
There were times when the harmony on the songs their father
had sung to them as they were growing up when neither Billy Joe nor Norah was
singing the lead melody line. Turns out
there is a name for that. It is called "diatonic-third
harmony", and it became an influencing model for some of the greatest
names in Rock and Roll.
I bought two other albums that have relevance, both by Linda
Ronstadt: Trio and Trio 2. I read her
biography Simple Dreams a few months
ago. Although her musical career
embraced many different forms of music, and more than one language, she had a
special affection for harmony. These two
albums feature harmony with her favorite
musicians: Emmy Lou Harris and Dolly Parton.
She also did an album featuring the Everly Brothers.

Now, with few exceptions in musicals I have been in, I
confine my singing to weekly hymns, and my harmony to Christmas songs, but I
enjoy listening and will return to some of the songs done by those confessing
influence from the Everly Brothers: a fairly impressive list that includes:
·
The Beatles, greatly influenced by the Brother's
success in Great Britain
·
Buddy Holly, who gave up his Letter Jackets for
the Ivy League look of the Everlys
·
The Beach Boys, who literally rode the wave of story-telling
Rock and Roll
·
The BeeGees, and
·
Simon and Garfunkel. Paul Simon called their voices the clearest in
the history of Rock and Roll
For some reason it seems to me that harmony has fallen out
of fashion. I get a weekly dose by
listening to Prairie Home Companion,
where Garrison Keillor always manages to use the skills he claims to have
learned in his Lutheran youth., and occasionally find an established group, who
issue a new album, such as Uptown Vocal
Jazz Quartet who made a hot a cappella jazz album in 2012 called Hustlin' for a Gig that I especially
liked.
Come to think of it though, a cappella singing is making a
comeback and not only from the Benedictine Nuns. And the harmony of that singing is as
beautiful as any that the Everly Brothers did.
Maybe I'll just change my diet from Rock and Roll to Gregorian Chant.
In my next post I will share some of the tips I've found
from my weekly visits to the Farmers Market.
If you want o know how I pick my fruit and vegetables, stop on by.
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