Sunday, July 31, 2011

Patsy Cline - "Crazy" (1962)

"Crazy" is a ballad composed by Willie Nelson. It has been recorded by several artists, most notably by Patsy Cline, whose version was a #2 country hit in 1962.


Partly due to the genre-blending nature of the song, it has been covered by dozens of artists in several genres over the years; Nevertheless, the song remains inextricably linked with Patsy Cline.


Nelson wrote the song in early 1961; at the time he was a journeyman singer-songwriter who had written several hits for other artists but had not yet had a significant recording of his own. Willie Nelson originally wrote the song for country singer Billy Walker, but Walker turned it down. The song's eventual success helped launch Nelson as a performer as well as a songwriter. Musically the song is a jazz-pop ballad with country overtones and a complex melody. The lyrics describe the singer's state of bemusement at the singer's own helpless love for the object of his affection.


Patsy Cline, who was already a country music superstar and working to extend a string of hits, picked it as a follow up to her previous big hit "I Fall to Pieces". "Crazy", its complex melody suiting Cline's vocal talent perfectly, was released in late 1961 and immediately became another huge hit for Cline and widened the crossover audience she had established with her prior hits. It spent 21 weeks on the chart and eventually became one of her signature tunes. Cline's version is #85 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[3]


According to the Ellis Nassour biography Patsy Cline, Nelson, who at that time was known as a struggling songwriter by the name of Hugh Nelson, was a regular at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Nashville's Music Row, where he frequented with friends Kris Kristofferson and Roger Miller, both unknown songwriters at that time. Nelson met Cline's husband, Charlie Dick, at the bar one evening and pitched the song to him. Dick took the track home and played it for Cline, who absolutely hated it at first because Nelson's demo "spoke" the lyrics to a faster tempo than what Cline later recorded as a ballad. Cline's producer, Owen Bradley, loved the song and arranged it as the ballad it was recorded as. Still recovering from a recent automobile accident that nearly took her life, Cline had difficulty reaching the high notes of the song at first due to her broken ribs, so she came back the next day to record the vocal, which she did in one take. Another story has it that Cline tried to record the song for hours one night with no success. After visiting Willie Nelson and listining to how he would have sung it she made it within a few attempts the next recording session.


Loretta Lynn remembers the first time Cline performed it at the Grand Ole Opry on crutches, she received three standing ovations. Barbara Mandrell remembers Cline introducing the song to her audiences live in concert saying "I had a hit out called 'I Fall to Pieces' and I was in a car wreck. Now I'm really worried because I have a new hit single out and its called 'Crazy'."


Willie Nelson stated on the 1993 documentary Remembering Patsy that Cline's version of "Crazy" was his favorite song of his that anybody had ever recorded because it "was a lot of magic."

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell - I Only Have Eyes For You (1934)

"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a popular song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film Dames where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler.

According to Billboard magazine, the song was a #2 hit for Ben Selvin in 1934. The orchestras of Peter Duchin and Anson Weeks also figured in the song's 1934 popularity. This song was recorded in 1950 by Peggy Lee, and most notably by The Flamingos in 1959, becoming one of their most popular hits. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Flamingos' version #157 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. This version peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

A remake of the song by Art Garfunkel was a number one song on the UK Singles Chart in October 1975 for two weeks. The song was his first hit as a solo artist in the UK. In the US, the song reached #18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the adult contemporary chart. Garfunkel performed the song on the second episode of Saturday Night Live.

The Flamingos version was included on the soundtracks for the 1973 film American Graffiti and the 1983 film The Right Stuff.

It is also used as a recurring theme in a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon of the same title, released 3 years after the original song, and directed by Tex Avery.

The Flamingos version:

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

John Lennon - '(Just Like) Starting Over' (1980)

"(Just Like) Starting Over" is a song written and performed by John Lennon for his album, Double Fantasy. The B-side was Yoko Ono's "Kiss Kiss Kiss". It was released as a single on 24 October 1980 and reached number one in both the USA and UK two weeks after he was murdered. It is his biggest solo American hit, staying at #1 for five weeks. (When Lennon was shot in New York City on 8 December 1980 the single was at #3 in the US and reached the summit for the week ending December 27, making it the fourth posthumous number one song on the US chart.) In the UK it had peaked at #8 in the charts and had fallen to position #21 before Lennon's death propelled it to #1, making an unprecedented #21 to #1 move. By 6 January 1981 there were three Lennon songs in the UK top 5, a feat never achieved before or since.


This was the first single released from Double Fantasy, and the first new recording Lennon had released since 1975. It was chosen by Lennon not because he felt it was the best track on the album, but because it was the most appropriate following his five year absence from the recording industry. He referred to it during production as the "Elvis/Orbison" track, as he "tongue in cheek" impersonated their vocal styles. The uplifting bell at the intro of the song serves as the antidote to the morose bell sound which opens Lennon's first solo album, Lennon seeing it as his having come full circle.


Although its origins were in unfinished older compositions like "Don’t Be Crazy" and "My Life", it was one of the last songs to be completed in time for the Double Fantasy sessions. “We didn’t hear it until the last day of rehearsal,” producer Jack Douglas said in 2005. Lennon finished the song while on holiday in Bermuda, and recorded it at The Hit Factory in New York City just weeks later. The original title was to be "Starting Over". "(Just Like)" was added at the last minute because a country song of the same title had recently been released by Tammy Wynette. Inspirations for the song include similarities in melody to a section in the Beach Boys song "Don't Worry Baby".


