The Torch Just Keeps On Coming

Clockwise from Top Left: Edith Piaf, Patsy Cline, Judy Garland, Dame Shirley Bassey, and Sarah Vaughan

We are back in that smokey club, listening to the ladies sing the blues about love and loss, and matters of the heart. They stand in a simple spotlight, where you can see the smoke wafting through the air. In the background, you hear the tinkling of glasses being raised, drunk from, and collected by the wait staff. There is a whisper that stays steady in the room. But when the really good torch singer comes out, a hush will fall over the room. She will dictate the feeling of the room, be it sadness, hurt, or desire. That never changes. A clear example of the power of the lady in charge is Sarah Vaughan. With her legendary jazz styling, she delivers a light sweetness to Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington's "The Nearness of You". There is just a hint of longing, just enough to keep it interesting.



Born Virginia Patterson Hensley, if she wasn't one of the great torch singers of all time, then she would have been the perfect source of material for many a song. From her struggle in the music business because she didn't fit the standard of feminine beauty in the day, to dying in a tragic plane crash at the age of 30, Patsy Cline used her gorgeous voice to garner the success and respect due her talent. Her "Walking After Midnight" added just the right amount of strength to temper the plaintiff quality a lesser singer might fall victim to that trap.



The French knew here as "The Sparrow," or, en Francais, "Piaf." She was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Paris. She has long been regarded as France's greatest popular singer of all time. One reason was the sheer emotion she would bring to the songs, especially the ballads. Take, for instance, "Je Ne Regrette Rien" can be translated as "No, I'm not sorry for anything." The song is sung in French, composed by Charles Dumont, with lyrics by Michel Vaucaire. It is most famously sung by the one and only Sparrow, Édith Piaf.



In 1964, Dame Shirley Bassey sang a song by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, from the musical 'The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd'. She was the first to record "Who Can I Turn To?", although it would later be a hit in the US by Tony Bennett. She also performed the Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray song, "You'd Better Love Me".



When it comes to torch singers, it is tough to deny Judy Garland is up there with the best of them. When she was just 14, she filmed her first song for the movies, "You Made Me Love You". She didn't stop singing until she passed away 33 years later. Many of her great songs were about love - either looking for it, or having just lost it. She added her own touch of melancholia to Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" here.



Bartender, I'll have another round.

Country-fried Torch

Clockwise: Patsy Cline; Loretta Lynn; Skeeter Davis; and Kitty Wells.

Big Band singers certainly didn't have a corner on the Torch-song market. About five decades ago, the ladies of Country Music were singing what was weighing on their hearts, and it was often men. So I went back 50 years, and started with one of my personal favorites, the extraordinary Miss Patsy Cline. She began recording music in 1955, and was taken from us in March of 1963 in a terrible plane crash. But in between those dates, her amazing voice left us some of the most remarkable music, including the song written by Willie Nelson that took the world by storm, Crazy. In 1961, the song went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #2 on the Billboard Country chart, and the same on the Adult Contemporary chart.



Much like Patsy Cline, Skeeter Davis was no stranger to both the Country and Pop charts. In the early part of 1963, her recording of The End Of The World, written by Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee, was everywhere. It was on the radio, and on the television. It was on several charts, making it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Country chart, #1 on the Easy Listening chart, and #4 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart. Here she is, singing on a television appearance.



Kitty Wells spent the 50s and 60s at the top of the charts, and gaining the name "The Queen Of Country Music." It was with songs like Searching (For Someone Like You) that went up the charts, securing her position as one of the most successful women in Country music. Here is the song, released in 1956.



Loretta Webb was almost 13 when she married her husband, Doolittle Lynn. Right away, she put her energy in her family. When she was in her 20s, her husband gave her a guitar for their anniversary. Soon, she taught herself how to play it, and was writing her own music, and playing it. By 1960, Loretta Lynn was being noticed by the music business, and was starting her recording career. In 1966, she released You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man), which she had written.



Hope you enjoyed the songs!

Torch

Clockwise from Top Left: Edith Piaf, Patsy Cline, Judy Garland, Dame Shirley Bassey, and Sarah Vaughan

We are back in that smokey club, listening to the ladies sing the blues about love and loss, and matters of the heart. They stand in a simple spotlight, where you can see the smoke wafting through the air. In the background, you hear the tinkling of glasses being raised, drunk from, and collected by the wait staff. There is a whisper that stays steady in the room. But when the really good torch singer comes out, a hush will fall over the room. She will dictate the feeling of the room, be it sadness, hurt, or desire. That never changes. A clear example of the power of the lady in charge is Sarah Vaughan. With her legendary jazz stylings, she delivers a light sweetness to Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington's "The Nearness of You". There is just a hint of longing, just enough to keep it interesting.



