In 1979, when I performed at Carnegie Hall the first time, I sang »Some People« from »Gypsy«. At the end of the track, I accidentally paraphrased a line from the middle of the song instead of the final line, »But not Rose.« I was a little bit mixed up that night. Unfortunately, Sondheim was offended. He held up the release of my »Live at Carnegie Hall« album for almost a year, and by that time the thunder over the live recording had diminished. I wasn’t able to start selling the recording at my shows until a long time after it should have been released. The irony is that, after the album was eventually released on CD, we discovered that another recording of my performance from another night existed, where I sang the line correctly. Remember, I had paid for this recording out of my own pocket. I had no record label at the time. It was a onetime event, and it should have been a routine courtesy. One artist to another. Not a big deal. But Sondheim said no.
I’d go on to perform and record a few of his songs in the coming years. Those he liked. Still, I never forgot what he put me through. When he heard my take of »Losing My Mind« with the Pet Shop Boys, he didn’t particularly like it. He always wanted songs he wrote performed exactly as he wrote them. However, there’s some legal mishmash that says after a song has been recorded, anyone has the right to record and release it if you maintain the melody and lyrics. It’s compulsory. So Mr. Sondheim couldn’t put me through hell this time. Years later, I’m still cashing royalty checks for »Losing My Mind.« And so is his estate.