She’s more than just the disaster queen
When you think about Maureen McGovern, most people see this singer as the disaster queen, after singing the theme songs from The Poseidon Adventure or The Towering Inferno. But she is much more than that.
A few years back, I went to a Christmas concert where she shared the bill with the late great Mel Tormé. I couldn’t pass up a chance to hear Mel sing with a big band, but I wasn’t expecting much from Maureen. Boy was I surprised!
She had a masterful ability to sing with the big band, and her vocal range and pitch were extraordinary. In fact, I enjoyed her numbers almost more than I enjoyed Mel. She’d start a song in the standard soprano range. And then she would go up an octave. And then another one, all the while not showing any discomfort.
Perhaps the best example of her vocal calisthenics can be found on her Naughty Baby album, where she sings some Gershwin standards but adds her own twist. Check out her take on “By Strauss:”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWOMdHXl4VI
This is singing at its finest. Her voice isn’t just an instrument – it’s an orchestra. And that’s definitely not a disaster!
