South-Carolina
Take a sneak peek into a legendary songwriter's creative process
You may not know the name Leslie Bricusse (pronounced Brick’-us), but you very likely hum some of the songs he’s written: “Pure Imagination,” “What Kind of Fool Am I?,” “Talk to the Animals,” Superman’s theme “Can You Read My Mind,” “Goldfinger.”
And remarkably, some 60 years after his heyday, the composer-lyricist is having a moment.
In A Quiet Place: Day One, a woman who may be the last human survivor on a Manhattan infested with aliens checks her iPod and pulls up Nina Simone singing “Feeling Good.” She needs a song to express defiance and how, as her world lies in ruins, she exults in being alive. Sentiments Bricusse put to music six decades ago seem perfect.
That same song popped up on the premiere of the Netflix series Obliterated to help a bomb defuser steady his hand. And family audiences spent last Christmas singing along with “Pure Imagination,” crooned by Timothée Chalamet’s Willy Wonka to tie him firmly with the Gene Wilder original.
Bricusse often wrote lyrics for other composers’ music. He wrote “Pure Imagination” and “Feeling Good” with Anthony Newley. At other times, he wrote both music and lyrics. He was a master of many styles, all of them entertaining, and it turns out that’s every bit as true of the papers his widow, actress Yvonne “Evie” Romain Bricusse, best known for co-starring with Elvis Presley in Double Trouble, donated recently to the Library of Congress.
Mark Eden Horowitz, a senior music specialist at the Library of Congress, where the Bricusse papers join those of Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers, the Gershwins and others, says that in addition to the scripts, musical scores, notes for ideas on shows that never came together, recordings and other items, what’s remarkable about this particular collection is Bricusse’s notebooks.
“Just sort of drugstore notebooks,” he says, holding one out, “but he lived his life in these things.
“They’re beautifully calligraphed, most pages are numbered and often dated and indicate where he was in the world at the time, Acapulco on November third, 1986.” And then he does these amazing calendars.”
Calendars rendered in five or six colors, and necessary because “he’s constantly working on 10 or 12 projects at a time.”
/ The Library of Congress
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The Library of Congress
Some of those, no one’s heard of. “For a long time, chuckles Horowitz, “he was working on a musical version of Henry VIII. I swear he considered 30 different titles, one of which was The King & I & I & I & I & I.”
There are lots of fun discoveries. Bricusse’s lyrics sound so natural that it’s hard to imagine they didn’t just spring from him that way, but the notebooks are where he polished them. Take page 58 in the one where he’s working on “Goldfinger.” He has heart of gold/this heart is cold….web of sin but don’t come in. But he has too many “golden”s, so in the notebook, he’s slashed through golden, in “the man with the golden touch” and replaced it with “Midas.”
/ Library of Congress
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Library of Congress
That turned an OK line into a classic and goes much better with the next line that he already had: “A spider’s touch.”
That’ll be a fun find for somebody’s dissertation. Mixed in with that sort of thing is marginalia about theater, movies, budgets, life … seemingly whatever was on his mind.
“He asks himself questions,” says Horowitz, “he puts down what he’s thinking, asks himself should he be thinking that? Why is he thinking this? What should he do about it?” It’s his thoughts about everything that is ideal for researchers.
Asked whether George Gershwin did something similar, Horowitz almost laughs. “No. I’ve never seen a collection with this much-organized detail.”
/ The Library of Congress
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The Library of Congress
So, it is a treasure trove, but also one in which those details are sometimes puzzling — blocks of letters, say, in some of the margins. It turns out that’s how Bricusse wrote out the melodies — not with musical notes on sheet music as most composers do, but using the alphabetical letters that represented the notes. C, A, B-flat, and so on. Horowitz figured out how to read them and how to play the melodies if asked.
These pop songs were Leslie Bricusse’s life work. The notebooks, decorated, colorized, wildly ornate, feel — perhaps inadvertently — like art, themselves.
Horowitz, noting that Bricusse’s widow is an artist and that they collaborated on some things together, agrees. “Clearly, yes, he has a sense of design, and color, and he seems to want to keep things lively and interesting and attractive.
“I think he’s an entertainer in every sense. He wants people to be bubbling joyous; I think he’s always looking for the rainbow, for the magic.”
Judging from the notebooks that have found a new home in the Leslie Bricusse Collection at the Library of Congress, he found it.
Copyright 2024 NPR
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – 4-star cornerback Shamari Earls announced Sunday that he is de-committing from South Carolina and committing to the University of Georgia.
The 6′2′’, 195-lb. prospect is Georgia’s 18th commitment for the 2025 class, which is ranked third in the country. He is the 11th-ranked cornerback in the nation and the 105th-ranked overall recruit.
Earls attends Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Virginia.
Copyright 2024 WTOC. All rights reserved.
South-Carolina
S.C. State Fair accepting entries for 2024 competitive exhibits – Lexington County Chronicle
SUBMITTED
The South Carolina State Fair is now accepting entries for its annual competitive exhibits, which will be on display Oct. 9-20, during the S.C. State Fair. Exhibitors from across South Carolina are invited to submit their entries now through Sept. 1 in a variety of categories for a chance to compete at the state’s largest event.
“We are thrilled to once again bring together the incredible talent and creativity of South Carolinians at this year’s South Carolina State Fair,” said General Manager Nancy Smith. “Our competitive exhibits, a cherished tradition and the heart of our fair, highlight the exceptional skills and artistic achievements of our community. We eagerly anticipate celebrating South Carolina’s rich heritage and showcasing the outstanding works of our talented exhibitors.”
