It's 林育群's Time Now

Taiwanese singer Lin Yu Chun, (林育羣) participant of the One Million Stars talent show recorded It's My Time for his debut album also titled It's My Time. (Sony Taiwan 7685927)

There are two editions of the album, one entirely in English and another one with 8 tracks in Mandarin. It's My Time is in English on both albums though. 

It's My Time is the U.K. entry for the 2009 contest, written by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren. The song was performed by Jade and finished 5th in Moscow.

Lin Yu Chun website has audio excerpts of his album.

More about Jade's It's My Time releases, covers and charts here at the Moscow Collection.

Special thanks to Joris for posting.

Goodbye to Lesley Gore (1946 - 2015)

American singer Lesley Gore has passed away. She's probably most known for her hits It's My Party and You Don't Own Me but she also recorded an English version of the 1968 Eurovision winner La La La by Massiel.

Lesley Gore had 19 US top 100 hits and will have her place in music history forever, at least for those two songs.
In 2009 the singer was featured in a Eurocovers post, which you can read again below.

1968: La La La And I'll Cry If I Want To

La La La, the Spanish Eurovision winner by Massiel from 1968 is a well covered song.
Last year or so 'news' came out that it had won because the Generalo, Franco, bribed some juries because he wanted Spain to win.
All Allegedly of course, and I have a hard time believing the story. Cliff Richard didn't win, get over it.

La La La was a song of controversy all along. First the original singer Joan Manuel Serrat was sent packing because he insisted on singing the song in Catalan, later Massiel was critisized over her way too short dress which disgraced the Spanish people in Europe. Today the song is still ridiculed for the amount of La's that are in it, but somewhere deep inside there's a message, of freedom even...

Eurovision singer Massiel recorded the song in Spanish, French, German and English. Original singer Serrat recorded Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese. Serrat's Catalan version was recorded for a radio show many years later, but it has never been released on record.

La La La is written by Ramón Arcusa and Manuel De La Calva, also known as Dúo Dinámico. Coverversions were recorded in at least 20 languages and the list includes version by Eurovision stars Gitte, Kirsti Sparboe with Arne Bendiksen and Oddvar, Edina Pop and Heidi Brühl.
With over 140 coverversions the song sits neatly inside the top 20 of most covered Eurovision songs. Youtube Eurovision Version.

It's My Party
Lesley Gore shot to fame with her first single It's My Party. A classic and a #1 hit in the US and a top 10 hit in many European countries. She followed it up with three more top 10 hits of which the feminist You Don't Own Me is probably the best known. Lesley Gore also recorded You Don't Own Me in French, German and Italian and Eurocovers loves that.
You Don't Own Me features heavily in the Bette Midler / Diane Keaton / Goldie Hawn movie The First Wives Club.

The song was the last Lesley Gore single to reach the US top 10 but she continued to score 16 more top 100 hits.

In 1968 she recorded the Eurovision winner as He Gives Me Love (La La La) and after two singles that failed to chart in the Billboard top 100, He Gives Me Love went to #91. It was her last top 100 hit. (Mercury 78219)

Lesley Gore continued recording in the 70's but after her 1982 cover album The Canvas Can Do Miracles it took over 20 years for her to get back in the studio.
In 2005 she recorded the album Ever Since which includes a stunning new version of You Don't Own Me and several new songs from Lesley Gore's own pen. Ever Since is available at Amazon and iTunes

Several Lesley Gore compilations are also available including a splendid 5CD box It's My Party! (Bear family) with all her 60's recordings, including several foreign language versions of her early hits.


links and sources
Lesley Gore Homepage - Fanclub.(since 1965, remarkable!)
Youtubes: It's My Party - You Don't Own Me
Lesley Gore - La La La Discogs page

Rocky Roberts - Yes Yes My Love

Reply Songs are (obviously) songs that reply to a big hit and it was Michael Jackson untimely departure that got me thinking. Bear with me, I'll explain.
Back in the days I loved Off The Wall and Billie Jean just as much as anyone else, and I still do. Just like any other popmusic fan I have been swept along in the Michael Jackson craze and I am fascinated by the charts being stuffed with Michael Jackson hits. All the sad events transported me back in time and had me reliving the 80's, which were pretty fantastic times for me.

Of course there's no Eurocover by Michael Jackson and it's not really possible to celebrate the King Of Pop within the confines of Eurocovers.

Reply Songs
In those Thriller days I used to DJ and a favorite cliché of mine was mixing Billie Jean with the reply song Superstar by Lydia Murdock (I'm Billie Jean And I'm Mad As Hell).
The question arose, has there ever been a reply song for a Eurovision song? (Any excuse for a Eurocovers post with a Michael Jackson tie).

I actually found one, and even though it's a song heavily featured in some recent Eurocovers posts it's here again. Researching it of course lead to finding more about the singer etcetera, Eurocovers style. And incidentally there turned out to be more Michael Jackson links than I expected.


