1983-2007: New Dutch version of Carola's Främling

JE OGEN HEBBEN GEEN GEHEIMEN
Young Dutch singer Patrick has released a cdsingle with an new version of Carola's 1983 Eurovision smash Je ogen hebben geen geheimen (Your eyes have no secrets), Swedens entry in 1983.
Carola scored a # 7 hit in 1983 in the Netherlands with her Dutch version of Främling and also a big 'pirate' hit. (Pirate radio stations play Dutch music only).
The song, nicknamed the Mona Lisa song, became a bit of a classic over the years and now there's a new version with the same lyrics. Only the title has changed a bit: it's now Geen Geheimen.
The cdsingle is available from BeaRecords now.

South Africa: Patricia Lewis, Jy's die één !!

Patricia Lewis is a Superstar from South Africa whose music ranges from Country to Pop and she has also proven she has a fine ear for a Eurovision tune.

She recorded several Eurovision songs since 1999 and especially the later choices look a bit further than just the big hits and winners.

Currently in the South African Trefferlyste, the top 20 for Afrikaans songs compiled by Daantjie Dinamiet, there's a duet Patricia Lewis sings with 14 year old Shaun Tait.
Shaun Tait is the winner of Supersterre 2006, a TV talent show hosted by Patricia Lewis.
The song, Sing 'n liedjie, is a cover version of the Danish Eurovision entry from 2004 Shame on you, the song that failed miserably in the semi-final despite some cool shoes with wheels (it must have been the red suit then). (sorry no audio found yet)

Après toi, the luxembourg 1972 winner, was the first Eurovision song covered by Lewis, but it already had a few lives in South Africa, most famously by legendary singers Gé Korsten and Bles Bridges.
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LUXEMBOURG 1972 APRÈS TOI
Coverversions from South Africa

Bles Bridges - Glo in die lewe (Afrikaans)
------ Released on 1997 CD 'Die hart van myn moeder' (Vat 5 Musik, BMG) Bles Bridges & syn dogter Sunette * - Glo in die lewe (Afrikaans)
------ On Sunette Bridges CD 'Vrou alleen' & 2003 CD 'Opskop treffers en ander' Janita Claassen - Wie sal weet (Afrikaans)
------ On CD 'Wie sal weet'(1991) Patricia Lewis - Jy's die een (Lyrics Patricia Lewis)
------ On 1999 CD 'Jy's die één' (BMG)
Gé Korsten - Glo in die lewe (Afrikaans)
------ On CD 'Naby my / Sailing' & 3CD 'Afrikaanse Goue oues' Estee Strauss (French)
------ On CD 'Ritme van hoop'
Ons Eie 3 Soprane - Come what may (English)
'Ons eie drie soprane' are/were: Janita Claassen, Rina Hugo & Ella Kotze
------ On CD 'Ons eie drie soprane' (Select Music SELBCD 335) Bianca & Friends - Come what may (English)
Bianca & Friends are a gospel group who perform as a puppet show. ------ On CD 'Bianca And Friends' - (Brettian Productions, 2002)
Karlien Husselman - Come what may (English)
------ On CD 'Wees vir my'

PATRICIA LEWIS EUROCOVERS Après toi - Luxembourg 1972 winner - Vicky Leandros
= Jy's die een (You're the one) - sung in Afrikaans ------ On 1999 CD 'Jy's die één' (BMG)
------ Video clip is on DVD 'Patricia Lewis- Die DVD (BMG 2005)
ABBA Keurspel (medley incl. Waterloo & Ring Ring. (in English) ------ On CD 'Vir ewig en altyd' (2001, BMG)
Take me to your heaven - Sweden 1999 winner - Charlotte Nilsson (in English) ------ On CD 'Vir ewig en altyd' (2001, BMG)
My heart goes boom - Norway 2000 - Charmed (in English) ------ On CD 'Vir ewig en altyd' (2001, BMG)
Dans le jardin de mon âme - Switzerland 2002 - Francine Jordy
= Tuine van my siel (Gardens of my soul) - sung in Afrikaans
------ On CD 'N nuwe lewe' (BMG)
------ Video clip is on DVD 'Patricia Lewis- Die DVD -(BMG 2005)
Il faut du temps - France 2002 - Sandrine François = 'N nuwe lewe (A new life) - in Afrikaans
------ On CD 'N nuwe lewe' (BMG)
Never let it go - Sweden 2002 - Afro-Dite (in English) ------ On CD 'N nuwe lewe' (BMG)
Shame on you - Denmark 2004 - Thomas Thordarsson = Sing 'n liedjie (Sing a song) - Shaun tate & Patricia Lewis (in Afrikaans)
------ On Shaun Tait CD Shaun Tait (Sony BMG)


Kalahari is a South African music shop that sells worldwide. Postage costs are high though, but you can't buy too much CDs at one time as you will get a hefty import tax bill. They stock the Shaun Tait CD, and various albums by Patricia Lewis, Bles Bridges and Gé Korsten.

