July

That’s What Friends Are For
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That’s What Friends Are For

Today I’m playing a happy song from 1982, first recorded by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film Night Shift, but more well known from the Dionne Warwick version from 1985. Written by Burt Bacharach and Carol Bayer Sager, That’s What Friends Are For won a Grammy and was ranked the most popular song of 1986 by Billboard magazine.

To hear more July songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/thats-what-friends-are-for

Glory Of Love
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Glory Of Love

Today’s song is an 80s classic which featured in the Karate Kid Part II in 1986. It was recorded by Peter Cetera shortly after he left the band Chicago to pursue a solo career. Cetera originally wrote the song for the end titles of Rocky IV but it was not selected for this and instead found its way into the second film in the Karate Kid series.

This song is dedicated to my wife Catriona who celebrates her birthday today who always sings along when she hears this song!

To hear more July songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/the-glory-of-love/s-If65K

Love Is An Open Door
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Love Is An Open Door

Today I’m returning to the Disney movie Frozen and playing the song Love Is An Open Door. It’s a love duet between Anna and Hans in which they gradually discover how much they share in common.

There are more Frozen songs here, and to hear more July songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/love-is-an-open-door

One Last Love Song
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One Last Love Song

One Last Love Song was released by the Beautiful South as an extra track on their 1994 compilation album Carry On Up The Charts. I’ve always loved this song and hope you enjoy my performance!

To hear more July songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/one-last-love-son

Ave Maria (Beyoncé)
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Ave Maria (Beyoncé)

First there was Bach-Gounod, then Schubert, then Beyoncé… Today’s song is Beyoncé’s Ave Maria which was released in 2008. The chorus features Schubert’s theme, but the verses are original. Beyoncé apparently performed the song during her I Am … World Tour in a wedding dress and veil! I was first introduced to this song when I played it at a wedding a couple of years ago.

To hear more July songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/ave-maria

Lullabye
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Lullabye

Today’s song is Billy Joel’s Lullabye which has an interesting story. The melody was originally written as a Gregorian Chant-style prelude for the song River of Dreams featuring lyrics in Latin about a man who had lost his faith. When he heard the final recording, Joel didn’t like it, and instead used the melody with lyrics inspired by his young daughter Alexa Ray.

There’s more Billy Joel here, and to hear more July songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/lullabye

Bang-A-Boomerang
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Bang-A-Boomerang

With Bang-A-Boomerang I’m “returning” to ABBA today. It was recorded in 1974 for the ABBA album, but was then selected as a potential song for the 1975 Melodifestivalen in which the song representing Sweden in Eurovision is chosen. Having won the contest in 1974, ABBA did not want to take part, so they gave the song to another band managed by their producers Polar Music, Svenne & Lotta. The song was placed 3rd in the Melodifestivalen, went on to become a hit for Svenne & Lotta.

There’s more ABBA here, and to hear more July songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/bang-a-boomerang

America
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America

Today’s song is the Simon and Garfunkel classic, America, and it seemed appropriate to play this song on the 4th of July. It tells the story of young lovers hitchhiking across America and was inspired by Paul Simon’s 1964 road trip with his girlfriend.

I hope you enjoy this song. To hear more July songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/america/s-v8GOS

La Paloma
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La Paloma

Today I’m playing a beautiful Spanish piece of music known as La Paloma (“the dove”). It was written by Basque composer Sebastián Iradier in 1863 after he visited Cuba and is in the Habanera style. Among many recordings of this song are English versions (called No More) by Dean Martin and Elvis Presley and the song entered the Guiness Book of World Records in 2004 as the song performed by the largest choir: 88,600 people joined together in Hamburg to sing it!

I hope you enjoy this piece of music today. To hear more Spanish music, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/la-paloma

Roar
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Roar

Today I’m playing Katy Perry’s 2013 song Roar, a song which topped the charts in 97 countries, has sold over 10 million units and is one of the best-selling songs of all time. I hope you enjoy this one today!

To hear more songs from this decade, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/roar

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