While commercial releases of the song (original 45rpm singles, LP's and Compact Discs) run a length of three minutes and 54 seconds, a promotional 12" vinyl single originally issued to radio stations feature a longer fadeout, officially running at four minutes and 17 seconds. This version is highly desired by collectors.  It is listed at #53 on Billboard's All Time Top Songs. The Flaming Lips recorded a version for the benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.   On 8 October 2010, in honor of his birthday, iTunes released remastered albums, iTunes LPs and a free track, the 2010 remix of "(Just Like) Starting Over".

The Zombies - "Time of the Season" (1968)

"Time of the Season" is a song by The Zombies, featured on their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967.


"Time of The Season" is frequently used in pop culture to represent the late 1960s. In that sense, it is featured in the films 1969, Awakenings, A Walk on the Moon and Riding the Bullet, all of which depict the year of 1969. "Time of the Season" is played in the background of The Simpsons episode "D'oh-in In the Wind", in which Homer decides to follow the footsteps of his mother and become a hippie. In the South Park episodes "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka" and "201" it is used in flashback scenes portraying the Vietnam War. It was also featured in the 2005 film Dear Wendy, it is also referenced in the final words of Dick's letter addressed to Wendy. The song was also featured on the HBO series, Big Love.


The NBC series American Dreams, which depicts the mid and late 1960s in American society, featured the song in its third season episode "So Long, Farewell". "Tell Her No" and "She's Not There", The Zombies' other major hits in the U.S., were also used in the show, the latter being included in the soundtrack of the series.


It is also common for the song to appear in romantic scenes, such as the mentioned above in the film 1969. In the Friends episode "The One With the Flashback", the song is played in a dream sequence where Rachel fantasizes about Chandler. In the final scene of the Will and Grace episode "Marry Me A Little", it is used to represent Grace's joy after getting married with Leo.


"Time of the Season" is also featured in a scene of the 1999 NBC miniseries The '60s. The usage of the song in this particular scene was rather anachronistic, since it was supposed to portray 1965. The film Shanghai Knights, which is supposed to depict 1887, also features the song.


"Time of the Season" has been featured in several TV commercials, such as a 1999 Tampax ad taking place at Woodstock. In a 2006 ad for Sprite, a chorus of flowers with human faces performs an a cappella version of the song. In that same year, it was featured in an ad for the Irish beverage Magners Irish Cider. It was also used in the advertising campaigns of Nissan Tiida in Greece in 2007 and of Crest in Mexico in 2008.  In sports, it was featured in Free Your Mind, the 16th video in the Transworld Skateboarding series. During the 2006 playoffs, the song was played in the Shea Stadium as the home-team New York Mets took the field.  The song appears on the video game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore and DJ Hero.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Dave Dee Dozey Beaky Mick & Tich - "Bend It" (1966)




Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich is an amalgam of the band members' nicknames. The distinctive name, coupled with well produced and catchy songs like "Bend It", quickly caught the UK public's imagination and their records started to sell in abundance. Indeed, between 1965 and 1969, the group spent more weeks in the UK Singles Chart than The Beatles and made the odd tour 'downunder' to Australia and New Zealand, where they had also experienced some marked chart success during this period.

Tiny Tim - "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" (1968)

"Tiptoe Through the Tulips" is a popular song originally published in 1929. The song was written by Al Dubin (lyrics) and Joe Burke (music).


‘Crooning Troubadour’ Nick Lucas’ recording of "Tip-Toe Through The Tulips" hit the top of the charts in May 1929. The song he introduced in the 1929 musical talkie Gold Diggers of Broadway held the #1 position for 10 weeks. Other artists charted the song in 1929, including Jean Goldkette (#5), Johnny Marvin (#11), and Roy Fox (#18).


The song was revived in 1967 by the California rock group The Humane Society and popo the clown in 1968 by Tiny Tim, whose version charted at #17 that year.


Herbert Buckingham Khaury, better known by his stage name "Tiny Tim", (April 12, 1932 – November 30, 1996) was an American singer and ukulele player. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" sung in a distinctive high falsetto/vibrato voice (though other performances reveal a broader vocal range). While Tiny Tim was sometimes regarded as a novelty act, his recordings demonstrate a wide knowledge of American popular songs, particularly of the early 20th century.


Khaury was born in New York to Butros Hanna and Tillie (née Staff) Khaury and grew up in an old apartment building in Washington Heights in Manhattan. When he was five years old his father brought home a wind up gramophone and a 78 rpm record that featured a 1905 recording of Henry Burr singing "Beautiful Ohio".   Young Khaury immersed himself in the music of the past, listening for hours in his room to Burr, Rudy Vallee, Al Jolson, Irving Kaufman, Billy Murray, Ada Jones, Byron G. Harlan, and Bing Crosby.


In a 1968 interview on the Tonight Show, Khaury described the discovery of his ability to sing in an upper register in 1952: "I was listening to the radio and singing along as I was singing I said 'Gee, it's strange. I can go up high as well." He then entered a local talent show and sang "You Are My Sunshine" in his newly discovered falsetto, and it brought the house down. From there Khaury began to experiment with different stage names such as Darry Dover, Vernon Castle, Larry Love, and Judas K. Foxglove. He finally settled on Tiny Tim in 1962 when his manager at the time, George King, booked him at a club that favored "midget" acts.


Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Tiny Tim developed something of a cult following. In the 1960s he was seen regularly near the Harvard University campus as a street performer, singing old Tin Pan Alley tunes. His choice of repertoire and his encyclopedic knowledge of vintage popular music impressed many of the spectators. One admirer, Norman Kay, recalled that his outrageous public persona was a false front belying a quiet, studious personality: "Herb Khaury was the greatest put-on artist in the world. Here he was with the long hair and the cheap suit and the high voice, but when you spoke to him he talked like a college professor. He knew everything about the old songs."


Between 1962 and 1966 Tiny Tim recorded a number of songs at small recording companies, with several of them being made as acetate discs and one actually released as a 45 record.


