Prayers from me

This is a request of a song that was initially written from the perspective of a woman as "Can't Help Falling in Love with Him". The melody is based on "Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. It is a popular choice for couples as the song for the first dance at their wedding, and was a top of the charts song recorded by Elvis Presley. I hope you enjoy it.

This is a request that I am playing. Simon wrote it as "a little hymn." Garfunkel and producer Roy Halee thought it was more epic, and convinced him to write a third verse. His "little hymn" thus got a grand production, and after hearing it, he thought it was too long, too slow and too orchestral to be a hit single. However, Clive Davis at Columbia Records heard the commercial appeal of the song, and insisted they put a lot of marketing budget behind it use it as the album title. The song's title concept was inspired by Claude Jeter's line 'I'll be your bridge over deep water if you trust in me', which Jeter sang with his group, the Swan Silvertones, in the 1958 song 'Mary Don't You Weep'. According to gospel historian Anthony Heilbut, Simon later acknowledged his debt to Jeter in person, and even handed Jeter a check. Simon also named Johann Sebastian Bach's 'O Sacred Head, Now Wounded' as a source of inspiration for certain parts of the melody. I hope you enjoy it.

This is a common request that I get at Mayo clinic and I would also get it at Nordstrom. It's a popular wedding song and many know it through Celine Dion. The emotions in this song are reflected by the singer, who thanks a loyal loved one for guiding, encouraging, and protecting her throughout her life, and making her who she is today.

This is a piece in a book titled "Dino Great Is The Lord Piano Solos", which consists of Dino Kartsonakis arrangements. Also listed under his hame are Nathan Di Gesare and Randy Wright. I think that they helped him. Recently Dino purchased a Ravenscroft piano here in Scottsdale. It looks beautiful. The lyrics for this piece are also nice. I hope you enjoy it.

This is a request of a visitor at Mayo Hospital. Many people still remember and enjoy the Beatles. This simple but stirring and gentle ballad showed for the first time the variance of what Lennon and McCartney could conjure up within the confines of this album called "Something New". They would be later known for their "highs and lows," "peaks and valleys" on their albums, such as the range of genres on the "White Album" (from "Helter Skelter" to "Blackbird" to "Honey Pie"). While the gentleness of "A Taste Of Honey" and "Till There Was You" from their first two albums were evidences of this, they resorted to cover songs to display the variance. With "And I Love Her" they display that they have this capability right in their own arsenal. I hope you enjoy it.

This is a very popular song from the "The Threepenny Opera", The Beggar's Opera by John Gay starting with its first production back in 1728. The Beggar's Opera is a comic ballad opera, an original concept when it came out, conjuring up the thoughts and ideas of the anti-hero, Robin Hood types, and quotes of the likes of Bob Dylan, such as "Steal a little and they throw you in jail: steal a lot and they make you a king". It was the first musical play produced in colonial New York. George Washington enjoyed it. The original lyrics went through some transformations for the European audience and were cleaned up a bit by Blitstein, which allowed it to gain much more fame. This song was request of one of the employees or volunteers at Mayo Hospital. I hope you enjoy it.

Since it is the 4th of July weekend I figured this would be a good song to play. Hugh S. Livingston, Jr. grew up in Tennessee and served in music ministries there as well as in Indiana, and Ohio, providing his talents as a choral director, pianist, organist, and trumpeter. He remained active as a church musician, and shared his musical gifts with hundreds of people in assisted living and nursing homes. Many of his unpublished manuscripts were discovered after his death in October 2014. I hope you enjoy this song of his.

This is a piece that was requested for me to play. It is a great arrangement by Dino Kartsonakis and I've enjoyed playing it for quite some time now. The words were arranged to a piece of music arranged by William Hays called "The Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane". This is a standard gospel song that has appeared in many protestant hymnals. I hope you enjoy it.

This is a piece requested not only by Nordstrom customers, but also people at Mayo Clinic.

It's written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The best-known version is that recorded by American duo the Carpenters for their second studio album Close to You and produced by Jack Daugherty.

It is still possible today, to walk the path where Jesus walked while he was carrying the cross. This is a hymn that can be correlated with that, but also symbolically in a way that one can try to be like him. I really like the lyrics, because it's great to keep being reminded of the way Jesus walked and struggled. I hope you enjoy it.