Patricia's own website is currently not available but you can find some info at the Supersterre site. She's a busy woman as she's also currently dancing with Marcel Vilonel in the South African version of Strictly Come Dancing With The Stars and the next season of Supersterre is underway.



HELP WANTED - I'm looking for a particular single from South Africa, either the record or the audio files in any form. It's a version of the 1973 Dutch entry by Ben Cramer - De oude muzikant and it's original b-side Kom Sylvia dans met mij from the preselection.
Marnie - Die oue musikant / Kom Sylvia dans met my - 7" single (Philips TOS 1010)

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Sakura Teng (UPDATED)

In the Year Of The Puppet I have featured two fabulous versions of the Sandie Shaw Eurovision winner Puppet On A String sung in Mandarin (Chinese). One by Betty Chung and one by Lara and the Trailers.
A third version in Mandarin I know of is by Sakura Teng and the Quests.
I lost the bidding for the record (again) but I cleverly robbed the picture sleeve, so here it is.
If anyone wants to share the song you'd make me a happy man.
Puppet On A String in Mandarin - discography
鍾玲玲 - 在你手中把線牽 Betty Chung (Hong Kong)
- Zai ni shou zhong ba xian qian - on EP Bell a go go (EMI 7 EPA 197)

櫻櫻 - 多棈郎 Lara & the trailers (Singapore)
- Duo qian lang on EP (CEP 3004)

Sakura Teng & Quests (Singapore) on EP (EMI ECHK 579)

Meanwhile check these posts for the Betty Chung and Lara versions with picturesleeves and music or other Chinese Eurovision covers by Shirley Kwan and Annabelle Lui
And a recommended blog for Asian pop currently featuring another Sakura Teng EP is Mod-ified Music. Worth checking out now! UPDATE Also check this post at Mod-Ified, it has one of the most absolutely poptastic coverversions of Love Is Blue (Luxembourg 1967) from Singapore.

1958: Tango Argentina - Duerme mi amor

Dors mon amour is the 1958 Eurovision winner by André Claveau (for France) and the song has been covered many times, as it was the thing to do in the olden days.
It was the winner in the year that gave us Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) by Domenico Modugno which only ended third but still remains the best selling Eurovision single ever.

Here are two coverversions of Dors Mon Amour which I find particularly interesting, because they were recorded in an original music style which has been around since the end of the 19th century and is still going strong, in a league of its own. The Tango from Argentina.

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Carlos di Sarli (1903-1960) is a famous Tango King especially popular in the 40's and 50's and proudly carrying his nickname "El Señor del Tango".
His Tango orchestra recorded with many popular singers. The song is especially interesting for the orchestral tango arrangement and you'll have to wait to halfway into the track to hear guest vocalist Horacio Casares kick in.
The recording is just absolutely beautiful and a must hear.

While researching I found two other Tango versions, the three being the only versions of the song recorded in Spanish (as far as I could find out). One of them is also featured here and the third one is missing.
The version by the orchestra Osvaldo Piro (pic left) with vocals by Carlos Casado was recorded 10 years later. It's slightly more dramatic but equally passionate.

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Tango - Duerme Mi Amor

Orquesta Carlos di Sarli

------vocals by Horacio Casares
- On 78 rpm (Philips 42053, 1958)

- also on CD Bahia Blanca (Altaya records)
Chito Galindo (from Uruguay)

------with Orchestra Fernando Mulens
- On LP Yo tengo un pecado (Seeco SCLP 9184, 1960)
Orquesta Osvaldo Piro - vocals by Carlos Casado
- On LP Azul Noche (Philips 82225, 1968)

Parts of this article have been featured in the Eurovision Collectors Guide Yahoo group.

A recommended site for Tango history and biographies is http://www.todotango.com/ with a nice bio on Carlos Di Sarli here and Osvaldo Piro here.

(pic: Chito galindo)

1975: Some More Ding A Dong

In the Eurocovers post They can't stop the spring (March 21) a few versions of the 1975 Dutch Eurovision winner Ding A Dong (Teach In) were featured, all recorded this millennium.
The song still proves popular as in 2007 at least six coverversions have been released.


I have put all my Ding A Dong knowledge in a single word document for those interested. The list features details on Teach In's original recordings in various languages plus a list of 125 coverversions. I'm sure there must be more, but I think it's quite a list already.

