"Remember My Name....FAME!....I'm Gonna Live Forever......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                       Yes, indeed, Irene Cara will live forever in the memories of those of us who experienced her talent.  Though known for "FAME," my favorite song of hers was  "Flashdance,"which I will try to include at the end of this post.

                        To think, that, at 68, I would consider 63 to be young.  Poor Irene.  She had a lot of time left.  Or should  have.  They say the cause of death will be revealed, and I hope so, because a concealed COD to many, including myself, suggests two things--drugs and/or suicide.

                         How many here knew Irene started out as a child actress?  Long before "FAME" put her on the map, she was a part of The Show Band on PBS' "The Electric Company," from 1971 to 1972.  Prior to that she was featured in the 1968 Broadway musical, "Maggie Flynn,' starring Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy.  Making her debut in that show was a little girl who would go on to her own fame--Stephanie Mills!!!!!!!!

                            Following that show came "The Me Nobody Knows," which produced a cast album, and indicated a steep up in the industry.  This show opened Off-Broadway, the moved to Broadway.  The year was 1970.

                                After this, and "The Electric Company," Cara was featured in the Galt MacDermott musical, "Via Galactica," in 1972.  It did not repeat the success of the composer's earlier effort, "HAIR."

                                 But, then, THEN,  came the show that was both a curse and a blessing.  This was the 1979 musical "Got To Go Disco," which opened at the Minskoff, and legend has it the show closed before the end of the first act.  Theater queens long to see it--hear that ENCORES?--as there was never a cast album.

                                    Nevertheless, someone must have noticed Cara, because  then came "FAME," and then she took off.  Everyone back then knew her rendition of this song and "Out On My Own," still remembered today.  Cara hit the star circuit, then turned out another hit, "Flashdance," from  1983, which won a Best Song Oscar, and one for Cara.

                                        From then, it seemed as though she was living on the laurels of these last two hits.  So, it was with sadness and shock I learned of Irene Cara's death today, November 26, which, incidentally happens to be my parents' wedding anniversary.

                                          Rest In Peace, Irene.  Your talent will live forever in fans' memories.

                                      As promised, girls, here is Irene Cara singing the iconic 1983 "Flashdance."  What a feeling, and what a voice!