Rocky Roberts (1941 - 2005)
An interesting CV for Rocky Roberts. Born in Miami, spent some time in the U.S. navy, was a welter weight championship boxer and got his first musical cudo's with the Airedales, recording in the U.S. and in France. In the second half of the sixties he moved to Italy where he recorded most of his songs (as a solo artist) and he was a guest in every other popular TV music show. His American accent didn't stop him from having a great hit with Stassero Mi Butto (amazing YouTube link restored), watch the footwork MJ fans) and he was well known for his energetic Italian language coverversions of Motown and Atlantic soul hits, live and on record. Reach Out I'll Be There (Four Tops, also recorded by the Jackson 5), Chain Of Fools (Aretha Franklin) and Same Old Song (Four tops)

Yes Yes Dear Dear, Perhaps Next Year, Or maybe even never…

It's with the Airedales that Rocky Roberts recorded a reply song (in English) to Gigliola Cinquetti's Non Ho L'eta (Per Amarti).
Yes Yes My Love from the French 10"inch LP Rocks Et Slows - T.Bird from 1964 (BARCLAY 92.107)

The original track by Gigliola Cinquetti is about being too young to love and Rocky Roberts, always a gentleman, is prepared to wait. I don't know if they ever got together…

Here's some lyrics excerpts from both songs:
Non ho l'eta (from Italian)
"I don't have the age to love
I don't have the age to go out with you
I wouldn't know what to say as you know so much more than me
If you want to wait for me one day all my love will be for you".

Yes Yes My Love (original is in English)
"Yes Yes My Love, I know you're too young.
I'll wait for you
These tender years, I'll think of you
when the waiting is through, no more can I do
I'll watch the moon and the stars when I think of you
I'll wait with all my heart to be standing by you".

The track and album are from Rocky Roberts time in France where he mostly recorded French and American classics in English.
This Is My Prayer, the 'original' English version of Non Ho L 'Eta didn't have the being too young theme, which was just as well, as Vera Lynn from the previous Eurocovers post was well into her 40's when she recorded her version.

Volare
Yes Yes My Love is not the only Eurocover by Rocky Roberts. In 1970 he recorded Volare as an amazing soul ballad. Accept my apologies for overlooking that one in last years Anno Domenico posts, it's a Eurocover that is not to be missed.
Volare was a b-side to I Won't Think Hard Of You, released in the U.S. on the Chess label (Chess 2096). It can also be found on the compilation CD I Grande Successi Originali.

In 1969 Roberts entered the San Remo contest with La Belle Donne and in 1970 with Accidenti (together with Il Super-gruppo).
Rocky Roberts died in 2005, but his son Randy Roberts continues the family tradition, and hey presto, his MySpace features some nice acoustic Michael Jackson coverversions.


Rocky Roberts MySpace tribute.

One final link for the anoraks: The Airedales continued in the late 60's and 70's with band member (bassist) Wess Johnson as the new lead singer who took over from Roberts in 1967. And Wess is of course known from the 1975 Eurovision entry Era by Wess and Dori Ghezzi, which ended third for Italy and was a reasonable European hit. Contrary to popular myth only Dori is a Ghezzi.

1968: La La La And I'll Cry If I Want To

La La La, the Spanish Eurovision winner by Massiel from 1968 is a well covered song.
Last year or so 'news' came out that it had won because the Generalo, Franco, bribed some juries because he wanted Spain to win.
All Allegedly of course, and I have a hard time believing the story. Cliff Richard didn't win, get over it.

La La La was a song of controversy all along. First the original singer Joan Manuel Serrat was sent packing because he insisted on singing the song in Catalan, later Massiel was critisized over her way too short dress which disgraced the Spanish people in Europe. Today the song is still ridiculed for the amount of La's that are in it, but somewhere deep inside there's a message, of freedom even...

Eurovision singer Massiel recorded the song in Spanish, French, German and English. Original singer Serrat recorded Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese. Serrat's Catalan version was recorded for a radio show many years later, but it has never been released on record.

La La La is written by Ramón Arcusa & Manuel De La Calva, also known as Dúo Dinámico. Coverversions were recorded in at least 20 languages and the list includes version by Eurovision stars Gitte, Kirsti Sparboe with Arne Bendiksen & Oddvar, Edina Pop and Heidi Brühl.
With over 140 coverversions the song sits neatly inside the top 20 of most covered Eurovision songs. Youtube Eurovision Version.

It's My Party
Lesley Gore shot to fame with her first single It's My Party. A classic and a #1 hit in the US and a top 10 hit in many European countries. She followed it up with three more top 10 hits of which the feminist You Don't Own Me is probably the best known. Lesley Gore also recorded You Don't Own Me in French, German and Italian and Eurocovers loves that.
You Don't Own Me features in the Bette Midler / Diane Keaton / Goldie Hawn movie The First Wives Club.
(You Don't Own Me pic sleeve taken from Wiki)The song was the last Lesley Gore single to reach the US top 10 but she continued to score 16 more top 100 hits.

In 1968 she recorded the Eurovision winner as He Gives Me Love (La La La) and after two singles that failed to chart in the Billboard top 100, He Gives Me Love went to #91. It was her last top 100 hit.

Lesley Gore continued recording in the 70's but after her 1982 cover album The Canvas Can Do Miracles it took over 20 years for her to get back in the studio.
In 2005 she recorded the album Ever Since which includes a stunning new version of You Don't Own Me and several new songs from Lesley Gore's own pen. Ever Since is available at Ama-zon & Ituuns.

Several Lesley Gore compilations are also available including a splendid 5CD box It's My Party! (Bear family) with all her 60's recordings, including several foreign language versions of her early hits.



Lesley Gore Homepage - Fanclub.(since 1965, remarkable!)
Youtubes: It's My Party - You Don't Own Me

Blogtip:
Viejo Pickup - Grupos Españoles de los 60s y 70s.
Features many groups that are named Los something-something, so it's cool by definition.
Eurocovers of interest are by Los Javaloyas, Los Ros, Josecho Y Los Sakings, Jaguars, Leslie & Los Valldemosa.

