I watched a movie musical virtually every Friday night of my childhood. For real. My dad was a professor who showed films to his students, which means on weekends, the projector and pull-down screen were all ours. If I tell you that I’ve seen every movie musical ever made, I might only be lying a …
Continue reading “Movie Musicals: a Brief (Personal) History”
For most stars, Oscar night is their night to show off: show off their great taste; show off their great bodies; show off their great relationships with great designers and great stylists. In fact, many people remember what a star wore long after they’ve forgotten which film the star appeared in! Michelle Williams, 2006, …
Continue reading “Academy Awards Fashion: Getups and Gowns We’ll Never Forget”
Isabel live with Clifford Carter and Paul Nowinski – February 2014, NYC Ah, Valentine’s Day… a controversial holiday at best. It makes some people depressed, others jealous, and a few deeply stressed as they try to figure out the perfect plan for their partner. Some people end up buying their own box of chocolates …
Here’s a brief glimpse at my most recent live show. It was a biggie — got the whole gang up there, horn section, back up girls and all. Debuted some of the new tunes that will be on my forthcoming album, Trouble In Paradise. Threw in some oldies along with it. Enjoy!
Does Music Make the Man, or does The Hairdo make the man? That was the question that consumed me as I watched Bruno Mars rock the half time show at Superbowl 48. There was the voice, the music, the costumes, the moves… and then there was the hair. I like Bruno well enough when he …
Continue reading “Bruno Mars and his Hairstyle: a ‘do or a don’t?”
Cecil Beaton’s name popped up on my screen the other day while I doing a google search on movie musicals, and I thought: “Who, exactly, is/was Cecil Beaton? A playwright? A photographer?” He definitely sounded English, but I couldn’t really place what he’d done. A quick investigation revealed him to be one of the greatest …
Continue reading “Cecil Beaton: If You Don’t Know Who He Is, You Should!”
Coming up with the perfect retro logo design is harder than it looks! I thought I’d walk you through the steps my designer and I took to create my own new logo. Step 1 – What do we want to convey? I’m a singer My music and look hearkens back to the Vegas …
As I go about planning my own album art, I’ve been doing a little research. The album covers of the early 1960s hold a very special place in my heart. I thought I’d share a few of my favorite’s with you. Do you have any favorites? Any inspiration you want to send my way? …
It’s been raining steadily all day long which means I’m not that motivated to wear anything but my sweats and a cozy sweater. But it’s time to go out to dinner, so I’ve turned to my favorite movies for inspiration. The characters in these classics sure know how to dress with a little panache despite …
There may be better ways of staying warm, but none of them are quite this glamorous! Veruschka keeps warm this season by wrapping herself up in stuffed animals and throw rugs. ___________ Shirley Bassey goes winter white with terrific go-go boots. ___________ False lashes? Check. Glamour-Tip nails? Check. Roadkill? Check. ___________ What warms one …
I was working happily away on my novel early one Sunday morning in July when Suzi –who was visiting me for the weekend– came running into my kitchen shrieking, “Bob bloody Rock is going to listen to your album!!!” It wasn’t even seven yet: my first cup of coffee was still hot in my hand. …
Continue reading “How I Managed To Catch Some of Ziggy’s Stardust, Part 6”
I liked Suzi’s English accent and her straight –forward, confidant manner immediately. She also seemed to know a lot about the music business though, at the time, I had no idea who her husband had been or what kind of life she had once lead. “I love red hair,” I recall her saying. I’m sure …
Continue reading “How I Managed To Catch Some of Ziggy’s Stardust, Part 5”
Mick got along so well with The Payola’s, he ended up touring with them. In between dates, he taught Bob Rock about production. Bob was an enthusiastic and talented student, and while The Payolas only put out a few more albums together with many years between each release, Bob’s engineering and producing talents launched him …
Continue reading “How I Managed To Catch Some of Ziggy’s Stardust, Part 4”
The Sombrero, a gay disco on Kensington High-Street, was the place to be if you were a cutting edge rock star like David already was. Shortly after Suzi dyed his hair red, Bowie dropped by The Sombrero and the hipsters and the queens and the trend-setters went wild.
Suzi arrived at the Bowie’s flat– grandly called Haddon Hall– late in the afternoon, and was greeted by a completely surprised Angie. Many long moments passed while Angie starred into Suzi’s eyes without any apparent recognition. “I’ve come to do your perm,” Suzi finally prompted. “Ah, yes,” Angie replied, still clearly confused. Suzi followed her …
Continue reading “HOW I MANAGED TO CATCH SOME OF ZIGGY’S STARDUST (PART 2)”
This story doesn’t begin with me at all. It really begins with David Bowie. Actually, it begins with David’s mom. The year was 1971, when I was still in pampers, and one Margaret Mary Jones had a standing appointment at Evelyn Paget salon in Beckenham, North West London, every Thursday at a quarter to five …
Continue reading “How I Managed to Catch Some of Ziggy’s Stardust (Part 1)”
Blame it on Billie Holiday. Blame it on Carmen Miranda. Blame it on my genetic code or my sun sign. Whatever the reason, I’ve never seen a hat or a flower or a feather headdress or even a bathing cap I haven’t wanted to slap on my head. I just feel uplifted with something on …
My darlings! I’m beyond thrilled to announce the launch of my new website! I love my Facebook community so much, now we all have yet another place where we can hang out! I’ll be posting expanded stories, and sharing extra photos on my blog, and you should also check out the PHOTO and VIDEO pages …
I suppose I’m lucky it rained so much of my stay in Jamaica over the Presidents Day long weekend. It forced me out of the hotel and helped me select non-beach oriented excursions. My first adventure was a visit to Nine Mile, Bob Marley’s childhood home. I felt a little like Debbie Boone jamming with …
I’ve got two shows coming up this spring at the spectacular venue Duane Park, in New York City. Duane Park has some exciting news, too! They’ve moved from Tribeca to larger space in the East village, so there will be more room for everyone to get in on the action. For tickets, visit my shows …