Tiny Tim appeared in Jack Smith's Normal Love, as well as the independent feature film You Are What You Eat (his appearance in this film featured him singing the old Ronettes hit, "Be My Baby" in his falsetto range; also featured was a rendition of Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe, with Tim singing the Cher parts in his falsetto voice, along with Eleanor Barooshian reprising Sonny Bono's baritone part. These tracks were recorded with Robbie Robertson and the other members of what was going to become known as The Band. The latter performance led to a booking on the massively popular Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, an unpredictable American television comedy-variety show. Dan Rowan announced that Laugh-In believed in showcasing new talent, and introduced Tiny Tim. The singer entered carrying a shopping bag, pulled his soprano ukulele from it, and sang a medley of "A Tisket A Tasket" and "On the The Good Ship Lollipop" with a dumbfounded Dick Martin standing near. In his third performance on Laugh-in, Tiny Tim entered, blowing kisses, preceded by an elaborate procession of the cast, and after a short interview, sang "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".


In September 1996, he suffered a heart attack just as he began singing at a ukulele festival at the Montague Grange Hall (often confused in accounts of the incident with the nearby Montague Bookmill, at which he had recorded a video interview earlier that same day) in Montague, Massachusetts. He was hospitalized at the nearby Franklin County Medical Center in Greenfield for approximately three weeks, before being discharged with strong admonitions to no longer perform, due to his frail health and the difficulty of proper dietary needs for his diabetic and heart conditions. While playing at a Gala Benefit at The Woman's Club of Minneapolis on November 30, 1996, he suffered another heart attack on stage. He was led out by his third wife, Susan Marie Gardner ("Miss Sue", whom he had married on August 18, 1995) who asked if he was okay. He responded, "No, I'm not."


He collapsed shortly thereafter and was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died after doctors tried to resuscitate him for an hour and fifteen minutes. He is interred in the mausoleum of Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

The Ink Spots - "The Gypsy" (1946)

"The Gypsy" is a popular song written by Billy Reid, and published in 1945. "The Gypsy" was originally introduced in the United Kingdom by Reid's orchestra and vocalist Dorothy Squires. In the United States, the song was recorded by The Ink Spots, by Dinah Shore, and by Sammy Kaye's orchestra, becoming a hit for all three.


The recording by The Ink Spots was released by Decca Records as catalog number 18817. It first reached the Billboard chart on May 2, 1946 and lasted 18 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1 and was also number one on the R&B charts for three non consecutive weeks.


The Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop. They and the Mills Brothers, another black vocal group of the same period, gained much acceptance in the white community.


Their songs usually began with a guitar riff, followed by the tenor, who sang the whole song through. After the tenor finished singing, the bass would either recite the first half, or the bridge of the song, or would speak the words, almost in a free form, that were not part of the song, commonly using the words "Honey Child", or "Honey Babe", expressing his love for his darling in the song. This was followed by the tenor, who finished up singing the last refrain or the last half of the song.


The Ink Spots formed in the early 1930s in Indianapolis. The original members were:
Orville "Hoppy" Jones (b. 17 February 1902, Chicago, Illinois – d. 18 October 1944, New York City) (bass) (Played cello in the manner of a stand up bass).
Ivory "Deek" Watson (b. 18 July 1909, Mounds, Illinois – d. 4 November 1969, Washington, DC) (tenor) (Played guitar and trumpet).
Jerry Daniels (b. 14 December 1915 – d. 7 November 1995, Indianapolis, Indiana) (tenor) (Played guitar and ukulele).
Charlie Fuqua (b. 20 October 1910 – d. 21 December 1971, New Haven, Connecticut) (baritone) (Played guitar).

Stevie Wonder - "Isn't She Lovely" (1976)

"Isn't She Lovely?" is a song by Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. In it he celebrates the birth of his daughter, Aisha. There are three verses, each ending with the phrase "isn't she lovely, made from love" (or "so very lovely..."). The song opens with the audio of a baby being born, and a lengthy outro featuring samples of Aisha playing with Wonder.


The song, musically constructed over a standardized circle-of-fifths, is considered an example of the fusion of fundamental jazz and pop elements. Although the song was very popular and has received much radio airplay, it did not chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 because Stevie Wonder would not allow it to be released as a 45 RPM single even though requested to do so by Motown.


Numerous other artists have performed "Isn't She Lovely". A cover version by vocalist David Parton was a UK top ten hit in 1977. The song was also covered by the punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Take a Break. It was covered by the a cappella group The Idea of North on their album Evidence. Saxophonist Sonny Rollins included a cover of this song on his 1977 album Easy Living, rendered on soprano sax.[1] Jazz fusion artist Lee Ritenour also covered the song in his 1977 album, Captain Fingers. Frank Sinatra recorded the song in 1979. Urban jazz saxophonist Najee covered the song from his Stevie Wonder tribute album "Songs from the Key of Life."[2] Blues musician Keb' Mo' has also covered the song on his 2001 album Big Wide Grin. Another saxophonist, David Sanborn covered the song from his 2003 album "Time Again." Clay Aiken performs a cover on Scrubs at the end of the Season 4, Episode 17 episode My Life In Four Cameras . An instrumental version of the song was played after Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.[citation needed]
In 2011 the song was covered on the television series Glee by Artie with Sam, Finn, Puck and Mike backing him up in the episode Prom Queen.The song is directed towards Brittany in Home Economics class as an apology and a prom proposal.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Joshua Radin - "Someone Else's Life"

I first heard this song while watching the movie ADAM, starring Hugh Dancy in November 2009. Classic tune.

