1966 Dio Come Ti Amo - Cabaret Short Circuit

I don't think it happened before: I just received a new CD and while enjoying the virgin listening out of nowhere an intriguing Eurocover pops up.The CD in question is Disastro by Sonny J. which I bought because I totally love Handsfree (If You Hold My Hand).
Handsfree is a sampladelic reworking of Donna Hightower's* If You Hold My Hand.
I didn't suspect anything reading the tracklist, but track 4, Cabaret Short Circuit is a reworking of Jack Jones' fantastic live version of Oh How Much I Love You, which is Dio Come Ti Amo, only one of my favorite Eurovision songs and a honorable member of the Gallery Of Most Covered Eurovision Songs. And it's written by Mr. Volare: Domenico Modugno.
Sonny J. speeds up Jack Jones's version, adds the necessary crackle and umph and makes a nice use of Jones talking bits.
Of course all you Captain Stubing fans know Jack Jones of the Theme From Love Boat !
-

Oh how Much I love You by handsome Jack was originally released in 1967 as a b-side of Don't Give Our Love Away (Kapp K880) and on his LP Our Song (Kapp 3531) .
The live version used on Cabaret Short Circuit is from the 1970 LP Jack Jones In Person, Live At The Sands (RCA SF 8149 , 1970, & Laserlight CD reissue, 1993)



Sonny J.'s excellent Disastro album is available at a record shop near you or your PC. Highly recommended if you like cut'n'paste dance - pop genuis. I know I do.


-
Sonny J. Myspace & Sonny J. Homepage and Sonny J TV (all the videos)
Jack Jones Official Site - Jack Jones Studio Audio at Youtube
Mike Patton's live version of Dio Come Ti Amo is in this Eurocovers Post
The 10.000 coverversions post about Dio Come Ti Amo is here and in this post there's a version by Angolan Duo Ouro Negro.


* I think Donna Hightower had a go at the Spanish preselection for Eurovision in the 70's, but my mind is blank about that just now. Her best known hit is This World Today Is A Mess from 1972 (and a hit in 1974).

ANOTHER ONE
Another new(ish) version of Dio Come Ti Amo was recorded by Tereza (Kesovija), Croatian singer who entered Eurovision in 1964 for Monaco (Bien Plus Fort) and for Yugoslavia in 1972 (Muzika I Ti).
Her CD Zaustavi Vrijeme from 2007 includes a Croatian version of the song titled Bože, Kako Te Volim. (Youtube)

Introduction to music of Ex-Yu & Croatia
Which brings me to another recommended read. Sasha has a new Rate Your Music site where you can find out about the most important Yugoslavian artists from the past 50 years.

You can find an 'Introduction to music of Ex-Yu & Croatia' here. It's written in English.

10.000: # 9 - Dio come ti amo - Domenico Modugno (1966)

In the previous post you can read all about the 10.000 coverversions project and the Eurocovers top 10, here's another look at some of my favorite versions of the most covered Eurovision songs of all time.
-
# 9 - Dio come ti amo - Domenico Modugno
- 168 versions listed
-All (3) Eurovision entries performed by Domenico Modugno in Eurovision are in the top 10 of most covered Eurovision songs.
At # 9 it's Dio Come Ti Amo, winner of the 1966 San Remo and 17th in the Eurovision Song Contest with zero poing. Another Italian entry that was robbed, failing to make an impression on the juries but proving it's longevity by becoming a standard recorded by everyone and their mother since.

At San Remo the song was also performed by the Italian goddess Gigliola Cinquetti, who sings my favorite version of the lot. She recorded the song in Italian, French, German*, Spanish and Japanese.
In total I have found details on versions in nine languages so far.
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Other Eurovision stars that have recorded Dio Come Ti Amo are Betty Curtis, Iva Zanicchi, José Guardiola, Seija Simola, Jaime Morey and Salomé.
The most famous singer to record the song is Dame Shirley Bassey whose haunting version "Oh how much I love you" can be found on her albums Keep the music playing (1991) and Power Of Love (2001).
And here's a live version by Mondo Cane, Mike Patton of Faith No More fame's new project. A release of an album with Italian standards is planned for 2008.

