn’t auger well for a potential management contract! Gennifer said to come to the house in Hampstead where I would be living, she was sure it would all be sorted out shortly. I was tempted to take the next flight back to New York but decided to see what the fates had in store for me.

And so dear reader I leave you today with a “cliff hanger” in the best traditions of non fiction drama….

The story will continue in a couple of days, enjoy and as always, Thank you for being part of this journey.

A nod to the time we’re living in: Not one word of this or any past or future posts were created using AI! Just me pecking away at the keyboard on my lap top.

Stay well and inspired.

Marcus

In a past post I mentioned being in London and meeting a guy called Paul Johnson who wanted the manage me and get me a deal with Island Records. During the time in Tokyo I sent a couple of postcards and a letter keeping him informed of where I was and what I was doing. I had been in Hawaii for about 6 weeks, having a marvelous time when one evening purely on a whim I stopped by a phone booth on Waikiki beach on my way home and called Paul collect, he accepted the call and asked how things were going and when I would be coming back to London. I asked him what was going on regarding the possible recording contract wit Island Records. He said nothing was happening until I returned but he was sure a deal could be reached in a short while. I said I’d call in a couple of days and let him know when I would be back. That evening I paced the beach wondering if I should leave this successful gig in Paradise and take the chance of achieving my goal of recording my compositions with a very successful label (at that time). Consequently I gave Keone’s two weeks notice and made plans to return first to New York on my existing ticket, then on to London.

This concludes the wonderful experience of being in Hawaii, the next chapter will unravel in my next post on Friday.

In the meantime, Mahalo for being part of this journey and continuing to experience these elements of this life. Tell only your best friends and help to grow my readership.

Sincerely, Marcus

We are now approaching the end of February 1978 my exciting and productive sojourn in Tokyo was coming to an end so it was time to plan my return to New York. I had a round trip ticket and found I could make any stops I liked heading East. I looked into the possibility of flying to Hong Kong, then on to Bombay (now Mumbai) then on to Tehran followed by Tel Aviv returning to New York from there. Times were very different then! That way I would have circumnavigated the world by air. It turned out to be quite an expensive decision so I settled for a flight to Honolulu figuring to stay for a week, arriving in New York with a tropical sun tan making my friends envious as they had suffered a major snow storm. I mentioned to Mrs. Doi that was the plan, she said she had friends in Honolulu and would contact them to arrange a pick up at the airport. Sounded great to me! After an emotional farewell with Jennifer, I arrived at Narita and was informed I had overstayed my visa by two days. Ooops! My penalty was to write a “gomenasai” letter to the Emperor, (meaning a letter of apology). I was given a legal pad and was instructed to fill one full page. I started off well then I’m almost ashamed to admit this but I went into a full scale rant about the atrocities committed by the Japanese army during the war and the horror committed in Shanghai and other places. The rant included lots of bad language and derogatory slurs. I filled the page, the security guard glanced at it and put in a file, I prayed he couldn’t read English and was too busy to read what I’d written. Safely aboard the plane I had a very nervous 30 minute wait before it started the taxi, once airborne I breathed a deep sigh of relief as you can imagine. The flight was the red eye and on Japan Airlines and I must say the service was exemplary. I received a cotton robe, slippers and a sleep mask all complimentary, I kept them for years after. Around 8 am I arrived in Honolulu, found a pay phone and called the number of the Friedman family Regina had provided. Mrs. Friedman answered and said they would be there in 30 minutes, perfect. I remember it was pouring rain and very humid as I drank in the aroma of the local flora and thanking my guardian angel and the Universe for allowing me to be in this tropical paradise. As promised the Friedman’s arrived and asked what I would like to do first, my answer was: “Is there anywhere I can get an American cup of coffee and maybe a cheeseburger?” The answer was “Yes, indeed” They took me to a diner overlooking Pearl Harbor, a diner imported from New Jersey yet! We chatted for an hour so about my time in Tokyo and my background etc. I asked for a hotel recommendation, they said “no worries about that, our Son has a cottage near Queens Beach and as he lives in Los Angeles it’s available for you to stay there. As you’re a singer and pianist we have a friend Betty Lou Taylor who performs at The Hyatt Regency on Waikiki Beach, we’d love to hear you play and we’re sure Betty will let you play a few songs.” They said they’d pick me up at 7 pm and recommended in the meantime I take a nap to recover from the jet lag. How right they were. Their Son’s cottage was small and cozy with wood paneled walls and with a shower in the garden replenished daily by the rainfall. Marvelous! Tired as I was I couldn’t resist exploring the neighborhood it was a very pleasant area less than ten minutes from Queens Beach which is the next beach over from Waikiki, I dipped my toes in the Pacific ocean and headed back for what turned into a 3 hour recovery nap. Promptly at 7pm they showed up and we headed to The Hyatt. I was completely awestruck by everything around me, the kindness of the Friedman’s, the blessing of the cottage and the fact little old me was in Honolulu! It gets better…After about 40 minutes Betty Lou Taylor invited me up to play, she said “do a few numbers so the band and I can take a break”. I played a couple of originals including “Passing Through” which received a good round of applause from everyone. One of the songs in my repertoire was Chuck Mangione’s “Land Of Make Believe” so I started the song and a gentleman in the audience came and sat on the piano bench and joined in, it was Chuck’s brother Gap Mangione, wow what a moment. As I rejoined the Friedman’s table a gentleman came over and said “what are you doing tomorrow night?” I replied I had just arrived and had no plans so far why? Turns out he managed a club on Lewer’s Street called “Keone’s” he needed an opening act for the very famous Jimmy Borges, a beloved fixture on the Honolulu jazz scene. I agreed to meet him at noon the following day and was hired on the spot for a four day a week open engagement. I’m in Hawaii for twelve hours and I have a gig in Paradise.

