— Life —

Brenda’s Summer Music Playlist, Part 1

pin it
Robbie Robertson
pin it
Rita Wilson
pin it
Rita Wilson and Brenda Coffee, Austin, Texas
pin it
Kat Edmonson
pin it

I. Love. Music. My personal music playlist has 15 hours of everything from the late, Chicago, blues musician, singer/songwriter, Little Walter—the king of the blues harmonica players—to current artists like The Weekend and everything in-between.

Every song on my playlist has a memory attached, like the song from Christmas, 1987.

The Boyfriend from Hell and I were driving from San Antonio to St. Louis. We stopped in Dallas and bought Robbie Robertson’s, solo debut album, of the same name. (Robertson was lead guitarist and insanely sexy and talented singer/songwriter for The Band. They also traveled with Bob Dylan for two years, and The Band’s The Last Waltz concert was the subject of Martin Scorsese’s documentary… same name. FYI, Robertson scores many of Scorsese’s films. I could write volumes about RR!) As soon as the Boyfriend and I pushed play, we became obsessed with this album, but nothing affected us like “Somewhere Down the Crazy River.” For the next hour, we were one-trick ponies. It was all we listened to… one of the sexiest songs ever written.

Another song on my Summer Playlist is from actress, singer/songwriter, Rita Wilson, who dazzled me with her voice and sexy shoes on Jimmy Kimmel, when she sang The Supremes, “Come See About Me,” from her debut AM/FM album. I was still grieving for James, so nothing got much of a reaction out of me, but Rita fixed that. I DVR’d her performance, and whenever I needed a shot of feel good, which was a lot that year, I watched and sang along. I also bought her album.

Rita’s Jimmy Kimmel performance was the same month Yahoo invited me to speak to a Fortune 100 audience at Internet Week about Yahoo’s study on women over 45. After the event, I had an ah-ha moment and wrote the business plan for 1010ParkPlace. I remember thinking that like me, Rita Wilson, a woman over 45, had embarked on a new career. It was somehow comforting.

Another fabulous singer/songwriter on my list is my friend, Kat Edmonson, who’s now working on her new album. Woody Allen asked Kat to write a song and appear in his new movie, Café Society, which will be released this fall. Oh! It just occurred to me there’s six degrees of separation happening here: Kat and I saw Rita perform her new album earlier this year at the intimate Cafe Carlyle in NYC where I sat next to Tom Hanks. A couple of months later I went backstage to see Rita and hear her in concert at the Paramount Theater in Austin, where Kat has performed and literally, is a cult icon. Robbie Robertson invited Kat Edmonson to sing at David Geffen’s birthday party, where she had the opportunity to visit with Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks! Woody Allen plays regularly at Cafe Carlyle, a venue that would be perfect for Kat. I love when people and places dovetail so nicely! Sorry… I get carried away with the little things!

Here is Part 1 of my Summer Playlist. I hope you’ll listen to the ones you don’t know, and take a stroll down memory lane with the ones you do know. Enjoy!

Love, Brenda

9 Comments

  • Barbara Hammond June 18, 2016 at 9:12 am

    I can’t wait to take a little time on the porch and listen to this list, Brenda! Thanks!
    b

    • 1010 Park Place June 18, 2016 at 11:13 am

      Let me know how you like them! xoxox, Brenda

  • Donna O'Klock June 18, 2016 at 11:01 am

    Swoon, Robbie Robertson! Thanks for the reminder, digging out his CD right now, going to make for a sexy Saturday afternoon!

    • 1010 Park Place June 18, 2016 at 11:13 am

      Love this man and his music! His memoir is coming out this November. I read where he wrote it in longhand, no edits. My darling James, who was Comanche, would always take my Robbie CDs. I’d buy another and another, but they always disappeared and I’d find them everywhere–in his truck, his son’s car–but in my possession. We did have some swoon-worthy nights with Robbie playing in the background.

  • Jan Baird Hasak June 18, 2016 at 12:52 pm

    I will have to participate. Too good to pass up.

    • 1010 Park Place June 20, 2016 at 3:38 pm

      Jan, I don’t know about you, but music always makes me feel better xoxox, Brenda

  • Alana Mautone June 19, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    LOL, I only knew the first one (and it is one of my favorites). Thanks for the intro to some new music.

    • 1010 Park Place June 20, 2016 at 3:38 pm

      Alana, Does that mean you’ve missed out on Carley Simon? OMG! The last one is the actual dialog and a song from the movie, “Casablanca”, with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. It’s a classic! xoxox

  • Susan Tolles June 22, 2016 at 4:29 pm

    Ahhhh…what great tunes!! They just don’t record music like this any more. Thanks for the memories, Brenda!

  • You Might Also Like

    MAKE LIFE COUNT.

    Sign up to our list and we’ll send you our sought-after guide “45 Ways To Change Your Life”
    I'm happy you've joined us! If you like what you read, I'd love for you to stay and subscribe to our updates by email. We have a great community of like-minded women, and your presence can only make it stronger.