Like # 10, Dio Come Ti Amo also has a big Japanese following but the most versions of the song were recorded in Brasil, including several that have been recorded in recent years.
I love the retro version by Karine Alexandrino (CD Querem acabar comigo, Roberto?, 2004) and the arty version (a.k.a. interpretation) by Ná Ozetti (CD Ná Ozzetti, 1988). Most Brazilian versions have been recorded in Italian with just a handful in Portuguese.
As a bonus there's a cheesy singing saw version (is it a Theremin?) by The Magnetic Sounds, who are in fact Os Carbonos, also from Brasil.

Release details on these and the other versions I know of can be found in this word.doc. Including details on Modugno's own versions as found in the Eurovision Collectors Guide.


*LOOKING FOR
Of the Gigliola Cinquetti versions I'm still looking for the German version Ich Lieb Dich Immer Mehr.

Domenico Modugno at BeaRecords

Vega: Oh My Dio, it's Elvis!

Dio Come Ti Amo, frequent Eurocovers readers know that it's one of my favorite Eurovision songs.
Here's a new version that has a really famous person featuring.

Vega is a Spanish singer who recorded 5 albums in Spanish since 2003. Her new album, Non Ho L'eta, is in Italian and features 11 classic Italian tunes including three Eurovision entries. (see detailed tracklist)

For her Dio Come Ti Amo she get's a little help from non other than Elvis Costello.
Dio is the third (digital) single from the album.
The album was released in March on LP (!), Cassette (!!), CD and digital through La Madriguera Records / Subterfuge Records.

Before you buy you can listen to all the songs at Vega's Youtube channel. (see links and sources below)

Oh, before i forget, it's fab!
(I'm not a very good reviewer, but after Dio you should check out the video for Ma Che Freddo Fa)

Non Ho L'Eta - Vega tracklist

1.   Ma Che Freddo Fa

- Sanremo 1969 - Nada and the Rokes

2.   Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)

- Sanremo and Eurovision 1958 - Domenico Modugno

3.   Dio Come Ti Amo - ft Elvis Costello

- Sanremo and Eurovision 1966 - Domenico Modugno, Gigliola Cinquetti

the LP!

4.   Centro Di Gravitá Permanente

- Franco Battiato (1981)

5.   Cittá Vuota

- Mina (1963)

6.   L'Appuntamento

- 1970, originally by Roberto and Erasmo Carlos, Ornella Vanoni recorded an Italian version in 1970.

the Cassette!! / MC / K7

7.   Tu Vuó Fa L'Americano

- 1956 song by Renato Corasone and re-introduced to the dancing audience by Australian DJ’s Yolanda B. Cool as We No Speak Americano (2010)

8.   Non Ho L'Eta

- 1964 Sanremo and Eurovision winner by Gigliola Cinquetti

9.   Se Bruciasse La Cittá

- 1969 single for Massimo Ranieri

10. Azzurro

- An international hit for Adriano Celentano in 1968. Written by Paolo Conto who recorded it in 1985

11. Il Mondo

- 1965 hit for Jimmy Fontana

                                                                                             

Links and sources
Vega Website, facebook, Youtube channel
Spanish people can buy it at Fnac, other will have to work harder, make Spanish friends or get it at e-bay. Digital is available worldwide.
Discover more Eurocovers posts with Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu), Dio Come Ti Amo and Non Ho L'eta 

the CD

Diamonds Are Forever

This week legendary Welsh songstress Shirley Bassey releases her final album I Owe It All To You. A modestly titled album (and song) thanking her fans for their loyalty over the years. The album has new songs, a few coverversions and some old personal favorites of Shirley reimagined.

In the back of my mind I always knew Goldfinger, Big Spender and Diamonds Are Forever but the first Shirley Bassey record that made a real impact on me was the 1978 disco version of This Is My Life (La Vita). She originally performed that song, also performed by Elio Gandolfi, in the 1968 SanRemo contest but it didn’t make it to the final. Below is the wonderful 1968 SanRemo performance.

