Last night, Bob & I joined some of his co-workers at the Caribbean Gala for Cure, a fundraiser for the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute at the Schneider Regional Medical Center, the hospital on St. Thomas.
It was a rather typical event of this type; that is, like you would expect in the states: held in a hotel ballroom, black-tie (tho the members of our group weren't the only ones who weren't that dressy), a few raffle prizes, several speakers and featured entertainers.
It was the entertainment that made this one memorable. First, there were 4 different locals who each sang a couple of songs. The first man was great, and each singer who followed was better than the one before! One is a junior high choir director, another is a nurse, and a third is an ob-gyn.
Then the featured act, Ashford & Simpson, took the stage. The name meant nothing to us, nor did they seem at all familiar. One thing we had noted, however, is that they had began collaborating in 1964! We enjoyed the music, especially in light of their long career - but still we didn't think we knew anything about them.
As part of their act, they talked about some of the people who had recorded their songs, then launched into a medley of their more well-known songs ... and suddenly we recognized something! They wrote several songs that were recorded by Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, and Diana Ross, among others. The songs we recognized? "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", "I'm Every Woman"and "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand". When they began singing, a few ladies along the back wall were singing & swaying along, but, by the end of their set, the vast majority of the women in the room were joining in - to the delight of Ashford & Simpson themselves :)
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