"In the Mood" for BOTB, and the Lost & Found - Valentine's Edition

Welcome to Battle of the Bands! (aka BOTB) and...

My battle features a song that reminds me of my first love, and partner in crime - my Grandfather! I have him to thank for my first introduction to music, and what a genre it was. I'm talking Big Band sound! Our favorite thing was dancing to all of the songs he played. Good stuff like, "Little Brown Jug," "Ja-da, Ja-da, Jing, Jing, Jing," and "Pennsylvania 6-5000." To the man who gave me music, and gave it abundantly - two versions of one of our favorite dance tunes... 'cause we were always, "In the Mood." 

Thank you to the "Lost & Found -Valentine's Edition Blogfest hosts: Arlee Bird, Guilie Castillo Oriard , Elizabeth Seckman, Yolanda Renee, Denise Covey, and Alex J Cavanaugh.  

NOW ~ let's do Battle of the Bands!!!  

Our hosts for Battle of the Bands:

Fae

Stephen T. McCarthy

Here's how we battle:

We feature two different recordings of the same song. Listen to both, and then vote for the song version you like the best.  Feel free to leave me a comment, along with your vote. 

Our battles take place twice a month ~ on the 1st and 15th. The results come six days later ~ on the 7th and 21st. That's when I return, add all of the votes, including mine, and announce the winner. Feel free to return and see if your choice won!

If you would like to listen, and vote in other battles, please see the participant list in the right hand margin. If you would like to join this bi-monthly blog-event, visit the blog host, Stephen T. McCarthy. Leave him a message, and your blog address. We would love to have you participate. 

Song Background:

Joseph Copeland "Joe" Garland was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and arranger, best known for writing "In the Mood".  The original recording of Joe Garland's version was made by Edgar Hayes and his Orchestra in 1938, with Garland participating. In this recording there was a baritone sax duet rather than a tenor sax battle. Garland then brought "In the Mood" to Glenn Miller, who created a shorter arrangement, in order to fit on the one side of a 78 rpm record. (Any flat disc record, made between about 1898 and the late 1950s and playing at a speed around 78 revolutions per minute is called a "78" by collectors.) Thanks to Wiki for the information. Today I bring you two fun versions of the song, "In the Mood". Let me know, in the comments which version you like the best. Thank you!

Today's battle challengers:

1 - Jeff Tyzik - In The Mood - 1981

2 - Shirin -  piano cover

Result post for "Easy Living"

Welcome to my BOTB Result post! Most of you had heard Uriah Heep's song, "Easy Living." I didn't place them in this battle, instead using two other artists' covers. It went pretty well. Though I thought early on that Alex Masi would take the battle, Shirley Zwerus took a number of votes, making it a decent battle. Here are the final votes:

Alex Masi @ 15 votes

Shirley Zwerus @ 10 votes

I purposely posted a little late to see if anyone else wanted to participate. I appreciate everyone for listening and leaving a vote.  I would also thank our event hosts:

FAE

Stephen T. McCarthy presents battle of the bands

Your interest in joining this blogging event would be most welcomed. Please go to Stephen T. McCarthy's blog, leave your name and blog link in the comment box!

Today I leave you with the original song by Uriah Heep... See you next time!

Battle Jan. 15th ~ Easy Living

WELCOME TO BATTLE OF THE BANDS!! aka, "BOTB".

A big shout out, and thank you to our music event hosts:

Far Away Series

Steven T. McCarthy

We feature two different recordings of the same song. Listen to both, and then vote for the song version you like the best.  Feel free to leave me a comment, along with your vote. 

Our battles take place twice a month ~ on the 1st and 15th. The results come six days later ~ on the 7th and 21st. That's when I return, add all of the votes, including mine, and announce the winner. Feel free to return and see if your choice won!

If you would like to listen, and vote in other battles, please see the participant list in the right hand margin. If you would like to join this bi-monthly blog-event, visit the blog host, Stephen T. McCarthy. Leave him a message, and your blog address. We would love to have you participate.

Today's battle will, most likely bring two challengers you don't know, however the song might be (!) Known by many. The song, "Easy Living" was a popular tune with heavy metal fans. The group that brought that song to light and the music charts was "Uriah Heep." Now you know some of the story.

My first challenger is a Dutch singer and pianist, born in 1946. I'm not sure if Uriah Heep band members were even born then. Shirley Zwerus began her career in Classical music, but her version may blow your mind. Ha! 

My second challenger is Alex Masi, an Italian guitarist, born in 1969. Uriah Heep released their album, with "Easy Living" on it, about the same time.

Okay ~ on with the show.

Result post for Jan. 1, 2016: We must say goodbye

2016's first result post, and "dcrelief" has a blowout! At first, I thought the only vote for Kim Chul's vocal would come from me... but no! Somehow two more votes came in, and I gotta say, I got excited.

Maybe I liked Chul's version more because I had watched the movie it came from. The movie ending is happy, and the song fits well. Ironically, Kim reminded me of Barry Manilow, and I'm sure he's not a big favorite.

