Wednesday
3rd September, 2008
New concerts announced!
Click HERE for details.
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A Thought for Today
Love is the answer. . . never mind the question.
This
One Does It For Me!
Dear Ken,
I don't know much about Mr. McKuen but I'm a big Greta Keller fan
and have been told they once recorded an album together.
I haven't been able to find a copy anyway and am beginning to suspect my
information is incorrect.
Are you able to help?
Bryan Fischer
The album you're referring
to is probably the recording of Rod and Greta's 1971 concert, Bryan, and
I suspect you're in for a treat if you can lay your hands on a copy.
You'll find more information
about it below along with a poem from the album which, if memory serves,
appears here for the first time.
As for finding a copy you
can try Stanyanhouse.com and
if they can't help your best bet would be ebay or Amazon.
An Evening in Vienna with Greta Keller & Rod
McKuen
Historic recording of the Brahms-Saal 1971
June 4, 1971 - A historic musical evening in Vienna, a city famous for
its historic music evenings. Here on a beautiful summer night, the best
of two musical worlds came together for the first time. Europe’s leading
chanteuse Greta Keller and America’s only chansonnier Rod McKuen joined
in a magic concert which highlighted each of their talents to the
fullest while blending two individual styles into a captivating new
musical entity.
Both Greta Keller and Rod McKuen traditionally appear only as solo
artists when performing on stage - rarely, if ever, do they combine each
of their programs with a second artist. The talent of each is in itself
so strong, so dynamic that a sharing of the spotlight only would serve
to diminish the impact. But the mutual love between Greta and Rod added
a new dimension to their artistry as they appeared together for the
first time anywhere in the Vienna concert captured on this recording.
For years, each had admired the talent of the other. Rod would write
songs for Greta - and Greta would introduce the songs throughout Europe
giving the poetry and melody of McKuen new life. As they traveled
through the world in different directions, performing separately, it
seemed that the two were drawn closer together by their work and a
growing sense of mutual love and respect. They would visit each other
whenever possible and kept up a steady correspondence. It was inevitable
then that this love eventually would bring them together on a stage -
two unique talents combined for one unique concert: Rod McKuen presented
in his first Vienna concert by Greta Keller. And Greta honored Rod not
only by presenting him in this concert but by also appearing with him in
the Brahms-Saal in a program entitled: “A History of the America Popular
Song Up to and Including Rod McKuen.”
Greta Keller is one of those few
performers in the world who can be called “a legend”. With charm,
personality, glamour and pure talent she has dominated the world of
music and entertainment for decades since her debut as a child star with
the Volkstheatre in Vienna, the city of her birth. Spending her teenage
years as an actress in Vienna... studying dance, dramatics, and voice...
learning French, German, and English - she was preparing for her debut
as a cabaret singer ( the cabaret was the mileau of all great
Continental performers seeking to reach an audience ). While appearing
in the Viennese production of the musical “Broadway” Greta was a young
girl working in the chorus - and together they listened to the newest
gramophone records and practiced their singing... the young girl was
named Marlene Dietrich. As Dietrich went on to become an international
star, Greta Keller likewise soon found herself known around the world.
Enthusiastic audiences greeting her singing in Vienna, Prague, Berlin,
Paris, and finally London where she made her first records and starred
in her own BBC radio series. America beckoned next and Greta appeared on
Broadway in “The Fourth Little Show” in a role created by Libby Holman.
She co-starred with Rudy Vallee on radio and soon had her own program.
Concert tours, broadcasts to the Allied troops during World War II, and
television appearances followed in rapid succession. While other singers
were slightly apprehensive about television in its infancy, Greta
recognized its great future and was one of the first to regularly appear
on the medium. She opened her own nightclub in New York City and
continued to sing in concert halls around the world. Currently living in
Vienna, Miss Keller spends several months each year in the United States
performing frequently either in concert ( such as in New York’s Lincoln
Center ) or in cabarets ( New York’s Hotel Stanhope presents her several
times a year ). Currently in the planning stage in a new off-Broadway
one woman show to showcase her talents. She is active in the recording
field and “An Evening in Vienna’ represents one of a series of new Greta
Keller records soon to be released.
Rod McKuen is the world’s best
selling poet, one of its greatest living composer-performers, and a man
of so many diverse talents that the list seems endless. He has written
film scores ( “Joanna”, ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”, “Me, Natalie”,
“A Boy Named Charlie Brown”, “Scandalous John” ) as well as classical
compositions ( two symphonies, two concerti, and several shorter works
). His popular songs, numbering over 1000, have been performed by most
of the major singers on the scene today. The books of McKuen poetry
(Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows”, “Listen to the Warm”, “Lonesome
Cities”, “In Someone’s Shadow”, and “Fields of Wonder” among others )
have reached more hearts and minds than those of any other poet in
contemporary literature. As a performer, Rod McKuen’s one man concerts
are sell out attractions wherever he plays - and those unable to buy a
seat to see him in concert, can enjoy him on television specials filmed
in the United States, England, Holland, and Austria. From his home in
Los Angeles, Rod runs a growing book publishing - recording company and
Animal Concern, a foundation to save endangered species and promote
humane treatment of domesticated animals and wildlife. In the future,
there are plans for Rod to adapt his poetry books for motion pictures
and to direct and produce films. A documentary dealing with his life and
performances is currently being filmed and several major recording
projects chronicling his creative career are in preparation. New poetry
books by Rod McKuen include “Pastorale”, “And to Each Season”, and
“Beyond the Boardwalk”.
Click
on the Stanyan House logo to buy Rod McKuen books, CD's and lots more
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subscribe to the Rod McKuen mailing list
Catch Rod McKuen live!
Click on the links below for details of
concerts and appearances.
ROD McKUEN
CONCERTS
ROD
McKUEN APPEARANCES
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