Marc Anthony ~ Paul Simon Medley Songwriters Hall of Fame, 1988

Happy 55th Birthday to one of the great male vocalists of the last half century, the unparalleled Marc Anthony. One of the beauties of world music is the alliance of talent, song craft, intestinal fortitude and emotional resonance, rather than merely understanding the language itself, particularly if you don’t speak said language, and on that level alone, Anthony has long been one of my favourite vocalists. He forages a lyric and melody, into the very soul of the song, and transcends it into art. (He even made his freestyle origins - a genre of music one, let's face it, doesn’t need that much vocal acuity for - thrilling because he HAD the chops.) His foray into English pop music, as opposed to his exceptional Latin roots, brought him to another level of success during the late 1990s “Latin Explosion” with his self-titled English debut. Anthony’s instrument is still mesmerizing and emotive and magnificent. Anthony also made his short-foray into musical theater with Paul Simon’s misbegotten “The Capeman,” in 1998. The show ran for three months, opening with negative reviews. But I saw that production, and I can attest that while the show itself was mired in problems (as theater neophyte Simon admitted), the performances were electric, especially by Anthony and Ruben Blades. And the score had some great Simon songs. Here, Anthony performs one of those songs - “Satin Summer Nights” - along with two other Simon classics, “Slip Slidin’ Away,” and a short clip of "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”. This was performed at the 1998 Songwriter’s Hall of Fame ceremony, on June 10th of that summer. Simon was given the Johnny Mercer award (which is given to writers “already inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and judged by the Nominating Committee as having established a history of outstanding creative works,” according to the official website). So, once again, Happy Birthday Marc Anthony! Long may you ravish! #MarcAnthony #HappyBirthday #Legend #Singer #PaulSimon #SongwritersHallOfFame #1998 #TheCapeman #SatinSummerNights #MarcAnthony #HappyBirthday #Legend #Singer #LatinExplosion #PaulSimon #SongwritersHallOfFame #1998 #TheCapeman #SatinSummerNights IG: @EverybodyLovesJeffrey