Q: You have worked on three albums with the trio Full Swing. What are your best memories from your collaborations?
Lorraine Feather : It was really fun performing onstage with Full Swing. I love singing harmonies, which in recent albums I’ve been doing myself with overdubs! Mostly, however, this was the period during which I began writing lyrics as my primary focus. The first complicated lyric I wrote was for the original Full Swing album (with Charlotte Crossley and Steve March-Tormé), conceived and produced by Richard Perry. It was for a piece of Tommy Newsom’s. I’d heard a lot of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross as a child in a jazz household, and this was not dissimilar. I completed the lyric and sang it for the other singers and Richard, who disliked it and instructed me as to what kind of lyric he wanted. I swallowed my pride, went home and started over. Richard approved of version #2 and I wound up writing lyrics for half the album. That endeavor showed me what my particular strengths were, and gave me a lesson in writing for hire.
Q: You have worked on Disney's Dinosaurs, The Jungle Book 2, and The Princess Diaries. Can you talk a little bit about working on these?
Lorraine Feather : The music for Dinosaurs was written by Ray Colcord, a dear and talented man who passed away early this year. A mutual friend of ours suggested I send my solo album The Body Remembers to Ray, whom I’d known as a pianist at The Improv in Los Angeles. Ray was well-known for having a pretty dark sense of humor, and this friend thought we’d be a good fit as writing partners. The first song we wrote was called “Poor Slobs with Terrible Jobs” and we had a ball. We then wrote dinosaur blues songs, dinosaur country songs … he was a treat to work with. The Jungle Book 2 was a unique experience, in that my agent Maggie Rodford, of Air-Edel, suggested to Matt Walker of Disney that I be considered to write lyrics with a composer I’d never met, Paul Grabowsky, who lived in Melbourne. Paul and I spoke on the phone and wrote the song long-distance, a first for both of us. Disney approved our song, and we wound up doing two others for the project, finally meeting in LA to work on the third. The music supervisor for The Jungle Book 2, Dawn Soler, later recommended me to write lyrics for a song in The Princess Diaries 2. Julie Andrews, who had not sung in many years due to severe throat problems, had requested Larry Grossman as the composer. This was another long-distance collaboration, as Larry lived in New York and I was living in Northern California at the time. It was an honor to create something for Ms. Andrews, such an iconic and elegant singer, especially since it was her first public performance in some time. The demo for that song was sung by Jessica Molaskey, the very talented wife of guitarist John Pizzarelli.
Q: You have recorded 11 solo albums since 1979 and have used jazz as an influence on your work. What draws you to jazz music?
Lorraine Feather : My father was the jazz writer Leonard Feather; my godmother was Billie Holiday. I would describe myself less as being drawn to jazz music, than being so saturated in it from birth that it was pretty much destined to be the basis of my creative life. The albums I’ve done, focused for a time on writing lyrics to old jazz instrumental classics, primarily pieces by Fats Waller and Duke Ellington. Though I did a stride album with the incredible young pianist Stephanie Trick a few years ago, my last half dozen releases have contained mostly all-new compositions, many of the songs a sort of jazz hybrid as opposed to pure jazz, written with living composer/musician friends of mine: Russell Ferrante, Shelly Berg, Dave Grusin, and my longtime collaborator and best friend, the brilliant Eddie Arkin—who composed the music for “The Rules Don’t Apply.” There are examples of these on lorrainefeather.com.
Q: You have already worked with Warren Beatty on the Dick Tracy soundtrack (1990). How was your reunion with him for Rules Don’t Apply?
Lorraine Feather : It was unexpected. I sent Warren my albums from time to time, then one weekend, someone from the LA office of Air-Edel called to let me know that Warren Beatty was going to be contacting me; he had left a message for them asking for my number. He called the next day and was very complimentary about my work, then began telling me about the film. We had numerous other conversations and met several times. At that point, the film did not have a completed script and no proposed cast.
Q: What can you say about your collaboration with Eddie Arkin on the song The Rules Don’t Apply?
Lorraine Feather : It was quite fast, as almost all of our song collaborations have been over the years. It took us about two weeks, with breaks. When we were finished, I did a demo version with piano. Warren immediately loved it, but then a long time went by during which we had no idea if the film would actually be made. Eddie and I were pleasantly surprised, when Rules Don’t Apply was finally completed, to discover that our song was in it three times, later to become four, as it was added as an end title.
Q: Were there any hurdles you had to overcome to create this song?
Lorraine Feather : We wrote most of “The Rules Don’t Apply” in a day, but we had trouble with the bridge, the part that goes “In the movies we see, In the shows on TV, And in anthems passionately sung, There’s a message that you’ve got to keep believing in yourself, But they generally mean, if you’re young.” . Eddie wrote two different melodies for that bridge over the course of a few days, but neither of them felt quite right. We got together again and decided to make it kind of simple and sweet, like a lullaby. That version, we liked and used.
Q: Which American directors would you like to work with?
Lorraine Feather : I don’t honestly think of potential opportunities in that way. I would like to work on projects that speak to my own particular strengths. Eddie and I write in the classic “American Songbook” style but also go in a variety of musical directions on my albums; I hope we will be working together for a long time. As for the other directions I go in, many can be heard on my own albums. For example, I wrote lyrics to Nino Rota’s “Rosa Aurata” theme from Juliet of the Spirits, for my album Tales of the Unusual. My version was called “Ahh.” If I could wave a magic wand and create dream opportunities for myself, one would be to write lyrics for an animated stride musical.
Q: For you, which composers are a source of inspiration?
Lorraine Feather : I am inspired by various kinds of music, including classical (Ravel, Debussy), and have adapted some classical pieces to which I wrote words. Some of my favorite lyricists are Stephen Sondheim, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Joni Mitchell.
Q: What are your current project(s)?
Lorraine Feather : I am a couple of songs into my new album, Math Camp.
Q: What kind of advice would you give to someone who would like to work as a singer / songwriter?
Lorraine Feather : I’m unschooled myself, but my situation is unusual because I was around so much music and so many great musicians growing up, so I think getting a good education is wonderful. Keep listening and find what truly excites you. Try many things and don’t be afraid to make mistakes or go down what seems like a fruitless path, because earnest work is never wasted. When you find what you do best, pour yourself into it and don’t give up. And if you collaborate, do it with co-creators with whom you share a mutual admiration, who inspire you to do your best and are supportive.
Listing the song The Rules Don’t Apply
Lyrics (Music by Eddie Arkin & Lyrics by Lorraine Feather):
One day I told my friend I was terribly blue.
Was it far too late to do what I dreamed I could do?
He thought for a moment, then he answered.
He said, “The rules don’t apply to you.”
He said it very simply, and quietly too,
But as if there wasn’t any doubt at all that he knew.
He gave me a gift that I would treasure.
He said, “The rules don’t apply to you.”
In the movies we see, in the shows on TV,
And in anthems passionately sung,
There’s a message that you’ve got to keep believing in yourself,
But they generally mean, if you’re young.
Is it written in the air, as it seems to be,
That we haven’t long at all to find our destiny?
I’ll always remember to be grateful
That the rules don’t apply to me.
I wouldn’t lie.
The rules don’t apply.
The rules don’t apply to you.
We sincerely thank Lorraine Feather for answering our questions
An huge thanks to Ali Homek for helping us to have this great interview..