Musical Evening in Strasbourg
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Musical Evening in Strasbourg

I’ve just returned from spending a week in Strasbourg with a fantastic group of enthusiastic and talented young people from all over Scotland. We spent Thursday at the European Parliament and afterwards we celebrated with a ceilidh for which we were joined by French students. Instead of posting a piano song today I’ve asked the students involved if it’s ok to post a collection of songs and performances from our ceilidh. I hope you enjoy a Highland Fling by Lucy R with Daniel on the pipes, Leaving Lerwick Harbour by Fraser on the fiddle, and three beautiful songs: My Love is Like a Red Red Rose by Lucy M, Wild Mountain Thyme by Ava, and Caledonia by Anna accompanied by Lauren on the fiddle.

First time on the site? Find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my March songs here.

Islands in the Stream
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Islands in the Stream

Today I’m playing Islands in the Stream, a classic 1983 song written by the Bee Gees and performed by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. It actually knocked Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart off the number #1 position in the US charts (mental note, I’ve not yet played that one!)

First time on the site? Find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my March songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/islands-in-the-stream/s-Oj8h9

You Raise Me Up
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You Raise Me Up

Here in the UK we probably know this song best in the Westlife version, and in the US it’s most likely to be Josh Groban’s version with which most people are familiar. However, You Raise Me Up was actually first recorded by Norwegian/Irish group Secret Garden and was written by Rolf Løvland and Brendan Graham. It has since been covered over 125 times, and I’ll add my version to the collection!

First time on the site? Find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my March songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/you-raise-me-up/s-1bWN8

Witchcraft
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Witchcraft

I’m in Strasbourg at the moment and in every gift shop there are hundreds of witches in various poses and various guises. Today’s song is therefore Frank Sinatra’s Witchcraft! Dating from 1957, Witchcraft spent 16 weeks in the US charts, peaking at number 20. It is, however, a staple Sinatra number and has recently made it into the soundtrack of a certain film (which I’ve not seen…)

First time on the site? Find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my March songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/witchcraft/s-AvKts

Can’t Fight the Moonlight
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Can’t Fight the Moonlight

Can’t Fight the Moonlight dates from 2000 and was sung by country singer LeAnn Rimes for the soundtrack of the film Coyote Ugly. It was written by songwriter-supreme Diane Warren and reached #1 in eight countries worldwide.

First time on the site? Find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my March songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/cant-fight-the-moonlight/s-hsF8h

Green, Green Grass of Home
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Green, Green Grass of Home

Today is St David’s Day so I thought I’d play the song which Tom Jones took to number 1 in December 1966, Green, Green Grass of Home. It starts out as a nostalgic look back at the protagonist’s childhood home and then gets fairly miserable as we learn that he is in prison, on death row, and will soon be buried beneath the Green, Green Grass of Home. Hope that’s cheered you up 😉 Classic song, though! I promise tomorrow’s song will be much more upbeat!

First time on the site? Find out more about the 365 Songs project.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/the-green-green-grass-of-home/s-oootO

Nina Pretty Ballerina
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Nina Pretty Ballerina

I mentioned this song earlier this week when I played Hooked on a Feeling so I thought I’d play it today. Nina Pretty Ballerina was recorded by Abba in 1973, pre-Eurovision and was released to promote their first album, Ring Ring. It’s not exactly the most well known of Abba tracks, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

First time on the site? Find out more about the 365 Songs project. Today is the final song of February, marking a sixth of the way through the challenge! You can see all of February’s songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/nina-pretty-ballerina/s-cePgQ

Save the last dance for me
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Save the last dance for me

A bit more upbeat than the rest of this week’s songs, here’s Save the Last Dance for Me. It was first recorded by Ben E. King and The Drifters in 1960, then by Dolly Parton in 1983 and by Michael Bublé in 2006. My version is a bit more Bublé than Ben E. King! It would have been nice to be backed by a full band and brass section, but I hope you enjoy this solo version!

First time on the site? Find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of February’s songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/save-the-last-dance-for-me

Live to Tell
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Live to Tell

Something tongue in cheek today – Madonna lived to tell the tale of her performance at the Brits last night, despite a wardrobe malfunction which could have been serious! She’s a pro though – getting straight up and on with the song. I’m not sure how much of her back catalogue fits my piano tunes, but here’s Live to Tell from the 1986 True Blue album. It was also used in her then-husband Sean Penn’s film At Close Range.

First time on the site? Find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of February’s songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/live-to-tell

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