From Newton-John to Michael Penn

Having taken my Olivia Newton-John title thing as far as I need to, it's time to cross-fade into my present-tense musical obsession: a critically-acclaimed yet criminally-unfamous, wordsmith-extraordinaire singer-songwriter -- a man who needs no hyphens, although I gladly provide them free-of-charge: Mr. Michael Penn.

While I could blather on about Michael Penn for paragraphs on end, my blathering today is aimed towards my participation in a MP tribute project, and what amounts to my first attempt to gift the world with the beauty of my singing voice (she says in a voice heavy with sarcasm.)

Being a presumably mature human, I won't cop to being part of a fan club; rather I am a member of a collective of highly intelligent individuals who appreciate the artistic vision of Mr. Penn - the michaelpennlist.

Earlier this year, one of the highly intelligent individuals, Ms. Merujo, presented the idea of a cover project to the group, which was enthusiastically received.

Man, I'm really into the multi-syllabic words today. Sorry.

Esteemed Husband and I chose to cover the song, "Try." Our plan was to take this straightforward pop/rock ditty & turn it into a duet. Esteemed Husband would handle all the instrumentals, and I would simply have to come in and sing, just as I've song along with that song innumerable times in my car.

But see, there's the catch: I've sung in my car -- alone. I've song in my shower -- alone. I've song in my house -- when noone else was around (except for the cats when they were alive, and my singing would generally prompt the felines to leave the room.)

Blame my stage-fright issues on a teenage guitar recital performance of "Annie's Song" gone awry (I daresay the music of John god-rest-his-soul Denver has wrecked many a budding career.)

Consequently, even after being together 13 years, my husband has really never heard me sing, other than very, very softly. And now we were going to record a song together.

Don't get me wrong...I've been pestering said husband to let me sing back-up on his songs for many a year (for those who remember "I Love Lucy" - imagine Lucy Riccardo trying to get into Ricky's band) to no avail.

(Okay, the set-up has turned to be so lengthy that I'll save the actual "Behind the Music" for the next post. Oh, I know you'll be able to wait...somehow...)