Category Archives: Music

Yesterday’s Gone

26 Thursday Jul 2018

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The MonaLisa Twins with another summer British invasion hit of the 60s, Chad and Jeremy’s “Yesterday’s Gone.” Ever-Reliable Wikipedia tells us it was Chad’s first published song.

More MonaLisa Twins at MonaLisa Twins

Hugh Laurie Sings The Answer

25 Wednesday Jul 2018

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Mr. Laurie’s splendid Dylan-like folk singer imitation in which he tells us “All We Gotta Do Is.”  In such trying times as these, we can only be thankful for his clear vision.

Thanks to Youtuber thereallalablue

“She’ll Have You Doing Things That Ain’t Right, Son”

09 Monday Jul 2018

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Was there anyone cooler than Louis Jordan? Wild singer, saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader who also had dance moves of elegance and wit to compare with Fred Astaire. Monday morning, the call goes out to “Caldonia.”

Thanks to YouTuber vintage video clips

The Cost

08 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by in Books, Life, Magic, Music, Performance

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Whenever I am envious of  the talent and skill of a great performing artist, I like to remember the following story, which the famous one-armed Spanish magician, Rene Levand, told in his book about his magic and life, Mysteries of My Life:

A man sees the great virtuoso cello player Pablo Casals crossing the street. The man, so thrilled to get a glimpse of his artistic idol, dashes across the street and manages to catch up with Casals.

“Maestro,” the man says, almost out of breath, “I just wanted you to know that I’d give my life to be you!”

Casals pauses and then replies drily, “I already did.”

‘S Wonderful: Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis, Jr.

25 Monday Jun 2018

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There were giants in those days. Monday morning, the Gershwin brother’s standard, sung by two greats. According to the pre-performance chit-chat, this was the first time the two had sung together.

Thanks to YouTuber rockinhillbillies

Trifecta

18 Monday Jun 2018

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Monday morning, you hit the jackpot: Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey, and Sarah Vaughn. As far as I know, this 1979 television special, All-Star Salute To Pearl Bailey, is the only time they had all sung together publicly.

The medley includes:

Stompin at the Savoy
Perdido
Don’t Mean a Thing
Cherokee
Sweet Georgia Brown

Thanks to YouTuber newstart2009

525,600 Minutes

12 Tuesday Jun 2018

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students sing “Seasons of Love” from the play Rent.

It gave me the chills watching it.

Thanks to YouTuber CBS

A World Without Love

11 Monday Jun 2018

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Monday morning, Peter and Gordon’s 1964 terms of endearment are seconded by the Austrian MonaLisa Twins.

The song was written by Paul McCartney, who was dating Jane Asher, Peter’s sister.

More MonaLisa Twins at MonaLisa Twins

 

‘Taint Nobody’s Bizness If I Do: Jimmy Rushing

04 Monday Jun 2018

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Monday morning, Jimmy Rushing’s upbeat version of a song more usually associated with Bessie Smith, Jimmie Witherspoon, and Billie Holiday.

Thanks to YouTuber K Lou

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

28 Monday May 2018

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Monday morning, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart’s band, Eurythmics, with their world-beating song. According to Ever-Reliable Wikipedia, Lennox claimed “The lyrics reflected the unhappy time after the break up of [their former band] The Tourists…’Sweet dreams are made of this’ is basically me saying: ‘Look at the state of us. How can it get worse? I was feeling very vulnerable. The song was an expression of how I felt: hopeless and nihilistic.’ Stewart however thought the lyrics too depressing, and added the ‘hold your head up, moving on’ line to make it more uplifting.

“Lennox also said that people had misinterpreted lines like ‘Some of them want to use you … some of them want to be abused’ to be about sex or S&M when that was not the intent.”

Thanks to YouTuber Adriano Celentano

Rainy Days And Mondays

21 Monday May 2018

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In 1972, while visiting California, a friend of a friend got me into an A&M recording session. The singer in the studio was Paul Williams who was primarily known at the time as a songwriter for other singers, notably The Carpenters. They had just had a big hit with one of his songs, so Williams decided to record an album of his own version of his songs. This was the song he was working on the day I visited. It’s a perfect Monday song.

Thanks to YouTuber  marvin santiago

I’ll Be Back–Again

14 Monday May 2018

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Monday morning, The Austrian MonaLisa Twins again with a very good cover of The Beatles’ “I’ll Be Back.”

I always liked this song because it seemed to be structured differently from a lot of the pop songs of the time. There was a haunting quality to it as well. I never had enough musical knowledge to understand what was really going on, but these paragraphs from Wikipedia made it clear:

“Unusually for a pop song it oscillates between major and minor keys; it appears to have two different bridges and lacks a chorus. The fade-out ending also arrives unexpectedly, being a half stanza premature.[3]

The metric structure also is unusual. The verse is in 6-measure phrases in 4/4 time. The first and third bridges have a four-measure phrase in 4/4 followed by a phrase with 2 measures of 4/4 and one of 2/4; the second bridge has a 4-measure phrase followed by 5 measures of 4/4 and one of 2/4.”

More MonaLisa Twins at MonaLisa Twins