Brenda Russell Is 65

What with today marking the 65th anniversary of the birth of Ms. Brenda Russell we are afforded another opportunity to remind you of the brilliance that is “Piano in the Dark.” If you missed or were otherwise unmoved by our previous entreaties to appreciate its inspiration you are in luck, because we are all going to sit here this morning until you have listened to it all the way through and are willing to admit that you too are now convinced of its sheer majesty. No, we’ll wait. We’re not going anywhere until you listen to “Piano in the Dark.” Yes, of course I am aware that Biz Markie is 50 today and that it would take the minimal effort of slapping up “Just a Friend” to fulfill a birthday post, giving me plenty of time to do my nails and finish up this week’s New Yorker, but this is something that is too important for in-phoning. I will not consider my time here with you to have been a success unless you too understand just how earth-shattering Brenda Russell’s “Piano in the Dark” is, and if that means we do nothing else until you say to me, “Alex, thank you, I am a new and better person now because of you,” then so be it. You don’t even have to say it to me. It’s not about me. It’s about you and Brenda Russell’s “Piano in the Dark,” and it makes me melancholy that I even have to go to these lengths to convince you to pay proper tribute to this indisputable classic. Not even disappointed, just sad. You should know better. Anyway, happy birthday Brenda Russell. Hopefully everyone is saluting your genius right now.