THIS ONE'S FOR YOU
And this one's for you Dar. Was it the early nineties? I can't remember the decade. They all blend together after awhile. And it's serendipitous that I found this particular video-- Diana expressing her love of playing Irving Berlin up against Joni Mitchell--two of MY favorite songwriters! I believe the concert was at Radio City Music Hall. Four or five notes in I knew she was going to do one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs, "A Case of You". Then the magic happened. The chills up my spine.
THE AFTER PARTY
It was my great fortune that you not only invited me to the concert, but also the after party at The Four Seasons. There were lots of celebrities there, but I just wanted to meet Diana. As we sipped champagne and felt elegant, I relentlessly implored you to introduce me. You made it happen. I was able to get out a sentence or two, something about how amazing her cover of the Joni song was. Her response, with a wry smile, was something along the lines of "well, she wrote it. . ." Every time I hear a song of hers I think of those two moments juxtaposed, her at the piano doing her smoky rendition of the song, and me stammering out something to say when I met her.
"YOU ARE IN MY BLOOD LIKE HOLY WINE"
That line gets me every time. That, and "love is touching souls". Just listen to this one on a cold night with a stiff cocktail in your hand and memories of love past and present on your mind. Feel every note and lyric reach your ears and dive down deep into your heart.