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 Print this article FMS FEATURE...  June 8, 2009 The Songs of Our Lives, Volume II Pop hit songwriters gather to help disadvantaged students reach college goals by Jon Burlingame  (Left to right) Paul Williams, Ilene Graff, Bob Crewe, Charles Fox, Richard Sherman and Jeff Barry sing Crewe's hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You." A capacity crowd of more than 900 watched as songwriters David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Richard Sherman, Kenny Loggins, Paul Williams, Jeff Barry, Charles Fox and Bob Crewe sang "The Songs of Our Lives," as the program was called. This was the second annual event, produced by Fox and directed by Joel Zwick, to raise money for the program that mentors and counsels disadvantaged young people and makes it possible for them to attend college. Actor-singers Jason Alexander and Ilene Graff opened the three-hour show with a rendition of "They're Playing Our Song," the title tune of the Marvin Hamlisch-Carole Bayer Sager Broadway smash of 1979.  David Foster  Carol Bayer Sager Sherman – who with his brother Robert penned dozens of songs for Walt Disney movies and TV shows – performed a suite from their Oscar-winning score for Mary Poppins (including "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Chim-Chim-Cheree" and Disney's favorite "Feed the Birds") as well as title songs from the Winnie the Pooh film series, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and others. He surprised the crowd performing his Disneyland favorite "It's a Small World" at a much slower tempo than usual and explained its origins as a "prayer for peace."  Kenny Loggins Fox, the driving force behind these events, played "Ready to Take a Chance Again" from Foul Play and the Jim Croce classic "I Got a Name," written for The Last American Hero but which Lena Horne also adopted for her Broadway show years later. Crewe brought down the house with a finale that had him singing many of his 1960s and '70s hits, among them "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," "My Eyes Adored You," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man" and "Lady Marmalade." Fox returned to the stage to talk briefly about the Fund, which helps an estimated 2,000 students a year through mentoring, classroom instruction, college counseling and scholarships. The organization works to motivate students to overcome barriers, graduate from high school and attend college. Fox and his wife Joan were surprised by the news that a new Joan and Charles Fox Scholarship would be added to the awards distributed annually by the fund. More information is available at www.fulfillment.org. ©2009 Jon Burlingame  |
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