Takin' some good advice

I have been listening a great deal to Nancy LaMott lately. Nancy was cabaret singer, born in Midland, Michigan. Gifted with a remarkable, expressive voice she managed to became well known on both the San Francisco and New York cabaret scenes despite several chronic life-long diseases. She died, tragically, in December 1995 at age 43 of uterine cancer just 45 minutes after marrying the man she had met and fell in love with in March of that same year. Her legacy to us is a voice -thankfully captured on several recordings - that stays in your head - and touches your imagination and heart. I was very pleased to read recently that after years of litigation, more recordings of her vocal stylings will be released in the future for even more to appreciate.

If you haven't checked out any of her material, please do so. If you love the 'standards' you will find Nancy's interpretations marvelous.


At this point I move from the wonderful Nancy to another favorite of mine - because he wrote what we now consider standards: Johnny Mercer. On one of Nancy LaMott's albums, she does a rendition of a Johnny Mercer/Harold Arlen song: Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive. If you haven't heard of it before, or if you don't recall all the lyrics, let me share them with you now.... for a purpose. It is easy, perhaps far too easy, to find fault, see the 'downside', knit pick, become someone who sees only the problematic side of things, not the lighter, upside. Trying to spread the Good News with the corners of your mouth headed southward is counter productive. Sit back, relax, take the high road and lighten the load. Here's the essence of a theme to adopt:

AC-CENT-TCHU-ATE THE POSITIVE

You've got to ac-cen-tuate the positive, E-lim-inate the negative;

Latch on to the affirmative. Don't mess with Mister In-Between!

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum; Bring gloom down to the minimum,

Have faith or pandemonium's Liable to walk upon the scene.

(To illustrate this last remark, Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark. What did they do

Just when everything looked so dark?)

Man, they said we better Ac-cen-tuate the positive, E-lim-inate the negative;

Latch on to the the Affirmative. Don't mess with Mister In-Between.

Don't mess with Mister In-Between!

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There's the theme...... now run with it and add your own style. That's the way we spread the GOOD News!