To be fair, I wasn’t a massive fanboy at the time, but I learned to love her later. In the 80’s and 90's (second hand bought) singles started piling up to the point she got her own section in my record collection. (An honour not bestowed on many)
I was overjoyed when I found the Italian single with Diamonds Are Forever sung in Italian (Vivo Di Diamanti).
I was stunned by her cooperation with Yello (The Rhythm Divine) and adored her Propellerheads hit History Repeating*. And, no surprise, I also love The Performance from 2010 with new songs by cool people like Rufus Wainwright, The Manics, Gary Barlow and the Pet Shop Boys.

There’s no Eurovision tune on the new album, so here’s the videoclip of the only Eurovision song she covered, Dio Come Ti Amo (Italy 1966, Domenico Modugno).

Dio Come Ti-Amo (Oh God How Much I Love You) was first released in 1991 on the album Keep The Music Playing. On the original LP release Modugno is credited as D. Medunidoleo.
She also recorded another Modugno song Chi Si Vuol Bene Come Noi..., a 1968 single for Bassey sung in Italian.
Shirley Bassey recorded several songs from the Great Italian Songbook so there may be some more SanRemo covers in there, I don’t know (do you?).

Update: Jezahel from her 1972 LP And I Love You So was a SanRemo entry for Delirium (as Jesahel), finishing 6th).

Another Eurovision legend, Udo Jürgens, also supplied Bassey with (at least) two songs.
Reach For The Stars from 1961 (originally Woher Ich Auch Komm’) with English lyrics by Norman Newell**.
If I Never Sing Another Song (or. Illusionen by Alexandra, 1967 and Udo Jürgens himself, 1974) was recorded by Shirley Bassey in 1976. You can find a nice article (and lovely pics) about Udo meeting Shirley here at the Shirley Bassey Blog.

* Jamala, Eurovision 1944, also did that one, on her album For Every Heart. (video)
** Trivia alert: Norman Newell wrote the English part of the lyrics to the 1963 Swiss entry Vielleicht Geschieht Ein Wunder by Carmela Corren which was performed in German and English at the contest (and on record).

 

Shirley Bassey website
Shirley Bassey facebook
The Shirley Bassey Blog
I Owe It All To You is released on November 6 on CD, deluxe CD (with book but no extra tracks) and digital. (Shopping)

More Eurocovers posts about Dio Come Ti Amo include Elvis & Vega, Verdelle Smith, Perla, Sonny J., and the 10000 coverversions project #9.

007 approves, R.I.P. Sean Connery

 

Perla Paraguaya do Brasil, A Eterna Pequenina

A 2008 Eurocovers post updated here and there with new links etc.

Brasil, Brazil, a famous one point song from the 1991 contest (Bebi Dol - Yugoslavia) but also the country with more Eurocovers recorded than any other non-Eurovision country.
I don't want to sell Football short, but music is probably the cornerstone of Brasilian life.
So it's not surprising that many Eurovision songs have found their way to Brasilian singers. From the first contest in 1956 (with at least 3 songs covered in Brasil) to well into the 70's Eurovision songs have been covered by artists from the home of Samba.
About every Italian entry, most of the songs from the U.K. and many of the winners and hits from other countries. Only Portuguese songs seem a bit underrepresented.

So here's a bit of Brasilian Pop History, mixed with a bit of Paraguay and a touch of Sweden and of course Eurovision songs.

Perla was born Ermelinda Pedroso Rodriguez d'Almeida in 1952. She was raised in a musical family in Caacupé, Paraguay but she left the family in the early 70's and headed to Rio where she started performing and was soon welcomed as an international attraction.
Appearances on popular TV shows got her a record deal soon and she released her first LP Perla* in 1972 with mainly Spanish language evergreens.

