Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Weekly Song Challenges

 


Jingle, Jangle Jungle has another week of fun song themes and one is about summer....I just bitched..er...talked about the heat in my movie picks from last week. By the way, It's her birthday today so wish Mary a very Happy Birthday!

A SONG WITH SUMMER IN THE TITLE

A SONG THAT DAVE GROHL PLAYED ON

A SONG WITH MARY IN THE TITLE(IT'S HER BIRTHDAY TODAY)

1. SUMMERTIME SUNG BY KATHLEEN BATTLE-GEORGE GERSHWIN-1934


This song, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward (not his brother Ira surprisingly), is from the opera Porgy & Bess which I would love to see one day...you have your concerts and I have mine:). I think this is simply one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. Kathleen Battle does a great job (duh!) and is one of the leading sopranos in the whole world, unfortunately she is a true DIVA!! Her meanness, ego-driven, narcissistic manner was so bad that she was actually fired from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Everyone clapped when she was told to leave. You know she must be one mean MF when an opera diva is kicked out. Regardless, she does have a beautiful voice. 

2. LEARN TO FLY  INCLUDING A DUEL WITH ANIMAL FROM THE MUPPETS-2015



I had no clue who Dave Gruhl is but he is from The Foo Fighters. I heard of this band and probably know their songs but, anyway, I thought i would be cool to show him up against one of my favs-Animal from The Muppets. The Muppets came back, only for one season,  where Kermit is the host of a late night talk show host. I remember many of you hated the show but I loved it. My favs were the rats and the Mexican shrimp. I think Animal beat Dave's ass but you be the judge. 

3. MARY'S A GRANDE OLD NAME SUNG BY-1906 BUT SUNG BY IRENE MANNING



I hope you don't mind that I took a very old song but sung with such love in the film Yankee, Doodle Dandy with James Cagney as the showman George M. Cohan who wrote the song. Even though this is a hit on your head patriotic American film, I love it because of James Cagney. I think The lovely Irene Manning did a great job with the song. 


Happy Birthday Mary! It must be great to be 29 again...just like me :)

6 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    Happy b-day (sweet 16) to friend Mary!

    I am not a fan of opera, The Muppets or movie musicals, but I am a fan of BB, and I enjoyed your Song Challenge post.

    The rendition of "Summertime" I know best is the 1966 hit single by Billy ("Motormouth") Stewart. Thanks for posting this version. I didn't know that tidbit about Kathleen Battle being a be-otch. Seems like her personality fits her name. I read that she is jello wrestling Diana Ross this weekend at Madison Square Garden. Be there!

    Here are my picks:

    SUMMER SONG: "Lost Summer Love," the little known, non-hit B side released in November 1964 by Shelley ("Mary Stone") Fabares on the back of another non-hit "I Know You'll Be There." With both sides taken into account, the single is regarded by critics as Shelley's best record, a welcome transition from sweet teen pop to more adult-oriented material. However, Shelley's fans weren't interested in her growing maturity and the single fizzled.

    DAVE GROHL SONG: Like you, I needed help on the subject of Dave Grohl. I decided on the very common Nirvana hit "Smells Like...," but I'd like to introduce a cover of the song uploaded this month on YouTube by Rockmina, a discovery of musician/producer Andrei Cerbu, Romania's answer to Phil Spector:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfYM1yvXJes

    MARY SONG: "The Wind Cries Mary," the rock ballad penned and recorded by Jimi Hendrix and released in June 1967 as the B side of his "Purple Haze" single and also included on The Jimi Hendrix Experience's August 1967 Are You Experienced album.

    Have a nice day, dear friend BB. I'll see you tamale sittin' in the balcony "At The Movies!"

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  2. The Muppets are always fun.
    Hope your day is pain free.

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  3. Birgit,

    Animal cracks me up! Thanks for the heads up that it's Mary's bday. I was just over there and if she said something about it, my brain blocked it out. Yep, I'm having a weird day. Anyway, interesting song picks. Thanks for visiting today. ;)

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  4. Good oldies here, and the drumming contest was great!

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  5. I love your choices. "Summertime" popped into my head immediately. I would go with Janis Joplin's version. I like Dave Grohl and really enjoyed his duel with Animal. Grohl first became famous as a member of Nirvana, so my choice would be "Smells Like Teen Spirit." For Mary, I'd go with "Proud Mary," the Ike and Tina Turner take. I love Yankee Doodle Dandy, though. What a great movie filled with wonderful music.

    Love,
    Janie

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  6. Love the Muppets! And that drum-off was one of my favorite clips. Thank you for that. Thanks for joining in today!

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