I recently found a Hungarian version of the song by Csonka András which was recorded in 2001, making the total number of languages the song was recorded in now at least 16.
Another one featured below is an Estonian version by ladies band Laine from the 2000 CD Uus laine. Estonian covers of Ding A Dong now total at least five, all recorded in the past decade.
DING A DONG IN 2007
Swedish clubby outfit Supersounds have three versions on their cd-single which was released in Sweden last March. With the Estonian StarSisters CD, Dutch DJ Maarten, A blind choir* & a theatre duo** from Germany and the Finnish Re:Play compilation it's six versions of the unforgettable 1975 tune that have been released in 2007. (any more??, let me know)
* Blinde Musiker München on CD Fast schon in New York (2007)
** Blond (=Annette Postel und Gunzi Heil) - Dud el-du on CD Frisch getönt (UPDATE, it's not from 2007, but 2004....)
* = if anyone happens to have an audio…..
The Supersounds version is available in a variety of remixes at most download sites and (Swedish) CD shops



A few more Ding A Dong versions can be found in this Eurocovers post .

1963: Julie London and her Wonderful Things

(Updates to this Eurocovers page were made in May 2021)

Singer and actress Julie London (Julie Peck) was probably known for her beauty more than for her music and wasn't too shy to show that on her lovely LP sleeves. But several of her albums are as pleasing on the ear as they are on the eye. Her debut LP from 1955 Julie Is Her Name (Liberty) is a must have LP for anyone who loves music. Her soft and gentle voice blends so beautiful with the minimal smooth guitars of Barney Kessel* and Ray Leatherwood on bass.

The LP features the first released version of the classic Cry Me A River. It is one of my all time favorite LP's.

Now to Eurovision: In 1963 the U.K. entry Say Wonderful Things by Ronnie Carroll ended 4th in the contest in London. 

It was even a U.S. hit, reaching 91 with four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Patti Page took the song a little bit higher, her version was a #81 hit.

Julie London recorded Say Wonderful Things in the same year for the LP The Wonderful World of Julie London, which was critisized for being too 'Easy listening'. So, maybe not her finest moment but it gave us a Eurocover by a legendary superstar who represented all that was gorgeous at the turn of the 50's.

There's a CD re-issue with another LP (The Good Life) available at Amazon and other (web)shops, but if you want any Julie London record in your collection you should try and find some of the original (or even re-issue) LP's with the glorious picture sleeves in the only format that does them justice: 12' inch.

Say Wonderful Things can also be found on EMI Presents The Magic of Julie London (Compilation CD 1995, later re-issued as Cry Me A River) 

 
Julie London died in 2000 at the age of 75.

You can find a nice bio and discography with many pictures here at this recommended tribute site.

There's also a Facebook page dedicated to Julie London

* - The Poll Winners with guitarist Barney Kessel recorded a coverversion from another US Eurovision favorite: Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu) is on their 1958 LP The Poll Winners Ride Again (Contemporary Records)

(Updates to this Eurocovers page have been made in May 2021)

Eurovision fans take notice: Julie London is the original inventor of the wrap me up in drapes act made famous in the contest by Sertab, André, Sakis and Sarbel almost 50 years later.

VII: The Year Of The Puppet - More from Jamaica

I haven't forgotten it's still The Year Of The Puppet at Eurocovers, so here's a quicky.
In the Eurocovers post on Ken Boothe you can read more about reggae versions of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision winner made in Jamaica, with a list and versions by Boothe.

Here's a few of the lesser known coverversions of Puppet On A String from the 70's.

Tyrone Taylor
- on 7"inch (Micron MIC 2407, 1975)
Paul Sinclair- on 7"inch - b-side to Flabba Holt's I'm not a king (On Top records, 1975)
Enos McCloud a.k.a McLeod or McLoud
- on LP By the look in your eyes (Stewmac SB 003, probably 1979)

More Eurovision reggae in: Jamaica, can I have your votes please? part 1 / part 2

My e-bay stuff (ends today!)

- More Puppet On A String / Year Of The Puppet

Serbia: Pekinška Patka & Dragan Stojnić

After the Eurovision victory for Serbia it's time to do something Serbian. My collection and knowledge of coverversions made in (old) Yugoslavia are mostly limited to the usual big winners getting a local makeover.
But of all coverversions sung in Serbian (or Serbo-Croat) there's one song that stands out:
Bila je tako lijepa. It is Elle etait si jolie, the French 1963 entry by Alain Barrière and the song that has been recorded several times in Serbia (and Yugoslavia).
The first one to immortalise the song for Yugoslavia was Dragan Stojnić who released the song in 1965 on an EP.
In the early 80's the song gained 'new evergreen' status when it was recorded by Pekinška Patka. They morphed the sugarsweet chanson into a raging punk rock riot which inspired every other Yugoslavian punk/rock band to put the song on their playlists.
Pekinška Patka are still regarded as legendary and even though they didn't invent Serbian punk, they were the masters of the genre.
http://www.popboks.com/ writes: "Even with only three published singles and two albums, Pekinska patka ("Beijing Duck") still is one of the crucial parts of Yugoslavian (Serbian) punk heritage, the leaders of the so-called New Wave of the 80’s, and the first punk band in the Balkans. They have been remembered to this day by their incisive and melodic punk rock sound. With their performances just two years after the punk revolution in Great Britain, they shocked the Yugoslavian public, caused infuriated reactions and were worshiped among a whole generation of Yugoslavian youth. The band may not exist anymore, but the rebellious sound of Pekinska patka still echoes today".