In my last post I said life was good and about to be Great, dear readers it was! The adventure will continue in a couple of days, thank you for your support and as always tell only your best friends and help my grow my audience here on Substack.

Mahalo and Aloha! Hey, I was in Hawaii, had to go native for old times sake.

First a HUGE apology for the gap between posts. For some reason or reasons I couldn’t access my account. I tried everything and finally got a reply from the “help team”, Thank you to Betty and Frank for your diligence and suggestions.

So here I am in Tokyo and loving the daily adventure of exploring my neighborhood expanding the boundary a little further each day. Being January it was quite chilly but not freezing as it would have been in New York. I believe it was the second Sunday I was there when I stumbled upon a delightful little restaurant called “Gan Shan Yakitoi” (Yakitori is basically meat on a stick similar to a kebab). It was run by three brothers who had a smattering of English so I was able to order a delicious dinner in my preferred style of “grazing”. Being Sunday there only two people at the counter, myself and a pretty American girl called Jennifer. She came over and joined me, helping me order in Japanese. She had been there for a about six months and was quite fluent in this quite difficult language. I walked her home from Gan Shan to the remarkable historic house IBM had rented for her Father. In the middle of this bustling metropolis was an oasis of calm serenity with a Koi pond and as I remember a small bridge over the pond.In the coming days and weeks she helped me discover parts of the city not normally seen by outsiders (or Gaijin as the Japanese would say, not a particularly nice word as it means “round eye” or foreigner). We knew our time together was limited by the ten weeks of my contract so we really made to most of our time together. Each time we met Jennifer would make me learn at least twenty words of Japanese which was invaluable to my education and getting around on my own, navigating the very efficient subway system and diving into small neighborhoods. I did have a camera of course but virtually everything I shot was lost in subsequent travels. One evening at the Tokyo American Club I was approached by a couple of Japanese gentlemen who had been listening to the music quite intently. They liked my voice and wondered if I would be interested in recording a song they had written. Of course I said “Hai” (yes) and we set up a studio session the day after. Jennifer’s Japanese lessons were really helpful! The song was of course in Japanese with the title of Aki Zora which translates to Autumn Sky or Skies. The writers were Hideo Fujioka and Ryuzo Hosogai. It took me about an hour to get the correct pronunciation and learn the melody. Amazingly I STILL have the sheet music and play it once in a while if I spot Japanese people in my audience. I have no idea what happened to the recording, maybe they released it or maybe not. I was quite honored to have been asked and that was sufficient reward. In retrospect I was blessed to have this experience and perhaps should have arranged to return in the ensuing years. The Japanese people were unfailingly polite, civilized and fastidiously clean, they really like “western music” and pay artists really well. I’m going to encourage my former singing partner Mariah Bonner to explore the possibilities or performing over there. Toward the end of my stay I had made friends with a lady I met at the Jewish Community Center, she was called Regina Doi, her husband was an elegant Japanese gentleman and they had three delightful trilingual children. She was the headmistress at The International School which catered to children of diplomats, business people and various others. Her music teacher called in sick one day and she asked me to teach the class! Another unexplored avenue that was quite fun and rewarding, I think I based the “lesson” around “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “The Wheel On The Bus”. Regina was delighted with my efforts.

The sojourn in Tokyo is coming to an end, the next chapter will be posted soon and it’s a special one because life went from being good to GREAT.

Thank you for your patience in my absence and please tell only your best friends about this post so I can grow my audience and share this journey.

To all that’s good, Marcus

I intend write more frequently to speed up this journey through my experiences. In yesterday’s post I forgot to include an episode in London that would later be another pivotal moment. While I was over there before leaving for Japan I was booked or a 6 week engagement at a bar on Berkley Square called “Mortons” which in later years became quite the chain of establishments. They had a baby grand piano in the front part of the bar with a minimal sound system which did little to overcome the noise level of the patrons. Most of these people were involved in various aspects of the music industry, I guess after a days work listening to demos and related things they didn’t have the attention span to here what I was performing. There were a few exceptions, one of the them was a gut called Paul Johnson. He introduced himself and said he’d worked as a PA to Chris Blackwell of Island Records and had some serious contacts in the business. After a few evenings of listen to me he said he’d like to manage my career (the contract with Dan in New York had expired on friendly and amicable terms). Of course I said I was interested but I had a pending contract to appear in Tokyo for two months. We agreed to stay in touch during my absence over there in Asia. At that time there were only two labels I was interested in reaching out to, one of the was Island Records and the other was A & M in New York because of their ethics regarding their artists. It was left that I would return to London after the Tokyo engagement. That story will be addressed in a future post, other adventures awaited me!

