The Oscars: Paul Newman - Plastic Jesus

Paul Newman: Plastic Jesus
[via YouTube]

How about a transition from “Songs about Actors” to our next theme? Here, we have an actor who won an Academy Award and was nominated for several others. A man who by all appearances made the most of life. An actor who appears in this clip to be a musician of sorts.

In addition to acting, Paul Newman raced cars, played no small role in opposing the Vietnam war, directed films and founded a food company, the profits of which he donated to charity. There’s certainly more to his life that I don’t know and haven’t listed here.

Oh, and he served in WWII before his acting career, which leads us into our theme for the coming week: military & marching.

I dug as deep as I could to try to learn the facts: is he really playing the banjo in this clip? The amateur nature of the scene indicates “yes”, but I have no proof. Do you know more than I? Does the man’s resume include “simply playing the banjo while singing”?

"Plastic Jesus": so indicative of our times. Probably made in China.

Oscars >> Military Marching

The Oscars: Candle in the Wind

Randy Reer/Drakytown: Candle in the Wind
[download free from SoundCloud]

You have to dig beyond the first few pages of Google links to find any reference to “candle in the wind” that isn’t related to Elton John. The juxtaposition of those particular words may not have been his originally, either; however, it is the title of T. H. White’s fourth book from The Once and Future King series that was published between 1939 and 1958.

One source notes that Elton John’s writing partner, Bernie Taupin, took his inspiration for the lyrics from the short life of Janis Joplin. He is quoted as saying that the song could be about any “.. actor, actress, musician … who died young … It’s a beauty frozen in time.”  When he was criticized for re-writing the lyrics in 1997 for Princess Diana’s funeral, he apparently remarked, “it would serve you much better to get up in the morning, look in the mirror, and say, 'I wonder what I can do today to really make a difference.' “ The fact is that all of our lives resemble a burning candle.

The version here is one of many renditions you can locate at SoundCloud, and I chose it because it is a cover by someone I’ve never heard of that is freely downloadable – partly in light of the fact that, while we honor actors, actresses and such this week, it is also their “guardian” (in the form of the MPAA and associates) that has made the work of SMM bloggers that much harder – to no one’s real benefit.

Having said I had never heard of the musician of my choice this week, what I do know is that there appears to be a “group” called Drakytown and that Randy Reer – from Leverkusen, Germany, may be the vocalist. A decent if not top of the line performance, but – hey … it’s free. And, the lyrics are altered as well.

As we wrap up our week of Presidents, the somewhat murky relationship between MM and JFK might be relevant. Marilyn Monroe never got an Oscar, but "Some Like It Hot" was nominated for several and she did get a Golden Globe Award for best actress.