What;s this? A Diva in my household?

My wife, Pickett, was notorious for being unable to carry a tune. She would sing loudly and proudly off key at church and at the preschool she ran for many years.

 

So it was a surprise, maybe even a shock, when she told me a few weeks ago that she wanted to sing a duet with me at a parlor gathering we had with musical friends.

 

“I want to do that song you guys sang (at the Broadway choral concert in Danville), ‘Anything You Can Do, I can Do Better.’”

But how do I put this to her. “Pickett, we may have some trouble with the…uh…pitch.”

“I want to take voice lessons,” she said. “Oh, really? Wow!” I said. “Sure.”

 

We called Toni Howell, a local voice teacher who lives In Turbeville who had heard Pickett sing in church.

She agreed to take Pickett on, though she couldn’t promise any miracles. Yes, it would require a miracle.

 

Well, it was a miracle! I went with Pickett to her first lesson. Toni tried a few things and then gave a little half-shriek and told Pickett to try to match it.

 

“What?” I thought. “That’s too high for Pickett,” who talks with a fairly deep voice. But she nailed it!

 

Pretty soon Pickett was copying a lot, though not all, of Toni’s pitches. I heard a voice I had never heard before except maybe when she was laughing at a TV show. Could it be? She was a soprano!

 

We did the song together. She needed a lot of reminders to get back in tune, but most of it was pretty close. Toni reminded us that it takes lots of practice to sing in pitch. You can’t really learn it all in one or two lessons.

 

Back at home, I felt like Professor Henry Higgins working with Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady.” “I think she’s got it. By George, she’s got it.”

 

Now how were we going to sing this together in public? The karaoke tracks were too fast. I needed to play piano as accompaniment. We tried that. But if I was plugging away, staring at the keys, she was staring at me, yelling,“Yes I can!” And I would be mumbling, without confidence, “No you can’t.” In front of any audience, she would win the argument hands down.

 

To defend my manhood, I had to memorize the piano music and stare back at her when I sang. Can’t let my gender down!

 

The outcome was hilarious. Pickett was quite animated screaming her parts whileI just sort of reacted defensively.  Sort of typical of our relationship!  And probably the way the song is meant to be, as Ethel Merman did it.  Our friends loved it. I can’t say, though, that Pickett was always on pitch.

 

It was especially memorable because I ha started the day in the emergency room to treat a leg infection but found out the infection was gone.

 

I recommend that other couples try this song, from the musical “Annie Get Your Gun” in1946. It is a terrific way for two people to work out their issues! When you get into a disagreement, just break into this song and laugh.

 

You will be able to see our version on YouTube by searching for the channel, Pickett Craddock and Mike  Doan or clicking on the video https://youtu.be/h7OYfoEcMUM?si=EjoEx7cIN4ODNGf6