Tokyo was quite the experience! My job was quite easy playing Monday through Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm, Thursday was from 7pm till 9pm, Friday and Saturday from 6pm to 10pm. After work on Monday through Wednesday I would head into the Roppongi area just a 20 minute walk from Minato. I had Japanese friend in New York who was from Tokyo and he recommended a bar called Henry Africa as a good place to hang out. He was right. They had two pinball machines which was a passion of mine in those days it was a lively bar with an unusual policy I hadn’t encountered before. That policy was you had to buy a bottle of your favorite liquor which was kept behind the bar with a name tag identifying it as yours. In those days and for many years before and later that drink was Jack Daniel. If I recall correctly it cost around $60 for the bottle compared to $25 in New York!. They charged a Yen for ice or soda but that didn’t apply to me as I drank it straight up. My Japanese was improving by the day and I struck up conversations with my fellow habitues. One of them recommended a piano bar just across the street so of course I went over, talked to the owner and was immediately hired to play 2 nights a week after my regular gig. I only had to play for an hour and if remember correctly they paid me around $200 for each show. I wish I could recall the name of the place. I then found other places to work as piano bars were quite popular here as of course was Karaoke, that I avoided! During the days I would wander aimlessly around this vibrant city drinking in the atmosphere and trying various restaurants and seeing the sights. The Tokyo tower for one was very close to where I was living. I learned to navigate the excellent and very clean subway system to expand my horizons. Much to my surprise there was also a beautiful Jewish Community center, I discovered it after a week of being there and of course went for a visit and to introduce myself. It was located in the Shibuya district, a fairly short subway schlep from my neighborhood. There has a been a Jewish community in Japan since the 1860’s starting in Yokohama and later expanding to Nagasaki in 1889 and to Kobe in 1937. The building housing the community in Tokyo was absolutely beautiful, incorporating a small synagogue, a mikvah and community room where they actually had a snooker table (another pastime of mine in those days). I learned recently that the building I admired so much was torn down and replaced in the 2000’s with something modern and certainly not as attractive as the old one. One of the members of the congregation was an 80 year old Russian-born Gentleman by the name of Jossi Shimkin, he quite the life story! He was from Moscow originally and went East to Vladivostok in the hope of reaching San Fransisco. He got stuck there and eventually made it to Shanghai in China where he lived for many years and became the Snooker Champion of that city, apart from our religion we had that skillful game in common. I had a wonderful time and would visit once or twice a week. One of my favorite places to visit was the Meiji Shrine near the Imperial Palace, remember I’m there in the winter so some activities were curtailed by the weather but chilly though it was this park was a place of serenity.

I will leave it here for today and come back soon with more memories and the next part of my global adventures.

Enjoy and as always thank you for being part of this journey through my life.

Marcus

I turn my memory telescope back to 1977. I had established myself as a recognized performer on the New York music scene, playing a variety of venues around Manhattan. In the spring I had to return briefly to Israel to complete my service. A couple of days before I left a friend INSISTED that I go over to my friend Richie Saks apartment after my gig at The Ravelled Sleave restaurant on the upper East Side. I was really not that interested but went along anyway, I’m glad I did! My friends from the Good Times had gotten together to throw me a surprise going away party, The first one (and the last one) I had ever had. It was a very moving experience to know how much I meant to these fine people. When I returned a month later I went to a place on Lexington Avenue called “Lost and Found”. It turned out to be a “wise guy” hang out and I thought it would be a good gig to have. I was booked for two weeks and at the end of that I was told I didn’t really have to chops for their audience and was let go. The first time I’d lost a gig! They wanted more of the “Frank and Tony” repertoire that I didn’t really have at that time. needless to say I was devastated to lose a job. I was living on 66th between 1st and 2nd, there was a bar near my apartment called “The Tennis Club” where I’d sat in from time to time, so I went there for a night cap and drown my sorrows. The lady who was the resident pianist/singer invited me up to sing which of course I did, (music heals). There was a gentleman in the front row who looked like a central casting version of a British Major. After I finished my 4 songs he invited me to join him for a drink. The last time I said “no” to a drink was when I misunderstood the question! It turns this fellow was called Jim Raines. He was from Australia, and worked for MacMillan publishing in New York and on the side ran a talent agency in Tokyo called “Rockwell International”. He asked if I was interested in performing in Tokyo, damn right I was!! One door closes etc. We met for lunch the following day at The Waldorf Astoria no less. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers, he said the gig would start January 1st 1978 and last for two months. It was at The Tokyo American Club in Minato City a prestigious district of Tokyo. Airfare from New York to Tokyo and an apartment would be provided and a salary of $1000.00 a week. He said he would be back in New York in six weeks and would bring the contract and paper work on that visit. He was a man of his word and we met up on that next visit. My friend Aaron “Hadji” Stahl said that I should ask for a week’s salary in advance, a new concept for me at that time. He joined the contract signing meeting and Mr. Raines promptly wrote a check for a grand. I was elated. I took the opportunity to go to England and visit my parents before I left on the quest. (My Uncle Clifford had been a Japanese prisoner of war and suffered a great deal and said “Don’t send me any bloody post cards from over there”. I understood and of course agreed.)

