In the past, I have recorded a Christmas album of classic Christmas songs, an original two song cd single of Marie's original Christmas songs, a few cd singles, and an album of original material called "Home Again," which can be found on iTunes. This album "Classic" contains 12 songs that I consider classic tunes; from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Some Enchanted Evening," to Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love." I love a good melody -- especially if it tells a story. These songs all mean something special to me. I first heard "Over the Rainbow" when I was a kid. My parents had a black and white TV back then, but my grandparents' had a color tv, one of the first in the neighborhood. They invited my sister over to watch "The Wizard of OZ" when it came on TV. She was three years older than me. I stayed at home and watched with my parents and my baby brother in black and white. When my sister came home the next morning, I bombarded her with questions -- "Wheat color was Dorothy's dress? What did munchkin land look like? Was the road really yellow? " I'll never forget the first time I heard Judy Garland sing the song. Perfection; my favorite part of the movie. Still. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" Carolle King's classic song -- the first time a pop song had dealt with such an issue.... what a stepping stone for the women's rights movement. "What is This Thing Called Love?" Who doesn't love a Cole Porter song? The turn-of-phrase, the witty rhyme schemes. Classic. "Blackbird." I first recorded this song for and Indaba.com cover song competition. I really experimented with vocals on garage band for this one. I loved singing with myself! "Hello Again," - people always ask me if I know any Neil Diamond song. I got tired of the standard "Sweet Caroline" for the Boston crew, and started looking for other songs. This one is one of my favorites, especially with the synth strings.... I perform locally with a big band, the SOS bigband of Cumberland, RI. I started singing "Teach Me Tonight" with then, and I remember hearing it first by Phoebe Snow. I first heard Jane Olivor sing "Some Enchanted Evening" when I went to see her perform live in the 80s with my dad. She gave me chills when I heard her sing this Rodgers/Hammerstein song from "South Pacific." I recently resurrected it when I played at The Black-Eyed Susan Acoustic Cafe" in Angelica, NY. It was just that kind of night...... My grandmother used to sing "Till We Meet Again" (yes, the same Grandma that invited my sister to watch the movie!) This is especially for her. So here's my story about "Never Saw Blue." Back in 2004, I fell in love with a man named Michael. I'm not sure it was really love, but I thought it was at the time. I was singing a coffeehouse performance with my band "Big Yello." I wanted to sing a love song to Michael, but I needed a song that was different enough so he'd listen to the words. I searched and searched, and then I saw that Julia Roberts Movie "Run Away Bride" on tv late one night. That song is in the movie, and I had never really heard it before. I knew that was the song I had to sing. I sang it that night for Michael. A few months later, he dumped me! I never sang it again till recently when I ran across the live tape from that performance. It's still an awesome song...... and I still never saw blue that way before, or again... I have had many musical mentors in the past. I have listened and learned from the greats like Julie Andrews and Barbra Streisand. For a long time, I so admired the voice of Karen Carpenter. I still love listening to her recordings. I think this song "I Won't Last a Day Without You,"is my favorite of hers. Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" was recorded by Adele in her first album. The very first time I heard it, my daughter had just made the decision to go to college two years earlier than normal, skipping her last two years of high school. It was a difficult time for me -- and adjustment in my life that I wasn't quite ready to make. I listened to the song and realized how much I would miss her, and how much I wanted to do anything for her. Such a bittersweet song, at just the right time. I loved Adele's version of that song --the straight, simple piano/vocal/ violin arrangement she used was so lovely. I recorded it but I didn't like my version, and I couldn't put my finger on it. Almost didn't make it on the album. But I love the song so much. So I tried it in a higher key, and bingo! That was the issue. Problem solved. My voice is just not as deep as Adele's, so the higher key works for me! And lastly, "Auld Lang Syne." I teach elementary school, and one year my fifth graders were doing a holiday music possible. The answer was the title to this public domain song. But the kids couldn't get it, didn't know the song. So I went to iTunes to try and download a version. The only ones I could find were instrumentals, and then one recorded by James Taylor. While I like his version, I thought it would be nice to have a version with a female vocal that I could play for my kids at school. So there you have it -- the why of the whole album!