"The Great American Songbook" - Then and now (lyric, singers)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Some posts in another thread inspired me to start this. Readers on this forum know that I'm a lover of the "Great American Songbook." Unfortunately, a lot of people either don't know what it is, or think that those songs are passé. Happily, there are quite a few younger artists who are keeping it alive. Some of their performances may not always measure up to the best, but many are delightful in their own right. And, it is always fun to compare then to now. That is what I want this thread to be about: The Great American Songbook, Then and Now.
To start it off, here is a "then and now" on the great Cole Porter tune, "I've Got You Under My Skin." First, the "definitive" version by Frank Sinatra with the fine Nelson Riddle orchestral arrangement. Then, Chris Botti and the Boston Pops with the young singer Katharine McPhee. Notice how closely the orchestra follows the original Riddle arrangement in the Botti version.
OK...it's confession time: Although I've been a lifelong badboy rock 'n' roller, the Drummerboy has a sentimental soft spot for some of the old crooner songs, and this one is one of my all-time favorites. I get misty everytime.
First up, "Lady Day," Billie Holiday, singing the beautiful tune, "Violets For Your Furs." When this was recorded, Holiday was reaching the end of her very difficult life. Her voice (indeed, her whole being) was tired, but few singers could ever touch an emotional nerve in her listeners better than she could. Less than two years after this album was recorded, she was dead. In her version, this happy, hopeful lyric is tinged with pathos and loss--likely the real world merging of Holiday's life with her art.
In the later version here, Stacey Kent, a lovely vocalist in her own right, sings this tune in an entirely different mood--one molded in the romantic hope of a young lover recalling falling in love. The difference in approach between the two versions could not be more noticeable, but both are delights.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
