Little Lies was the third single to be taken from Fleetwood Mac’s 1987 album Tango in the Night. It is one of the classic hits of the late 80s which continues to be played regularly on the radio.
There’s more Fleetwood Mac here, and if it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/little-lies/s-Z1Xf8
Today’s song is Cheerleader by Jamaican singer OMI who began developing the song as early as 2008. Remixed in 2013 by German DJ Felix Jaehn, the song achieved worldwide success in 2015, topping the charts in over 20 countries.
If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/cheerleader/s-j5rVA
This lovely song featured in the 1968 San Remo festival performed by Anna Identici. Quando M’Innamoro (“When I fall in love”) was then recorded in English as A Man Without Love by Engelbert Humperdinck, in Spanish as Cuando Me Enamoro, in Japanese as 愛の花咲くとき (Ai no hana saku toki), and in Swedish as Före Min Tid.
I hope you enjoy this! If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/quando-minnamoro/s-Gvtt7
The version of Torn that I know best, and probably the version known by most people is Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 recording. However, it appears that this song was originally recorded by American alt-rock band Ednaswap in 1995, and an earlier recording of a Danish version of the song Brændt (“Burnt”) by Lis Sørensen dates from 1993. The actual origins are a bit unclear! Regardless, I hope you enjoy my version!
If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/torn/s-aIFJx
For the past six months I’ve been hooked on Mad Men and I’ve squeezed in all seven series of this brilliant dramatisation of the New York advertising industry in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Each episode has a signature song, and this song ends the final episode of the final series.
I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing started out as I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke and was used as the famous “Hilltop” Coke commercial in which young people from all over the world came together to “sing in harmony”, all holding their bottles of coke. The success of the ad led it to be rerecorded without the commercial element by both the New Seekers and an ad-hoc group of studio singers who called themselves the Hillside Singers.
The significance of the song used in the final episode of Mad Men is that the troubled protagonist Don Draper has has been attending a retreat and is finally at peace with himself. As the episode and the final series come to an end, he is seen meditating on a cliffside with a smile on his face. It cuts to the original footage of the Coke ad, and we assume that Don then returned to McCann-Erickson, his creative talent renewed, and went on to create the Hilltop commercial in the fictional universe of Mad Men.
I clearly remember this song from my childhood, and I guess even then I liked the idea of “teaching the world to sing”. Languages are a good alternative!
If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to/s-CF62A
Today’s piece of music is from the soundtrack to the 2001 film Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet had been planning to commission Michael Nyman to write the score for the film, but while driving with his production assistant he heard a CD of music by Yann Tiersen and immediately bought Tiersen’s entire back catalogue. Soon after Tiersen was commissioned for the soundtrack, using some existing music and some newly composed pieces.
I’m playing La Valse d’Amélie for my colleague Katie who celebrates her birthday today. Joyeux anniversaire!
There are more songs from films here, and if it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/la-valse-dam-lie/s-yGTL7
This beautiful song started life as a folk song written in 1957 by British singer songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger who would later become his wife. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was then recorded by Roberta Flack in 1972 and this much slower version (almost twice the length of the original) became a hit after its inclusion in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty For Me. MacColl is said to “hate every cover version of the song” and he apparently had a special section for the cover versions in his record collection which he called ‘The Chamber of Horrors’.
If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/the-first-time-ever-i-saw-your/s-mZbng
Having spent yesterday at the Scottish Air Show, the song which came to mind this morning was Take My Breath Away, the love theme from the 1986 movie Top Gun. Written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock and performed by Berlin, this song topped the charts all over the world.
There are more songs from films here, and if it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/take-my-breath-away
Today’s song was originally recorded by The Platters in 1957. Desperate to come up with a follow-up to the very successful Only You, Buck Ram, the band’s producer, says he wrote The Great Pretender in 20 minutes in the toilet of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. The reason I chose this song today is that it was later recorded famously by Freddie Mercury in 1987. Freddie Mercury would be celebrating his 69th birthday today.
If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/the-great-pretender
Today’s song dates from 1933. Written by Arlen, Harburg and Rose, It’s Only A Paper Moon first appeared in the unsuccessful Broadway play The Great Magoo, and then was used in the film Take A Chance. It grew in popularity when versions by Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald were recorded in the 1940s.
There are more songs from the 1930s here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my September songs here.
https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/its-only-a-paper-moon/s-rUk6m
