As an old time New Yorker who...

As an old time New Yorker who frequented Rivington street many years ago when it was primarilly the original discount area it was interesting to see a sleek Beyonce as a temporary resident in what was at early times, the principal Jewish tenement ghetto in The United States.

However using “Lady Sings The Blues” as a headline was a sacrilege based upon your story that followed.

There was and still is only one “Lady” that sings the blues and she was a bigger icon in her own way than any other singer named in the article including Barbara Streisand.

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Of course it is Billie Holiday, the one and only “Lady”. She was named “Lady Day” by equally iconic Lester Young and all the Jazz greats from Louis Armstrong to Wynton Marsalis. still refer to her in that reverent tone.

Her Autobiography was called “Lady Sings The Blues.” It was awful and was made into an equally awful movie of the same name. But it belongs to her and only her.

What is even more disturbing is that Etta James repeatedly declares Billie as her idol and, in fact recorded a complete selection of Billie’s music in a recent album celebrating Lady Day’s influence on Etta.

When I saw the headline,I was sure that she was part of the plan, When I saw Etta James as part of the story, it seemed like a slam dunk.

Tieing in all this would have made your headline a much more cohesive story with a great punchline. She deserved that and, frankly, much more.

Frank Redlich

Westlake Village