One of the Most Covered Songs in History

A few years ago the British newspaper The Indepedent published a list of the ten most covered songs in history:

1. Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles
2.Yesterday - The Beatles
3. Cry me a River -  Julie Londen
4. And I Love Her - The Beatles
5. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
6. Imagine - John Lennon
7. Summertime - Abbie Mitchell
8. Blackbird - The Beatles
9. Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland
10. The Look of Love - Dusty Springfield

This blog post is about number 7 on this list: "Summertime". I have to admit I've never heard of Abbie Mitchell's version of "Summertime", nor had I ever heard of Abbie Mitchell before. But her rendition of the song is how Gershwin originally intented it to be, and it is indeed beautiful. In 1933 Gerswin wrote the opera Porgy and Bess and included the lullaby "Summertime". The character Clara sings this song at the start, and its melody can be heard several times throughout the opera. In 1935, when Porgy and Bess was first performed on stage, Abbie Mitchell played Clara's part. Mitchell recorded the first version of "Summertime", and 38,324 recordings of the song were made after Mitchell's version.

In 1936, Billie Holiday's cover of "Summertime" was the first that entered the American music charts. About two decades later, Ella Fitzgerald and Lois Armstrong also recorded an excellent rendition of the song. Their version became that popular, that most people actually think that Fitzgerald and Armstrong were the first who recorded this song.

Ella Fitzgerald and Lois Armstrong - "Summertime"

Since "Summertime" was recorded many times and by so many different people, it was done in an enormous variety of styles. Janis Joplin's version of the song is one of my favorites. She is one of few people who were able to add an extra dimension to an already beautiful song.

Janis Joplin - "Summertime"

I won't bother you here with all the 38,325 recorded covers of this song, but if you're interested check this website which lists them all. Miles Davis, Sam Cooke, Billy Stewart and Scarlett Johansson were among the many to record "Summertime"

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A Few Very Surprising Duets 

A Few Very Suprising Duets

I like to hear duets by singers who are known in completely different genres. This blog post is about those duets. I discovered them by spending endless hours on You Tube. The first one was recorded at Tom Jones' own tv show "This Is Tom Jones". The show ran from 1969 to 1971 and included many big names in music history (Dusty Springfield, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tony Benett and Ray Charles, to name but a few). In the third and final season of the show Ella Fitzgerald sang a great (and quite surprising) duet with Tom Jones. Here is "Sunny".

Tom Jones & Ella Fitzgerald - "Sunny"

The following song was recorded at the Transatlantic Sessions. This is a BBC music special in which Irish, British and American (usually folk) singers get together and make great music. The first session was recorded in the early 1990's and there have been 5 sessions since. It is really worth watching, especially if you like folk music. In this song you will see Iris DeMent, Michelle Wright, and the Irish singer Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh sing the traditional country song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken".

Iris DeMent, Michelle Wright & Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh - "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"

I have already expressed my love for Alison Krauss in this blog. To show her diversity and to show that she is not just a real good country and bluegrass singer, I will show this duet with Led Zeppelin's lead singer Robert Plant. They actually recorded an entire CD together in 2007 called "Raising Sands". This song is the first one on this CD, and I personally think it is also the best one. Here they are at Jools Holland singing "Rich Woman". 

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - "Rich Woman"

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The First Lady of Song

The First Lady of Song

This is a blog about music. All kinds of Music. Pop. Rock. Folk. Blues. Country. Jazz. etc. etc. .... You name it, and it will be here. I will show some of the coolest You Tube videos. Give a few history lessons in music. Discuss some great songs. But most of all, will just let you enjoy the essentials of music (Music-Essentials). 

Perhaps I ought to start with something about me. I’m a 29 year old girl/woman, and have been in love with music ever since I can remember.  As I was born in 1981, my first  real music memories were from about 1989. I was 8 years old back then, and vividly remember Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best”, Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time”, Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal”. Remember?? Of course, you do! 

Up untill I was about 24 I only listened to top 40 (pop) music, but then discovered that people also made music before I was  born! I started listening to country music (especially bluegrass), but also took more interest in Gospel music, (hard) rock, jazz, blues, classical music, hiphop, and actually just about any kind of music there is out there. What I also discovered at that age, is that there are so many music genres I didn´t even know about, (including lots and lots and lots of singers), and am still discovering as of today. So, feel free to send me any great music you think others might appreciate too. As this is my first blog post, I won´t give you my entire (musical) history yet, but will share more about me in future blogposts.  

Now, to kick of with something really groovy, which also truly expresses how I feel about music, I give you Ella Fitzgerald (a quite aged version of the First Lady of Song) with ... . Aaaaah, 

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got that Swing)"

 Some facts you might want to know before you watch this great video:

♪ Ella Fitzgerald was born in 1917 and died in 1996 at the age of 79.

♪ Here first big hit was “A-Tisket A-Tasket” all the way back from 1938

♪ This was about too years after she was discovered at the famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem (New York)
♪ She recorded quite a few popular albums with Louis Armstrong 
♪ In her lifetime she won a total of 13 grammys
♪ Check this website to retrieve more information on Mrs. Fitzgerald

♪ Or, even better, watch this great documentary from BBC Four on her extraordinary life
♪ The following song is a Duke Ellington original 

♪ (Don't be impatient, the real singing will start at 1.59, but I just love her introduction)