Mark Pentleton - A place for my music, photos and videos

23 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 1960s, bossa nova, Brazilian, F major, Latin 1

The Girl from Ipanema

Mark

The 50th song of my collection for this year is The Girl from Ipanema (or Garota de Ipanema) dating from 1962 by the king of bossa nova Antonion Carlos Jobim and famously recorded by Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz.

The eponymous girl from Ipanema was a young woman who lived on Montenegro Street in Ipanema who walked by the Veloso Café-bar each day, as the lyrics suggest: “Olha que coisa main linda, mais cheia de graça, é ela menina que vem e que passa seu doce balanço, a camino do mar” – “look, what a beautiful thing, so full of grace, she is the girl who comes and goes by in her sweet swing heading to the sea”.

The lyricist Vinicius de Moraes wrote about his inspiration in his book Revelação: a verdadeira Garota de Ipanema (“Revealed: The Real Girl from Ipanema“):

She was “a mixture of flower and mermaid, full of light and grace, the sight of whom is also sad, in that she carries with her, on her route to the sea, the feeling of youth that fades, of the beauty that is not ours alone—it is a gift of life in its beautiful and melancholic constant ebb and flow.”

I hope you enjoy my version! There’s more Latin music in my collection here, and if it’s your first time here, find out why I’m playing a song every day here.

22 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 1930s, E flat major, film themes, songs from films 0

As Time Goes By

Mark

Song 49:365 is the 1930s classic As Time Goes By, written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931. It found fame in 1942 when it was sung by the character Sam in the film Casablanca and was voted No. 2 on the AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Songs celebration of the best songs in film. I hope you enjoy this piece.

There are more 1930s songs in my collection here, and if this is your first visit to my website, find out why I’m posting a song a day here.

21 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 1970s, Abba, C major 0

My Love, My Life

Mark

For song 48:365 I’m returning once again to ABBA and one of the lesser-known songs, My Love, My Life from the Arrival album. Björn Ulvæus claimed that this song was the finest example of Agnetha’s vocal purity. The song was reworked for the stage musical ABBAcadbra and performed by Elaine Paige – here’s a link if you’re interested.

If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project. If you’re looking for more ABBA songs, have a listen to my Tribute to ABBA album or check out my 2015 collection of ABBA songs from my archives.

20 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 1990s, A major, E major, Irish, Riverdance 0

Lift the Wings

Mark

I’m playing catchup with song 47:365, Lift the Wings from Riverdance. I think this is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I think the most effective part is the way in which the entire verse is a sort of ‘hanging dominant’ – entirely in B major which builds up to the movement into the chorus with a 7th added, ready to fall to the E major chorus. In my version I’m playing the verse in E, moving into the chorus in A.

The official Riverdance website explains Lift the Wings as follows:

While those souls who were forced to emigrate were faced with the heartbreak of separation, their human spirit was often lifted by a defiant hope at the prospect of a new life.

If you’re not familiar with the song, here’s a 1996 video from Radio City Music Hall.

I hope you enjoy my version below:

16 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 Andrew Lloyd Webber, B flat major, Cats, D flat major, modulation, musicals, show tunes, songs from the shows 0

Memory

Mark

Song 46:365 is Memory from the 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats based on T.S. Eliot’s poems. Lloyd Webber was concerned that the melody sounded too similar to Ravel’s Bolero and that the main theme resembled an improvised flute solo from California Dreamin’ by The Mamas & the Papas. However, he asked his father’s opinion who said “it sounds like a million dollars!” – which probably is but a fraction of the royalties he’s earned on this song!

I hope you enjoy my performance. There’s more Andrew Lloyd Webber music in my collection here, and if it’s your first time on the site, find out why I’m posting a tune a day here.

15 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 1950s, B flat major, G major, modulation, Tony Bennett 0

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Mark

For the 45th song of the year I’m playing Ton Bennett’s I Left My Heart in San Francisco, dating from 1953. Tony Bennett said of the song, “that song helped make me a world citizen. It allowed me to live, work and sing in any city on the globe. It changed my whole life.” Since the first recording it has been recorded by hundreds of artists, and it’s worth mentioning comedian Steven Allen’s parody, I Left My Nose in San Diego!

I hope you enjoy this ‘lounge classic’ today. There are more songs from the 1950s here, and if it’s your first time on the site, please click here to find out what the 365song project is all about!

14 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 1990s, Bryan Adams, D flat major, film themes, Robin Hood, songs from films 0

(Everything I Do) I Do It for You

Mark

Song 44:365 for Valentine’s Day is my version of the Bryan Adams classic ballad (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, the love song from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. This song spent sixteen consecutive weeks at #1 in the UK charts in 1991. It won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television, and narrowly missed winning an Academy Award, losing to Beauty and the Beast.

I hope you enjoy today’s song. I also played a suite from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves which you can find here, and if you enjoy film themes, here’s a collection of my performances! If it’s your first time on the site, find out why I’m playing a tune a day here.

13 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 6/8, A major, ballad, Gerry Goffin, Michael Masser, Whitney Houston 0

Saving All My Love for You

Mark

Song 43:365 is my version of Whitney Houston’s Saving All My Love for You. Written by songwriting duo Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, it was originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. in 1978, but it wasn’t until 1985 when it appeared on Whitney Houston’s debut self-titled album that it became a hit.

There’s more Whitney Houston in my collection, and if it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project.

12 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 1980s, D major, Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen 0

Hallelujah

Mark

Today’s song – number 42:365 – is my version of Leonard Cohen’s 1984 song Hallelujah. Cohen apparently wrote around 80 draft verses for this song, and in the many live performances he often sang different versions. The interpretations of the lyrics are varied. From the literal, musical lines – “it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor third and the major lift” which mirror the chord patterns of that line, to lines heavy with religious imagery, the song is a perfect example of Cohen’s enigmatic poetry.

This song has been covered hundreds of times, and here’s one more! I hope you enjoy my version.

11 Feb 2017 2010, 2017 1980s, Andrew Lloyd Webber, D flat major, musicals, Phantom of the Opera, show tunes, songs from the shows 0

All I Ask of You

Mark

Song 42:365 is All I Ask of You from the musical Phantom of the Opera. One of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most-loved duets, it’s performed by Christine and Raoul. Christine is terrified of the Phantom after a stagehand has been found murdered. She escapes to the roof of the opera house and is comforted by Raoul, her childhood friend, who promises to love her and keep her safe from the Phantom.

I hope you enjoy my performance. There’s more Andrew Lloyd Webber music in my collection here, and if it’s your first time on the site, find out why I’m posting a tune a day here.