People came from far and wide to hear the incredible musician and composer, Randy Edelman’s debut at the legendary Carnegie Hall. It was a performance that wove music and storytelling together in a magnificent way. Randy’s compositions were piped in before the show began and he entered quietly as his last piece reached peak and played to his music flawlessly. It was a very unique and memorable entrance.
Edelman sang “Everything Is Possible” originally a classic from his album “Switch of the Seasons” which was re-released near the onset of the Hamas militant attack on Israel. It was also re-mixed in a hip-hop version featuring a rap from Grand Master Melle Mel. He continued with “Don’t Forsake Me Now”, “If Love is Real” (as recorded by Olivia Newton-John,), and “The Farmer”.
Randy enchanted the audience as he shared heartfelt memories from his illustrious career including how famous singer Karen Carpenter recorded his song “You”. He performed his iconic “A Weekend In New England”, covered by Barry Manilow, (a huge hit). There is a timelessness to his compositions, for example, “Isn’t It A Shame” recorded by Patti LaBelle, Shirley Bassey, and hip-hop star Nelly have had and continue to have a tremendous impact on the music industry. The legendary Bing Crosby’s last recorded song was Edelman’s “The Woman On Your Arm”. Randy shared that this song was written for his grandparents. Imagine how proud his grandparents must have been to have received such a gift from their incredibly talented grandson.
His inspired melodies helped bring many well-known films to life, and, a great score is no less important, in telling a story, than a great actor or director. The audience was “wowed” as he played a medley of excerpts from his many recognizable scores beginning with “Gettysburg”, the epic Civil War battle written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell and produced by Ted Turner to British director Alan Parker’s internment camp themed “Come See Then Paradise.” He continued with Dragonheart and The Bruce Lee Story both directed by Rob Cohen who flew in from Bali to attend. He then performed Diabolique, and finally Cora from “Last of the Mohicans” for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe before he performed compositions from “My Cousin Vinny”, “The Mask”, “While You Were Sleeping”, “Kindergarten Cop “, “Ghostbusters ll”, and “Billy Madison.” He ended his performance of excerpts of 25 years of soundtracks with the memorable theme from the hit television show MacGyver and then stood and proclaimed “25 Years.” What an incredible body of work. Of course, we can expect many more years to come from this prolific talent.
He exhibited his musical range performing whimsical songs like Joe Raposo’s Sesame Street hit “Bein’ Green” and then adding a stunning performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the Broadway show Carousel.
He stirred the soul as he performed Robert Schumann’s “Intermezzo.” The German composer was widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of his time. One could not help but recognize, as Randy flawlessly performed his own works, that he is one of the greatest composers of our time.
Randy swept the audience up on a “magical mystery tour” as he described great moments from his earliest years as a musical talent to his collaborations with legendary musicians, actors, directors and so much more. The audience recognized the incredible array of compositions whether written for great singers like Bing Crosby, Barry Manilow, Olivia Newton John, Karen Carpenter or great film scores from “My Cousin Vinny”, “Dragonheart”, “Last of the Mohicans”, and the tv series McGyver. Edelman closed the show with an exceptional version of “Where or When” by Rodgers and Hart and then stood to say goodnight as the audience leaped to their feet for a standing ovation. For the few who did not know him by name, before the show, they realized they’d heard his music for many years without knowing his identity. Randy is one of a kind. His brilliant and inspirational performance was interwoven with his wonderful conversational style as he shared the tales and highlights of his musical journey. Not only was the audience immersed in his extraordinary music they felt like they were invited into Randy’s heart. It was a tour de force.
Randy will perform again including works from his latest album, “Waltzing on a High Wire” on June 6, 2025 at Lincoln Center which will be presented by SohoJohnny’s Let Me Help, Inc. Don’t miss it!
Photo Credits: Billy Hess