The first LP was in Spanish but her second album titled Perla was released in both a Portuguese language version and a Spanish language version, catering for the complete latin American market. It includes the first Eurovision cover, but I'll get to that later. It also includes her first hit Estrada do Sol.
Her 1976 album Palavras De Amor was also recorded in two languages and it includes what was probably her biggest hit Fernando, of ABBA fame.

Productive Perla released an album every year from 1975 to 1982 and sometimes even two, and the ABBA cover formula worked well for her. Chiquitita for example was another of her top hits as Pequenina. Later on she occasionally released an album, often sponsored by her fan club.
Most of her early songs are coverversions of popular hits and her popular ABBA covers were all re-issued on a 2002 CD 50 Perla Canta ABBA E Outros Hits (in Portuguese). Her version of S.O.S.: Paz De Um Grande Amor is as melancholy as the original and one of the best ABBA covers ever recorded (IMHO of course).

An extended version of the Canta ABBA album (also including Livre, see below) is on Spotify and other digital sources. 
Perla's more recent work is Perla, Nossas Canções from 2002 (Spanish version Perla, Nuestras Canciones was released in 2003)

PERLA EUROCOVERS
Italy 1966 - Dio Come Ti Amo
You may think Eurocovers is overdoing it a bit with this one, but it's Perla's first Eurocover recorded in 1975, so it's here. It's also the most covered Eurovision entry by Brasilian artists with almost half of the covers I know of it coming from Brasil.
Perla recorded three versions:
Deus Come Te Amo (Portuguese)
- on EP Perla (RCA 1010143, 1976) and LP Perla (RCA - 1030152, 1975)
Dios Como Te Amo (Spanish)
- on LP Perla en Espanol (RCA - 9910393, 1975)
Dio Come Ti Amo (Italian, recorded in 1999)
- on CD Especialmente Para Você (Brasidisc BRCD 1005, 1999) (also on digitalia)

Italy 1977 - Libera (Mia Martini)
A disco era Eurovision song that doesn't have many covers to its name, but Perla takes care of two.
Livre (Portuguese)
- on LP Perla (RCA 1030219, 1977) (song also on digitalia)
Libre (Spanish)
- on LP Perla, Para Los Que Han Amado (RCA 99111319)

United Kingdom 1978 - Bad Old Days (Coco)
Meu Querido Pai (Portuguese)
- On LP Perla (RCA 103.0266, 1978)
Viejo Papa (Spanish)

- on LP Perla* (RCA Victor ILP 015 (Bolivia) & RCA 1836 (Venezuela)

Israel 1979 - Hallelujah (Milk and Honey, 1979 winner)
Alegria (Portuguese)
- on LP Pequenina (RCA Victor 1030309, 1979)

* As you may have noticed, several (different) LP's are just called Perla

Links and Sources:

Perla Paraguaya official Facebook

Perla, A Eterna Pequenina is a biography from 2021 by Marinaldo Da Sila E Silva (in Portuguese)

  Perla website - This site has an extensive discography and also Perla CDs for sale. And of course pictures, lyrics and videos.
Clique Brasil and Special Thanks to João.

In previous Brasil posts you can find Puppet On A Strings and Eurocovers by My New Favorite singer Leny Eversong.

Addio, Addio, Addio

Eurocovers was never intended to be a memorial blog for the great and the forgotten singers who have a Eurovision link, but sometimes I feel it appropriate to take a moment for the departed and share my view on their achievements on the Eurocovers front. Call it morbid fascination, it's only meant as a little respect.

Alberto Testa (1927-2009)
Brasil born Italian wordsmith Alberto Testa is one of the most prolific lyricists of popular Italian music in the last century. He wrote the lyrics to over 1500 songs, including many Italian evergreens.
He started writing lyrics in the early 50's and when he teamed up with well known songwriters like Pino Calvi and Alberto Rossi he soon ventured into Sanremo territory.
He wrote the words to early Sanremo classics like Il Cantico Del Cielo (Tonina Torrielli), Un Sogno Di Cristallo (Carla Boni, see below) and È mezzanotte (Joe Sentieri).