Joshua Radin is an American recording artist, songwriter and actor. He was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and is of Swedish, German, Polish, Russian, and Austrian descent. He studied drawing and painting at Northwestern University, following his college years with stints as an art teacher, screenwriter, and art gallery employee. He turned to music when he moved to New York City, bought a guitar, and taught himself to play and write music. In 2004, American actor Zach Braff introduced Radin's first composition, "Winter," to Scrubs' show creator, Bill Lawrence, who ultimately used several of Radin's songs within various scenes of the hit television series. Soon after, Radin's songs were heard on TV shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, American Idol, One Tree Hill, among others. In total, Radin has amassed over 75 film and television placements.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Smoothies (Hal Kemp and Orchestra) - "Three Little Fishies" (1939)

Hal Kemp (March 27, 1904 – December 21, 1940) was a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. He was born in Marion, Alabama and died in Madera, California following an auto accident. Art Jarrett took on leadership of Kemp's orchestra in 1941. His major recordings were "There's a Small Hotel", "Where or When", "This Year's Kisses", "When I'm With You", "Got a Date With an Angel" and "Three Little Fishies".


At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill he formed his own campus jazz group, the Carolina Club Orchestra. The band recorded for English Columbia and Perfect/Pathe records in 1924-5. This first group toured Europe in the summer of 1924 under the sponsorship of popular bandleader Paul Specht. Kemp returned to UNC in 1925 and put together a new edition of the Carolina Club Orchestra, featuring fellow classmates and future stars John Scott Trotter, Saxie Dowell, and Skinnay Ennis. In 1926, he was a member of the charter class of the Alpha Rho chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, installed on the Carolina campus in February of that year. In 1927 Kemp turned leadership of the Carolina Club Orchestra over to fellow UNC student Kay Kyser and turned professional. The band was based in New York City, and included Trotter, Dowell, and Ennis, and a few years later trumpeters Bunny Berigan and Jack Purvis joined the group. The sound was 1920s collegiate jazz. Kemp once again toured Europe in the summer of 1930. This band recorded regularly for Brunswick, English Duophone, Okeh and Melotone Records.


In 1932, during the height of the Depression, Kemp decided to lead the band in a new direction, changing the orchestra's style to a that of a dance band (often mistakenly referred to as "sweet"), using muted triple-tonguing trumpets, clarinets playing low sustained notes in unison through large megaphones (an early version of the echo chamber effect), and a double-octave piano.


One of the main reasons for the band's success was arranger John Scott Trotter. Singer Skinnay Ennis had difficulty sustaining notes, so Trotter came up with the idea of filling in these gaps with muted trumpets playing staccato triplets. This gave the band a unique sound, which Johnny Mercer jokingly referred to as sounding like a "typewriter." In 1992, Hal Kemp was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Nena - "99 Red Balloons" (1982)

"99 Luftballons" is a protest song by the German pop-rock band Nena. Originally sung in German, it was later re-recorded in English as "99 Red Balloons".


While at a June 1982 concert by the Rolling Stones in West Berlin, Nena's guitarist Carlo Karges noticed that balloons were being released. As he watched them move toward the horizon, he noticed them shifting and changing shapes, where they looked nothing like a mass of balloons but some strange spacecraft (referred to in the German lyrics as a "UFO"). He thought about what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall to the Soviet sector.


Both the English and German versions of the song tell a story of two children who buy a bag of red balloons in a toy shop in Cold War era Berlin and release them into the air at dawn, where they are spotted by the military who don't recognize them as balloons but instead think they are some kind of incoming weapon. They immediately put their troops on red alert and call out jet fighters to intercept which ultimately triggers a nuclear war between the two Cold War adversaries. In the apocalyptic aftermath, one of the children stands in the rubble of the city and finds a single remaining red balloon. Thinking of the other child, he or she then lets the balloon go. The music was composed by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, the keyboardist of Nena's band, while Karges wrote the original German lyrics.


Having achieved widespread success in Germanic Europe and Japan, plans were made for the band to take the song international with an English version by Kevin McAlea, titled "99 Red Balloons". The English version is not a direct translation of the German and contains a somewhat different set of lyrics.


VH1 Classic, an American cable television station, ran a charity event for Hurricane Katrina relief in 2006. Viewers who made donations were allowed to choose which music videos the station would play. One viewer donated $35,000 for the right to program an entire hour and requested continuous play of Nena's "99 Luftballons" and "99 Red Balloons" videos. The station broadcast the videos as requested from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST on 26 March 2006.


The translation of the title is sometimes given as "Ninety-Nine Air Balloons", however "Ninety-Nine Balloons" is also correct. A Luftballon is a colourful toy balloon, rather than a balloon for transport or research. The name is derived from Luft, German for air, but the meaning of Luft does not qualify the type of balloon. The title "99 Red Balloons" almost scans correctly with the syllables falling in the right places within the rhythm of the first lines of lyrics, with "red" replacing "Luft"; the only difference is that neunundneunzig has one syllable more than ninety-nine. The 2002 re-release also features lyrics in French.

THE GERMAN VERSION: 

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Domenico Modugno - "Volare" (1958)

"Nel blu dipinto di blu" ("In the blue, painted blue"), popularly known as "Volare" (Italian for the infinitive form of the verb "to fly"), is Domenico Modugno's signature song. Modugno's recording became the first Grammy winner for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1958. It is the only foreign-language recording to achieve this honor. It spent five non-consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100 in August and September 1958 and was Billboard's number-one single for the year. It is one of only three one-hit wonders to become single of the year in the history of the Hot 100 (followed by "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk in 1962 and "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter in 2006).


The song became widely known as "Volare", from its refrain, and reached the top of the charts all over the world through translations into various languages.


