Linda Eder adds her voice to BGMC’s 25th Anniversary Concert
Even though she commands a voice that could fill the Grand Canyon, Linda Eder's upcoming musical marriage to The Boston Gay Men's Chorus is about more than just big pipes. Eder and the Chorus share a common sensibility, which should allow them to merge spectacularly during The BGMC's 25th Anniversary Concert on Friday, June 8 at the Opera House.
Eder's voice continues to draw the obvious - and deserved - comparisons to Barbra and Judy, two of the BGMC's primary muses. A few of Eder's pop songs have even been re-mixed for the gay clubs. The Chorus and Eder both have one eye on Broadway and the other on pop.
Following the BGMC's opening set, Eder will perform with her band and later team-up with the BGMC for an extravagant finale. She hints that a few of her staples (I Am What I Am and Don't Rain On My Parade) might be on the bill.
Those who already worship at the Church of Eder are familiar with the scripture. Introduced to music by her immigrant parents, the 46-year-old Eder spent the better part of her twenties performing at Atlantic City's Harrah's Casino, but her big break came in 1987 when she appeared on TV's Star Search, a long-running precursor to American Idol. Eder's 13-week winning streak led to her leading role as Lucy Harris in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde. Eder later married, and divorced, Hyde's musical composer Frank Wildhorn.
Over the last 15 years, Eder has recorded nine albums, including forays into pop (1997's It's Time, 1999's It's No Secret Anymore), seasonal (2000's Christmas Stays the Same) and Broadway classics (2003's Broadway, My Way).
Eder admits her last disc, 2005's By Myself: The Songs of Judy Garland, was a bit of risk, but one she felt like making.
"I feel like my voice is composite of three singers - Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland and Eileen Farrell, even though I have definitely developed my own style during my career," says Eder. "I still feel like my voice sometimes mimics one of those three. It's not anything I think about - without even questioning it, my voice just does it. It feels natural to me; it doesn't seem like I'm putting anything on."
Eder is currently developing material for a new album, which she says will be more pop-oriented. She hopes to have it on shelves next January.
"I had been collecting possible songs for months and a direction had started to emerge. The problem was that I wasn't willing to hand it over to someone else's vision. It's been a long slow process that stalled out for months until I finally got up the nerve to ask my label for the permission to produce the CD myself."
Eder recently entered the studio with her former keyboard player Billy Stein to develop a few demos for her label. A sinus infection caused a few delays and gave Eder a few sleepless nights, but the duo were able to complete a few tracks.
"Instead of four completed demos I had only two. I felt extremely good about the tracks but nothing is a sure thing. There is no way of knowing how the powers that be will react. I was going from Judy Garland songs to... well, you'll see. I spent a few hours on pins and needles but then got the call I had been hoping for and working toward for months. All the hours with Billy in the studio paid off. We have been Green Lighted."
Eder's last few discs covered Broadway, Garland and standards which only fueled her desire to make album of pop originals.
"Making pop albums is very different from making a standards or Broadway album. This direction is actually truer to who I am as a person in life, and in many ways it is my truer voice stripped of all the Garland and Streisand influences. There is no template in my head, no guiding track to steal from or mimic. It's freeing and frightening and wonderful. In many ways, it is going back to who I was when I first stepped out of the box. I'm making an album for the original Linda. Standards and Broadway will always be a part of what I do and as I get older it's the obvious choice, but I'm not willing to take up the walker just yet. I've done a lot of things backward in my life, like living my twenties in my forties, so I guess it's only fitting that I make this album now."
The Boston Gay Men's Chorus 25th Anniversary Concert with special guest Linda Eder, Friday, June 8 at The Opera House, 539 Washington Street, Boston. 8 p.m. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster, 617-931-2787. $22.50 - $52.50 tickets are still available, however all Premium Seating tickets w/post concert reception are sold out.
For more go to:Boston Gay Men's Chorus