Talent of all ages and backgrounds is encouraged to participate in the competitions. More than $300,000 in premiums will be offered for award-winning exhibits in agriculture, art, home and crafts, flowers, livestock and more. To enter the 2024 competitive exhibits, participants can visit scstatefair.org/competitions and find detailed instructions on how to submit their entries, along with a comprehensive list of categories available for participation.
The S.C. State Fair is a charitable organization dedicated to preserving and promoting South Carolina’s agricultural roots while supporting statewide education. Earlier this year, the S.C. State Fair awarded its largest amount of scholarship money, totaling $530,000 in Ride of Your Life Scholarships to 53 South Carolina high school students to pursue their studies at any public or private college, university or technical college in the state.
The theme for the 2024 S.C. State Fair is “46 Reasons to Celebrate SC.” This year, the S.C. State Fair invites residents and visitors to embark on a remarkable journey to celebrate the very essence of what makes the Palmetto State such a special place to live, work and play – the 46 counties that collectively make up South Carolina. In collaboration with this year’s theme, additional categories and divisions have been added to the S.C. State Fair’s 2024 competitive exhibits, including the “Spirit of Carolina” awards, showcasing the best of South Carolina’s beauty and creativity.
About the South Carolina State Fair
The South Carolina State Fair, a self-supporting 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, was organized in 1869 and is dedicated to preserving and promoting South Carolina’s agricultural roots while supporting statewide education. In addition to the 12-day South Carolina State Fair, the charitable organization manages annual football parking, is a popular event venue and has awarded more than $5 million in scholarships since 1997.
More information can be found at SCStateFair.org.
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Two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, fundamentally altering women’s rights across the nation. As I returned to work from maternity leave, the weight of having fewer rights than just weeks before filled me with rage and sorrow. However, today I’m not writing about bodily autonomy, but about the long-term economic implications of abortion restrictions.
As a numbers person, I find it economically illogical to restrict — let alone ban — abortion. According to a recent publication by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, should abortion restrictions reach a national scale, the United States would suffer a near $173 billion economic loss. For South Carolina in particular, our projected annual loss is nearly $3 billion. This staggering figure suggests that our lawmakers, in their perceived focus on moral and ethical considerations, might not have carefully considered the economic ramifications of these restrictive measures.
More: SC Senate passes six-week abortion ban. New litigation expected after Gov. signs into law.
Let’s break down the potential impact on South Carolina’s workforce. There are approximately 1.38 million women participating in our state’s workforce, with nearly one-third ages 20 to 35 — the group in which most abortions were performed. In 2022, the South Carolina Department of Health reported 5,568 abortions, mostly from families who already have children. If we removed just these individuals from the workforce, South Carolina would lose more than $211 million per year (based on a median income of $38,000).
This figure doesn’t account for any supplemental public benefits these families might need if another child pushes them into poverty. Based on average SNAP benefits alone, it could cost South Carolina an additional $1,392,000 annually — not including medical coverage, cash assistance, or child-care scholarships. Over five years, the minimum economic impact could reach $1,064,880,000.
Moreover, while recent stories reported a drastic 80% drop in abortion rates in South Carolina, they fail to mention that more than 8,000 individuals sought abortions in neighboring states like North Carolina. This not only represents a significant economic outflow, but also places additional burdens on those seeking care.
These economic realities are stark, but they raise deeper questions: What do South Carolinians truly value? We live in a state of perpetual dichotomy. We claim to prioritize family values but don’t provide the support systems that families need, like universal child care. We talk about protecting children, but our governor rejected federal funds for a program offering food assistance to needy families during the summer months when schools are closed.
For years, the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN) fought to remove the sales tax from essential period products in the same year that our representatives passed legislation approving aerial hunting of feral hogs. This disconnect between our stated values and our lawmakers’ legislative priorities is striking.
And the ripple effects of these restrictions extend far beyond immediate economic impacts, affecting our entire state:
- Health care: Our medical system faces potential deterioration as professionals leave for states where they can provide comprehensive reproductive care. This exodus, coupled with fewer incoming medical students and residents, could lead to provider shortages and reduced quality of care for everyone.
- Education: Restricted access to reproductive healthcare could widen educational gaps. Teenage parents already face challenges in continuing their education, leading to higher dropout rates and delayed pursuit of higher education. This affects future earnings and economic mobility, creating a cycle of disadvantage.
- Business and employment: Companies may hesitate to locate or expand in a state with such restrictions, affecting job opportunities for everyone.
- Public resources: The increased strain on health care and social services could likely lead to higher taxes or reduced services for all citizens, regardless of gender or reproductive status.
The economic fall of South Carolina isn’t a distant possibility – it’s a looming threat if we continue down this path. It’s time for all South Carolinians, regardless of personal beliefs about abortion, to seriously consider the economic consequences of these policies. Are we prepared to sacrifice billions in economic activity, strain our public resources, and potentially drive away job-creating businesses?
As we approach the polls and engage with our representatives, let’s demand policies that support not just our values, but our economic well-being. The prosperity of our state and the welfare of all its citizens depend on it.
We must act now to prevent South Carolina from falling into a preventable economic decline. Our future depends on it.
Dr. Amalia Luxardo is chief executive officer for the Women’s Rights & Empowerment Network (WREN) in South Carolina.
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