10.000: # 4 - Waterloo - ABBA (1974)

In the Eurocovers countdown of most covered Eurovision songs of all time Waterloo is at # 4, but mostly thanks to a massive load of absolutely crappy try-a-likes from albums and projects imaginatively titled 'So and so sing the hits of ABBA, ABBA The Tribute'. Cheap cash-ins loaded with lame vomit-like versions of ABBA's hits. None of that here of course, but they're all in the list.

# 4
- Waterloo
- ABBA
- 328 versions listed

ABBA & Waterloo are Eurovision. The song won the ultimate (but flawed*) all time Eurovision thingy as the best song of 50 years Eurovision.
ABBA recorded Waterloo in Swedish, English, German and French.
* - The selection of 15 songs didn't have Ding A Dong.
The biggest 'stars' to cover the song are probably Bananarama, but not many famous singers dare to try touching an ABBA song unless it's Thank You For The Music.

Eurovision singers covering Waterloo are: Carola, Charlotte Nilsson, Mrs Einstein (again), Ami Aspelund, Seija Simola and Tanel Padar with Lenna (of Vanilla Ninja).
Most versions are in English but still the language count is 22.
And again Eurocovers presents a list with all versions of Waterloo. (Word.doc) (UPDATED 2-3-10). Get it, read it and let me know if there's anything to add.
EsperantoFirst up there's simpatico slaphead Ralph Glomp, German Esperantist renaming the song Gotenburg'. There's two hands full of Eurocovers sung in Esperanto, and Ralph Glomp takes care of six of them. Gotenburg' is on his CD Ĵus per kares´ from 2003.

To make a very long story short: Esperanto is a constructed language (like Sanomian, but then people actually are really serious about it) created as an ideal world language for all people of the world to understand.
In the early 20's it was even considered to be the official language used for the (pre) UN but we have to thank the French for stopping that, as they still thought French would be the one and only international language. (Wikipedia on Esperanto)
Hear some more of Ralph Glomps music here. Iom da paco (on the same page) is his version of Ein Bisschen Frienden (Germany 1982).
Down under
ABBA were hugely popular worldwide, only in the US sales were disappointing. (Only one # 1 hit there) but nowhere were the people so ABBA crazy as in Australia. So it's fitting to include an ABBA tribute from down under here. The track below is from a single by Norman Gunston (Actor Garry MacDonald). It's an ABBA medley with a bit of Waterloo at the end. Oh yeah, it's comedy, see it at Youtube.
For my favorite ABBA tribute album we remain in the area. In 1995 the Flying Nun label released a CD with ABBA covers by noisy New Zealand bands and almost every track is fantastic. Cloth (where are they now?) did Waterloo but if you like your ABBA tunes even louder, get the full CD which is still available in various internet shops.

GAbba GAbba - Hey
The ideal combination of ABBA songs + noise would have been the Ramones. Both quartets specialised in the perfect pop tunes, only the Ramones played a bit faster.
British Gabba noticed just that and they covered Waterloo on their CD with ABBA covers Leave Stockholm. In good Ramones tradition Waterloo is brought back to a neat 1 minute 36.
Hear more at their MySpace

If these versions didn't get rid of your unwanted guests you could play the version of Waterloo by The Yuri Honing Trio. Uncomfortable Jazz at its best and even though the track is like one big intro it's actually pretty cool. It's from the 1996 CD Star Tracks which also includes versions of Björks Isobel and Cyndi Laupers Time After Time.

BeaRecords ABBA pages

A really sick version is made by some knob twiddlers who call themselves the Sweet Little Band. Not worth listening to but it's a great picture sleeve. They even made a Hebrew version for the Israeli market. It's an instrumental CD titled Babies Go ABBA. The music is so tedious they guarantee that you baby will sleep in minutes. (Although I think it's bordering on child abuse).
It's not just your favorite Swedish popsters that have received the honour of seducing your cry-baby into a coma, you can also try out Babies Go Elvis, Babies Go Pink Floyd (original version will do wonders too), Babies Go Carpenters, Babies Go Coldplay, Babies Go Guns 'n'Roses (yeah that'll help) and probably the most effective of all Babies Go Bob Marley. No Babies Go Lordi yet…. The evil CDs are mady by RGS music in Argentina.

-

Parts of this article were already featured in the Eurovision Collectors Guide group (Yahoo)
Previous Eurocovers posts featuring Waterloo in Feathers & Spandex.

And a 'future' post is here

P.S. Couldn't squeeze it in, but don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Björn Again is the best ABBA tribute band in the world.

Earl Holliman: Nobody Knows How I Feel

t.A.T.u, this Eurocovers article is not really about them. t.A.T.u., Russian hitmakers, pseudo sapphic sisters and general pop mega superstars represented Russia in 2003 with Ne Ver, Ne Boisja, Ne Prosi (Don't Believe, Don't Fear, Don't Ask). The E.B.U. were scared shitless by them, not because of the potentially political lyrics and not because of their limited vocal talents, but because of The Kiss. t.A.T.u. were specifically 'asked' to not display any of the lesbian kissing behaviour they were renowned for through their groundbreaking videos.
Big mistake of course, and not really a friendly gesture towards the large gay following Eurovision has. It's o.k. you're our fans dears, but keep it in the closet. The fact that the girls aren't really lesbians is irrelevant really, axing the kiss is a missed opportunity for equal rights and all that, showing that modern Europe isn't as narrow minded as the E.B.U. think it is.

So thát kiss didn't happen (what if they had won, useless U.K. & Irish televoters?*).
By know you know Eurocovers goes to great lengths to construct stories leading towards a Eurocover, so again, bear with me, and we'll be at Angie Dickinson's soon.

