Back in the last century, in the pre-digital 70's, I used to love to frequent New York's numerous record stores in search of new and exciting artists, taking chances on an album because of a certain song, an arranger, a producer, even a back-up singer. This practice led to the discovery of a number of singers I grew to love, and I would, in turn, seek out other recordings by them. One such find was a self-proclaimed "folk/cabaret" singer-songwriter named Megon McDonough. She recorded a number of albums at the time for RCA's Wooden Nickel label and I bought them all. I loved her voice and her style, which was very much in the Judy Collins vein. While McDonough never reached Collins's lofty commercial heights, she did consistently release beautiful originals and covers that I enjoyed. I particularly recall her wonderful version of Dan Fogelberg's "Stars"; I later learned that she toured with him as his opening act. She also opened for Steve Martin, John Denver, and Harry Chapin early in her career.

I lost track of her subsequent recordings over time, and only years later did I actually get to see her perform, in Christine Lavin's The Four Bitchin' Babes. So imagine my delight when I discovered she would be performing a solo evening at The Duplex in November. She did not disappoint—except in that she didn't sing "Stars." Her voice remains as pretty and spirited as I remembered, with perhaps a bit more "spine" than it used to have, but this is a good thing. The show, "How Ringo Starr Saved Me from a Life in the Convent: A Girl and Her Guitar," appears to be an outline for a one-woman show about her life.

She opened with an a cappella delight called "5 Years Old In Tap Shoes" to start at the very beginning. This moved into "The Mary Gig" about the Catholic School pressure on a young girl to become a nun, a gig for which even then she knew she was not suited. She credited the Beatles with her rescue from her childhood and from Catholicism, and did a simple, effective "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (Lennon & McCartney) paired with another original, "Beatle Love," which is an amusing and joy-filled ode to the seminal rock group that inspired her to pick up a guitar and start writing and singing. After that brief foray into her roots, she dove into her musical influences from records and radio. Carole King was one, of course, and McDonough took to the piano for a lovely medley of "Up On The Roof" and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (Carole King, Gerry Goffin), overdone songs to be sure, but she made them fresh and vital. Among her other tributes to early musical heroes, were Janis Ian's "Society's Child" and Joni Mitchell's "Michael from Mountains"; the choice of this rarity rather than one of Mitchell's more well-known songs was a welcome surprise.

McDonough eventually headed to the West Coast and chronicled her journey with her "Blue Star Highway" followed by Jimmy Webb's sublime "Adios," prefaced by her questioning whether he had been sitting next to her on the trip because his lyrics so echoed her own experience. Jumping ahead to her time with the Bitchin/ Babes, she managed to wring new laughs out of Christine Lavin's modern classic "Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind." Here, and throughout the show, she had an uncanny ability to make even the most familiar material her own. She credits Lavin and the other Babes for inspiring her own comic songs, and she "Butter" and "Microwave Life" as examples. Singers looking for special material would do well to check out her CD's for these and other delightful songs.

McDonough has appeared to great acclaim in a number of musical theatre pieces, in particular Always Patsy Cline, and her medley from that show was terrific. She closed with another original, the moving and inspirational "Amazing Things," which has become a trademark song for her. It was emblematic of the sweetness and wisdom that filled the evening, and it ended things on a very high note. I hope that she chooses to expand "A Girl and Her Guitar" into a fully realized one-woman show. If she does, I will be there opening night for sure.

"How Ringo Starr Saved Me from a Life in the Convent: A Girl and Her Guitar"
The Duplex  –  November 23