Etta James-RIP

I just read that Etta James' funeral will be held today. IMHO, she was the greatest female vocalist of all-time. Having attended five of her concerts, I can say I thought each subsequent performance was the best I'd ever seen.

In my lifetime, I've had the pleasure of seeing live performances by Tina Turner, Patti Labelle, and Aretha Franklin. My music colletction consists of many other female vocalists, namely, Dinah Washington, Maybelle Smith, Whitney Houston, Willie Mae Thorton, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, etc. Etta blows them all away-bar none!

Some can argue greatness on a single song basis, which may be a valid point. Patsy Clines's rendition of Crazy, Aretha Franklin's Respect, etc., are near perfection, especially when it comes to the expression of raw emotion. Nearly every one of Etta's songs is flawless in this regard. Trust in Me, Sunday Kind of Love, I'd Rather Go Blind, Out of the Rain, and the most often mentioned, At Last, are but a few that fall into the category of perfect emotional expression. My personal favorite, Something's Got a Hold on Me, is being sampled on a current hit today by an artist known as Common.

Unfortunately, too many music lovers will never get to experience a live performance by Etta James.

Two Words I Won't Tell My Waiter/Waitress-NO TIP!

Have you ever seen these online articles that begin with "10 things XXXX won't tell you?", and as you're reading down the list you inevitably encounter something you do?

I found out that my order for hot tea may annoy the person waiting on me in a restaurant. Really? I'm paying two dollars for a ten cent bag of tea, the cost of which I include in my tip calculation, and somehow, this is annoying. Well, I have to say that I'm pretty annoyed about having to tip someone who thinks serving me hot tea is an inconvenience.

Supposedly, the article was written based on a survey of waiters/waitresses, but I doubt anyone surveyed ever worked as a waiter/waitress in a decent restaurant or diner. When I waited tables, you'd try to entice the customer to spend as much money as possible. If serving a patron hot tea is annoying, maybe it's time to chose another occupation that doesn't rely on "service" as a large portion of your income!

Clever Moniker

I can never think of a clever moniker to use when commenting on a blog. Anything really clever or unique is already taken by the morons/moronettes at Ace of Spades HQ. So I decided that rather than make up a name that is "teh awesome", I'd stick to what I know-mundane!

Welcome to my initial post!