Forbidden Kiss
t.A.T.u.'s wasn't the first kiss that kept the Eurovision viewers on the edge of their seats: let's go back to 1957, Frankfurt, Germany.
It's the first televised contest and Denmarks debut entry is a melancholy song Skibet Skal Sejle I Nat (The ship will sail tonight), a duet by Birthe Wilke & Gustav Winckler. It's about a sailor saying goodbye to his sweetheart. The sailing ship making a cruel end to the happiness, the plans and the dreams of the couple.

The performance ends with a kiss. Not just a friendly peck on the cheek, but a kiss so raunchy for its time that half of Europe** fell off the sofa and the press spoke of a scandal. Remember, it was 1957.
We will never know if it was rehearsed like this or that frisky Gustav just saw his chance and gave Birthe a little more tongue than she bargained for. (please see comments)The juries didn't really have a problem with it, as the song finished 3rd (in a field of 10)
See the YouTube of the Eurovision performance.

* t.A.T.u got points from every country's televote except the U.K. and Ireland, even though they had already scored a #1 hit there with All The Things She Said. Ne Ver, Ne Boisja, Ne Prosi ended 3rd, just three points behind winner Everyway That I Can by Sertab Erener (Turkey).
** O.K. then, just a few of them, not everyone had a TV set in 1957, or sofas.


Of course Skibet Skal Sejle I Nat is not just the kiss, it's a beautiful song of romance, heartbreak and regret that has survived over 50 years and still is an evergreen in Denmark. Many Danish artists have recorded the song, including several this century.
The song has also been recorded in Sweden, Germany, Finland and Norway but it's an English language version I needed this long and eventually pointless introduction for.

Some time ago I received this single from Mikael, Danish Eurocovers expert, and it's (another) one of my favorite Eurocovers of all time. So: many Thanks Mikael!

Forbidden Planet
It's the only English version of the song I know of and it's titled Nobody Knows How I Feel.
The English lyrics were written by Larry Coleman, the original song is by Erik Fiehn (music) and Poul Sørensen (Danish lyrics).
The ship & sailor theme is abandoned but the mood remains one of sadness and remorse, where the singer is 'carefree and gay', but his heart is torn apart.
The singer in question is Earl Holliman and he is an American actor with a very familiar face.

It was just this week that I saw cult science fiction movie Forbidden Planet on some old movies channel. Holliman plays the funny cook who let's the planets domestic robot Robbie replicate some booze for him. Great film, crazy soundtrack.
In 1956 Earl Holliman was awarded a Golden Globe for his supporting role in The Rainmaker (with Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn).

I myself know Holliman most for his role as Lt. Bill Crowley in Police Woman, the 70's Angie Dickinson (Bacharach) TV series which was known as Pepper in my country. Holliman played Peppers boss and companion.
Holliman appears in many movies, but also in almost every TV show of some reputation in the 70's and 80's. Think Alias Smith & Jones, The Twilight Zone, Chips, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Hotel, Murder She Wrote and Cannon.

Check this article at Yahoo movies for a nice bio of Earl Holliman and more of his films.
And here's a nice Earl Holliman tribute page worth checking out.


Sittin' And A Gabbin'
Earl Holliman had a brief recording career.
He released a few singles with Capitol (& affiliated Prep records) in the 50's, and at least one with HIFI in the 60's (Grow To Nowhere).
It's one of those Prep singles that features todays Eurocover Nobody Knows What I Feel. The song can be found on the b-side of 1958 single Sittin' And A Gabbin' (Prep 127) in the U.S. and on HMV (HMV 45 X 8359) in Denmark.
Other releases were A Teenager Sings The Blues (1958), If I Could See The World Through The Eyes Of A Child (1958) and I'm In The Mood For Love (1959).
I don't think any of his records charted and as far as I know none has ever been re-released on CD (or even LP).


picture: The gold lettering on the purple label doesn't scan very well, but you get the jist.

Eurocovers releases roundup: South Africa

I'm currently working on an updated version of the South Africa coverversions list, as it has been a few years since I last published that (actually pre-Eurocovers blog). It'll take some time, but I hope it's here in a few weeks. (it's here now)
For now: you'll have to do with an update on the Eurocovers that have been released in South Africa fairly recently.

Steven Sterling III
Steven Sterling has released his 3rd album Steven Sterling 3. (Sterling Musiek STERCD002)
There's one new Eurocover of interest there and it's the opening track Mama Afrika. This is a great Afrikaans version of Mama Corsica, the French entry of 1993 by Patrick Fiori.
The album also includes a re-recording of Lief Vir Alles Hier (Für Alle, Germany 1985), which Sterling recorded for his Debut CD.
Third song of Eurocovers interest is Glimlag (Smile), a coverversion of Under Your Spell (Sweden 2006 pre-selection - Evan)
The album is for sale at Kalahari*.
Lief Vir Alles Hier (In love with everything here) is technically an André Schwartz ♫ cover, who was the one who made the song hugely popular in South Africa.

Casanova Shaun Tait
Shaun Tait's second album Ek Se Kom Ons Doen Dit (I say let's do this) is out now and features the first South African coverversion for Andorra. He recorded Casanova (2008 - Gisela). The album also features two popular pre-selection songs.
Gee Jou Hart Vir My (Give your heart to me) is Lay Your Love On Me (BWO, Melodifestivalen 2008) and Viva La Musica was Man Meadow's song for the Polish 2008 selection.
Title track Ek Se Kom Ons Doen Dit is a cover of Charlotte Perrelli's Bullet, her follow up single to Eurovision hit Hero (CD Out now on Sony SA) (Kalahari)
On his debut CD Shaun Tait recorded Sing 'n liedjie (Sing a song) as a duet with Patricia Lewis, Queen Of South African Eurovision Covers. It's Shame On You (Denmark 2004 - Thomas Thordarsson)

Let's Rage At The Club Kung FuCharl Smit's last CD Lekker Jol (Great party, Ramkat RAMCD001) features two tracks of Estonian origin.

