“I think of Celia as a musical explorer who sallies forth in search of amazing songs that the rest of the world has either ignored or forgotten. Then, having excavated the raw material, she switches from adventurer to artisan, crafting each arrangement in careful collaboration with her essential aide-de-camp and music director, Tedd Firth,” shares writer and journalist Will Friedwald, who wrote the liner notes for Celia Berk’s third album, Now That I Have Everything.
The multi-award winning vocalist Celia Berk’s new album is a collection of hidden songwriting gems from The Great American Songbook. For those who are unaware, The Great American Songbook refers to the canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Songs include the title track “Now That I Have Everything” by Ervin Drake that inspired this album in the first place. She even stuck to the original format of just a pianist/arranger and the singer.
She also features her version of Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin’s “Love” and “With Every Breath I Take” from the Broadway musical City of Angels, original score by Cy Coleman and lyric by David Zippel. Not to mention she takes “Moonburn” by Hoagy Carmichael and Edward Heyman and “The Late Late Show” by Murray Berlin (music) and Roy Alfred (lyrics) and combines them to create a jazzy mashup for the books.
What stands out to me are two songs that I wouldn’t consider to be part of The Great American Songbook, but definitely hidden songwriting gems that might go unnoticed. The first is “Overjoyed” from Stevie Wonder. Celia strips it down to bare musical essentials, just her soulful voice and Tedd Firth’s arrangement. There is a beat, but it’s much less than that of Stevie Wonder’s.
“I first heard this song years ago as Muzak piped into a supermarket,” shares Celia. “I stood listening, but couldn’t figure out who it was under the less-than-optimal audio conditions. It took me years to realize it was Stevie Wonder, and because I didn’t know the song assumed most other people didn’t either. I’ve been surprised and delighted when people hear me sing it and say, “Oh that’s one of my favorite songs.” Or “That’s the song my husband and I chose for the first dance at our wedding.” It even ended up woven into a medley in my cabaret show, and despite being broken up into relatively short sections, someone invariably tells me how happy they are to hear it.”
Finally, the other hidden gem is Carly Simon’s “It Happens Everyday.” As of right now, Celia has done the only known cover of this song. Carly’s version is of course an indie folk and pop style with an obvious 80’s sound and vibe. Celia’s version is purely her voice and Tedd on piano. Celia’s version underlines the story even more so because of her simplicity, that the end of a love affair happens all the time.
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