BWW Exclusive: Luke Frazier of The American Pops Picks His 5 Favorite 60s Songs
By: Marissa Sblendorio Apr. 19, 2016
Maestro Luke Frazier and The American Pops Orchestra are proud to present Make Someone Happy: A 60s Cocktail Party, the closing concert of their inaugural season. The event will take place at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium on Friday, May 6th at 8:00 PM, including special guests Erik Altemus, Nova Y. Payton, Nicholas Rodriquez and Hayley Travers , in addition to dancers, choreography and full costumes.
In honor of the upcoming concert, BroadwayWorld asked Luke what his favorite songs were from the 60s. Check out his selections, below, which include the likes of both Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.
"The songs of the 60's are timeless in their meaningful lyrics and musical diversity," says Frazier. "The variety of the decade's music is a great representation of many cultures coming together for the first time, a trend as relevant now as it was then. This music continues to serve as a rallying point to unify people in joy and self-expression."
Astrud Gilberto
"The Girl from Ipanema"
I love this piece because it always makes me think of so many wonderful dinner parties with friends. There is something about the haunting voice of Gilberto and the intoxicating rhythms that make this the ultimate dinner party or cocktail party music.
Little Eva
"The Locomotion"
Growing up my family had sets of cassette tapes of music of the decades and even as a five year old I couldn't resist the 60's cassette with this song. I can remember many performances of this song, complete with vacuum cleaner microphone.
"Both Sides Now"
I think this song is such a treasure of the American Songbook, a beautiful melody with deep lyrics. It also captures the folk sound of the 60's that I think directly influenced so many singer songwriters today.
I love how a song can have a life so long and be effective for so many decades, this is one of those songs. Aretha has brought down houses for 40 years with this song along with so many other singers who've made this song their own, including the amazing Carole King who co-wrote the piece.
"Uptight"
In addition to being such a catchy tune the message of this piece is fantastic in that it's a fun reminder to always look at the true person behind all the facades.
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