Kom Ons Raas (Let's rage) is a coverversion of Estonian entry Let's Get Loud by Suntribe. Even better (imho) is the title track, Lekker Jol. It's Club Kung Fu, a pre-selection song from 2003 that was originally by Estonian superstars Vanilla Ninja. That song was the audience favorite, but their vote only counted for like 10% or so. The professional jury hated it, but Vanilla Ninja did quite well for themselves, especially in Germany. They were invited to represent Switserland in 2005 and with Cool Vibes they ended 9th.
Charl Smit's version of the song is about traffic. Smit is currently working on his new CD which will have some more Eurocovers surprises.
The album is available at Kalahari*. The track Lekker Jol was also released on the VA compilation Kuier In Afrikaans (Ramkat RAMCD004)

Another version of Club Kung Fu was recorded by Nicholis Louw: Welkom By My Party can be found on his CD Hier Naby Jou (Close to you).

I noticed a download site where you can preview the tracks (Rhythm Online)*. They sell legal mp3's internationally and are currently working on an easy payment system (it's too complicated now for my liking)
http://www.nicholislouw.co.za/

Juanita ForeverJuanita Du Plessis celebrates her career with a double CD of her best hits and new tracks. Opening track of CD1 is 'n Ewigheid, (An eternity) a new coverversion of Carola's 2006 entry Invincible (Sweden). It's already the 2nd Afrikaans version of this track, after the boys of Hi-5 recorded it on their CD Versoeking.

Juanita's 2cd 10 jaar Platinum Treffers is also available at Kalahari*. You can listen to all songs at her homepage (here) http://www.juanita.co.za/

Juanita's 1997 album Young Hearts included a coverversion of Gina G.'s Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit (U.K. 1996) in a hits medley

Moet My Nie Vergeet Nie

Rian Ungerer's CD Moet My Nie Vergeet Nie (Don't forget me) features the track Agter Moes Laat (Had to leave behind), which is a coverversion of Vukovi Umiru Sami (Croatia 2005 - Boris Novkovic)
Girl band Shine 4 have split up, but they have released a best CD with some new tracks. One of these is Je t'Adore (Belgium 2006, Kate Ryan) which is sung in Afrikaans.
Leandie Lombaard. I mentioned her CD here. Now she has her own website where you can listen to excerpts of the songs.
Some other recent releases are tenor Jannie Moolmans CD Ek Kom Huistoe (I'm coming home) which includes Vandag (Today) (Le Grand Soir, Belgium 2005), Jaycee Crauses CD Ek Weet with Steeds Verlief (Everything, Greece 2006) and Waar Is Jy (Tornero, Romania 2006) and the previously mentioned albums by Jennifer Zamudio and Patricia Lewis.

Special Thanks to Roy and to Juan.
*Please note: I haven't tried any of the shops mentioned recently and I advise you contact them first about postage, payment and delivery information if you're interested in buying any of the CDs.
If you want to hear Mama Corsica in Lithuanian check this Eurocovers post.
All South-Africa related posts at Eurocovers are here. The Document is here.

Eurovision 2009 - The Moscow Collection

The Amsterdam Eurovision 2009 Concert.

If Moscow is too far, the crisis hit your bank balance or you were planning a long overdue trip to Amsterdam anyway this is the 2009 event for you:

On April 18, Marcanti Amsterdam will host a concert with many Eurovision Stars of the 2009 contest. Already a very impressive list of artists have confirmed: The entrants of Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Iceland, Lithuania, Cyprus, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Slovenia, Poland, Moldova and Armenia will attend, more artsist to be confirmed. The show is hosted by Marga Bult and Maggie MacNeal. TICKETS, Video promo. More Info

It's a small world after all.

Some of us are old enough to remember 1976.
Austria's Eurovision entry My Little World by Waterloo and Robinson (Hans Kreuzmayr and Sepp Krassnitzer) finished a respectable 5th in the The Hague Eurovision Song Contest, won by the mighty Brotherhood Of Man.
Prior to their Eurovision result, Waterloo and Robinson already scored a few hits with Baby Blue and Hollywood, the latter reportedly even being a #1 in Brasil.

Waterloo and / or Robinson have re-recorded their Austrian #1 hitMy Little World several times, but since both their solo re-recordings from 2008 it has been a few years, so it's time for a new one.
(see below)

Das Comebackalbum
To cut a short story even shorter Schlagerfans, Das Comebackalbum is titled Baby Blue and is by Berger, Maier and Waterloo. So Waterloo = Waterloo (leatherfaceon the left), Berger = Ricky Berger and I guess Maier = Christian Maier, producer (but he's not in the picture, and neither is Robinson, who's probably occupied elsewhere).

The Baby Blue album will be released on November 23 and it will include new versions of W and R hits including Baby Blue, Hollywood and My Little World. It will also include a coverversion of the U.K. 1972 entry Beg Steal or Borrow (New Seekers) and  favorite Clout song Substitute (although the Righteous Bro's recorded it first, I know).
Excerpts are already up up up at Amazon.de.
BMW (oh....) have their Facebook.

