Mark Pentleton » 1960s

363/365 Songs: My Way – Frank Sinatra

admin — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 07:04:35 +0000

I couldn’t end my 365songs project without including this classic. Originally a French song, Comme d’habitude, by Claude François, the English lyrics were written by Paul Anka after he heard the French version while on holiday in the south of France. Anka wrote the song for Frank Sinatra and it was recorded on 30 December 1968, almost 42 years ago today. It has been used in many situations to mark the end of something – former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder requested it at his military send-off as Angelika Merkel was inaugurated, and it’s apparently the most requested song at funerals in the UK! With my friend and colleague Pierre-Benoît Hériaud (who joined me in La Corrida earlier in the year) we wrote a French and Spanish version to mark the end of the PiE project for our final Film Festival back in 2007. I’m now using it to mark the end (almost!) of my daily song project. Just two more to go – perhaps a bit predictable, but I couldn’t finish the project without including them! Today’s song is also dedicated to my nephew Ciarán whose birthday I missed in October. Apparently Ciarán likes a bit of Sinatra, just like his dad!

321/365 Songs: For once in my life – Stevie Wonder / Tony Bennett

admin — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:55:06 +0000

The Stevie Wonder version of this song is one of my all-time favourite songs, although the Tony Bennett/Frank Sinatra/Ella Fitzgerald slow version suits my 365songs project a bit better!

310/365 Songs: Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers

admin — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 22:52:32 +0000

This is another of those songs which I was sure I’d already played, but it turned out to be You’ve lost that loving feeling. The song was written in 1955 and was originally used in the soundtrack of the film Unchained in that year. However it was in 1965 when the Righteous Brothers recorded it and it became one of the most popular songs of the second half of the 20th century, helped along by its appearance in the blockbuster Ghost.

308/365 Leaving on a jet plane – John Denver

admin — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:33:24 +0000

Today’s song dates from 1966. It was written by John Denver and recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. Leaving on a jet plane has been covered by various artists including Chantal Kreviazuk in the 1998 Armageddon soundtrack and more recently by Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester in the pilot episode of Glee.

278/365 Songs: Never on a Sunday – Melina Mercouri

admin — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 09:53:15 +0000

Bit of a random one today! I was doing some improvisation on my piano this morning and it suddenly turned a bit Greek and before I knew it I was into Zorba’s Theme and then Never on a Sunday, so I ended up playing this for you today! It’s from the 1960 film of the same name, Ποτέ Την Κυριακή, and was sung in the film by Melina Mercouri. My favourite version, however, has to be Miss Piggy’s, complete with smashing plates!

271/365 Songs: September in the rain – Frank Sinatra

admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 23:23:03 +0000

Before September ends I thought I’d better squeeze this song in! It’s actually been quite a nice day here in Dundalk, Ireland, where I’m working for Apple on the K20 Roadshow, but I’m not sure if the weather at home was quite as nice. I hope therefore that September in the rain was an appropriate choice for today’s song! It dates from 1937 and has been covered by many artists from the Beatles to Norah Jones and, of course, Frank Sinatra in 1960.

257/365 Songs: Brown eyed girl – Van Morrison

admin — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:01:05 +0000

Today’s song is Van Morrison’s Brown eyed girl dating from 1967 and it was requested by my sister Clare who celebrates her birthday today. I hope you’ve had a great day and that you enjoy this song!

256/365 Songs: The Bare Necessities – Jungle Book

admin — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:03:14 +0000

It makes a change to be posting this in the middle of the day rather than at a few minutes to midnight! We’ve been doing some work in the house and I’ve set up my piano again in a slightly different way, so the sound may be a bit different in today’s recording. Anyway, today’s song dates from the 1967 animated Disney film The Jungle Book and it was written by Terry Gilkyson. It was part of an earlier draft version of the film, and it was the only song kept for the final version with the other songs written by the Sherman brothers.