The song has been covered at least 100 times over the years. Versions were quickly recorded after the initial success - partly in English, partly in Italian - by The McGuire Sisters and Dean Martin. Bobby Rydell had a hit with his version, reaching #4 on the Hot 100 in the summer of 1960 (this version was later played over the end credits of the 1986 movie Vamp). An up-tempo Spanish version (partly in Italian) was recorded by the Gipsy Kings in 1989, and an English/Spanish salsa version is also sung by Son Boricua of Jimmy Sabater and Jose Mangual Jr. in 2000.


DEAN MARTIN version:

GIPSY KINGS 1989 version:

Monday, July 18, 2011

Kim Larsen - Papirsklip (Paper Cutting), (1983)

Kim Melius Flyvholm Larsen (born October 23, 1945 in Copenhagen) is a Danish rock musician. Inspired by The Beatles and rock and roll, Larsen began as a songwriter and guitarist. In 1969 he met Franz Beckerlee and Wili Jønsson, and the three founded Gasolin' which, later joined by drummer Søren Berlev, became one of the most successful Danish rock bands. The band dissolved in the late 1970s and has always refused to reform although they remain very popular decades after their seventies heyday, which has contributed to their myth and magic. In 2006, the documentary movie Gasolin' directed by Anders Østergaard, gave the history of the band and became a big hit in Denmark.


Kim Larsen released a number of solo albums in the eighties, topping in 1983 with the album Midt om natten (In the Middle of the Night), which became the most sold Danish music album in history, with more than 532,000 copies sold. "Midt Om Natten" is a Danish film and the above film clip demonstrates the 'Papersklip' tune.

Sarah Mclachlan - "I Will Remember You" (1995)

"I Will Remember You" is a song written by Sarah McLachlan, Séamus Egan and Dave Merenda. The song first appeared on the soundtrack to the movie "The Brothers McMullen" in 1995, and was featured on her remix album Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff. It became a hit when McLachlan released a live version of the song from her 1999 album Mirrorball placing at #14 in the US on July 20, 1999, after reaching the Top 40 on June 8. The song also earned McLachlan a Grammy Award in 1999.


The Rarities version of the song has three verses, the first of which is omitted during live performances (as heard on Mirrorball). This song was covered by Kenny Rogers on his 1999 album, "She Rides Wild Horses", sampled by Lil' Crazed for his song "I Will Remember You (Graduation Song)", and recorded by Séamus Egan and band Solas in 2000 on their album The Hour Before Dawn. Sarah McLachlan performed this song during an "in memoriam" slide show at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, held on September 20, 2009.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Bobby McFerrin - "Don't Worry Be Happy" (1988)

"Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a song by musician Bobby McFerrin. Released in September 1988, it became the first a cappella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. On the UK Singles Chart, the song reached number 2 during its fifth week on the chart. At the 1989 Grammy Awards, "Don't Worry Be Happy" won the awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The song's title is taken from a famous quote by Meher Baba. The original music video stars Robin Williams and Bill Irwin. The "instruments" in the a cappella song are entirely overdubbed voice parts and other sounds made by McFerrin, using no instruments at all. The music video for the song is considerably shorter than the album version. It is ranked #31 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.


The Indian mystic and sage Meher Baba (1894–1969) often used the expression "Don't worry, be happy" when cabling his followers in the West. However, Meher Baba communicated variations of the sentiment; fuller versions of the quote—such as, "Do your best. Then, don’t worry; be happy in My love. I will help you" -- also incorporate responsibility ("do your best...") alongside the detachment ("don't worry..."), as well as the master/disciple spiritual relationship ("I will help you").


Originally released in conjunction with the Tom Cruise film "Cocktail" in 1988, the song originally peaked at No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was re-released the same year and peaked at No. 1 on September 24, 1988. The song also peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks chart and No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. The song was also a hit in the United Kingdom and peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.

Billy Swan - "I Can Help" (1974)

"I Can Help" is a song written and performed by Billy Swan. Released in September 1974, the song was a big crossover smash, reaching #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Singles charts late that fall.


Although Swan had other charting singles on both the Hot 100 and country charts, the song is generally recognized as being Swan's only major hit single release. However, Swan — later a member of the band Black Tie — had continued success as a songwriter for other artists and as a session musician.


In addition to being a No. 1 country and pop hit, "I Can Help" reached No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Singles chart and No. 6 on the United Kingdom's Record Retailer chart. In addition, the song was a hit throughout most of Europe and also reached #1 in Australia.


"I Can Help" is certified gold for sales of 1,000,000 units by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The Spinners - "Games People Play" (1975)

"Games People Play", also known as "They Just Can't Stop It the (Games People Play)", is a song recorded by American R&B vocal group The Spinners. Released in 1975 from their Pick of the Litter album, featuring lead vocals by the group's main lead singer Bobby Smith, the song was a crossover success, spending a week at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart and peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Female backing vocals on the song were by Barbara Ingram.


In 1954, a group of friends who grew up together in Royal Oak Township, Michigan, just outside Detroit, came together to make music. For a time, several of the band members resided in Detroit's Herman Gardens public housing projects. Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, C. P. Spencer, and James Edwards called themselves The Domingoes, however James Edwards lasted only a few weeks. He was replaced by Bobbie Smith, who sang lead on most of the Spinners' early records (and many of their biggest Atlantic hits). C. P. Spencer left the group shortly afterwards, and would later go on to be a member of the Voice Masters and The Originals. He was replaced by George Dixon. The group renamed themselves The Spinners in 1961. This name was chosen after looking at popular car hubcaps and noting how they spun around on a car's wheel.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Babys - "Everytime I Think of You" (1979)

"Every Time I Think of You" is a the title of a song written by Jack Conrad and Ray Kennedy which was a Top 20 hit single for the Babys in 1979.