Here's the list of recordings of My Little World by at least one of the original singers, maybe there are more, just let me know.
h
MY LITTLE WORLD (english) - Waterloo and Robinson

- single  (International Philips 2121 286)

Meine Kleine Welt (german)

- single  (ATOM 238 075)

My Little World (german/english medley) 

- on '2 x Gold' commemorative 7" single (ATOM C-VSTP 558)

My Little World (first english version with 'rude' lyrics)

- single (Portugal: Planisom PLS 5005)*

Meine kleine Welt (re-recording german, year???)

- on single (Germany: Bellaphon 100 05185)

Meine kleine Welt - robinson (solo version 1990)

-   E details wanted

My Little World (english 2008) - Robinson    

- on CD The ballad of my life (Tonora 400.892)

Meine kleine Welt (german 2008) - Robinson

- on CD Ein Morgen mit dir  (Tonora 400.896)

My Little World (english 2008) - Waterloo

- on CD Ewigkeit (Echo 61445)

My Little World (english 2012) - Berger, Maier, Waterloo
- on CD Baby Blue, to be released November 23

  

Details from The Eurovision Collectors Guide.

* not entirely sure of this release as I have never heard it.

Flemish Schlager
And some more release news from the cheesy variety. Laat Me Nu Gaan (Let me go now or rather Just let me go) is a single by Belgian Schlager singer Jo Vally. It's a coverversion of Non Ho L'Eta (Per Amarti), the 1964 Eurovision winner by Gigliola Cinquetti for Italy.
Don't know if there's a cdsingle, but the track is available at iTunes Belgium and possibly other sources.

Eurovision 2009 - Whose Time Is It Anyway?

This years entry for the U.K. is It's My Time by Jade. It's a slightly OTT musical score written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Diane Warren. Think The Greatest Love Of All or My Impossible Dream.

Jade at The Moscow Collection

A coverversion for the clubs is recorded by Almighty Divas. A 4-track promo is issued (Almighty Records ALMY 246) and digital release will follow soon.
You can hear an excerpt in the player at the Almighty Records website (skip some songs and then it's there)

Another (definitely much better) release is by Clubkidz Featuring Sam Solace. This one also includes 4 dance mixes of Jades Eurovision entry.
Check out Remixarchive for more. (click the pic)

I wonder how this all fits in Andrew Lloyd Webbers plans for World Domination. Especially since the U.K. release of Jade's single is postponed until after Eurovision.
Although the Russians can get the cd single with the Russian O.K. Magazine.

Conny Vandenbos Box, Result!

Another Update on the Conny Vandenbos Complete Works.

It has arrived!, #295 out of a 1000. The finished product looks gorgeous and now I have to find some time to listen to the 15 CDs (it's Eurovision week...).

You can find the full (and very detailed) tracklists at here at Discogs.

If you want to get this wonderful box in your collection, just go the Conny Vandenbos website and drop an e-mail for details.

The 1965 Conny van den Bos Songfestival EP

Update
The crowdfunding project has finished successful. Congratulations to Marc!. Respect for your amazing job.
If you didn't pledge yet I'm sure the box will be available as soon as it's finished (1000 copies are made)
I'll keep you updated, watch this space.

Conny Vandenbos Box
Here’s one for the Dutchies and maybe for some other fans too.

Eurovision fans know Conny Vandenbos (as Conny van den Bos) from her 1965 entry ‘t Is Genoeg. The song only finished 11^th, but is a much loved classic with an amazing orchestral backing track.

Now there’s a project to release a 15CD box set spanning her work from the early 60’s to 2001.

Conny Vandenbos released some classic songs in the 60’s, but I guess her most successful era was the seventies when she had several bestselling hitalbums and singles.

found this....

It's Enough

The 15CD box will include 308 songs, 94 that are released on CD for the first time and 35 that haven’t been previously released at all.

In the last category we’ll find It’s Enough, the never before heard English version of the 1965 Eurovision song.

‘t Is Genoeg also features in three versions, the original single, the 1968 album version and a 90’s live version.

Preselection songs Laat Me Alleen and Van De Week are also included. (Van De Week in two versions).
Van De Week is also featured twice in English as The Night. One version is from 1965 and one from 1969 from Conny's English language album that never saw the light of day. (both also previously unreleased).
And for completists, there's are Sanremo covers too:
Als Vreemden (Like strangers) is a Dutch cover of  Iva Zanicchi's La Notte Dell'addio from the 1966 Sanremo. (Thanks Frank!)
Loretta Goggi's Maledetta Primavera (1981) can be found as Vrij Als Een Vogel (Free as a bird). It's featured in the album version (1981) and also in the single version from 1982.

Another track worth mentioning is Als De Morgen Niet Bestaat (If tomorrow doesn't exist), a song sent in for the 1989 Nationaal Songfestival (Dutch preselection for Eurovision) that wasn't selected. It wasn't intended for Conny to enter the contest, but she recorded the demo.

The Box

Check this video for snippets of 83 (of the 308) tracks. At 25:20 you can hear a bit of It's Enough.

But of course it's not just the Eurovision connection that makes this collection a must have.
Some of the best early singles take pride of place in my record collection; Paleis Met Gouden Muren (Palace with golden walls) and Ik Ben Gelukkig Zonder Jou (I'm happy without you) are two.
And no-one was left unmoved by Sjakie Van De Hoek (Jack from the corner....) and Roosje Mijn Roosje (Rose for my Rose, a version of A Daisy A Day) in the mid 70's. The perfect blend of melancholy and love.

How to participate

The project needs some more supporters. Please go here to Voor De Kunst to find out more about how to participate in this massive  labour of love and secure your copy of this elaborate CD box.

