Ya Don't Have To Be A Singer To Sing!

The following is re-posted from Watchfire Music’s Inspirational Song of the Week blog post of April 23. 2019.

In loving tribute to the great Georgia Engel:

This week, we pay tribute to Georgia Engel with Ya’ Don’t Hafta Be A Singer To Sing, a duet she performed with Julia Wade. Some thoughts from the composer, Peter Link:

“This past week, Georgia Engel, gifted comedian, superb actress and one of the finest First Readers in church I’ve ever had the privilege of hearing, passed away. Most of us will remember the joy of laughter that Georgia brought into our living rooms week after week in her hilarious and heartwarming portrayals of Georgette on the Mary Tyler Moore show as Ted Knight’s girlfriend, and Pat MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond — and then also in countless other portrayals on a variety of both television shows and on Broadway.

“Both Julia and I had the joy of working with Georgia on Julia’s CD, Duets – Woman 2 Woman. Julia had become close friends with Georgia through church and invited her to join her on a duet. I wrote this week’s offering of “Ya’ Don’t Hafta Be A Singer To Sing” especially for Georgia and Julia and had a most special experience teaching Georgia the song and then recording her in the studio. She was (and still is) the total pro. Her sense of comic timing was impeccable and her joy in rehearsal contagious. I am blessed to have worked with her and known her.”

And her partner in this song, Julia, adds:

“Georgia was a wonderful friend and a shining light in my life.  Through the years of our friendship, I learned to honor her privacy and to joy in the times we spent together. She supported both Peter’s and my endeavors in numerous ways, and it was a total privilege to get to work with her on this very special piece of material – this duet that Peter wrote especially for Georgia and me to sing. I will treasure this recording always, and I hope that it brings a smile and a laugh to your day … in loving memory of Georgia.”

Listen to and download “Ya Don’t Have To Be A Singer To Sing

We all have favorite moments of Georgia’s work as a comedic actress. My all-time favorite TV moment of hers was on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” when her character was caught smoking.

What’s yours?