I had the marvelous book by James Clavell called “Shogun” (I still have it). In the story there are quite a lot of Japanese words which I learned and still remember. It helped once I arrived. Due to the fact we had no internet in those days the letters from the Embassy regarding my visa and work permit were somehow delayed meaning my departure wasn’t until January 2nd. My flight was on the much missed Pan Am direct from JFK to Tokyo. The night before there was a going away party at The Good Times which was a bittersweet event, I had become very fond of the cast of performers there but that was tempered by the thrill of completely new horizons and challenges. The flight was of course very long, (about 14 hours), during the course of it I felt inspired to write a song in my head, both words and music. When I arrived at Narita Airport a gentleman was there to meet me with the ubiquitous sign “Dagan San”. He explained my apartment wasn’t quite ready as the New Year is a traditional Holiday in Japan so a hotel room had been booked for two nights. I asked him if they had a piano, he laughed a little at that but said “yes they do, why?” I told him I’d written a song on the flight and I wanted to see if it worked. It did and here it is:

It’s called “Passing Through” and I was very proud of the way it turned out and how I had progressed my music composition skills to new level.

This recording was made many many years later at Golden Songs Productions in Las Vegas, once again with the amazing Gene Sironen and his lovely Wife Heidi on back up vocals along some fine Vegas based musicians.

After a good long rest to conquer the evils of jet lag I explored the neighborhood of Roppongi which became my “stomping ground” in the coming weeks. From my hotel window I was able to see Mount Fuji which is rare because of the smog that infiltrates the city on most days of the year. Being a holiday there was a respite from that pollution. Later I was given a tour of the Tokyo American club and was very impressed by the building. It existed (and still does) as a meeting place for Japanese and American business people and as a cultural center too. My apartment was right behind the building so an easy commute. Ironically the then Soviet Embassy was right next door and was heavily guarded by armed troops who would patrol the grounds at all hours of the day and night. Some members of the club would go to the roof top balcony and urinate into the grounds, getting a 100 points if they managed to target a guard. Fun Times!

So dear friends a new year began beautifully, my curiosity of exploring new places was fully engaged and the story will continue shortly. (It gets better!)

Thank you for being faithful readers of this life story, please tell only your best friends so I continue to grow my circle of subscribers. Please consider being one of the paid members it’s just $8.00 per month and as they say every little bit helps.

Till next time….

His lovely wife Julie and his Son Jay welcomed each and every one of the guests. Jerry’s generous spirit and great sense of joie d’vivre will be sorely missed.

As we all age the sea of departed souls grows deeper and the lake of our close friends grows shallower. Recognizing how difficult and even frightening this can be after going through my own losses I was inspired to compose this song to help those on the edge of transitioning and those of us left behind.

Here it is: “Crossing Over”

Here are the lyrics for the song:

Verse 1

Let me talk of death and angel’s wings,

with hope for eternal life my spirit sings

for what I’ll find on the far side of this vast divide.

Verse 2

On earth I can’t conceive of my form over there.

Deep within I believe when my body’s done

my soul will be taken into the angels care.

Chorus

Yes I’m crossing over. I’m crossing over soon,

it’s not my doom it’s my release

to dwell in G-d’s pure light,

with those I’ve loved in lives before,

and yes I’m crossing over to let my spirit soar.

Verse 3

My heart knows how to grieve

for those I have lost,

they were called upon to leave to the great beyond,

when I join them all will be revealed.

Verse 4

I know you’ll weep as I take my last breath,

your tears will wash my memory from here to there,

it takes my breath to make my spirit pure.

Chorus:

Verse 5

My Daughters and my son

are living proof the line is unbroken

and I live on knowing love is the eternal truth.

Verse 6

I’ll savor each exquisite moment in the time I have left,

one more sip of wine and one last cigarette,

only G-d and angels really know what’s next.

Chorus.

May this bring you all a sense of calm in the face of loss.

I will return in a few days with the continuing recall of my life in New York

I thank you my faithful readers for continuing to share these stories, comments and questions are always welcome!

Marcus

Beginning with sad news, my dear friend of many years Jerry Murphy left this realm on May 27th. He will be missed. Deepest condolences to Julie and the large family he left behind. My life was enriched by his friendship.

Better news, my singing partner of over 4 years Mariah Bonner just released a single on Spotify. She has the marvelous Seth Kibel, Sean Lane and Bob Abbot on this recording of “Wild Is The Wind”, a beautiful song recorded in 1966 by the legendary Nina Simone. Have a listen (or two) to this exquisite song. Mariah delivers a warm and intimate rendering of this composition by Dimitri Tiomkin and lyrics by Ned Washington.

For those of you close to Baltimore I will be performing at Sammy’s Trattoria on June 8th at 6pm and I will return to the Unite Mount Vernon Church (10 Mount Vernon Place) on June 13th for a concert performance of my favorite songs. That starts at 3pm and admission is FREE! Donations to the church are or course welcomed.