The final tally:
Pianoheart @ 18 votes
Kim Chul    @   3 votes (including mine)

Thank you for participating in my battle. Looking forward to the Jan. 15th battle; I think most everyone will be back then!!

Thank you to our music event co-hosts: 

Fae @ Far Away Series

STMcC presents...

Your interest in joining this blogging event would be most welcomed. Please go to Stephen T. McCarthy's blog, leave your name and blog link in the comment box!

I'm leaving you with another version of this song. Another piano solo by Klafmann.

Jan. 1, 2016: "We Must Say Goodbye" (or kicking out 2015!!)

WELCOME TO 2016's BATTLE OF THE BANDS!! 

Hello and a 'rowdy howdy' to 2016... I hope it's better for all of us. First, I'd like to say 'thank you' to our blog event hosts... (yep, they've signed on for another round), Ha!

"FAE"

Stephen T. McCarthy

Also, 'thank you' to all BOTB participants and voters!!! Hope you'll hang with us this year!

We feature two different recordings of the same song. Listen to both, and then vote for the song version you like the best. Feel free to leave me a comment, along with your vote. Our battles take place twice a month ~ on the 1st and 15th. The results come six days later ~ on the 7th and 21st. That's when I return, add all of the votes, including mine, and announce the winner. Feel free to return and see if your choice won. 

If you would like to listen, and vote in other battles, please see the participant list in the right hand margin. If you would like to join this bi-monthly blog-event, visit the blog host, Stephen T. McCarthy. Leave him a message, and your blog address. We would love to have you participate.

I'm kicking off 2016 with something different; a movie soundtrack I totally love. Today we're visiting South Korea. Since we're saying goodbye to 2015, I thought it appropriate to introduce a song to send us along!

Today's song: "We Must Say Goodbye"

This song was written by a Hong Kong composer & singer, Kim Hyun Chul. This 46 year old from South Korea is a composer, actor, singer and loves skiing! His version was featured in the movie.

Movie Soundtrack Information: 

Il Mare, (venue: "time-transcending love") is a 2000 South Korean film, starring Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Jung-jae. The title, Il Mare, means "The Sea" in Italian, and is the name of the seaside house which is the setting of the story. The two protagonists both live there two years apart in time, but are able to communicate through a mysterious mailbox.

Warner Brothers acquired the rights for an American remake, titled The Lake House, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. It was released on June 16, 2006 and was co-produced by Sonny Mallhi, Amit Walia, and Chris Krapek. To reference the original movie, "Il Mare" was used as the restaurant's name where Kate and Alex are supposed to meet.

Today's challengers:  1- Kim Hyun Chul sings it in English with full orchestration. (There's a minor mistake on one line of lyrics.)

                                    2- "Pianoheart" - makes, produces and markets music in original arrangements and modern orchestra pieces. We are based in Finland and our international projects have already involved over 90 countries worldwide, including today's featured version, from Korea. This is a haunting solo instrumental. (There is no specific artist listed on this video or on the "Pianoheart" website.)

Which one will you choose... the vocal or the solo piano? Enjoy!

Results post of December 15th ~ Sing We Now of Christmas

Welcome to RESULTS DAY for Battle of the Bands!!

I am dc ~ relief, and my battle featured, "Sing We Now of Christmas." The piano arrangement of Damon Criswell, challenged the bell choir of Purdue University.

Up until the last day it seemed I had a decent blowout going. BUT - suddenly four votes including my vote, changed that tune.

Final Tally:

Damon Criswell - 9 votes
Purdue Bell Choir - 7 votes

Thank you for your participation! Let's not forget...  a very special Thank You to our event hosts:

Fae

STMcC presents

NEXT BATTLE DATE: January 1, 2016

Now here's the winner of this battle...

Dec. 15th ~ Sing We now of Christmas

WELCOME TO BATTLE OF THE BANDS!! aka, "BOTB".


A big shout out, and thank you to our blog hosts:

FAE

Stephen T. McCarthy

We feature two different recordings of the same song. Listen to both, and then vote for the song version you like the best.  Feel free to leave me a comment, along with your vote. 

Our battles take place twice a month ~ on the 1st and 15th. The results come six days later ~ on the 7th and 21st. That's when I return, add all of the votes, including mine, and announce the winner. Feel free to return and see if your choice won!

If you would like to listen, and vote in other battles, please see the participant list in the right hand margin. If you would like to join this bi-monthly blog-event, visit the blog host, Stephen T. McCarthy. Leave him a message, and your blog address. We would love to have you participate.

Please excuse my lateness in posting a battle. It was almost cancelled due to personal, ongoing issues. I won't take time to explain now... maybe later in the month... I have some decisions to make.

Meanwhile, I hope everyone will have a peaceful holiday!

"Sing we Now of Christmas." was written by Bernard de la Monnoye in 1957 in Burgundy, France. Today I will explore the world of musical instrumentals again. Here are my challengers:

1 - Damon Criswell : American composer for film and television. This link to see some of his work.

2  - Purdue University Bell Choir : The university tours with a large group of students. This group is responsible for the bells.

Thank you for stopping by to vote!