250/365 Songs: The Sound of Silence – Simon and Garfunkel

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:59:35 +0000

This song was written by Paul Simon in 1964 in the aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and it was the song which propelled the duo to fame. I hope you enjoy my version which marks the 250th song in my collection!

246/365 Songs: Both sides now – Joni Mitchell

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:50:28 +0000

This beautiful song is especially for Frank and Johanna in Canada who apparently tune in every day at breakfast to my songs. I missed Frank and Johanna’s wedding anniversary in August, so I asked them what they’d like me to play for them and this is what they came up with. Both sides now was written by Joni Mitchell in 1968 and featured on her 1969 Clouds album, although it was first recorded by Judy Collins a year earlier. It has been covered by many of the world’s greatest performers and was included in the soundtrack to the film Love Actually. The thing I like best about the song – other than the lyrics – is that the pedal bass stays on the tonic G flat pretty much throughout the entire song. And G flat is my favourite key!

So, Frank and Johanna, I have fond memories of perfect breakfasts in warm summer sunshine watching the squirrels in your back garden, so I hope that you enjoy tomorrow’s musical accompaniment.

194/365 Songs: Can’t take my eyes off you – Andy Williams/Frankie Valli

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:52:24 +0000

Today’s song is dedicated to Fiona and Andrew who celebrate their wedding anniversary today. I promised them something cool yet romantic, so I hope this fits the bill! The song dates from 1967 and was first performed by Frankie Valli and soon after in 1968 by Andy Williams. It’s probably Andy Williams’ version we’re most familiar with in the UK. Since then it has been covered by over 200 artists and has versions in many languages, including a Swedish-language version by Anni-Frid Lyngstad of Abba, Du är så underbart rar, and the famous version performed by Heath Ledger on the steps of the football field in the film 10 things I hate about you.

186/365 Songs: Can’t help falling in love with you – Elvis

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 07:34:17 +0000

As promised yesterday, this song is dedicated to my sister Clare and her husband Eamon who celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary yesterday. I am reliably informed by my wife that their first dance was to this song (I have no idea how she remembers these things…) so I hope I’ve got all the details right! Happy anniversary (albeit belatedly!) to Clare and Eamon!

181/365 Songs: You’ve lost that loving feeling – The Righteous Brothers

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:27:22 +0000

As I reach the end of my sixth month here on 365songs I’ve chosen the “most played song of the 20th Century” in the US, according to Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). You’ve lost that loving feeling by The Righteous Brothers was first released in 1964, although I think I only got to know the song well when I heard it as a fourteen year-old watching the film Top Gun in 1986. The song is the only one in the history of the UK charts to make the top ten on three separate occasions: in 1964 (#1), 1969 (#10) and again in 1990 (#3).

165/365 Songs: Close Every Door – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:47:20 +0000

Today’s song comes from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. First performed as a 15-minute “pop-cantata” in 1968, the show has grown into a full-length West End and Broadway production featuring performers such as Jason Donovan, Philip Schofield and Donny Osmond.

162/365 Songs: Luna Caprese – Peppino di Capri

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:10:21 +0000

It wasn’t until I listened to the evening news on the radio in the car last night that I realised the significance of yesterday’s date. For many years my Italian grandmother would reminisce about the sad events which happened on 10th June 1940 when Churchill infamously gave the order, “Collar the lot!”, referring to Germans and Italians living in the UK. My gran’s family owned Pieroni’s cafe in Irvine and it was business as usual until the day on which Mussolini declared war on Britain and France. Some regular customers became enemies overnight and looted the café. Of course, real friends supported my gran’s family, many coming to visit to demonstrate their solidarity. Nonetheless, it was a difficult time for Italians throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK: even though they had no allegiance to Mussolini, Italian men between the ages of 14 and 75 were interned, many of whom died when a ship deporting them to Canada was torpedoed.