As my friend Pat Ozborn says “This Train Still Runs”

Picking up the threads of my life’s journey we return to 1977 in New York. Work was plentiful and my following was growing. Songs were being written some of which have sadly vanished from my memory. Writing “live” was a good habit to a degree but as the mists of night evaporated in the morning some gems were lost. I also became more self critical of my work and discarded those that I felt didn’t measure up. One I consciously deleted was called “I Do It For The Money” it was an angry tirade with some dubious language. (I have rarely cursed on stage or in my lyrics thinking that to be crass and unnecessary.) It did provide a title for a movie script I wrote that summer with input from Aaron Hadji Stahl was was the bartender at the Good Times. Aaron got the nickname “Hadji” from some Moroccan tribesmen he lived with for a while in the Atlas Mountains. He didn’t make the pilgrimage to Mecca and was in fact Jewish and the honorific was a mark of respect by the tribesmen. Aaron was a qualified lawyer but much preferred bar-tending and writing to be practice law. I heard through the grapevine that he became an environmental judge in later years. Sadly I have lost track of him. He was a good friend and objective critic. We finished the script and submitted to United Artists where it passed three readings and was then discarded. It was a story about a singer, his rise and fall and later come back. Some of the songs I’d written were incorporated into the story and one was written specifically for a scene. Here it is: “I Need All The Sunshine”

(This recording was done in Las Vegas with the marvelous talents of Gene Sironen and Heidi Thompson doing an outstanding job on back up vocals. Heidi suggested some minor changes to the melody and chord structure in the chorus which really lifted the song to new heights. I am at a loss why this one never became a hit.)

The scene was on a beach in Long Island in the winter where the lead character meets THE one. Looking back it probably wasn’t a great script but with writing help and a bit of luck it could have been quite decent. At least I was being as creative as possible and making a living from what had now become a driving passion.

As the year progressed a couple of life changing events were in store for me. Those will be in the next post in just a few days.

Stay tuned, stay well and tell only your best friends you’re part of a growing following of readers sharing this biography.

With thanks, Marcus

Laurie was a petite girl from Philadelphia, maybe five foot two with a smile that could warm the coldest heart, beautiful eyes and above all a magnificent voice. She worked as a waitress at The Good Times and every Friday and Saturday evening she would put down the tray and shyly take to the stage with her accompanist Marc Melamed. The room would go completely silent (Ricco even stopped the register ringing so as not to disturb the atmosphere Laurie created!) She would sing maybe just three songs and mesmerize the packed house. I remember hearing her version of Shiver Me Timbers by Tom Waits, (a song I fell in love with and perform to this day). Other stand outs were a pair of songs by Martin Charnin, “The Last Prince In Town” and “In The Quiet Of Your Arms”. Being among the few singers at the club we became friends sharing our mutual love of music and the frustrations inherent in trying to find work and being recognized as a “talent”. One evening Laurie said she had had enough and was thinking of going back home to Philadelphia. I said that being in this business was like being in an army, there’s lots and lots of privates and very few generals, Laurie said she never settle for less than being at least a major! The strong, determined Taurus that she was. That conversation was on a Thursday evening, by Sunday I composed as song for her called “We Are All Soldiers In The Army Of Song”. I played it for her during the Sunday Songwriters Showcase, she ran out of the club in tears. I struck a chord with the lyric in the first verse, no pun intended. She called the day after and apologized for running out. Later that week Laurie came into the club with the most marvelous news, she had been cast in the musical “Annie” and would shortly be on Broadway in what would become a massive hit. In gratitude to Ricco and Dorothy she organized the cast party after opening night in the club. Andrea McCardle (who was the first of many Annies) and Martin Charnin the composer and the rest of the cast were all present. It was a marvelous event.

After the run of Annie, in 1984 Laurie went on to play Grizabella in another hit show “Cats”, a role she played for over 4 years. She had played the role in 1983 in the first National touring production. After this she wanted to break away from the “Musical” scene and formed a punk-type band called Laurie and The Sighs. Not such a great success unfortunately, but fortunately for us she returned to her “roots” performing material from The Great American Song Book, without doubt her forte. Around this time she became a devoted performer of music composed by the very gifted David Friedman who produced her first CD “Listen To My Heart”. (I still have a copy). David also worked with a contemporary of Laurie’s, Nancy La Mott. Those two Ladies were the new faces of cabaret in New York and both were outstanding talents. Sadly both of them contracted ovarian/uterine cancer which in time would take both their lives at very young ages. Nancy was 43, Laurie 44. David composed a song for a benefit concert for Nancy that Laurie sang and then Nancy sang it for Laurie. That beautiful poignant piece is called “We Live On Borrowed Time”. As I post this this today (May 16th) just happens to be David’s Birthday, so Happy Birthday greetings to him.

A gentleman called Gary Olsen from GJO Productions has created an entire catalog of Laurie’s music and many videos in his role as an archivist and preserver of “all things Laurie Beechman” There is quite a vast archive of material which I look at from time to time reminding myself what a marvelous entertainer Laurie became. All I can say is “Thank G-d for the archives, YouTube and all the ways Laurie’s legacy lives on. David Kenney the host of a radio show called “Everything Old Is New Again” at WBAI 99.5 FM features Laurie quite frequently on his broadcasts. Have a listen!

I am adding the song I wrote for Laurie “Soldiers In The Army Of Song”. The lines “Many have died in the indifference of the lights, shot down by the applause that never came” are the ones that brought her to tears. Without a doubt she became the decorated General she dreamed of being.