Released as the lead single from the Head First album in January 1979, "Every Time I Think of You" ascended to a Billboard Hot 100 peak of #13 that April. The Babys' previous Top 40 hit "Isn't It Time" had also peaked at #13; like "Isn't It Time" - which was also a Jack Conrad/Ray Kennedy composition - "Every Time I Think of You" augmented the vocal of Babys' frontman John Waite with prominent female vocals: whereas "Isn't It Time" had featured a female chorale, "Every Time I Think of You" featured a vocal solo by Annie Bertucci. Jimmie Haskell arranged and conducted the string section heard on the track.


"Every Time I Think of You" rose as high as #8 on the Cashbox Top 100 Singles chart - that chart's only Top 30 showing for the Babys, "Isn't It Time" having peaked there at #38. "Every Time I Think of You" afforded the Babys a hit in Australia, Canada and the Netherlands with respective peaks of #6, #8 and #11; the track also reached #41 in New Zealand.


The track which had served as B-side to "Every Time I Think of You": "Head First", was issued as the A-side of the Babys' next single with another track from the Head First album: "California", as B-side. The "Head First" single peaked at #77 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Babys would have a third and final Top 40 charting in 1980 with "Back on My Feet Again" (#33).


A #11 hit on Belgium's Flemish charts via a 2000 a remake by Get Ready!, "Every Time I Think of You" was remade in 2006 by Marco Borsato and Lucie Silvas whose version - with the spelling adjusted to "Everytime I Think of You" - was released for download 2 October 2006 to chart on the Dutch Top 40 dated 7 October 2006 at #35; released as a CD single on 6 October 2006 the track was #1 in the Netherlands for the week of 14 October 2006 remaining at #1 for three subsequent weeks. A hit on Belgium's Flemish charts at #5, "Everytime I Think of You" was added to the track listing of Lucie Silvas' album The Same Side for its release in the Netherlands.

Pete Townsend - Let My Love Open The Door (1980)

"Let My Love Open the Door" is a song written and performed by Pete Townshend from his 1980 album Empty Glass. It reached the top ten in America in that same year, reaching number nine.

The song has been used frequently in film, most notably the comedy genre, often as trailer music for movies. Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend (born 19 May 1945) is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career. His career with The Who spans more than forty years, during which time the band grew to be considered one of the most influential bands of the 60s and 70s, and, according to Eddie Vedder, "possibly the greatest live band ever."


Townshend is the primary songwriter for The Who, having written well over one hundred songs for the band's eleven studio albums, including concept albums and the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia, plus popular rock and roll radio staples like Who's Next, and dozens more that appeared as non-album singles, bonus tracks on reissues, and tracks on rarities compilations like Odds & Sods. He has also written over one hundred songs that have appeared on his solo albums, as well as radio jingles and television theme songs. Although known primarily as a guitarist, he also plays other instruments such as keyboards, banjo, accordion, synthesiser, bass guitar and drums, on his own solo albums, several Who albums, and as a guest contributor to a wide array of other artists' recordings. Townshend has never had formal lessons in any of the instruments he plays.


Townshend has also been a contributor and author of newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts, as well as collaborating as a lyricist (and composer) for many other musical acts. Townshend was ranked #3 in Dave Marsh's list of Best Guitarists in The New Book of Rock Lists, #10 in Gibson.com's list of the top fifty guitarists, and #50 in Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list: 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Townshend was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Who in 1990.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Chris de Burgh - "Lady In Red" (1986)

"The Lady in Red" is a love song from Chris de Burgh's 1986 album Into the Light. The song was a big hit and reached the number one position in the UK, Ireland and Norway, and number three in the United States.


The song was written in reference to (though not specifically about) his wife Diane and was released on the album Into the Light. On the British TV series This Is Your Life, de Burgh said that the song was inspired by the memory of when he first saw Diane, and how men so often cannot even remember what their wives were wearing when they first met. De Burgh himself did the spanish version of the song, called "La Dama de Ayer".

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Abba - "Dancing Queen" (1976)

"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando" and is commonly regarded as one of the most successful singles of the 1970s. "Dancing Queen" was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson and is considered by many to be ABBA's signature song, as it reached the number 1 position on popular music charts in 13 countries. Recorded in 1975, it was released on the group's album Arrival the following year and as a single with "That's Me" as the B-side.


The song was re-released as a single in 1992 to promote the compilation "ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits".


In 2009, the British performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited celebrated its 75th anniversary by listing the 75 songs that have played most in Great Britain on the radio, in clubs and on jukeboxes. "Dancing Queen" was number eight on the list.


"Dancing Queen" features the shared lead vocal performance of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Dancing Queen" was a massive hit. It became ABBA's only #1 in the United States in April 1977. It also hit #1 in at least 13 other countries worldwide: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, West Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and Rhodesia. "Dancing Queen" also reached the Top 5 in Austria, Canada, Finland, France and Switzerland. The track peaked at #14 in Italy, where ABBA never achieved the same degree of popularity as elsewhere. The song sold over three million copies.


"Dancing Queen" was the last of three consecutive #1s the band had in the UK in 1976, following "Mamma Mia" and "Fernando" earlier in the year.


On December 5, 2010, Britain's ITV broadcast the results of a poll to determine The Nation's Favourite ABBA Song, in which "Dancing Queen" placed at #2.   The song is featured in the video clip above from the Australian classic film "Muriel's Wedding".

Monday, July 11, 2011

Melissa Manchester - "Thief of Hearts" (1984)

Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage.


Manchester was born in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, to a musical family of Jewish ethnicity. Her father was a bassoonist for the New York Metropolitan Opera. Manchester started a singing career at an early age, learning the piano and harpsichord at the Manhattan School of Music and Arts, singing commercial jingles at age 15, and becoming a staff writer for Chappell Music while attending Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts.


She studied songwriting at New York University with Paul Simon. Manchester then appeared on the Manhattan club scene, where she was discovered by Barry Manilow and Bette Midler, who took her on as one of her backup singers, the Harlettes in 1971.


