I thought I knew the whole Simon and Garfunkel catalogue, but somehow I just found this song, which is from their first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM. The song was written by Ian Campbell.
Thanks to YouTuber Big Chuck Lyric Video
Monday morning, we give thanks that we were born into the time of Judy Collins singing Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne,” as perfect a match between singer and song as there will ever be. Here she is at Tanglewood in 1968.
Thanks to YouTuber Flickering Songs
Dionne Warwick with another great Burt Bacharach-Hal David song.
Thanks to YouTuber R472 Funk Channel TV.
Couldn’t find a better singer for the quadruple-rhyming Lorenz Hart lyric with the Richard Rodgers melody bouncing along.
More at Mel Tormé – Topic
Monday Morning, Louis Armstrong and Eileen Farrell with a great duet. If this doesn’t bring a smile to your lips, seriously, check your pulse.
Thanks to YouTuber The Ed Sullivan Show
The Great Ella with a terrific song by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Not to be confused with Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It, Lets Fall in Love.”
Accompanied by the Billy May Orchestra, from the Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book.
Thanks to YouTuber JazzBreakTV
Here’s a terrific performance of Dionne Warwick singing “Make It Easy On Yourself”–happening eight years later than it should have.
Here’s the story, with thanks to Wikipedia: Back in 1962, when Warwick was still a back-up singer, the songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David asked her to make a demo version of the song. The demo was so good that the record label picked up the song–but they gave it to veteran soul singer Jerry Butler to record–and it was a hit. Three years later, The Walker Brothers, a white pop trio, had a hit with the song as well. It wasn’t until 1970 that a live performance by Dionne Warwick was released and the song became a hit once again.
Click on the video and see if you don’t agree that eight years was too long to wait, and that she owns the song.
The postscript to the story is that Warwick was so angry at Bacharach and David for letting the song go to Jerry Butler, that she told them in anger, “Don’t make me over!” And Bacharach and David wrote a song for her with that title–which she recorded!–and that too became a hit.
Thanks to YouTuber Dionne Warwick Archive
(Click on the video above to play)
Monday morning, crack guitar player, singer, songwriter, and videomaker Mary Spender takes us behind the scenes to her castle, as she gives us a backstage explanation of how she put together her Romeo-and-Juliet influenced music video with zero crew. A really fascinating look at what talent and resourcefulness can do. Oh, and add camera drone operator to that list.
More at Mary Spender
(Click on the video to play)
Monday Morning, Robbie Robertson, Ringo Starr and People for Change come together virtually with musicians from all over the world to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Robertson’s masterpiece.
Thanks to YouTuber Playing For Change
(Click on the video to play)
Don McLean’s haunting “Vincent,” as performed by Mona and Lisa Wagner, the MonaLisa Twins
More at MonaLisa Twins
Monday morning, a beautiful song written and sung by Allison Young and Josh Turner. Josh writes:
“When Allison and I started to conceive of this project, we both wanted to do something acapella in the Scots-Irish-Appalachian folk tradition. I had suggested a few covers, and then Allison come to me with a verse and a chorus. We finished the song together over the next two days and recorded it just a few days after that. Allison woke up with her voice feeling terrible the morning of recording but it was one of the last days we had, so when she said she felt good enough to give it a try, I hit record on the camera without even checking it – couldn’t waste time! as a result, it is not a very good shot, with Allison almost out of frame and me blocked by the mic. But the recording I’m very happy with.
Longtime friend of the channel Gabe Terraciano added some subtle fiddle drones after the fact for this one, and I put just a tiny bit of Moog synth on there for bass. Topping it off is a recording of some birds Allison took at Edwin Warner park.”
More at Josh Turner Guitar
Monday morning, Tom Paxton, one of the best of the political songwriters of the 60s and afterwards, sings a song for Pete Seeger in 1965 about buying war toys. Little did Tom or Pete realize that the problem of war toys would be fully solved in our time by banning toy guns for children and insisting that they use real ones.
Thanks to Mitchel Cohen for pointing out this video.
Thanks to YouTuber funkydudesupreme
Monday morning, a young Josh takes Mr. Porter’s words to heart.
More at Josh Turner Guitar
One more lesson in obsequiousness from How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. The late Robert Morse rings every bit of humor from the song. The clever lyrics and music are by Frank Loesser.
Thanks to YouTuber Movieclips
From Wikipedia: “Kerry Livgren [ of the band, Kansas] devised what would be the guitar line for “Dust in the Wind” as a finger exercise for learning fingerpicking. His wife, Vicci, heard what he was doing, remarked that the melody was nice, and encouraged him to write lyrics for it. Livgren was unsure whether his fellow band members would like it, since it was a departure from their signature style. After Kansas had rehearsed all the songs intended for the band’s recording sessions of June and July 1976, Livgren played “Dust in the Wind” for his bandmates, who after a moment’s “stunned silence” asked: “Kerry, where has this been? …That’s our next single.”
More at KANSAS
Monday morning have breakfast with Nat King Cole calling out his order:
I don't want French-fried potatoes
Red ripe tomatoes
I'm never satisfied
I want the frim fram sauce with the Ausen fay
With chafafa on the side
I don't want porkchops and bacon
That won't awaken
My appetite inside
I want the frim fram sauce with the Ausen fay
With chafafa on the side
A fella really got to eat
And a fella should eat right
Five will get you ten
I'm gonna feed myself right tonight
I don't want fish cakes and rye bread
You heard what I said
Waiter, please serve mine fried
I want the frim fram sauce with the Ausen fay
With chafafa on the side
A fella really got to eat
And a fella should eat right
Five will get you ten
I'm gonna feed myself right tonight
I don't want fish cakes and rye bread
You heard what I said
Waiter, please serve mine fried
I want the frim fram sauce with the Ausen fay
With chafafa on the sideThanks to YouTuber TheNewFormat
Monday morning, Allison Young singing at least as well as anybody else is ever going to sing that E.Y. Harburg-Harold Arlen classic that was almost cut out of the movie.
More at Allison Young
Sung by the exquisite Carmen McRae. The don’t-make-em-like-that-anymore music and lyrics are by Richard Whiting and George Marion Jr.
Richard Whiting was the father of singer Margaret Whiting and also the composer of “Hooray for Holywood” and “She’s Funny That Way.”
Thanks to WBAI’s Reggie Johnson for a great two hour radio special on Carmen McRae where I first heard these songs.
More at Carmen McRae – Topic
Let’s be frank, there’ll probably never be a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” that’s better than the original, but this version sung by British singer and guitar player Mary Spender and Reina Del Cid is quite good. Extra city noises free of charge.
More at Mary Spender
Nellie’s mischievous take on veganism, the left, and hypocrisy.
Thanks to YouTuber eTown
Monday morning, some excellent Beatles covers by the Filipino band REO brothers–who are, in fact, really brothers, and have a really inspiring story about the hardships they faced in their lives and the people who helped them. To give you an idea, In 2005, lead vocalist Ronjoseph Otic made drums from tin cans covered with potato-chip bags and started teaching himself to play. He then mastered playing the guitar and taught these skills to his three siblings.
More at REO Brothers
Monday morning, Mona and a stereo Lisa bring back a John Lennon-penned Beatles song with some great harmonies.
More at MonaLisa Twins
Woody Guthrie’s song version of John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath as sung by Brooklyn’s favorite cowboy, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Phil Ochs fans might recognize the melody as the same that Phil used for his own song “Joe Hill,” but Phil was just following tradition since Woody had already stolen the tune from an even earlier song called “John Hardy.”
Thanks to YouTuber mrgildons
