Mark Pentleton

I’ve never been quite sure about this song which dates from 1975. I love the music, especially the combination of the verses with Prokofiev’s Troika theme from the Lieutenant Kijé suite. However the lyrics have always seemed to me to be quite negative. However, as I’ve done my research for today’s song I’ve read that [...]

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This song started life as an instrumental called Soleado by Ciro Dammicco and was recorded in 1974 by his group Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble. The lyrics were added later by Fred Jay. When a child is born has been recorded by many artists, but the most well-known is by Johnny Mathis from 1975. It was used [...]

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This Christmas carol was first published in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern in 1823. It is unusual in that all three phrases of the melody end on the third note of the scale. I hope you like my version.
Podcast: Download (Duration: 4:33 — 6.3MB)

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Today’s 365song has to be one of the most well-known instrumental themes from a 20th Century film. Written by Vangelis for the 1981 film Chariots of Fire which tells the story of two athletes set to take part in the 1924 Olympics, this piece of music was a step away from the accepted standard for [...]

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Today’s song is Billy Joel’s 1983 classic An Innocent Man and it was specially requested by Celeste Teenan who celebrates her birthday today. Happy birthday, Celeste! Hope you have a lovely day and that you enjoy the song.
Podcast: Download (Duration: 5:21 — 7.4MB)

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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 [...]

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Today’s song is the 1973 Eric Carmen power ballad, All by myself. This song has been recorded by many artists, perhaps most notably Céline Dion in 1996. It has also been used in many films including Bridget Jones’ Diary. The song uses a theme from Rachmaninoff’s 2nd piano concerto, and today’s “interesting fact” is that [...]

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Day two of our Eurovision countdown and we’re going back to 1988 with Lara Fabian’s Croire, representing Luxembourg that year. The song ended up in 4th place – the winning song in 1988 was Céline Dion’s Ne partez sans moi.
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I’m not a massive fan of Céline Dion, but she has recorded some songs which are absolutely beautiful, including this one from 1996 which was used in the film Up Close and Personal. It was written by Diane Warren (there’s another Diane Warren song coming up later this week!) and was number 1 in many [...]

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I promised cheesy romantic slush today, and here it is, in the form of the song Everything I do (I do it for you) from the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. Why this song today? Well, this was the film Catriona and I went to see on our first date…  eighteen and a half [...]

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Keeping the romantic songs for Valentine’s week, today I’ve recorded the love duet All I ask of you from Phantom. In the song which comes at the end of the first act of the musical, Raoul promises to protect Christine, unaware that the Phantom is listening in.
Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:54 — 5.4MB)

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Bit late today – sorry! Today’s song is the classic When I fall in love. I’ve always associated this song with Nat King Cole, but it turns out that his was not the original. Doris Day recorded it in 1952 and Nat King Cole’s recording dates from 1956. I hope you enjoy it, even if [...]

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Today’s song is the John Lennon classic Imagine. First released in 1971 on the album of the same name, it soon found its way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs Which Shaped Rock and Roll. My version is fairly true to the original, although I couldn’t resist a modulation into D [...]

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Today’s song was requested by Helen Myers. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Helen on several occasions and she wrote a lovely comment last week on Guldet Blev till Sand. I’ll hopefully catch up with Helen later this week at BETT. I hope you enjoy this, Helen!
Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:14 — 4.5MB)

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Sticking with the musicals theme from yesterday, Guldet Blev till Sand is one of many beautiful songs from the Swedish musical Kristina från Duvemåla, written by (my musical hero) Benny Andersson and with lyrics by Björn Ulvæus. The musical is based on the novels of Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg which tell of a Swedish family’s [...]

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