Dear Friends, I hope you enjoyed this episode devoted to a beautiful talent.

As always, please tell only your best friends about this blog and keep reading these stories that are the elements of this life. There is so much more to come!!

Other singers names I remember from the club are Robin Solatar, Denis Raveneau. I wonder where they are these days and if they ever continued in the “business”. One other act that deserves mention was Otto Peterson, a ventriloquist with a foul mouth and quite ugly dummy “George”. As a “vent” he was excellent, as a human being quite disturbed in many ways. I heard he once was the act for a Porn Star awards ceremony and was deemed too filthy even for them! But having said that he was hilarious!

If memory serves there was always a wonderful supportive camaraderie amongst the many acts who appeared there making it a welcoming place to hang out and perform.

By now I was living on 29th Street between Third and Lex, so right around the corner. I’d do my paid gigs in various venues and stop by for a night cap on my way home and usually sing a few songs thereby building my “following” and on on occasion write a new one. Often, dear cousin Lani would be in the audience and I’d say “grab a pen, I’ve got an idea”. She probably still has a collection of those napkins and scraps of paper somewhere. Ricco offered me a few gigs for Happy Hour on Fridays, it didn’t pay that well but, work is work. I really didn’t enjoy doing it as it was always a noisy after work crowd who didn’t pay me the attention I’d gotten used to BUT what came out of that was a composition that is probably my most played song: “Cocktail Time”. I wrote it “live” somewhat out of frustration, it has been a staple of my repertoire ever since. The wonderful Shirley Horn wanted it for her “Here’s To Life” album that sold a few million copies, the producer wanted a different “bridge” with better lyrics (he was right) but by the time I got around to fixing it the album was already done! OY. In a future post I’ll mention Mr. Frank Sinatra, he told me he would have recorded it but in his words “he was done”. I include the original recording done on 2000 here, it features Gene Sironen on trumpet. The Penthouse Radio Station in New York plays this 4 or 5 times a week and… it’s a music video on YouTube and TikTok with Terry Battle on bass, the gorgeous Anastasia as the bartender and an interesting cast of characters!

Raise a glass and enjoy!

One of the most successful singers to come from the Good Times was Laurie Beechman. My next post will be devoted to her and her memory so please stay tuned….

Thank you dear companions of the journey, I hope you’re enjoying these elements of my life, feel free to comment, ask questions and please tell only your best friends and perhaps consider upgrading to being a valued paid subscriber.

To all that’s good,

Marcus

I think it was in May of 1976 there was a “Young Presidents” convention at the Hamilton Princess hotel and Moshe Dyan was one of the guests. The community invited him to a garden party we had a great conversation mainly in Hebrew as I was still fluent back then. I may still have a picture of that and I’ll try to find it and add it in future episodes. One other guest of note was Broz Tito the president of Yugoslavia, he was very short and not too friendly!

The celebrations of the 200th anniversary in New York attracted a few tall ships to Hamilton Harbor one of which was the beautiful “Winston Churchill” that had an all female crew. I met one of them at the Rum Runners, a beauty named Laura, I had time to show her a few bits of the island and we really hit it off. She told me she would be in Newport a couple of days later coinciding with my fore-mentioned gig at Salts we managed to briefly get together again. We then arranged to meet in New York after the celebrations. Lauren told me she was leaving the ship as she was the only straight girl in a crew of lesbians and desperately wanted to fly back to London. We had a few marvelous days and nights in the city exploring the South Street Seaport and wandering around the village exploring my new home and loving it. I was quite sad when she left and hoped we would meet again but it turns out we were two ships passing through, no pun intended.

My first real (meaning paid) gig in Manhattan was at The Press Box in midtown, Dan knew the owners so it was easy for him to book me. It was quite famous at the time as they used an exterior shot of it for the great TV show “The Odd Couple”. It was a very noisy place and I mainly played background music and sang very little. I believe it was early September when I found a little place on 2nd Avenue call “O’Daleys”, there I played the trusty 12 string as they didn’t have a piano. It was a perfect place for me and I met some marvelous people there including a long lost cousin Lani Rehbock. Lani has been a rock throughout the ensuing years and remains very close to this day. Along with Charlie she is still an important part of my life and one of the few remaining people from those early years. That gig lasted a long time and I slowly built a “following”. I also discovered a place around the corner that became very important to me on many levels. That was “The Good Times” on 31st and Third. Owned by Rico Guerrerio and his Wife Dorothy. It was known as a “Showcase Club” which basically means no one got paid for performing there except for the headliner. Most of the acts were comics trying out new material before they went uptown to “Catch A Rising Star” owned by Rick Newman who had been Rico’s partner. I witnessed Jerry Seinfeld’s first paid performance, he was paid $50 for two sets that were to last for 30 minutes, the first one came in short at 27 minutes, Rico actually timed it!!! The second set was basically the first one in reverse with a different crowd who had had a few beverages and were more receptive. He did 35 minutes this time an everyone was happy! He really became very famous (and rich) and in my opinion deserves his success.

I will sign off here and continue the journey shortly leaving you with a song inspired by Laura called “A Special Lady Like You”. Recorded much, much later with the amazing Gene Sironen and Heidi Thompson again blessing my music with their talents.

