Recent Event Highlights: How Ellington Took "The A Train", Lush Life, Alexander Alabin (Piano) - Lush Life (Billy Strayhorn), Cutrell, Umphress & Barry Levitt Trio Join To Celebrate NYE, Nat King Cole & Pete Rugolo - Lush Life & The Fugitive Theme, âThe Nutcracker' gets the jazz treatment from a KC composer and ensemble, and 121 more...
Created by dipity on Feb 17, 2009
Last updated: 02/17/09 at 11:56 PM
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...Ellington (left) called Billy Strayhorn "my most dependable appraiser. The steady hand of his good judgment pointed to the clear way that was most fitting to both of us." All Things Considered, June 12, 2000 - Trains, cars and planes have all inspired popular...
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NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100731586&ft=1&f=1039
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...which happens to be the very first tune the couple ever played together. Rosnes plays a haunting, impressionistic version of Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge" and Charlap salutes McPartland with her own "Stranger in a Dream." The two come together again on...
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NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100654672&ft=1&f=1039
Lush Life (Billy Strayhorn). On bass, Bruno Migliari, drums, Renato Massa Calmon, and guitar, Humberto Mirabelli. Video recorded live on July 24, 2008, at ArmazĂ©m Digital Rio de Janeiro, by Marianne Antabi, audio by Renato Massa (MP3). Video and audio edited by Mary FĂȘ, art direction by Glauco Lourenço. Produced by Ana ClĂĄudia Souza e Glauco Lourenço.
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...by sinewy yet jazz-inflected beats.ĂÂ ĂÂ This tribute album hearkens back to another musical partnership between Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. When Strayhorn died in 1967, Ellington paid his respects that year with the misty-eyed . . . And They Called Him...
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The Root
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheRootRssFeed/~3/521236624/soul-s-ance
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...deluxe edition in 1999, beckons with the alluring scent of a femme fatale. The score, which includes a small contribution by Billy Strayhorn, is recognized by film historians as a landmark -- the first significant Hollywood film music by African Americans...
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Detroit Free Press
http://www.freep.com/article/20090120/ENT01/90120016/1118/RSS
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...and two tracks that appear to be improvisations by the quartet. In a less adventurous setting are wonderful versions of Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge" and Bob Dylan's "Masters of War." Music this good deserves to be heard. It is available only at artistshare.com. Sophisticated...
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Pittsburgh Entertainment
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/music/s_606641.html?source=rss&feed=7
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...Lechner and WSF also will continue to pursue projects independently. WSF's projects include the Emmy-winning documentary "Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life" and the feature "Old Joy," directed by Kelly Reichert. The company is currently developing a documentary about...
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Hollywood Reporter
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/film/~3/6AVdfUBYtlI/e3i4790a46c9905faf30d583aee6111ccc2
Impromptu performance for The Camerata Villa Lobos before the concert in Santos, Brazil
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...Concert Expect standards from Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner & Loewe, jazz tunes made famous by Dinah Washington and Billy Strayhorn as well as holiday classics, all backed by an extraordinary three piece band. At midnight, we'll cut live to Times Square,...
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Broadway World
http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Cutrell_Umphress_Barry_Levitt_Trio_Join_To_Celebrate_NYE_20081230
This may seem like a strange juxtaposition of music until you understand what's behind it all, a guy by the name of Pete Rugolo who arranged "Lush Life" for Nat and who also composed the "Theme from The Fugitive" for television. Pete's career started out as an arranger for the great big band of Stan Kenton between 1945-1949 (generally the "June Christy Years" of Kenton), and his talents ultimately led him to Capitol Records and this recording date with Nat doing a song written by Billy Strayhorn, a long associate of Duke Ellington. Keep in mind that Billy wrote this song at the age of 16, and then never had it publicly performed for over 10 years until 1948. It's also a very difficult song to sing. Frank Sinatra tried to record it on numerous occasions, but gave up.
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...the original Tchaikovsky ballet from 1892, and in jazz terms there’s the respectfully swung Duke Ellington-Billy Strayhorn arrangement from 1960.Now there’s a “Nutcracker” for the 21st century, an iconoclastic rethinking by Kansas...