Thief of Hearts is a 1984 film produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It was written and directed by Douglas Day Stewart. The soundtrack features Melissa Manchester singing the title song of the movie, Thief of Hearts.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Marni Nixon, Jim Bryant (Bernstein & Sondheim) - "Somewhere" - (1961)

I was so mesmerized by this scene (from WEST SIDE STORY, 1961) on a large screen at the HOLLYWOOD BOWL on the night of July 9, 2011. The song resonated with me and I had to share it on the Daily Throwback today.


"Somewhere" is a song from the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story which was made into a film in 1961. The music is composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and takes a phrase from the slow movement of Beethoven's 'Emperor' Piano Concerto, which forms the start of the melody.


The song has been recorded by many artists, and released as a single by several, including Len Barry, Barbra Streisand, The Supremes, Phil Collins, Johnny Mathis, Matt Monro, Julian Lloyd Webber, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Darin, Devo, Tom Waits, P. J. Proby, Oscar Peterson, Il Divo, Dutch Rockband Zinatra, Donald Braswell II, Pet Shop Boys, Ian McCulloch, Kylie Minogue, Jane McDonald, Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Jennifer Hudson, La Toya London, Leona Lewis, Celine Dion, Celtic Woman, Jackie Evancho & Katharine McPhee.

In the 1961 film, the song occurs at a pivotal point, after the rumble in which former Jets leader Tony (Richard Beymer) has stabbed his girlfriend's brother, Bernardo (George Chakiris). Having nowhere else to go, Tony runs to his girlfriend, Maria (Natalie Wood). Maria has just been told of her brother's death, and who killed him. When Tony comes to her room through the balcony window, Maria, in shock, pounds against his chest.   Realizing in spite of her anger that she still loves Tony, Maria begs him to hold her. After Maria cries out, "It's not us...it's everything around us, Tony says "Then I'll take you away, where nothing can get to us." and begins singing 'Somewhere' to her. His comforting voice draws her in, and it becomes a duet of hope that their love will survive "somehow, someday, somewhere."


As in the stage show, Maria sings the first few lines of the song as Tony dies in her arms.

"Somewhere" was released as a single by the British music group Pet Shop Boys in 1997 to promote their "Somewhere" residency at the Savoy Theatre in London, which was named after the song, and to promote a repackage of Bilingual.


The single was another Top 10 hit for the group, peaking at #9. The single also peaked at #25 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, equaling #125 on the main US Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at #19 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. In the US, the song was released as a double a-side with "A Red Letter Day".


The Pet Shop Boys' version also uses elements of another West Side Story song, "I Feel Pretty", and the album version uses elements of "One Hand, One Heart" spoken by Chris Lowe.
Pet Shop Boys version:

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Hank Williams - "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)" (1952)

"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" is the title of a song written and recorded American country music singer Hank Williams that was first released in July 1952. Named for a Creole and Cajun dish, jambalaya, it spawned numerous cover versions and has since achieved popularity in a number of music genres.


With a melody based on the Cajun song "Grand Texas", some sources, including Allmusic, claim that the song was co-written by Williams and Moon Mullican, with Mullican uncredited but receiving ongoing royalties.


Released in July 1952, crediting Williams as the sole author, it was performed by Williams as a country song. It reached number one on the U.S. country charts for fourteen non-consecutive weeks. "Jambalaya" remains one of Hank Williams most popular songs today.

The California Ramblers - "At Sundown" (1927)

Please wait until the lyrics begin. Nice flashback tune from the 20's. The California Ramblers were a popular and prolific jazz group from the 1920s, that recorded hundreds of songs under many different record labels throughout the 1920s. Three of the members of the band, Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, and Tommy Dorsey, would go on to front big bands in later decades.


The original bandmembers were from Ohio, but chose the name California Ramblers because they thought people would be less inclined to listen to a jazz band from the Midwest. The "Ramblers Inn was named after the band and was inPelham, New York]. The band was instantly successful, and would remain well-known throughout the decade. They were one of the most prolific recording groups in the 1920s, the Ramblers recorded originally for Vocallion Records In November of 1921. In Early 1922 The front man for the California Ramblers Violinist Oscar Addler told Their Manager Ed Kirkeby that He Addler was going to take over as the bands manager and booking agent. Ed Kirkeby who had a lot of pull in the New York Music Scean had the B. F. Keath Cercut Bar the Ramblers from playing in any of their restaurants dance halls or theaters. By the end of March 1922 the Original band broke up.They made their last recording on March 16,1922 for Arto Records. The Banjo player and founder of the Ramblers Ray Kitchingman ask Kirkeby if the band could be reformed and suggested a band playing at Shanlee's dance hall whitch was led by Violinist Arthur Hand. Kirkeby said yes and the this new band of California Ramblers made their first recording on April 3, 1922 for the Emerson Record Company. In late 1924 the Ramblers signed a contract with Columbia Records and then, in conjunction with their manager Ed Kirkeby, agreed to waive all royalties to Columbia for the right to record for other companies under different names. They recorded for nearly every independent label in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., using over 100 unique aliases. List of pseudonyms


They weren't from Ohio necessarily, some were, but also from Pennsylvania. They played at Shanleys Dance Hall, The Monte Carlo and the California Ramblers Inn and in 1928 at the McAlpine Hotel although they were not the first mixed band to record (the first was Jimmy Durante's Original New Orleana jazz Band In 1918 with light skinned black clairnetist Achelle Baquet),they were an early intagrated band with light skind black trumpeter Bill Moore in the band from 1922 - March 1925 when he was replaced by Red Nichols. Bill Moore was billed as The Hot Hawiian during his time with the California Ramblers. == The California Ramblers were the first group to record the classic song "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?", in 1925, and many people in or associated with the band - Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Elwood Madeo Jr., and manager Ed Kirkeby - became some of the most famous and influential figures of the Big band era.

