It never snows in the Bay Area, but it will still be a White Christmas with the venerable San Francisco Symphony when old friends and songbirds extraordinaire Michael Feinstein and Debby Boone take to the Davies Symphony Hall stage to honor the holiday season and the legacy of Rosemary Clooney. For Boone, best-known for her mega-hit "You Light Up My Life," the show has family connections: Clooney was her late mother-in-law.
Rosemary Clooney (1928-2002) was one of the top recording artists of the 1950s. Even after she fell off the pop charts, she continued packing them in at concert halls around the country. She worked almost to the end. When she passed, her reputation as an iconic jazz legend was secure. An occasional actress, Clooney co-starred with Bing Crosby in the hugely successful 1954 musical White Christmas. That film's title tune became one of her biggest hits.
When Feinstein and Boone take to the Davies stage, they will be singing tunes from the film White Christmas along with other classics that will help usher in the holiday season. Boone is thrilled. She told the B.A.R. that she and Feinstein have been friends since they were kids. "We've worked together before," she said. "So we're going to come together to sing songs and celebrate the holiday season. It's about friendship and family."
Boone, a Christian with a deep sense of faith, has seen her own feelings change about what family means. She is now a strong and vocal supporter of marriage equality. "It's been a slow transformation," she said. "But I have changed because of relationships I've had with gay people. I could not place judgment on gay and lesbian people anymore. I know gay people who have deep spiritual lives. My husband, an Episcopalian priest, helped me open my mind to different understandings of Scripture."
Both singers are excited to be celebrating Clooney's music. "The show is a celebration of her life," Feinstein said. "She was like my second mom. If I could bring her back, I would."
Feinstein has built a hugely successful career based on his love of The Great American Songbook, the jazz pop standards of one, two and three generations ago. He says that these songs retain an audience even today. "Classic American Music will always live on," he said. "More young people appreciate it than you think. Even though it seems under the radar, it will live on."
Both singers promised a variety of offerings when they take to the stage. "There will be some big band tunes and a lot of swing," Feinstein said.
"We'll concentrate on holiday music," said Boone. "But swing, that's my favorite music." Boone reports that her CD Swing This features a lot of the Vegas swing music that was popularized by the Rat Pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. "Didn't we all want to hang out with them?" she asked.
Feinstein promises that there will also be a Hanukkah song, and that he and Boone will perform with Clooney, who will be projected on screen from the Great Beyond. "The show will be a tribute to Rosemary and her legacy," he said.
Michael Feinstein & Debby Boone Sing Songs from the Classic Film White Christmas, Sun., Dec. 7, 8 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall, SF. Tickets: (415) 864-6000, sfsymphony.org.