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KansasCity.com
http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/story/940159.html
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...the original Tchaikovsky ballet from 1892, and in jazz terms there’s the respectfully swung Duke Ellington-Billy Strayhorn arrangement from 1960.Now there’s a “Nutcracker” for the 21st century, an iconoclastic rethinking by Kansas...
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KansasCity.com
http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/music/story/940159.html
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...original and the transplant of the evergreen more than one better. The elegant mongrel mixes in music from Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhornâs "Nutcracker" jazz suite with some doo wop singing, dance styles from the street, so to speak, from tap and hip hop...
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EDGE Boston
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=reviews&sc3=performance&id=83166
Inspired by how Oscar Peterson played the Take the "A" Train.
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...until around the mid-1960s. The ballet received a second infusion of a black sensibility when Duke Ellington with Billy Strayhorn wrote a whimsical jazz "Nutcracker Suite" based on Tchaikovskyâs ballet in 1960. The eagerly anticipated "Tony Williamsâ Urban...
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EDGE Boston
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=features&sc3=&id=84079
A Billy Strayhorn Birthday Bash @Pittsburgh's Kelly-Strayhorn Theater Nov.29 2008
A Billy Strayhorn Birthday Bash @Pittsburgh's Kelly-Strayhorn Theater Nov.29 2008
A Billy Strayhorn Birthday Bash @Pittsburgh's Kelly-Strayhorn Theater Nov.29 2008
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...is the anniversary of the birth of Billy Strayhorn, the compositional and arranging genius behind many of Duke Ellington's best-known songs, such as "Take the A Train," "C-Jam Blues," and "Satin Doll." Strayhorn is said to have written both the music and lyrics...
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Power Line
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2008/11/022182.php
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...Herald Sun reports tonight's 7 p.m. tribute concert to Billy Strayhorn, features vocalist Maggie Pate and pianist Robert "Griffanzo" Griffin, area artists who have chosen music that shares and celebrates Strayhorn's life and work. This article is a reference...
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NBC 17.com
http://Orange.mync.com/site/Orange/news/story/20263/hillsborough-to-honor-jazz-legend-with-concert-tonight/
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...'Wouldn't it be great to do jazz interpretations from The Beatles songbook, in the tradition that Joe Henderson did the Billy Strayhorn songbook and Ella Fitzgerald did the Jerome Kern songbook? "I started shortlisting songs and that was so hard. Even though...
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The Courier Mail
http://couriermail.news.com.au/story/0,20797,24715609-7642,00.html?from=public_rss
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...Billy Strayhorn was born in Ohio but spent much of his youth visiting his grandparents in Hillsborough, where a highway marker goes up in his honor Saturday. HILLSBOROUGH - Jazz composer Billy Strayhorn, who wrote some of the signature pieces in the Duke...
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The News & Observer
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1312263.html
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...of the N.C. Department of Transportation. In addition to the unveiling of the new historical marker, a tribute concert to Billy Strayhorn will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 28 at the Hillsborough Masonic Lodge, 142 W. King St. The concert, sponsored by the Hillsborough...
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NBC 17.com
http://Orange.mync.com/site/Orange/news/story/20200/hillsborough-to-unveil-new-mile-marker-for-jazz-composer/
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...insist Billy Strayhorn deserves far more acclaim than he gets. "People talk about George Gershwin and Rodgers and Hart, but Billy Strayhorn's music is just as good if not better," says Jones, who is building a steady national performance career as well as...
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Pittsburgh Entertainment
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/music/s_599941.html?source=rss&feed=7
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...Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 day of show. Go to www.ticketmaster.com or call 412-323-1919. The legacy of hometown composer Billy Strayhorn ("Take the A Train" and "Satin Doll") is celebrated Saturday night at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater with music by Sean...
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08332/930993-388.stm?cmpid=entertainment.xml
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...are married. The two tied the knot last weekend in Cabo San Lucas. Now this is something worth writing about. "Suite Life: A Billy Strayhorn Birthday Bash," is 8 p.m. Saturday at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty. It will have live music by the Sean...
