

With an aching in my heart
Today, I post the last song in my "Undercover Summer" series: "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin. As with all the other artists and songs featured in this series, Led Zeppelin is an important influence on me. But unlike the others, Led Zeppelin was not a band I grew up with. Honestly, I lumped them together with a certain kind of classic rock that just wasn't my style as a folk-rock singer. What I didn't know is that Led Zeppelin is folk-rock -- in the coolest, most origin


Natural Kitten
Here's a true story. A few years ago, I participated in Opening Bell Coffee's "Dallas Does the Music of James Taylor and Carole King." We sang a couple of songs from Tapestry, including "I Feel the Earth Move," and "Natural Woman." For some reason we had to do some rehearsing at my in-laws' house, so we took to the guest house, where my brother-in-law and his cat (named Cat) live, and began to practice. I do "Natural Woman" in the Aretha key, not the Carole King key, so there