Listen to My Heart

I can remember the first time I heard the song, "Listen to My Heart." I was driving on the freeway, and I decided to finally listen to the Nancy LaMott tape my cousin, Sandy, had given me a long time ago.

When that song came on, it took my breath away. I thought I was going to have to maneuver three lanes over and stop on the side of the road and just listen. I thought it was the most beautiful melody I had ever heard. And to this day, I still do. I'm sure the orchestration with the strings had a lot to do with it, as well as Nancy's beautiful voice.

Several years after hearing that song for the first time, I had the opportunity to meet the composer of that piece, David Friedman. I am so glad he decided to do a vocal workshop in Southern California last weekend. And I'm most happy that he turned out to be such a wonderful, inspirational person. After all, his songs are all about inspiration, love and hope.

My wanting to meet him goes beyond that one great song. I also had the good fortune to sing another of his fun songs, "My Simple Christmas Wish," when I played Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in "Noses are Red." This was an original musical my acting coach, Alice Carter, wrote and directed two years in a row. This was a dream come true that I would get to perform this song in front of an audience that included many actors. The lyrics are so clever.

"Just in Time for Christmas" is another gem of his that I sang at a private party over the holidays. If you want to check out his music, go to David's own company, MIDDER Music Records, where he wrote for and produced all of the late, great Nancy LaMott's CD's, most of which I own. In addition to the songs I've mentioned above, be sure to check out "We Can Be Kind," "Trust the Wind," and "Ill Be Here With You." The latter song was the title of a wonderful cd that features all of David's songs and was a benefit recording for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Friedman's credits include musical direction and vocal arranging for five Broadway shows and numerous Disney feature films, including "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," Pocahontas," and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

His songs have been recorded by Diana Ross, Barry Manilow, Kristen Chenoweth, Kathie Lee Gifford, Petula Clark, Lainie Kazan and many others.