The new year is here! Ringing it in the way expected, enjoying a steaming cuppa joe and . . . watching classic pre-Code cartoons.
For some reason entirely unknown to the coffee-swilling denizens of Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog, this January 1 brings to mind two fine and enthusiastic entertainers from different eras, Betty Hutton and Björk.
Love the song "It's Oh So Quiet," first recorded not by Björk but by the shy and retiring 1940's movie perennial Betty Hutton.
It's a GREAT tune and Betty, the stalwart star of Preston Sturges flicks, is just the gal to put it over!
The cover by Björk is also pretty darn wonderful.
Any other "It's Oh So Quiet" covers? Yes - Lisa Ekdahl's excellent rendition at Second Hand Songs.
While there are a bunch of comediennes who have done impersonations of Björk, including Dawn French of French & Saunders, Alex Borstein of Mad TV and Kristen Wiig of Saturday Night Live seasons 31-37, it's the opinion here that the best Björk of all is from current SNL cast member Melissa Villaseñor.
Melissa is in many respects an entertainer of the old school, more akin to Marilyn Michaels as a combo of singer, comedienne and impressionist than anyone in our post-modernist 21st century times. Alas, there isn't a TV program along the lines of The Ed Sullivan Show or The Kopykats in 2022 - or an audience for such a show - to give her more of a showcase.
Again, she is not the only comedienne to do an impression of Björk, but said impersonation is uncanny. The bit with Gwen Stefani singing Three Blind Mice that opens this "Wheel Of Musical Impressions" segment from the current version of The Tonight Show is a hoot as well!
Happy New Year!
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