Russ Garcia is my Hero

And now for something really important.

 "I’m a Baha'i. It’s part of my faith never to be the source of grief to anyone." - Russ Garcia


We are all working towards perfection. And some of us- like myself- have a very LONG way yet to go.
Russ Garcia is a man who "gets it".

I hope you will follow the story below and the link to the Jazz.Com Blog  There is a link to the Academy if you wish to ask them to rectify this error and honor Russ Garcia as he deserves.

The Case of the Misplaced Oscar
"After interviewing legendary composer and arranger Russ Garcia by phone last week, I happened upon the photo you see [on the right]. It was taken in 1952. The more I looked at the image, the more the older gentleman to Russ' right looked familiar. I thought to myself, "It couldn't be, could it?" So I typed "Russell Garcia + Charlie Chaplin" into Google. Up came an interview from 1985, in which Russ was quoted as saying that he was the one who had written the arrangement for Chaplin's Limelight (1952). Stunned that this topic never came in my series of conversations with Russ, I clicked over to the Internet Movie Database, the granddaddy of film websites, and called up Limelight. There I found Russ' name along with someone named Larry Russell listed as "uncredited" music arrangers. I also noticed that Limelight won an Oscar in 1972 for best original dramatic score..."  Marc Myers


I met Russ Garcia and worked with him back in the 70's when we filmed "The New World" TV show afterhours at the KITV studios (Ikaika Alama Frances' uncle Tracy Hamilton was our Director). Mr. Garcia is the one who first wrote down on paper the tune I wrote for "Blessed is the Spot" so that he could arrange it for the choir. He is the most wonderful musician I ever worked with. He is very encouraging and makes you feel like "Underdog" even when you are really the "lowly shoeshine boy". Some of the greatest musical experiences in my life were sharing Baha'i moments with him and John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie.

For those of you who know me - the PULE that I sing in Hawaiian is the same prayer with a different tune. To me, it is the most simple, most encompassing, most inclusive prayer written for our planet.

I guess I need more karaoke practice if I'm going to sing like this some day. I have to take the lead from Russ, who says: " At my age, 92, I'm more focused on moving forward."
Check this out!