Local Woman’s 1974 Song Featured in Newly Released Film

By TERESA WINCHESTER
COOPERSTOWN

Cooperstown resident Shira Small’s past is catching up with her, but about this she has no regrets. On the contrary, she is gratified that an album she recorded in 1974 as a high-school senior at George School (a Quaker school in Newtown, Pennsylvania) was chosen for “The Drama,” a major motion picture—A24’s latest movie starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. A24 is an American independent entertainment company, known for its arthouse and cult films.

Small learned of A24’s use of her song, “I Want to Lay With You,” in late March of this year when she was in a recording session for an upcoming album.

“My sister called three times. She said this man was trying to get in touch with me.”

“The man” was Tim Grierson, senior U.S. critic for “Screen International,” a prominent British magazine focused on the film industry. He had listened to her music on Spotify. Grierson wanted to interview Small for an article to appear in the “Los Angeles Times” just before “The Drama” was to premier on April 3. Before Grierson’s call, Small had no idea that her song had been selected by A24.

“I had no idea what A24 was,” Shira said.

In his article, Grierson describes Small’s song as “airy, gentle and simple” as well as “one of the most gorgeous love songs of the 1970s.”

“Spare guitar chords give way to a female voice that sounds unpolished but beautiful,” Grierson further wrote.

Small saw the film at Oneonta’s Southside Cinema the first Sunday after it came out.

“It’s the weirdest thing ever to listen to your own music in a movie. They played the entire song at the beginning of the movie. I sat there thinking ‘when I walk out of here, no one will know that was my song,’” Small said, the amazement of it all still detectable in her voice.

Since then, Small, who finds the film thought-provoking, has watched it twice. “The Drama” may be viewed on Amazon Prime and other streaming sources.

Small’s original album, titled “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now,” was made under the guidance of Lars Clutterham, who taught music at George School. It features two versions of the same song. The first, “I Want to Lay with You,” is done with a full band. The second, “In an Open Field,” features piano only.

The album was recorded in Philadelphia with Clutterham on piano and three other studio musicians. Eight other original songs complete the album, two of which are pieces from a children’s play written by Clutterham and George School theater teacher Robert Mandel. Another was written by Small’s friend. Small’s song “Eternal Life” was picked up for distribution by the archival record label company Numero Group approximately 20 years ago. Subsequently, Numero Group released another song from her album, “My Life’s Alright,” which was later picked up for the HBO series “Pause with Sam Jay.” The entire album has subsequently been re-released on vinyl, 50 years after its original release.

Small explains the album’s title in both transcendental and mathematical terms.

“While I was at George School, I was initiated into transcendental meditation, which helped me understand mathematical concepts that had been very difficult for me, including infinite amount of points on a line. It became clear to me that infinity is the same thing as points on a line, or planes. The perfection of mathematics is spiritual to me,” she explained.

Small’s song “Eternal Life” speaks to this concept.

Born in the Bronx and raised in East Harlem, Small completed pre-med studies and practiced as a physician assistant in New York City. She came to Central New York after a friend who had hired her as a note taker for the hearing impaired at Lehman College invited her for a visit at her New Berlin home. After her friend moved to the area permanently, she suggested that Small and her husband relocate as well.

Small says she left music behind because being a physician assistant was all-encompassing.

“All I wanted to do in some fashion or another was to heal. If you want to be a healing force, it can take many roads,” she said.

She also revealed that she suffered from “the worst stage fright,” something she has since worked through, having dealt with this inhibition through a therapeutic technique called EFT, “emotional freedom tapping.”

In the last year and a half, Small has performed at open mic nights at The Gatehouse Café in Morris.

“The Gatehouse is one of the safest, most loving places ever,” Small said, adding that its open mic nights were “the beginning of my coming home to myself.”

Her current project, “Healing Love Water,” is the name of an upcoming album as well as the name of her band composed of other musicians who regularly play at The Gatehouse: Chris Riffle (co-proprietor of The Gatehouse), Khalil Jade, Yolanda Bush, Evan Jagels, Jimbo Talbot, Sara Albright, Michael McGuane, Steve Eisenberg and Mary Meyers.

Healing Love Water has upcoming appearances, including at the June 6 Pride Festival in Oneonta.

Small’s work is often largely improvisational.

“They never know what I’m going to do, but they’re always ready. It’s like a school of fish—you don’t know how they’re communicating, but they’re all moving together. We don’t have a chance to rehearse very much, but they still get where I’m going,” Small said.

One form of musical expression that comes naturally to Small is “spoken word”—a genre encompassing elements of poetry, storytelling and music. Small’s musical influences are jazz, blues, soul, folk and R&B.

“They wind their way into my music,” she said.

“Improv” for Small is a “natural inclination.”

“It’s real-time creativity. So not AI. Given a melody, I have an idea of where to go. It’s just fun,” Small said.

In 2021, a spoken word experience reconnected Small with Clutterham, who had gone on to a successful career in the film music industry in Los Angeles. She contacted him when a song titled “Why” started to form in her head. That same year, Small and Clutterham recorded “Why” along with another spoken word piece, “How,” at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington).

Throughout her musical and medical journey, Small has developed an appreciative perspective on her life.

“Nothing happens in my life without it being strange and beautiful,” she said.