Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby – Jingle Bells
An evening pause: Two professionals show how to make a song fresh that unfortunately has become too familiar.
Hat tip Alton Blevins for the song suggestion for this holiday season.
Tag: music
Hila Ben David – Avinu Malkeinu
An evening pause: Though the prayer is recited every fall during services during the Ten Days of Repentance, from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur, this music is modern, originally sung by Barbara Streisand. It is fitting now both for Hanukkah and the events in Israel. Activate closed captions to read the English translation. It is a prayer asking God for forgiveness for past sins as well as renewal and mercy in the coming year.
Hat tip Judd Clark.
Mannheim Steamroller – Silent Night
J.S. Bach – Christmas Oratorio, excerpt
Rachell Ellen Wong & Coleman Itzkoff – Hanukkah Medley
An evening pause: This piece seems appropriate for the first night of Hannukkah, which celebrates the miracle of the lights during the Maccabbean revolt against religious oppression, a revolt that led to the restoration of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, part of which still stands and is called by the Wailing Wall by many Jews. The medley includes two songs, “Oh Hanukkah,” and “Al Hanisim” (Thank You For the Miracles).
It also seems appropriate today, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, as Israel itself responds in like kind to Hamas’s own infamous sneak attack and massacre on October 7th.
Hat tip Judd Clark.
Pentatonix – Mary, Did You Know?
An evening pause: When I posted a different version of this song last year, I said this:
This song honoring Jesus I think really speaks of every child born on Earth, and how every parent should see them. As Wordsworth said, they come “trailing clouds of glory.”
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kissed your little baby then you kissed the face of god.
Still applies, to my way of thinking. That there are people in the world that think it good to kill such things means only that those people need to be removed from human existence as quickly as possible, as they represent the worst evil anyone can conceive.
Hat tip Alton Blevins.
Jerry Granelli Trio – Linus and Lucy
An evening pause: The music from the soundtrack of the Charlie Brown television specials, with sections from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The man playing the drums, Jerry Granelli, is the last surviving member of the original group that played Vince Guaraldi’s music for the television show itself.
Hat tip Wayne DeVette.
Melinda Kathleen Reese – O Come O Come Emmanuel
An evening pause: This was first posted in February 2019. As I noted then,
The video replays her singing the same thing three times. There is a good reason, as she almost appears to have begun singing as a lark, and the acoustics of the church astonish her. The repeats help bring out this amazing quality.
I think I shall always want to open the Christmas-Hannukah holiday season with it, as it speaks to both religions. And it is one magnificent song, sung here magnificently.
Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra – Djelem Djelem
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – A Taste Of Honey
An evening pause: Performed live 1965 on the Ed Sullivan Show. Only in my latter years have I realized that this is really a Mexicon mariachi band, its music refined to appeal to a wider audience.
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman.
J.S.Bach – Toccata in F major
Bahar Amrollahi playing Persian Qanun
An evening pause: The sound is reminiscent of the harpsichord or maybe even more the dulcimer, but the music is without question not European.
Hat tip Alton Blevins.
Kaja Mianowana – O zapomnieniu
An evening pause: I am pretty sure this is in Polish. The music however swings from Eastern European folk to American blues.
Hat tip Judd Clark.
Austin Brown – Unchained Melody
Chiara Kilchling – The Rain Song
John Tams – Over the hills and far away
An evening pause: I’m not sure if John Tams is singing, but these are his lyrics used in the British historical television series, Sharpe, set to a traditional British song from the 18th century (hence the line “King George commands and we obey). I like this lyric however:
When Evil stalks upon the land
I’ll neither hold nor stay me hand
But fight to win a better day,
Over the hills and far away.
Hat tip Alton Blevins.
Donovan & Crystal Gayle – Catch The Wind
Samuel Barber – Adagio for Strings
An evening pause: Performed live in Poland, 2015, by the Moniuszko School of Music Symphony Orchestra.
Hat tip Alton Blevins.
Michael Martin Murphey & the Rio Grande Band – Wildfire
Stephanie Trick & Paolo Alderighi – Home in Pasadena
Berlin & Teri Nunn – Take My Breath Away
An evening pause: Performed live 2023. The sound and camerawork could be better, but her performance more than compensates.
Hat tip Alton Blevins.
Kid Creole & the Coconuts – Stool Pigeon
Sing with me!
An evening pause: Reggie, the performer, simply sets up on the street and asks passersby to sing with him. This video includes a selection of some singers. From the youtube website:
As a musician, I’m all about creating musical experiences that have people feeling happy and free, and that’s why the “Sing With Me for Free” series exists. Since 2018, I have asked thousands of random people to sing with me on camera. A lot of people have said no, some have said no initially but changed their minds to yes, and some have said yes right away. I ask these people to sing with one purpose: to create a way for them to experience a sense of happiness and freedom they did not feel before. And much of the time, this actually works (and that makes ME happy).
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman
Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Up Above My Head
Kylie Minogue & Ricky Martin – Livin La Vida Loca
Tomaso Albinoni – Adagio in G minor for violin strings and organ
Belén Bandera & Carla Motis – El Testament d’Amèlia
An evening pause: From Wikipedia: “El testament d’Amèlia is a popular Catalan folk song. It tells the story of a young lady in her deathbed who knowingly drank the poisoned drink given to her by her stepmother, whom she knows has been sleeping with her husband.”
Hat tip Judd Clark.
Mark Knopfler – Going Home
An evening pause: Performed live 2019. The music is from the 1983 movie Local Hero.
Hat tip Phil Berardelli.
Cab Calloway – Minnie the Moocher
Musiquizzers – Guess that song: 60’s
An evening pause: It is amazing how many of these short clips (as well as the full songs) are still so familiar and well known, considering its more than a half century since they were first played on the radio. Speaks well to their originality and uniqueness.
But how many of the songs and performers can you guess?
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman.