Let's take a break from politics today and remember Eydie Gorme, who passed away at 84

"Ms. Gorme, who was born in New York City to Sephardic Jewish parents, grew up speaking English and Spanish. When she and her husband were at the height of their career as a team in 1964, the president of Columbia Records, Goddard Lieberson, suggested she put that Spanish to use in the recording studio.

The result was "Amor," recorded with the Mexican combo Trio Los Panchos."

And this is where my parents and thousands of other Cuban parents came in!   She recorded music that was heard from here to Argentina.

In those early days in the US, my parents found tropical relief in cold Wisconsin winters by listening to all of those Spanish ballads that Eydie Gorme recorded. 

I can remember listening to her LP (that's what we had before CD or MP3 files) over and over again. My mom really loved them.  It was the romantic music that she and my dad dance to in a little town in central Cuba.

Frankly, I learned to love it too, especially as I got a little older and could not find anything exciting in pop music. I found myself doing what a lot of friends did; I got the CD version of the old LPs that we used to listen to. One of those CDs was Eydie Gorme singing in Spanish.

My friend Bill Katz  (of Urgent Agenda) discussed her career and musical elegance:

"Eydie Gorme's career reminds us that we once had truly great popular music in America, sung by singers who actually could sing, and who could engage the audience.  We had real composers and lyricists.  Our music entertained, but didn't degrade.  I have to believe there's still an audience for that music.  And I know there are young people who still love it.  I've met them."

RIP to Eydie Gorme.  I hope that the young people check out some of her Spanish songs.  They will love them as much as I do. The words are romantic, the arrangements are great and you won't cover your kids' ears when her songs come on the radio.