It seemed only appropriate to play something Italian in memory of my gran and her brother and sisters who lived through these sad events. Rather than play something poignant, however, I’ve decided to choose a song which my gran always loved. The song Luna Caprese wasn’t released until twenty years later, but it has always been a favourite in our family. I hope I’ve done it justice.

139/365 Songs: Downtown – Petula Clark

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:54:13 +0000

Today’s song is the 1965 Petula Clark song Downtown. Hope you enjoy it. Sorry if you were hoping for a long story about what this song means to me – I’ve had a really busy day and Junior Apprentice is on in 5 minutes!

121/365 Songs: Here comes the sun – The Beatles

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 11:17:07 +0000

In Scotland it always seems that we get our best weather in May, so I thought this would be an appropriate song to begin a new month with. It was written by George Harrison one afternoon in 1969 as he walked around Eric Clapton’s garden, playing one of his acoustic guitars!

114/365 Songs: Up on the roof – Carly Simon

admin — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 10:23:15 +0000

Today’s song is Up on the roof, written by Carly Simon and Gerry Goffin. It was first recorded by the Drifters in 1962, and later by various artists including James Taylor, Little Eva and Carly Simon herself. Hope you enjoy today’s performance!

103/365 Songs: What a wonderful world – Louis Armstrong

admin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:16:16 +0000

Tomorrow we’ll conclude the Kristina från Duvemåla series, but I wanted to do something different today: Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World is dedicated to Catriona – today is our wedding anniversary and I wanted to play one of her favourite songs.

91/365 Songs: Hey Jude – the real version!

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:01:14 +0000

Ok, so I couldn’t resist doing a special performance for April Fools’ day! Here’s the real version of the 1968 Beatles classic, Hey Jude. I hope you enjoy this a bit more than my earlier post!

63/365 Songs: I say a little prayer – Dionne Warwick

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:38:47 +0000

Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 1967 originally for Dionne Warwick, this is one of those songs which has the musical equivalent of a few imperfect subjunctives! There is a bar of 10/4 in the verse, and the chorus is in 11/4 (2 bars of 4/4 and a bar of 3/4). It was first recorded by Dionne Warwick and since then has been performed by many artists including Aretha Franklin, and most recently the cast of Glee! Hope you enjoy today’s song.

58/365 Songs: Moon River

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:35:20 +0000

Today’s song is the Henry Mancini song Moon River from 1961, originally written for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I hope you enjoy my performance!

53/365 Songs: Crazy – Patsy Cline

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:17:45 +0000

Today’s song is dedicated to my friend and former colleague Joan Herald who teaches at Mearns Castle. This was always Joan’s song and she has sung it countless times at many wonderful parties, concerts, and even once or twice in class I think! I’ve been told that Joan and her colleague Jim McKenna have been known to have a wee singalong to my tunes in the staffroom at MCHS, so hopefully today I’ve provided some further inspiration!

Crazy was written by Willie Nelson in 1961 and was made famous by Patsy Cline in 1962.

51/365 Songs: The Girl from Ipanema

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:54:34 +0000

I’m changing style a bit for today’s song. The Girl from Ipanema, or Garota de Ipanema was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1962, and became a worldwide hit when it was performed by Astrud Gilberto, accompanied by João Gilberto and Stan Getz. I hope you enjoy my version!

365 Songs – Stranger on the Shore – Acker Bilk

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:34:29 +0000

Stranger on the shore was originally written for clarinet by Acker Bilk and was released in 1961. It was originally called Jenny, named after his daughter but was then used as the theme of a BBC series of the same name. No clarinet today – just me on the piano as usual!

365 Songs – Yesterday – The Beatles

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:27:56 +0000

Week 2 begins today – with Yesterday! Beautiful song, first released in 1965. According to the Guinness Book of Records, this song has the most cover versions of any song ever written. Here’s another one to throw into the mix!

365 Songs: Bridge over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:44:38 +0000

“This one’s going out to Sorcha and Paul in Northern Ireland…” If you’re interested, you can find out more about the song on Wikipedia.