Re: [Harp-L] "Authentic" pronunciation?

[joe leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sep 28, 2010, at 12:41 PM, Michael Peloquin wrote:
> It doesn't bother me... do the same singers bother you when you  
> hear them before you have seen them?
> Have you ever heard the Japanese do blues and country music? They  
> learn their English phonetically and sound pretty spot on cool.
> Also, what is with all the British singers that sound American when  
> they sing?
> Why should we have a problem with singers that sound "Black" when  
> we don't really want to hear blues instrumentalists sound "White"?
> There is a lot of copying and influence by of a handful of Black  
> blues harmonica masters right here on Harp-l. Does the same  
> standard not apply to singing?
> I want to hear Smokey Joe and the Imitations!!! - I hear they have  
> a great harp player with reeds made from old razor blades!
>
>
> Michael Peloquin
> http://www.usaharmonicas.com
> http://harpsax.com
> http://myspace.com/peloquinharpsax

Interesting/non interesting story: Last Feb I was on the Jewel of the  
Seas on a cruise to So. & Cen. America. Played on the ship, played at  
the Hard Rock Cartegena. So we had this singer on the ship. She was  
one of the best torch singers I have ever heard. Even did 'scat'. She  
was Bulgarian. Didn't speak but 6 words of English. Absolutely NO  
accent when she sang. Sounded like a cross between Nancy Wilson and  
Dionne Warwick. Talk about spinning my head until my brains splashed  
down into my shoe laces. She sure made a Christian out of me. I SAW  
the light.  lol

Couple years ago on a trip up the Danube and down the Mainz & Rhine,  
the little river boat 'Viking Pride' only held 180 passengers. So,  
naturally the entertainment was sparse. A one man band in fact. While  
we DID have groups come aboard in several of the larger cities,  
(Bratislava, Buda-Pesht, Wien, Passau, Cologne, Amsteldam, yada  
yada), he did a preeeety good job nightly on guitar, keyboard,  
vocals, and backing tracks. His name was Randy something unpronounceable
(Like Prczemvsechikowsky, or something like that). He had a heavy  
Hungarian accent. He was eLATED when I offered to sit in with him. We  
wound up spending 21 GREAT nights entertaining the passengers in the  
lounge. No pressure. Just fun. A very appreciative well-heeled crowd.  
His accent didn't bother me as he would jump from Elton John to Frank  
Sinatra to the Eagles, with reckless abandon.  lol and THEN some

Funny about music...the international language.       smokey-joe