The song of the day for Sunday, November 26, 2017 is “Losing My Mind.”
About This Song
This song is from Stephen Sondheim’s 1971 musical Follies, about a reunion of the performers from The Weissman Follies, held as the theatre they performed in is about to be demolished and turned into a parking lot. “Losing My Mind” is sung by Sally Durant, who married one of the stage door Johnnies, Buddy (now a salesman), and lives in Arizona. Her friend Phyllis has married Buddy’s friend Ben, who is quite successful. Sally was in love with Ben years ago and still is. She sings this song about this lost love. The song was introduced on Broadway by Dorothy Collins; in the fabled 1985 concert version of Follies, it was sung by Barbara Cook.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “Losing My Mind” in 1971 for the album Summer of ’42. The arrangement is by Torrie Zito.
“Losing My Mind,” as well as Summer of ’42, is available from iTunes.
About Today
I have two great passions when it comes to music: Tony Bennett and the music of Stephen Sondheim. Tonight I’m off to see the filmed production of Follies, as staged by the National Theatre in London. For my money, it’s Sondheim’s best score and is revered by most Sondheim fans, including me. It is seldom produced, as the cast is quite large and the period costumes of the Follies performers are complex and expensive. I am grateful to the National Theatre for producing this musical and making the film available to viewers from all over the world. I can’t imagine how much it must have cost to mount this production; they even use a full orchestra–all the better for this glorious score that I can never get enough of. Imelda Staunton performs “Losing My Mind” in this production. I hope and pray a cast recording will be made.
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