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08331/930762-351.stm?cmpid=entertainment.xml
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...all things related to music and culture of the "popular" variety. Submitted by dmenconi on 11/25/2008 - 11:39 Jazzman Billy Strayhorn was born in Ohio, his signature composition is indelibly associated with New York City and he's best-known as one of Washington,...
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The News & Observer
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/beat/take-the-a-train-to-hillsborough
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...such as Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite" and Nat Adderley's "Work Song." He also does some numbers that have lyrics such as Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies." The new vocals are the issue, though, and can get a bit hokey, such...
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Pittsburgh Entertainment
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/music/s_599748.html?source=rss&feed=7
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...- Hillsborough's newest state highway marker, celebrating the life and work of musical composer and arranger Billy Strayhorn, will be unveiled at 10 a.m. Nov. 29 - Strayhorn's birthday - in downtown Hillsborough. The marker will be installed on the west...
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NBC 17.com
http://Orange.mync.com/site/Orange/news/story/19486/hillsborough-to-unveil-a-new-highway-marker/
http://2-music.net ââ Many CD Reviewsâ
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...the composers to whose work he contributed the lyrics are Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmy Van Heusen, Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn, Jerome Kern, Gordon Jenkins and Henry Manicini. I owe the estimation of the number of Mercer songs to biographer Philip...
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Power Line
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2008/11/022088.php
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...Carter, Ornette Coleman, the Duke Ellington Centennial, Frank Foster, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Marian McPartland, Billy Strayhorn and Dr. Billy Taylor. This year's commissionees are Richard Sussman in the Established Jazz Composer Category, and Tyler...
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ASCAP
http://www.ascap.com/playback/2009/WINTER/FACES_PLACES/JAZZ/jones.aspx
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...include classical and jazz selections from the 2007 album “Take the ‘A’ Train,” including works by Billy Strayhorn, Joaquin Turina and Wynton Marsalis. Tickets cost $24 or $12 for students. For more information, see www.lied.ku.edu...
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KansasCity.com
http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/story/851509.html
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...several locations throughout the region. The concert, "Birth of a Great City," will include selections such as "Satin Doll," by Billy Strayhorn, "Pride of Pittsburgh March (1901)" by John Philip Sousa, and "A Pittsburgh Overture (from A Pittsburgh Symphony)"...
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Pittsburgh Entertainment
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_594161.html?source=rss&feed=7
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...KS - infoZine- The Lied Center of Kansas presents the Harlem Quartet performing works by Wynton Marsalis, Billy Strayhorn and Joaquin Turina. Dedicated to advancing diversity in classical music, the Harlem Quartet is committed to engaging young and new...
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Kansas City Infozine
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http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/31286/
Savan Haria performing Take the 'A' Train by Billy Strayhorn (Trinity Guildhall Grade 8) This is just one of my many video's, so please check out all my other video's. For more information visit my website: www.savanharia.co.uk Thanks
LJJO Early Summer Live accompanied with guitar part Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park Apr. 30, 2007
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...play Edvard Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite," while the Lincoln Center band will play the same Grieg score in Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's unique arrangement. Meanwhile, in a strictly classical vein on Sunday, Wilkins will lead the DSO through Jean Sibelius'...
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Detroit Free Press
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080927/ENT05/809270359/1035/rss04
Take the "A" Train.
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...There her considerable talents as a musician blossomed at Westinghouse High School, where she alternated with the older Billy Strayhorn at the piano of the school orchestra. She also traveled with Madame Dawson's National Negro Opera Company, accompanying...
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08268/914470-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml
Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life from Independent Lens, PBS, won an Emmy at the 29th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards (2008) for Best Documentary.
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...Max Adkins. Adkins was very influential on the local music scene, and Mancini's cohort in Adkin's stable included Billy Strayhorn and Jerry Fielding. Mancini decided to pursue music and attended the Julliard School. After a brief stint in the Army band during...
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NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94772943&ft=1&f=1039
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...out on trumpeter Dave Douglas' progressive Greenleaf Music label. The album is composed of McCaslin originals except for the Billy Strayhorn composition "Isfahan." Joining McCaslin on the recording are bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Johnathan Blake;...
