Dear Ludwig,

So many beautiful voices, so many emotive lyrics.
Nobody sings "Old Man River," like Paul Robeson.
Even Mario Lanza's, "Granada," brings a lump to
my throat. Then there's Ivan Rebroff's version of
"Moscow Nights," that makes my toes curl under.
I attended his concert at the Melbourne
Concert Hall a few years ago. Sadly, he wasn't
the "great" voice I remembered. But his personality
still drew the crowds in. I wonder whether -
The Animals could still perform their version of -
"The House of the Rising Sun," and whether it
would still have the same effect on me.

Ah, music ... "Put another nickel in the old nickelodian..."

Dear Loudmouth,

Big hug!

There are two songs that I keep playing over and over and that bring tears to my eyes every time. And yet they are so enorously different.

The first one is exquisite. I put up the link in my opening post. Here it is again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccCnL8hArW8

The second one never really gained much attention, which is surprising, as the artist is huge – Paul Simon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7PVhuighFo&feature=fvwrel

Such powerful mental images in such a gentle song.

Dear Ludwig,

I love "Over The Rainbow." I also love Simon and
Garfunkel, especially - "The Sound of Silence."

I remember going to see the musical "Smokey Joe's Cafe,"
a few years back - and found it very entertaining. So
many hit tunes - from "Poison Ivy," to "Don Juan."
Great stuff.

Here's the lyrics to "Don Juan,":

http://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/s/smokeyjoescafelyrics/donjuanlyrics.html

Whooosh!

Unless I am much mistaken, WmTrevor, that's the sound of this little gem of yours going over everyone's head.

>>When I was somewhat younger and even more stupid, I used to enjoy adopting a French accent and singing along to Ken Dodd's 1964 hit 'Happiness' Which ends… "I've got more than my share of of happiness."<<

Newsflash. I still do.

Nigel Kennedy plays Hendrix:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7r7ib_nigel-kennedy-play-jimi-hendrix_music

Ummmmmm…yeahh…interesting.

It is certainly better than that godawful original Hendrix….er…noise.

But still pretty horrible !! !!

Now here's a topic I could engage with for days on end! I'll spare you all, though.

I had my first foray into online discussions at the U2.com forums, and spent several years there discussing music that I loved - in particular, U2, obviously - before they decided to charge for the privilege. I think that decision mirrored a similar decline in the band ...

Still, from them, my somewhat obscure favourite can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZfBR5G8FZ8

Lyrics by Salman Rushdie, by the way. And one more for good measure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuFMoWV1cns

For the latter, the studio version is better in quality, but less ... well ... heartfelt. Both songs I find haunting but, more than that, they offer a depth above the bulk of the stuff I hear on the radio every day.

If you've read this far (and not been distracted [or irritated] by the links), my all-time favourite song is well worth the wait:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQs6MvsPCXA

It's like a love song, but a fraternal love song - not desperate or needy or downright silly. Rather, it offers goodwill to all. I love it!