You can't sit in the same room as Sandi Marx (either virtually or in person) and not have a smile on your face. Her energy and unbridled enthusiasm for being herself are contagious. If you're interested in hearing more of Sandi's unique brand of personal storytelling be sure to get to her website which has links to her appearances on Risk! and The Moth and to follow her on Twitter Facebook and Instagram. While you're on Sandi's web page, be sure to watch the trailer for The Fabulist the 2020 documentary about her storytelling journey.
The 50th Anniversary of the release of Carole King's Tapestry was just a few days ago (February 10th, 1971. Not in "69 or 70" as Sandi guessed). Unlike a bunch of records released in the early months/years of my life (or, in this case, a little before I was born) I was truly unaware of its impact. Tapestry is not only one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, it was the single-biggest selling record of its era. It's also still one of the biggest-selling records ever recorded by a female artist. It was an interesting lesson on my own musical blind spots that I'd primarily thought of King as a songwriter and not a recording artist before doing this story with Sandi. The more you know…
As always, I encourage you to sit down and listen to the whole of the songeither before or after you listen to Sandi's story. It's a fantastic recording that, if you close your eyes, can really make you a fly on the wall in that room in Queens with Sandi, Rhonda and Strawberry. Also, if you want to hear not only a bunch of 70s easy listening classics (and more modern stuff inspired by 70s easy listening classics) but also a few examples of the amazing breadth of Carole King's abilities as a songwriter, be sure to check out this playlist I put together inspired by Sandi's story.
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And if you have a story about the song that saved your life be sure to send it to me at volumeknobpod@gmail.com.
