r.i.p.

looking at wikipedia i just noticed that al wilson died yesterday at the age of 68. actually i don't know too much about him, his life and his music - but i discovered his song "the snake" recently which i find very cool. especially the lyrics are a break from the norm - at least when it comes to soul music.

the lyrics go like this:

On her way to work one morning
Down the path along side the lake
A tender hearted woman saw a poor half frozen snake
His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew
"Oh well," she cried, "I'll take you in and I'll take care of you"
"Take me in oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in oh tender woman," sighed the snake

She wrapped him up all cozy in a curvature of silk
And then laid him by the fireside with some honey and some milk
Now she hurried home from workthat night as soon as she arrived
She found that pretty snake she'd taking in had been revived
"Take me in, oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in oh tender woman," sighed the snake

Now she clutched him to her bosom, "You're so beautiful," she cried
"But if I hadn't brought you in by now you might have died"
Now she stroked his pretty skin and then she kissed and held him tight
But instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite
"Take me in, oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in oh tender woman," sighed the snake

"I saved you," cried that woman
"And you've bit me even, why?
You know your bite is poisonous and now I'm going to die"
"Oh shut up, silly woman," said the reptile with a grin
"You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in
"Take me in, oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in oh tender woman," sighed the snake

listen:
al wilson - the snake (1968)

nora brockstedt week (day 3)

it's the third day in the nora brockstedt week - and this time it's getting a little more classical with an english languaged song. "a-tisket a-tasket" originally was a nursery rhyme from the 19th century and then was developed into a pop song in 1938 by al feldman and ella fitzgerald. according to wikipedia the ella fitzgerald recording even made it into the grammy hall of fame in 1986.

nora brockstedt recorded her version (which is also sung in english) for a swedish ep in 1957. i actually found it on a kind of private compilation called "female audioprozac" put together by blogger doctor superhelga in late 2006. the whole album is still available for download and highly recommended as the title really keeps its promise.

song:
nora brockstedt - a-tisket a-tasket (1957)

nora brockstedt week (day 1)

famous norwegian singer nora brockstedt will turn 85 this week - and in her honour you will find a big birthday special right here. from now until sunday (which is her birthday) you'll get at least one song a day.

but first you get a few facts about her life that i (who does not speak norwegian) was able to collect:

nora brockstedt, born nora berg on 20 January 1923, started her career back in 1942 in a prestigious oslo variete called chat noir. inspired by jazz and blues singers like ella fitzgerald and billie holliday she became one of the most successful artists in norway over the next 20 years, both as a solo artist and as a member of the pop group the monn keys. back then she did not only sing in norwegian but also in swedish, english and even icelandic. in 1960 and 1961 she represented norway at the eurovision song contest and during the 1960s she recorded a big bunch of pop and jazz songs, some translated versions of international hits and also quite a few children songs.

i don't know what she's been doing between the 1970s and 1990s - but in 2004 and 2005 she released two new albums. "as time goes by" includes jazz standards like "he's funny that way", "ain't misbehavin'" or "i get a kick out of you", the other album is a christmas record. she still performs live (at least she did only short time ago) - and judging by the most current pictures i guess everyone would love to have her as a grandmother. jan eggum, a famous norwegian singer who's been working on a norwegian music lexicon, calls her "the greatest norwegian pop music artist of all time".

personally i just love nora brockstedt's voice. it's not as big and full like ella fitzgerald's voice but it's still quite special and unique as it reflects so many different facettes. it sounds innocent and mature at the same time, happy and melancholic. even when nora brockstedt was already beyond her 40th birthday she could make you believe she was a young girl. and even though she did not always pick the coolest songs on earth you can tell by her repertoire that the lady's got taste.

the first song here is also her best known i think. it's her 1960 eurovision entry called "voi voi" which marked norway's debut at the eurovision song contest and became fourth. it's not a milestone of deepness but a pleasant little singalong which can put a smile on your face.

nora brockstedt not only recorded it in norwegian but also in swedish and english the same year, later she re-recorded it with bjelleklang and most recently there was a cover (or a song with an extended sample) by norwegian rap outfit the superstars. besides that i know about a different norwegian version by inger jacobsen and a finnish one by brita koivunen. but right now we'll leave it with the nora-versions. here we go...

songs:
nora brockstedt - voi voi (1960)
nora brockstedt - voi voi (swedish version, 1960)
nora brockstedt - big boy (english version, 1960)
bjelleklang feat. nora brockstedt - voi voi (2006)
superstars feat. nora brockstedt - voi voi (2005?)

knowledge:
"voi voi" lyrics (with english translation)
wikipedia
a detailed article @ mic.no (in norwegian)

videos:
"voi voi" live at the eurovision song contest
superstars feat nora brockstedt - voi voi

buy:
double cd @ enjoy.no
downloads @ musicfromnorway.com
downloads @ musikkonline.no

barry sisters

i discovered the barry sisters a few months ago - and ever since then i've been fascinated with their power and passion.

starting as the bagelman sisters they soon changed their name to barry sisters (they also changed their first names from clara and minnie to claire and myrna) and gained some notable success from the 1940s to the 1960s with yiddish and english swing songs. according to the yiddish radio project they were considered the "yiddish answer to the andrews sisters".

wikipedia states that they made appearances in the ed sullivan show and even toured the soviet union in 1959. sadly myrna already died in 1976 - but claire still performs live. if i get it right you can book her over here (though the picture seems to be a little aged...).

personally i think their yiddish stuff is more amazing (maybe because it's more "exotic") - but there is at least one english song i absolutely fell in love with too. so i thought it might be best to have one english and one yiddish track to give a better overview.

unfortunately it seems to be pretty impossible to find out which years these recordings are from - and the spellings of the yiddish song titles often vary as they are transcripted from the hebrew alphabet. so "rumania" can also be found as "rumeine", "romanya" etc.
and last but not least: there is another group called the barry sisters - but they are from australia and sound pretty much different.

now: fasten seatbelts and...

songs:
barry sisters - rumania rumania
barry sisters - cha-cha joe

knowledge:
freedman catalog (discography)
second hand songs (incomplete list of cover songs)

videos:
youtube

buy @
israel music
amazon.com