Born Virginia Patterson Hensley, if she wasn't one of the great torch singers of all time, then she would have been the perfect source of material for many a song. From her struggle in the music business because she didn't fit the standard of feminine beauty in the day, to dying in a tragic plane crash at the age of 30, Patsy Cline used her gorgeous voice to garner the success and respect due her talent. Her "Walking After Midnight" added just the right amount of strength to temper the plaintiff quality a lesser singer might fall victim to that trap.



The French knew here as "The Sparrow," or, en Francais, "Piaf." She was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Paris. She has long been regarded as France's greatest popular singer of all time. One reason was the sheer emotion she would bring to the songs, especially the ballads. Take, for instance, "Je Ne Regrette Rien" can be translated as "No, I'm not sorry for anything." The song is sung in French, composed by Charles Dumont, with lyrics by Michel Vaucaire. It is most famously sung by the one and only Sparrow, Édith Piaf.



In 1964, Dame Shirley Bassey sang a song by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, from the musical 'The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd'. She was the first to record Who Can I Turn To?, although it would later be a hit in the US by Tony Bennett. She also performed the Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray song, "You'd Better Love Me".



When it comes to torch singers, it is tough to deny Judy Garland is up there with the best of them. When she was just 14, she filmed her first song for the movies, "You Made Me Love You". She didn't stop singing until she passed away 33 years later. Many of her great songs were about love - either looking for it, or having just lost it. She added her own touch of melancholia to Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" here.



Bartender, I'll have another round.

NBC's The Voice - The Coaches

NBC's The Voice seem to be turning heads last week as the audiences loved watching the four coaches turn their chairs based on what they heard, just to the could get a peak at who they were listening to. The show holds the interesting premise that the Coaches are going to define the sound of The Voice of the next generation. So I thought it might be nice to spotlight the music of the Coaches before we head into the second episode. I must admit, they are an impressive lot.



I'm going to start off with Country star Blake Shelton. To say he towers over the others is no joke - at 6'5" tall, he's got the them all by at least 6". He made his record debut 10 years ago, when his first single, Austin, hit #1 on the country chart. He has not looked back since, scoring eight #1 County songs, including one earlier this year. But one I really like, She Wouldn't Be Gone, was released in 2009.



I don't know what it is about Adam Levine, but he sure is a sexy beast. As frontman for the band Maroon 5, they have sold over 15 million album with only three studio albums out, starting with 2002's Songs About Jane. They were awarded the Grammy as Best New Artist in 2005, and have had several chart-topping song. Their latest, Misery, made it to #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in the summer of 2010.



Cee Lo Green is a quiet yet potent tour de force in music today. He broke onto the scene in 1995 as part of the Goodie Mob, rapping and singing on songs he had written. The group was well-received by the critics and the audience. He went on to formm Gnarls Barkley with Danger Mouse, and co-write the monster hit Crazy. As a solo artist, he just recently had the huge single, Forget You, the "PG" version of the song F*ck You. He was featured on the Grammy Awards in a glittery production that featured muppets and Gweneth Paltrow.



It is hard to figure out just what to say about Christina Aguilera that hasn't been said by countless others. For the last 12 years, her voice has been taking up top spots on all the charts, ever since her first single, Genie In A Bottle, went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. When the girl sings, there is no mistaking the talent and ability she has. Check out her singing Ain't No Other Man, which went to #6 on the Pop chart.



To open the first show, the four coaches did a great version of the Gnarls Barkley mega-hit, Crazy.



Catch the second episode of The Voice this Tuesday, May 3, on NBC at 9PM/8Central. Looks like there several more performers who will score big with the audiences once again. I am looking at you, Nakia!

Sunday Nite with Patsy Cline

I have covered Patsy before, but she has so much great music and the mellow mood of a Sunday night certainly points to something like her music so here we go. Her voice is glorious and special, and was silenced way too young when a plane she was riding in ran into a mountain. But she did manage to leave quite a wealth of music, sung with a pure and noble voice who could put a smile as well as rip your heart out of your chest, at times in the same song. Before she died, Cline only record three studio albums, and yet leaves a rich legacy of hits that are still played on the radio today. One of those songs is Crazy, the song penned by Willie Nelson, a crossover hit for Patsy in 1961, #2 on the US Country chart, #9 on the US Singles chart, and #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.



Walking After Midnight started off 1957 right for Patsy, placing #2 on the Country chart, and #12 on the Pop Single chart. The depth of her voice is so clear on this song.



Blue Moon of Kentucky proved Patsy wasn't just the queen of ballads. Written by Bluegrass great Bill Munroe, it showcased the strength and breathe of Cline's talent.



She's Got You was a hit in 1961, #1 on the Country chart, and #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The heartache of the other woman is explicitly portrayed to perfection in Cline's voice.



Patsy Cline died in 1963, leaving countless great songs and hits. One can only imagine if she were to have lived, what a great catalog we would have.