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Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/music/story/1211717.html
Ballad written by Billy Strayhorn
Linda Ronstadt sings "Lush Life" by Billy Strayhorn. Orchestra Nelson Riddle.
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...will be participating. -The GMCLA is honored to share the stage with the talented Billy Porter, performing "Lush Life" by Billy Strayhorn, the gifted Erin Hamilton will perform "Imagine" and her hit single "One World" and special selections with the legendary...
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Broadway World
http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=31031
Satin Doll - arranged for solo guitar and performed by Tom Watkins. "Satin Doll" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded countless times, by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Wilson. Johnny Mercer, regarded as one of America's great songwriters (in the early 1940s, he was one of the co-founders of Capitol Records), was often asked to write lyrics to already popular songs; the lyrics to "Satin Doll" were written after the song was already a hit in its instrumental version. Ellington used "Satin Doll" as the closing number at most of his concerts. It's possible that the music was not composed by Ellington but by pianist-arranger Billy Strayhorn, who worked closely with Ellington. Popular 1950's group the Gaylords had a minor hit in 1958, with a version containing lyrics completely different than those written by Johnny Mercer. Early in 1953, Duke Ellington left Columbia Records to sign with Capitol Records, a company he felt would more effectively promote his music. On April 6, the band had their first Capitol recording session, producing "Satin Doll," "Without a Song," and "Cocktails for Two." "Satin Doll," with its Ellington piano solo, was a modest hit, entering the pop charts in June and rising to number twenty-seven. Although Ellington originally wrote the melody for "Satin Doll," in his biography of Billy Strayhorn, Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn, David Hajdu says, "Strayhorn fleshed out an Ellington riff sketch with harmony and lyrics ..." and titled it "Satin Doll," Strayhorn's pet name for his mother. Strayhorn's lyrics were not considered commercially viable, and five years later, lyricist and cofounder of Capitol Records, Johnny Mercer wrote new lyrics, resulting in the song we know today.
Take The "A" Train by Billy Strayhorn. Performed by The Reuel Lubag Jazz Trio. Reuel Lubag - Piano, Geoff Harper - Bass, Matt Page - Drums. Recorded at the L.A.B. at Seattle Drum School as part of the Last Mondays Concert Series.
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...12:30 p.m.; free admission. Vesey and West Sts. (212) 945-0505. ĂÂ Relive some of the best jazz compositions at "Lush Life: Billy Strayhorn" at 92nd St. Y. While working with his partner, the legendary Duke Ellington, Strayhorn created some of his most memorable...
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New York Daily News
http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/entertainment/~3/351317482/2008-07-31_events_for_thursday_in_new_york.html
A song that is often referred to as "Music for Musicians." This 12 tone piece composed by Billy Strayhorn is included in the repertoire of every serious jazz musician. Made famous in the Middle of the last century by John Coltrane, it has also been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock, Sammy Davis Jr., Joe Henderson, Johnny Hartman, Billy Eckstine, Nat King Cole and many more. Also recorded by pop artists: Donna Summer Queen Latifah #2 Most Discussed (Today) Jazz #5 Most Viewed (Today) Jazz Lush Life Lyrics: I used to visit all the very gay places Those come what may places Where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life To get a feel of life from jazz and cocktails. All the men I knew had sad and sullen gray faces With distingue traces That used to be there you could see where They'd been washed away by too many through the day Twelve o'clock tails. Then you came along with your siren song To tempt me to madness I thought for a while that your poignant smile Was tinged with the sadness of a great love for me. Oh yes. I was wrong Again I was wrong. Now Life is Lonely Again And Only Last Year Everything Seemed SO SURE. Now Life is Awful Again A trough full of hearts could only be a bore. A week in Paris could ease the bite of it. But all I care is to smile in spite of it. I'll forget you. I will. While yet you are still burning inside my brain. Romance is mush. Stifling those who strive. I'l live a LUSH LIFE in some small dive. And there I'll be while I rot with the rest Of those whose Lives are Lonely too.
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