“Mick Jagger and David Bowie did not record the original version of ‘Dancing in the Street,’ ” writes Andrew Hughes in Wednesday’s (10/16) South Bend Tribune (IN). “That came as news to Maestro Alastair Willis as he started to study the scores for Saturday’s pops concert by the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. [He grew up on] the British singers’ 1985 cover of Martha and the Vandellas’ 1964 classic. ‘But I figured that one out quickly, because this is a program about women in rock,’ Willis says…. Titled ‘Women Rock,’ the concert features guest singers Cassidy Catanzaro, a 2017 Grammy Award nominee; multi-instrumentalist Celisse Henderson; and ‘The Voice’ contestant Katrina Rose singing songs made famous by female vocalists. The program [includes] Tina Turner’s 1989 version of ‘The Best (Simply the Best)’—and many of the other songs … also come from the ’80s.… ‘This is an attempt to highlight the amazing contribution of women to rock and pop music,’ Willis says…. No one’s contribution is highlighted more than Carole King’s, with five songs credited to her.… The program includes … The Average White Band’s ‘Pick Up the Pieces,’… ‘a great piece for the orchestra to sink their teeth into,’ says Willis.”
Posted October 17, 2019