Stay involved and tell only your best friends about this journey.

Until next time dear friends.

The recent present has been full of quite interesting experiences. First, my singing partner of over four years, Mariah Bonner has been in town for a brief visit. She performed an excellent concert called “April in Paris” at Baltimore’s quirky An Die Musik Theater with an excellent combo comprising of the brilliant Seth Kibel on clarinet, flute and saxophone, Sean Lane on piano and Bob Abbot on bass. She also had a guest Clayton Bryant, a Grammy award winning singer who performed a beautiful rendition of Edith Piaf’s composition of Hymne A L’Amour. He did the English version of the song which is called “If You Love Me”, very moving. The day after the concert Mariah and I went to the studios of Sanity Lounge to record another one of their “deep dive” improv. interviews with Bryan and Mike. We performed four songs, “The Nearness Of You, “Hymne A L’Amour, “Besame Mucho” and we sang together on Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me To The End Of Love”. While they were conducting the interview I got to spend time chatting with the beautiful and vivacious Rachel Novak who is the brand manager for Sanity Lounge. Rachel hosts a weekly poetry at the Manor Mill, a venue where I have performed with Mariah. I guess I’ll have to make the schlep and be a part of that in the future. There will be much more about Mariah and me in future episodes of this journey. We were and still are a perfect symbiotic duo and have lots of recorded music on every major streaming channel for you to explore and enjoy. In the meantime here’s one of our tracks:

A Path Charted By The Heart

With Mariah Bonner and Seth Kibel

Here I’ll return briefly to the past to conclude the first Bermuda chapter of my life:

My contract at the Rum Runners was for six months, during that time naturally I had been making several contacts from the States. One notable one was a gentleman called Dan Mulholland who saw and heard something in my work that intrigued him. He offered to act as my manager once I left Bermuda. We met in New York a couple of times on my flying visits to the City where he saw me perform at “The Other End” in the Village and a couple of other venues too. The audiences were kind and receptive, a contract was prepared and duly signed to take effect in July.

In a previous post I mentioned the delightful lady Mrs. Myer Malloy, her daughter and husband lived in Providence, Rhode Island and had friends in Newport who owned a restaurant called “Salts”. They booked me there for three nights starting on Thursday July 1st. After my first set the manager said; “I’m glad you’re here, the guy we had last week sounded like he gargled with rocks” I asked who it was he said “Tom Waits”. At that time I had no idea who Tom Waits was, it took about a year for me to discover his work.

I flew to New York early on the Fourth of July and made it to the fabulous celebrations in the harbor and all around the city and moved into my sub-let on West 11th Street between 5th and 6th. Yet another new chapter was beginning and I was ready to conquer all the odds that I believed were in my favor.

Until next time, stay well and please tell only your best friends about this and my previous posts.

If you’re enjoying reading about this life please consider being a paying subscriber it’s only $8.00 a month.

P.S. Check out the interview I mentioned at www.sanitylounge.com

Last Monday my ears and other senses were blessed by an exquisite performance by the wonderful Diana Krall at Baltimore’s Myerhoff Symphony Hall. It was ninety minutes of pure musicality with bass player John Clayton. No bells, whistles or gyrating dancers just a sublime talent giving a flawless concert. The Japanese expression “Shubui” comes to mind meaning understated elegance. Thanks to Adeline for the tickets. I was inspired.

We are now into my favorite season, Spring! I think I know why it has that name as the temperatures are bouncing all over the place. 80 Degrees one day followed by 35 then up to 60 and down to 40. Boing, Boing, Boing, Spring!

I do love seeing Nature’s resilience as the buds develop on trees and perennial bulbs bring forth Daffodils and Tulips etc. Bright colors after the bleakness of Winter.

Picking up the nostalgia train and heading back to 1976 in Bermuda: My “deal” was to work seven nights a week for three weeks then take three days off. It made more sense at the time than it does now looking down the tube of history. The days off were initially spending Sunday through Tuesday afternoon in New York. I began to seek out venues I could perform, one notable one was “The Other End” in The Village, they had an “open mic” night on Mondays. I signed up and was allowed to perform three songs. They offered me a paid gig for the following Tuesday, I of course had to decline but my spirits were raised and gave me a great feeling of achievement. (Many months later I did perform there).

Through a contact I made from a visitor to Bermuda I secured a gig at “Club Passim” in Boston’s Cambridge district. I was booked to open for Gordon Lightfoot the well known Canadian troubadour. I arrived at Logan to find five inches of snow on the ground and a temperature of about 20 degrees, (a big shock to the system after Bermuda’s balmy 60 degrees.) I made it to the venue and was asked if I could play for about an hour as Gordon was “indisposed” (i.e. drunk in his hotel room) Of course I agreed and played every song I could think of that fit the requirements of the room meaning folk music including two of Gordon’s songs, “If you could read my mind” and “In the early morning rain”. Favorites then and now. I don’t recall what I was paid but it was certainly less than he would have gotten. No matter, I was successful and was invited back but never did get to play there again. I did visit about eight years ago when I was living in Massachusetts, I was delighted to see that the place is still going strong. Back in Bermuda I was making friends locally including David’s Daughter Liz, I’m happy to say that fifty years later we are still great friends, we’ve both been through many of life’s ups and downs and we endure. Liz helped me explore various parts of the island during the daytime even going on a horse back ride along the South Shore. The Island had and still does have a great bus service, small as it is, (21 miles long and a mile wide) it takes about 45 minutes to get the original capital St. George’s and a bit longer to reach Dockyard both of which are well worth exploring.

