Ah, the golden years of showbiz, a time of unwavering loyalty and artistic integrity, perfectly encapsulated by the heartwarming tale of Caterina and the illustrious Earl Brown. After his stint on the Dany Kaye Show, Earl—a man of such towering originality he penned the kernel of an idea for an Elvis Presley “If I can Dream” song—didn’t just become Caterina’s choral director. Oh no. He became a close friend. The kind of friend who also happens to be the “main idea serving” vocal arranger for her entire club and concert act.

This dream team, a veritable Justice League of arrangement featuring Earl, Jack Elliot, and Ally Ferguson, crafted what were undoubtedly the crown jewels of Caterina’s international repertoire. Their pièce de résistance? Not one, not two, but three wildly successful Beatles medleys. One can only imagine the creative ferment, the late nights spent painstakingly re-ordering the chords to “Hey Jude” for the fourth time. A true meeting of the minds.

Then, as with all modern tragedies, along came the great debunker, the digital Delilah: YouTube. And it was through this cruel, illuminating lens that Caterina made a charming discovery. That third medley, the one they so-called “wrote for her,” the one she poured her soul into night after night, was not, as it turned out, a bespoke creation. It was, let’s be generous, a “spirited homage”—a direct lift from the arrangement they had previously cooked up for The Cher Show.

A shocking revelation, to be sure. One might even think that such a maneuver, pulling the artistic wool over the eyes of a close friend, would be considered a breach of… well, everything. But as the old, slightly stained showbiz handkerchief says, “Friends don’t do that… but that’s showbiz, kid.”

And really, isn’t the real creative genius not in writing something new, but in knowing exactly which existing product to repackage? A lesson, as they say, was learned by all. Mostly by Caterina.