Mark Pentleton - Page 5 of 43 - A place for my music, photos and videos

11 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 1990s, ballads, D major, Eva Cassidy, Sting 0

Fields of Gold

Mark

Song 11:365 is the beautiful song Fields of Gold, originally released by Sting in 1993, although my version is more in the style of Eva Cassidy’s version. It wasn’t until two years after her death in 1996 that Eva Cassidy’s recordings of Fields of Gold and Over the Rainbow were played by Mike Harding and Terry Wogan.

I hope you enjoy my performance. If you’d like to hear more Sting, click here to listen to Englishman in New York, Fragile and my version of the Police song, Every Breath You Take. To find out why I’m posting a tune every day, click here.

10 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 1930s, D flat major, jazz, standards 0

These Foolish Things

Mark

Song 10:365 is another Eric Maschwitz song, with music this time by Jack Strachey, the 1936 classic These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You). Maschwitz was romantically linked to the Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong while working in Hollywood and the lyrics are said to represent his longing for her after their relationship ended and he returned to England.

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.

9 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 1970s, E flat major, Elton John 0

Your Song

Mark

Song 9:365 is Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s classic from 1970, Your Song. The song was actually released as the B-side to Take Me to the Pilot but DJs preferred Your Song and it received more air-play. It was replaced as the A-side and eventually made the top ten in many countries.

The cryptic line “I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss” refers to the fact that Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics after breakfast one morning on the roof of 20 Denmark Street, London, where Elton John was working for a music publishing company as an office boy.

My favourite version of the song is the rerecording made in 2002 by Elton John and the opera singer Alessandro Safina which was recorded for the first Sport Relief event.

There’s more Elton John in my collection here, and if this is your first visit, find out why I’m posting a song a day here.

8 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 1960s, beatles, F major 0

Yesterday

Mark

Song 8:365 is the Beatles’ classic Yesterday. First released on the album Help! in 1965, Yesterday was voted the best song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll of music experts and listeners and was also voted the No. 1 pop song of all time by MTV and Rolling Stone magazine in 2000. With over 2,200 cover versions recorded, Yesterday is one of the most covered songs in history. And here’s my version to add to that total!

7 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 1930s, A major, F major, jazz, Maschwitz, modulation, standards 0

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

Mark

Song 7:365 is A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, a jazz standard dating from 1939. It was written by Eric Maschwitz and Manning Sherwin in the French village of Le Lavandou just before the outbreak of the Second World War. The story goes that Sherwin played the song on a piano in a local bar with the help of the resident saxophonist. Maschwitz stood, holding a glass of wine, singing the lyrics, but the patrons of the bar were not impressed. In 2002 an attempt was made to find the bar in order to hang a plaque commemorating the birthplace of the song. Unfortunately, despite help from elderly residents in the town and the local tourist office, the bar was never found.

6 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 1970s, E flat major, Simon and Garfunkel 0

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Mark

Song 6:365 is my version of the classic Simon and Garfunkel song, Bridge Over Troubled Water. Released in 1970 it became the duo’s biggest hit single and went on to be one of the most performed songs of the 20th century, covered by over 50 artists from Elvis to Aretha Franklin. I hope you enjoy my version.

There’s more of my piano solo versions of Simon and Garfunkel songs here, and if it’s your first time on the site, click here and find out more about why I’m posting a piano tune every day.

5 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 A flat major, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvæus, D flat major, kristina från duvemåla, modulation, musicals, show tunes, songs from the shows, swedish 0

Guldet Blev til Sand

Mark

Song 5:365 is a piece from the Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvæus musical Kristina Från Duvemåla, based on Vilhelm Moberg’s epic series of novels which tell the tale of a family’s migration from Sweden to the USA in 19th Century.

This particular song, Guldet Blev til Sand (“The gold turned to sand”) is sung by Robert and describes an ill-fated search for gold which results in the death of his friend Arvid. It’s one of the most popular songs from the show and was performed in the original version by Swedish superstar Peter Jöback. I hope you enjoy this piece!

4 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 D major, F major, Les Misérables, modulation, show tunes, songs from the shows 0

On My Own

Mark

Song 4:365 is On My Own from the musical Les Misérables in which Éponine expresses her unrequited love for Marius. Although this song is one of the most well-loved in the show, it didn’t feature in the original French version. Instead the melody was used in a song performed by Fantine, L’Air de la Misère.

There are few more Les Misérables songs in my collection which you can find here, and if you’d like to know more about my 365 challenges, click here.

3 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 1920s, 1930s, E flat major, Gershwin 0

Someone to Watch Over Me

Mark

Song number 3:365, here’s my recording of the beautiful George Gershwin song Someone to Watch Over Me. Starting life as an up-tempo number, it was Ira Gershwin who suggested that it would work better as a ballad, and George agreed. The song first appeared in the 1926 musical Oh, Kay!

I hope you enjoy today’s song. For more songs from this era, click here, and to find out why I’m playing a tune a day click here.

2 Jan 2017 2010, 2017 1970s, billy joel, C major, favourites, jazz 0

New York State of Mind

Mark

Continuing my retrospective posting of 2010 piano songs, here’s my version of Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind. This has always been one of my favourite songs to play. It originally appeared on the 1976 Turnstiles album, and was never a hit in its own right, but took on something of a new meaning when Billy performed it at the Concert for New York City in October 2001 in honour of those affected by the events of 9/11.

There is lots more Billy Joel in my collection. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my December songs here.