RIP Cilla Black

[HollyH]

As Beatlemania swept the world, it was good to have at least one girl artist alongside all the boys -- and even though I wanted to be jealous of her for being so close to "my" Fab Four, who could hate anyone with such a sweet smile and gorgeous voice? She was a true Merseybeat bird, more so than either Petula Clark or Dusty Springfield, the main other female voices on the BritBeat charts of the time. (The beautiful Sandie Shaw was much more Swinging London.)

And she remained a national treasure, a fixture on British TV for years. I never heard a bad word about her. How many of our modern pop "stars" can you say that about?

We'll miss you, luv!

[bamajohn1]

I sadly knew very little of Cilla until I got one of her Best Of's in the last week. I thought the first song sounded soft and sweet, almost Olivia Newton John like in breathy sweetness. Then another song went into this high range, and another was almost soulful. Some songs went from soft and sweet to very high and powerful in a flash. Cilla was a really impressive vocalist! I do not know much about Sandie Shaw either but I'm sure I'll pick something up by her too.