There is a small venue in Hamilton run by the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society called “The Daylesford” Theatre”, I met the director and in a Chutzpah moment asked if I could perform there as a fund raiser for the society. She said “yes” and I performed a ninety minute show that was SRO! I say Chutzpah because I never really performed an actual concert before, somehow I managed to entertain the audience who in turn came to The Rum Runners and became fans. Roger, David’s brother gave me the night off to do this knowing it would help the business. The Rum Runners was ideally located on Front Street and attracted not only locals but the ever growing amount of (mainly American) tourists. I felt blessed to be where I was and grateful to the angels that brought me here. At that time there was a very, very small Jewish population on the island consisting of less than ten people, not even enough for a Minyan! The first Jewish person to arrive in Bermuda was a Mr. Myer toward the end of the 19th century. Of course he had long since passed by the time I arrived, his Widow known as Mrs Myer-Malloy was a most elegant lady living in Paget Parish just across the harbor from Hamilton. I had the honor of being invited for “tea” on several occasions. Her Daughter and Son- in-Law lived in Providence Rhode Island. They visited quite often and knew of a few places where they believed I could find work whenever I left Bermuda. That story will be in the next episode as I explore the new horizons that were becoming available to me.

So Dear Companions, I will leave you here until the next post in a few days. Please tell only your best friends about this and help grow my readership base. I thank you for your support.

As I said, I had to leave Bermuda to get my work permit stamp so I went from 65 degrees to a freezing New York, understandable as it was December! I had called Susan from Bermuda and took her up on the invite. I took the now defunct Carey bus from JFK and a cab to her place on the upper East Side. She had a cozy and quite large studio apartment. We chatted about London and each other’s lives, I found her to be very attractive and delightful company. As the afternoon progressed she asked if I’d like to smoke a joint. Hand to G-d, I had never smoked one even though I lived all that time Amsterdam!! Well I figured I’d try it. It was cannabis and knocked me for a loop. Apparently at some point I imagined my spine to be a tank track and according to Susan I sat up in the slowest ever calisthenics movement she had ever seen, one vertebrae at a time. I have a vague recall of that first and last experience with that substance and have avoided it ever since then. Of course the dreaded “munchies” took over, I was craving FOOD. Susan suggested we go to the Village which started a life- long love affair with that beautiful part of Manhattan. We took a cab and got out in Sheridan Square where I saw an Israeli nightclub called “El Avram”. They served food as well as entertainment, an easy choice. It transpired the owner was Avram Grobard a Commander I had served with in the IDF. Small world indeed! I told him I was now a Zamar, (singer), and Dagan the Nagan (piano player/musician), of course I then had to sing for my supper tired as I was I performed well and was invited to come back anytime I was in town. A great introduction to a great City! The following day was Monday, Susan went to work, I bundled up and explored the streets ending up on Broadway and 52nd Street where I discovered The Colony Music Store. That was the beginning of a long association with this monument to sheet music and vinyl records etc. I needed to add songs from the Great American song book (also known as “Standards”) to my repertoire for the American audiences that came to Bermuda. I bought a couple of folios and several charts and spent at least two hours browsing. Sadly the store closed in September 2012 due to high rents and declining sales because of streaming, on line sites and a dearth of people wanting their products. A very sad loss indeed. Susan and I met up after her work and had a delightful intimate dinner where she told me she had never had a good New Year’s Eve, I promised her New Year’s Eve in Bermuda would be fun, we arranged her flight and my promise was kept. On Tuesday I returned to the island with new material to learn and a budding relationship with a lovely woman. Susan had the most beautiful dark brown eyes which inspired this next song I composed on the plane heading back. Here is “Knighted By Your Eyes”

A new year arrived and quite simply life was good. I was living in Paradise, I had a possible gig in New York and my horizons had broadened beyond my expectations.

Dear readers, the story will continue shortly. In the meantime please check out my in depth interview with Bryan and Michael at Sanitylounge.com Episode 65.

Stay well and feel free to comment on this and the previous stories. Tell only your best friends!

A week last Friday my buddy Bill Taylor and I went out to Owings Mills (a Baltimore suburb) to meet with two amazing gentlemen who produce some marvelous internet television video content to support the arts of all kind in the Baltimore area. They are Bryan Leppo (he is a living double of a dear departed friend, Bruce Fox, the resemblance is uncanny) and Michael Davis. We had no preconceived ideas or script, we just started in and the results can be seen on their web site. Here’s the link:

Sanitylounge.com Episode 65. There’s some revelations and five songs in the broadcast. I hope you’ll visit and tell only your best friends and if possible donate to support these enterprising people with a great vision.

I believe I speak for all involved, We had a blast!!

Dear readers, the journey to the past will continue in a couple of days.

Thank you for your support and welcome to my new subscribers!