All tracks will be remastered / digitalized to a very high standard and the sleeves will feature some rare photographs.

Conny Vandenbos passed away in 2002, this collection is a lovely way to celebrate her wonderful legacy.

Pledging

I've bought quite a few fantastic records the past few years through pledging (Cornelis Vreeswijk, Marc Almond, V V Brown). 
It means you pledge to buy the forthcoming product and if a project fails to raise enough to continue you'll get your money back.

It's a great way to get music from artists who are somehow not interesting enough for your average record company.

Special thanks to Frank and to Marc. And a shoutout to Frans.

Eurocovers 1st Birthday !!!

Today Eurocovers celebrates its first birthday. A year ago it all started with a little tribute to Paul Mauriat without really knowing where things would go from there.

It's been a year of fun, finding out about all kinds of singers who are (or were) stars in their own country, had an interesting story or just recorded an awesome version of a Eurovision song.
All this research often creates more questions and wantslists, and I want to say thanks to everyone who has replied to my requests and sent me cool stuff. A lot of it will pop up here sooner or later. Please keep it coming….
'Meeting', other bloggers, receiving some great tracks and even getting weird e-mails all has been great fun and I hope to continue for another year.

My favorite parts have been The Year Of The Puppet, with all kinds of versions of Sandie Shaws Eurovision winner Puppet On A String and the top 10 most covered Eurovision songs.
I thoroughly enjoyed finding out about fabulous singers like Leny Eversong (as one Eurocovers reader put it: How can anybody not love Leny Eversong?), Ken Boothe, Helena Vondráčková, Hồ Quỳnh Hương and Argentina Tango King Carlos Di Sarli.

Next year, Anno Domenico ©, Eurocovers will celebrate 50 years of Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu) and there will be an updated look at the most covered songs, expanding to the top 20. There will be lists, links, music, pictures, blog tips, competitions, new releases and what have you.

Now I'm blowing out the first candle and give you all another slice of the Eurocovers cake.

The first post featured L'Amour Est Bleu, so it's just fitting there's another one here.
This version is by Maria Magdalena, and when you hear the sound of the record it could well be recorded 2000 years ago. The song is titled something like Ipangamo Uy Unoy Co. The exitement being that the song is sung in Ilokano, the 3rd language of the Philippines.
No need to say that it's the first ever Ilokano Eurocover listed.
The song is likely from a single which also features another song, Maudi A Bilin, which is an Ilokano classic..
HELP WANTED: If anyone can shed some light on the singer, single or even share a picture that would make me very happy. (Thanks Maian for the song)


One of my all time favorite songs is Dio Come Ti Amo, the 1966 Italian entry by Domenico Modugno. In the top 10 most covered Eurovision songs (it's at #9) I requested the version by Duo Ouro Negro from Angola and five! of you sent me the song. Thanks to all, it's a lovely as I hoped it would be, judge for yourself below.

# 10 of the most covered Eurovision songs is Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son, the best pop song written in the 60's. It's also one of the most visited Eurocovers subjects. Les Sans Culottes demonstrate how it would sound if it was recorded by Blondie. From their great CD Fixation Orale from 2004.


Last up there's two Puppets. Suzy Darlén (pic left) as asked for in the Puppet In Brasil post (from EP Oh Johnny, Brasil Odeon 7 BD 1134) (Thanks Jorge!) and a crazy mix of styles in Sounds Orchestral (CD Sounds Chart Bound, 1998 Sequel records) (Thanks Jim!)
I'm still looking for versions of Puppet On A String in Greek, Japanese, Hebrew, Thai, Vietnamese etc. and from now on, Ilokano.


And don't forget to check out some of my friends blogs and favorite sites, the links are on the right side of this page.

4 X 40 - Madrid 1969 - extra: The Losers

1969 is one of my favorite years in Eurovision history. Not just because of the multitude of great songs, but also from a collectors point of view. Many singles were released in stunning picture sleeves all over Europe (I'm getting all nostagic here) and most artists released their song in different languages.
Here, in an extra 4 X 40 post, is a quick run-by of the songs that didn't win, and a few coverversions for your entertainment.

Opening the contest was Yugoslavia. Pozdrav Svijetu (Dobar Dan) by Ivan & the M 's was a language marvel in itself, as the lads wished us all a good day in our own language. The multi language trick has been repeated often in Eurovision.
Ivan & the M's recorded also recorded their song in Spanish.
I don't know about any coverversion of this song though, if you do, please let me know.

Romuald recorded his Luxembourg entry Catherine in French, Spanish, German and Italian. The song was written by no-one less than Paul Mauriat, featured in the very first Eurocovers post with lyrics by André Borgioli. Paul Mauriat recorded an instrumental of the song with his orchestra.


Monaco's Maman by Jean Jacques was recorded by the 12 year old singer in French, Spanish and German. It's a tale about a young boy wanting to be a soldier but then he sees it upsets his mum he decides never to take up arms. This simple receipe for world peace was covered a few times, but I have only found covers in Spanish (and some instrumentals). Here's one by Los Olivers from the LP Hits In España.

Third up was Spains home entry Vivo Cantando by Salomé - (4 X 40 Vivo Cantando )

Muriel Day´s The Wages Of Love (Ireland) was only recorded in English and I don´t know of any coverversions.

The entry for Italy Due Grosse Lacrime Bianchi by Iva Zanicchi was covered two times once in Spanish and one instrumental.
Surprising as most Italian entries of the era easily clock up 30, 50, or even 100 coverversions. Michael Holm wrote German lyrics for Iva Zanicchi´s own version, but even if it was recorded, it remains unreleased. Here´s the Spanish coverversion Solo Dos Lagrimas by Gelu.

