Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Yankees hero Bernie Williams eyes musical home run
Wed May 20, 2009 2:20pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Steve James
NEW YORK (Reuters) - For most men, winning four baseball World Series titles would be life's crowning achievement.
But Bernie Williams has another field of dreams -- music.
"Winning the World Series was obviously a great experience but the challenge of playing music and writing songs is something else entirely," he told Reuters in an interview.
"It would be a great thrill to have a Number One record; that would be something amazing considering it's such a competitive field," said guitarist Williams, the long-time New York Yankees outfielder, who retired from baseball in 2006.
He's already close to realizing that dream. His second album, "Moving Forward," was sitting at Number 2 in the Billboard contemporary jazz chart this week. "I'm behind Chris Botti and ahead of Boney James," Williams joked.
The history of American popular culture is littered with successful sportsmen who tried, many of them unsuccessfully, to become music stars after their careers ended.
The jock-to-rock list includes boxer Oscar de la Hoya who made a Latin pop album in 2000 -- his last.
U.S. World Cup soccer icon Alexei Lalas cut a disc of mostly forgettable rock, while tennis great John McEnroe used to dabble in rock guitar. And who can forget basketball star Shaquille O'Neal's five rap CDs, including his debut "Shaq Diesel," which went platinum?
But Williams is no dilettante, he is deadly serious about his music. The album features mostly self-penned instrumentals for acoustic guitar. There is also a collaboration with Latino singer Jon Secada and the Harlem Boys and Girls Choir, of Secada's "Just Another Day." The final track is a live performance with Bruce Springsteen, of the rocker's "Glory Days."
A thoughtful man who patrolled the Yankee Stadium outfield for 17 seasons, winning four World Series championships, five All-Star selections and hitting 287 home runs with a career batting average of .297, Williams likes to compare that career with the one he hopes will last the rest of his life.
"I like to take the word of my former manager Joe Torre: 'We don't own the game, we just borrow it for a while.' But I would like to borrow music for a lot longer.
"Baseball and music are similar in that you only have one chance to make an impression. In baseball you can't call timeout when the ball is coming toward you," he said.
He puts it all down to preparation "and the better your preparation the more instinctive you are. That's why people practice every day and why in music you practice your scales."
Williams, who has faced flame-throwing pitchers in clutch situations in stadiums full of thousands of people, said he gets nervous when he is on stage with just a guitar.
"You feed off the crowd and then things get better, like in baseball," he said. "Music is all about energy and having a good time rather than playing every note perfectly. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
"The Unit," "Earl," "Medium" get the ax
also on reuters
Slideshow
Slideshow: Gas guzzlers on parade
Beauty business helps puts pretty face on recession
Blog: Gold to go: ATMs for precious medals
More Entertainment News
Tarantino, Pitt in Cannes for Nazi-slaying caper
| Video
Lambert, Allen duel for "American Idol" crown
| Video
"The Unit," "Earl," "Medium" get the ax
U.N. names hip-hop pioneer goodwill envoy
French director Resnais ponders success at Cannes
More Entertainment News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-GM bankruptcy plan eyes quick sale to gov't
California budget ballot measures headed to defeat
Iran tests missile as election race starts | Video
"The Unit," "Earl," "Medium" get the ax
Wary of U.S. debt, China shifts gears on investment
Pattinson has "Breaking" news for "Twilight" fans
Target ditches bull's-eye for "up and up" arrow
Lambert and Allen to sing for "American Idol" crown | Video
Terminated Chrysler dealerships to challenge sale
Schoolboy Alfie not father of baby after all
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Netanyahu makes the rounds in DC
Deadly Indonesia plane crash
US pledges $110 mln for Pakistan
Obama reins in vehicle emissions.
Rebel leader death 'confirmed'
Talk of the Town
Two Americans killed in Afghan blast
"University G8" clashes in Italy
Painting relief for Haitians
Sri Lanka claims war victory
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.