The Proclaimers - 500 Miles (1988)

The Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid (born 5 March 1962, in Leith). They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents. They have released eight studio albums from 1987 until the present, as well as two compilation albums and a DVD, and their next studio album is expected for 2012.


Craig Reid and Charlie Reid were born in Leith in 1962, and grew up in Edinburgh, Cornwall and Auchtermuchty. After several punk rock bands at school they formed The Proclaimers in 1983.


The pair came to public attention when an Inverness based fan sent their demo to the British band The Housemartins, who were impressed enough to invite The Proclaimers on their 1986 UK tour. The exposure of the tour won them a January 1987 appearance on the British pop music television programme The Tube on Channel Four; "Letter from America" peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart, whilst the album This is the Story went gold. The follow-up album Sunshine on Leith featured "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" and "I'm On My Way". They had a hit with their EP King of the Road, which reached number 9 in UK in 1990.


In March 2007 they recorded a new version of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" with television comedy characters Andy Pipkin (played by Matt Lucas) and Brian Potter (Peter Kay) for the Comic Relief charity. A long list of celebrities were featured in the music video for this new version, including David Bellamy, Rod, Jane and Freddy, Paul O'Grady, David Tennant, Frank Sidebottom and many more. This new version of the song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.


The band was one of The B-52s' touring partners on their Funplex tour in Australia and New Zealand in November 2009, alongside Mental as Anything.


In addition, they featured in VH1's 100 greatest one hit wonders (I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) having been their only US hit single).

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Roxy Music - "Dance Away" (1979)

"Dance Away" is a song by the British rock band Roxy Music. Released in April 1979, it was the second single to be taken from their album Manifesto, and became one of the band's most famous songs, reaching Number 2 in the UK and spending a total of 14 weeks on the charts, the longest chart residency of a Roxy Music single. Although it didn't make number 1, it became the 9th biggest selling single in the UK in 1979.


"Dance Away" was originally written by Bryan Ferry for his 1977 solo album In Your Mind, but did not make the final track listing. It was then planned for inclusion on his 1978 album The Bride Stripped Bare, but again was not included. It was finally completed and released on Roxy Music's Manifesto, the band's first studio album in four years.


The single version was a different mix compared to the original album version. As with their next single "Angel Eyes", the single version of "Dance Away" later replaced the album version for subsequent releases, and was included on the band's 1995 box set The Thrill Of It All. While the 1999 re-mastered version of the Manifesto album restored the original version of "Angel Eyes", it still retained the single mix of "Dance Away" in place of the original, making the The Thrill of It All boxset the only place in which the original album version of the song can now be found.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Shirley Temple - On The Good Ship Lollipop (1934)

"On the Good Ship Lollipop" was the trademark song of child actress Shirley Temple. Temple first sang it in the 1934 movie Bright Eyes.


Contrary to popular belief, the "ship" in the song is an aircraft; the scene in Bright Eyes where the song appears takes place on an airliner which is taxiing.


In the song, the "Good Ship Lollipop" travels to a candy land. There is a direct reference to an aeroplane in the song: "Someday I'm going to fly/I'll be a pilot, too...". The song was composed by Richard A. Whiting and the lyric was supplied by Sidney Clare. 500,000 copies of the sheet music, published by Sam Fox Publishing Company were sold, and a recording by Mae Questel (the cartoon voice of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl) reputedly sold more than 2 million copies.

U2 - "Beautiful Day" (2000)

"Beautiful Day" is a song by the rock band U2. It is the first track from their 2000 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, and it was released as the album's lead single. It was a commercial success, helping launch the album to multi-platinum status, and is one of U2's biggest hits to date. Like many tracks from All That You Can't Leave Behind, "Beautiful Day" harkens back to the group's past sound. The tone of The Edge's guitar was a subject of debate amongst the band members, as they disagreed on whether he should use a sound similar to that from their early career in the 1980s. Lead vocalist Bono explained that the upbeat track is about losing everything but still finding joy in what you have.


The song received positive reviews, and it became their fourth number-one single in the UK and their first number-one in the Netherlands. The song peaked at number 21 in the United States, the band's highest position since "Discothèque" in 1997. In 2001, the song won three Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The group has played "Beautiful Day" at every one of their concerts since the song's 2001 live debut on the Elevation Tour.


"Beautiful Day" was written in several stages, originating from a composition called "Always" (later released as a B-side) that the band created in a small room at Hanover Quay Studio. However, they were initially unimpressed with it, as guitarist The Edge said, "As a straight rock song, it was pretty ho-hum."[4] After lead vocalist Bono came up with the "beautiful day" lyric, the song went in a different direction. The Edge's backing vocals for the chorus were improvised one night with co-producer Daniel Lanois, an addition he called "the key" to the chorus and its new lyrics.


"Beautiful Day" is played at a tempo of 136 beats per minute in a 4/4 time signature. The song opens with a reverberating electric piano playing over a string synthesiser, introducing the chord progression of A–Bm7–D–G–D9–A. This progression continues throughout the verses and chorus, the changes not always one to a bar. After the opening line, "The heart is a bloom", the rhythm enters, comprising repeated eighth notes on bass guitar and a drum machine. In the first verse, Bono's vocals are in the front in the mix and their production is dry. At 0:29, a guitar arpeggio pattern by The Edge first appears, echoing across channels. The verses are relatively quiet until the chorus, when The Edge begins playing the song's guitar riff and Mullen's drums enter. During the chorus, Bono sings in a restrained manner, contrasting with The Edge's "loud, bellowing" background vocals, a sustained cry of "day".