A classic from Ed Ames, who apparently died this past Sunday at the age of 95.

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"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" - The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald

Appropriate song with tomorrow being Memorial Day here in the US.

An entire 9-member Japanese ska band crammed into a single hotel room to do an interesting rendition of "Caravan". I sincerely hope the people who set this up made special arrangements with the hotel in advance - otherwise the other guests might have gotten an unwanted performance

For all romantics...hubby and wife team, Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson..

An 80s classic. This was the only hit that Madness had in the US. They were primarily a ska band, and that style of music never really caught on in the US except for a brief revival in the mid to late 90s. They had far more success in the UK, where ska was quite popular in the 80s.

This morning, Bubble posted the lyrics to "Let It Be", by the Beatles.  That song sends a message to many of us older folks.   Instead of trying to change something or someone, it's usually best to Let it Be.   

Interesting note about that song. Although it was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and originally recorded by The Beatles, Aretha Franklin beat them to the scene by about 2 months. Her version first appeared on an album in January of 1970, though it wasn't released as a single until May - 2 months after The Beatles released their version.

Lovers Rock ( June Lodge - Kiss And Say Goodbye )

Michael - I've never cared for Aretha Franklin's singing style, so of course I prefer the Beatles version.  However,  know she was considered to have one of the greatest voices of all time, and often named #1.   

Jackie - That's a catchy tune, and June Lodge has a nice voice.  Not sure if that song was ever popular here? 

Here's a nice version of ( Changing Partners ) by Dimple Hinds...

Quite a few older singers had birthdays during the last week in May.  Hard to believe these former top of the chart entertainers are now Senior Citizens. 

Bob Dylan celebrated his 83rd birthday, and Stevie Nicks, turned 75.
Gladys Knight is now 79, and John Fogarty is 78.
Yesterday,  was the Pat Boone's 89th birthday!
He was born on June 1, 1934. 

One of the most epic live performances you'll ever see. From the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, recorded live in LA in 1983. I really have to wonder how many times they had to rehearse all this before they got to this point. Playing bass while jogging in place and keeping a perfect beat while the lead singer runs laps around the stage... I get exhausted watching this but it's so much fun. And this was apparently the encore at the end of a 2-hour concert...

An interesting and somewhat obscure version of "The Theme from Mondo Cane" (aka "More") by a group of session musicians billed as "Surfin' Mariachis". This is from the 1964 album Surfin' South of the Border by American surf group The Lively Ones. Its inclusion on this album is quite odd since the song has absolutely nothing to do with surfing or Mexico.

Melancholy Mood - Harry James and Frank Sinatra.   Sometimes there are days when music like this is all you want to hear.

Another odd one from the same album as my last post. An upbeat surf style version of the theme from Exodus, which again has absolutely nothing to do with surfing or Mexico. The song may actually be more popular than the movie itself.

The rarely heard (at least in the US) British version of Johnny Horton's classic "The Battle of New Orleans".

I didn't know there was a British version.

I don't even remember how I found that one. Definitely obscure.

Heading back to Europe, here's the original (or at least most famous) version of the song that was later a big hit for Bobby Darin as "Beyond the Sea".

Who would think such a powerful voice could come from someone so young, but it did...

Rien Sofie singing Edith Piaf No Regret..

Jackie - I love to listen to Edith Piaf singing "No Regrets -". She had such a powerful distinctive sound.  This young girl has a sweeter more melodious voice.  A beautiful rendition indeed!

For All We Know - This song was one of the top hits in 1934, the year I was born. It was recorded by many bands and vocalists over the years. Here is Nat "King" Cole's recording from the 1950's.

Maryilyne..
..he has a distinctive voice, there will only ever be the one Nat King Cole...

For All We Know.  A charming and enjoyable 2005 Joan Plowright movie, "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" features this song.  Watched it on a streaming channel a couple of months ago and it brought up a lot of memories.  It was popular during World War 2, too.  (Yes, I am old enough to remember.    )

More info here:  https://www.ranker.com/list/joan-plowright-movies-and-films-and-filmography/reference

Another golden oldie....changing the tempo...I Ran All The Way Home...

Phyllis - Halfway through this video, they show photos from different movies, that have featured the song, "For All We Know".  Too bad they missed, "Mrs. Palfrey At the Claremont", and probably lots of other movies as well.  The lyrics  say so much - I can see why it has been chosen for so many movies.  I haven't seen "Mrs. Palfrey", but will look for it on my streaming channels.  Good to see you here, and hope you return again. 

Anyone will love "Mrs. Palfrey".  My daughter and I watched it a few months back.  I had seen it twice already.  It is a beautiful movie, so good in fact, that I don't believe I heard any of the background music.  "For All We KNow" our Graduation Song in 1957.  I tried out to sing it, but was beat out by a lovely girl, with a gorgeous voice (and I couldn't help shedding tears while I did the audition, so that didn't help)!  Please, anyone who hasn't seen "Palfrey", do try to find it soon and stream it.  While totally serious, it does have a lot of humor, (the supporting characters especially).

Clicked on that link, and what a wonderful array of movies with Joan Plowright. Her co-stars in many of these movies is like reading a celebrity phone book.  Wow! If you can't find an actor/actress you like, don't bother going to this list!  Charles Dance, Colin Firth, Miranda Richardson, Natasha Richardson, etc etc.  It is on Prime Video.

The other, lesser-known hit version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", from 1971.