Their version was released on a 7" and LP Plitka Poezija (Jugoton, 1980)
Bila je…. can also be found on the cult LP Bloodstains across Yugoslavia a compilation LP from a series of Punk LP's that featured Bloodstains from all over the world)

Dragan Stojnić - Bila je tako lijepa
- (EP: RTB 50289, 1965)
Pekinška Patka - Bila je tako lijepa
- (7"Jugoton SY 23756, 1981)

Dragan Stojnić's version can be found on the CD Bila je tako lijepa which is available from yu4you, they also stock the CD Pekinška Patka collecting most recordings by the band.
You can read more about Pekinška Patka at a MySpace dedicated to them.
Other versions of the song were recorded by Sove (Rap), Mirzino Jato, Bojan Kodrić, Stevan Zarić, Zeljko Samardzić, Hladno Pivo (Croatian) and more?...


You can find Yugoslavian 60's girl pop band Sanjalice in this Eurocovers post.

Really Famous People Doing Volare (1) - Ella Fitzgerald

A new occasional series for Eurocovers. Artists that need no introduction having their way with the Classic of all Classics still heard in pizzeria's and concert halls around the world, Dominico Modugno's Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, also known as Volare, the 1958 San Remo Winner, Eurovision loser and the best selling, most covered, only grammy winning Eurovision song ever.
If there's any 'Volare' aficionado's out there (I know there are) I'd like to get in contact, exchange information, compare lists, write a book...


Ella Fitzgerald's Volare can be found on EP Volare (Verve) and also on LP 1964 Hello Dolly.

The LP Hello Dolly was re-issued on CD in 2005 and is avalable from your local shop and the usual Amazons and CD-ONs.

Recommended: The Ella Fitzgerald Homepage




Other Eurocovers posts featuring Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare):
G4 and Pavarotti - Juliette Gréco - Mino (Lithuania)

Another Eurocovers album: Star Sisters from Estonia

Another album stuffed with Eurovision coverversions was just released in Estonia.
The album is titled Star Sisters and features Meribel Müürsepp (pictured below) , Elina Toompuu, Ketlin Hoel and Elina Eilonen.
Müürsepp's own national final song Mr. Right (2006) opens the album in its previously unreleased Estonian version and then nine Eurovision covers follow.
Three of them are versions of Estonian entries that have so far only been recorded in English, but now got the Estonian makeover. The other six tracks are some of the Eurovision greats like France Gall's Gainsbourg classic Poupee de cire, poupee de son, Teach In's Ding A Dong and ABBA's Waterloo. All tracks are sung in Estonian.
Tracklist Star Sisters CD:
1. Mr.Right - Meribel Müürsepp (Estonian version of 2006 Preselection song)
2. Tähevalguse tee - Elina Toompuu (Runaway - Sahlene - Estonia 2002)
3. Et oleks rahu - Meribel Müürsepp (Ein bisschen Frieden - Nicole - Germany 1982)
4. Diggi-Loo Diggy-Ley - Ketlin Hoel (Herreys - Sweden 1984)
5. Säde mu silmis - Elina Toompuu (Once in a lifetime - Ines - Estonia 2000)
6. Õnnesoovid - Meribel Müürsepp (Congratulations - Cliff Richard - UK 1968)
7. Mu päiksepoolne aken - Elina Toompuu (Through my window - Sandra Oxenryd - Estonia 2006)
8. Vahanukk - Meribel Müürsepp (Poupee de cire… - France gall - Luxembourg 1965)
9. Ding a dong - Elina Eilonen (Teach In - Netherlands 1975)
10. Waterloo - Meribel Müürsepp (Abba - Sweden 1974)

The album is available at a snip at CDMarket, a shop from Estonia I personally have good experiences with.
They also stock the must have CD Unustamatu Eurovision, a compilation of Eurovision covers recorded in the 60's and 70's in Estonia. (The CD was released in 2002).

P.S.: Blog TipThe El Rincón Del 45 (The 45's corner) blog features a Miguel Ramos EP with Eurocovers from 1968 and a Vladimir Zaroff single from 1969.