After Italy two winners in a row: United Kingdom (4 X 40 - Boom Bang A Bang) and The Netherlands - (4 X 40 De Troubadour)

My personal favorite of 1969, Swedens Tommy Körbergs Judy Min Vän (Judy My Friend), was oddly translated as Dear Mr. Jones for his English version released on the European market. Great song and a great singer who shot to world fame with the recording of the musical Chess written by Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. In 1988 he tried again at Eurovision with Stad I Ljus and today he is a celebrated star in Sweden performing regularly with BAO (Benny Anderssons Orchester)
Tommy Körberg defeated two pre-ABBA efforts on his way to Madrid. Hej Clown by Jan Malmsjö (Written by ABBA's Benny Andersson) ended 2nd and Anni-Frid Lyngstadts (ABBA's Frida) solo song Härlig Är Vår Jord ended 4th.
I only know of only two coverversions of Judy Min Vän, one in Norwegian by Per Müller (Judy Min Venn, still looking for that one) and one in Finnish by Johnny Liebkind: Judy-Ystäväni (Scandia EP)

Louis Neefs (1937-1980) second entry for Belgium Jennifer Jennings is another fine pop tune. Neefs recorded it in Dutch (Flemish), French, German, English, Italian and Spanish.
I know of seven coverversions of which 5 are more or less instrumental.
A cool one is by the 50 Foot Combo, a ska-punk outfit who recorded the song for their 2003 CD Jennifer Jennings.

Bonjour, Bonjour by Paola (del Medico) is yet another great song from the 1969 contest. It was the song that ended 5th after the four winners. Paola's original version was in German but she also recorded the song in French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. Coverversions were recorded in English, Swedish, Dutch, Estonian and Czech (by Jamilá Vesela, details wanted). Paola represented Switserland and tried her luck again in 1980 with Cinema, which did slighly better and ended 4th.
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-Once a long time ago an early edition of the Eurovision Collectors Guide booklet got a book review in Record Collector Magazine. Of course the piss was taken: "people getting their ears insulted once a year" and "translated into exotic languages like English" but the critic ended with referring to the fantasticness of the Norwegian 1969 entry Oj Oj Oj Så Glad Jeg Skal Bli by Kirsti Sparboe, which had been haunting him ever since. And it shifted some copies of the book anyway.
The 1969 song from Norway only got one point and ended last but the Norwegians were getting used to that. I think it's just as lovely and as catchy as Boom Bang A Bang. Kirsti recorded the song in Norwegian, Swedish, German and French.
A Dutch/Flemish version by Danyel Dirk was titled Oi, Oi, Oi, Mijn Hart Staat Op Springen (My heart is about to jump/explode).
Danyel Dirk had it all, good looks and a promising start to his career with a few popular singles. But it wasn't meant to be as just a few months after releasing his debut LP Danyel Dirk he died in a tragic single car accident at the age of 22. Oi Oi Oi can be found on that debut LP (Regal records) re-issued in 1975 on Columbia. It's also the b-side to Er Stond Een Regenboog. http://www.danyeldirk.net/

Swedish Siw Malmkvist already sang for Sweden in 1960 but with Primaballerina she represented Germany. Siw recorded Primaballerina in German, Swedish and Spanish.
It's one of the 18 Eurovision songs that was covered by Estonian legend Heli Lääts. More about Heli Lääts in this Eurocovers post and more Siw here and here

14th (out of 16) in line was the winner from France (4 X 40 Un Jour, Un Enfant)

Desfolhada Portuguesa, (a.k.a. Desfolhada) Simone de Oliveira's second Eurovision entry (after 1965's Sol De Inverno) for Portugal is probably the second most remembered Portuguese Eurovision evergreen (after 1974's E Depois Do Adeus, I should do a post about that one too some time).
It's in the same league as The Troubadour, folk-ish with a passion and it's still a fan favorite too. So why Lenny Kuhr won and Simone only ended 15th is a mystery to me.
The song has been covered several times in Portuguese and is still a popular song at Simone's live performances. She recorded the song in French, Spanish and of course Portuguese.

Patricia Cruz
A new version of Desfolhada Portuguesa can be found on the CD Recordação by Patrícia Cruz. The 2008 CD also includes coverversions of the Portuguese entries of 1985 (Penso em ti, eu sei) and 1991 (Lusitana Paixão). Watch a live performance
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The last country to perform in the 1969 contest was Finland. And odd duo, a weird hat and a revue song just different from anything else on offer. Kuin Silloin Ennen by Jarkko & Laura ended 12th, which with hindsight was a good result for Finland pre-Lordi.
Many Eurovision songs were covered in Finland, more than in any other country, but Finnish songs were mainly covered by Finnish artists. Kuin Silloin Ennen has a few covers in Finnish, one in related language Estonian and one in Spanish. (Las Llamas Crecen by Los Dos)

Austria opted out of the contest because of Franco's dictatorship, and Denmark was in year 2 of their 11 year Eurovision drought. Liechtenstein was also rumoured to have participated in 1969, but it was a hoax, even though there is a EP by singer Vetty including Liechtensteins so called Eurovision entry Un Beau Matin. The song drops all the countries names and by todays standards it would probably be a parody .

4x40: Introduction

4x40: De Troubadour - Lenny Kuhr

4x40: Vivo Cantando - Salomé

4x40: Un Jour Un Enfant - Frida Boccara

4x40: Boom Bang A Bang - Lulu

4x40: The Losers