Uno Per Tutte
Two Sanremo winners are from Testo's hand. Uno Per Tutte from 1963 (Written with Mogol, music by Tony Renis, sung by Tony Renis and by Emilio Pericoli) and Non Pensare A Me from 1967 (Music by Eros Sciorilli, sung at Sanremo Claudio Villa / Iva Zanicchi)
Emilio Pericoli took Uno Per Tutte to the Eurovision Song Contest and ended 3rd.
In 1967 Non Pensare A Me was the Italian Eurovision entry to be (for Claudio Villa) , but it was replaced by Non Andare Piu Lontano at the rehearsing stage. (see this Eurocovers post).
The replacement song ended 11th and was more or less forgotten. Non Pensare A Me became one of those much covered Italian classics.

The best known song internationally to come from Alberto Testo's hand is probably Quando Quando Quando 4th in the 1962 Sanremo, but again, a much covered international hit.
Uno Per Tutte was covered many times in several languages.



Also check out http://www.albertotesta.net/ where you can find details on many of his songs.


Carla Boni (1925-2009)Italy also had to say their addio's to Carla Boni this week. Carla Boni entered the Sanremo contest many times in the 50's and won in 1953 with Viale D'Autunno which was also sung by Flo Sandon's (See here at Eurocovers).

Carla Boni's first success was an Italian version of Johnny Guitar and she scored over 20 hits in the Italian charts of the 50's. Mambo Italiano and Casetta in Canada (Sanremo 1957, with frequent singing partner Gino Latilla) were her biggest hits.
In 1959 Carla Boni recorded Un Poco, an Italian coverversion of the Eurovision winner 'N Beetje (Teddy Scholten, Netherlands) and the runner up of the same year Sing Little Birdie (Canta Uccello) as a duet with Gino Latilla. Both songs were released on one single. (Cetra SP 504), Un Poco was also released on other singles and EP (pic left).


Luis Aguilé (1936-2009)
A third goodbye is for Argentinian singer and entertainer Luis Aguilé. He died two weeks ago at 73.
He was a popular singer in his home country but also made the crossover to Spain in 1963, where he was a much loved singer and TV personality. His best know songs are Juanita Banana and Cuando Sali De Cuba, a song that became an anthem to people who fled Cuba.
Luis Aguilé recorded Spanish language versions of the 1958 and 1959 Italian Eurovision entries by Domenico Modugno.

In the 70's he re-recorded both songs in Italian.
Luis Aguilé discography at Rockola Argentina



New release: Paola Turci
Also some happy news from Italy. Celebrated Sanremo singer Paola Turci has just released her new album Attraversami Il Cuore.
It includes a new coverversion of Dio Come Ti Amo, the 1966 Italian entry by Domenico Modugno.
The album (out on Universal) is produced by Francesco Barbaro and is available through most webshops, digital & physical.
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http://www.paolaturci.it/ has more info.

Eurocovers loves Dio Come Ti Amo here, here, here, and here -


Please note: If you use the latest IE explorer, all the links on the sidebar to the right (archives, friends sites) may have moved to the bottom of the page)

Sanremo 65 - Tutte Le Vincitrici

Sanremo is 68 by now, but I just noticed this 4CD album with coverversions of all 65 winners from 1951 up to 2015 of the Mother Of All Songcontests, the Festival Della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo.

The first Sanremo festival was in 1951 and Nilla Pizzi won with Grazie Dei Fior.
Sanremo quickly became a successful stage for Italian singers and songwriters.
The Eurovision Song Contest which premiered in 1956 was modelled on the Italian music spectacular.
The Sanremo festival became closely connected to Eurovision straight away: The winner of Sanremo went on to be the Italian Eurovision entry from 1956 to 1966.

In 1967 things changed. Sanremo winner Non Pensare A Me by Claudio Villa was disqualified because the new Eurovision regulations ruled the song had been released too early. It was replaced by Non Andare Piu' Lontano after the Eurovision rehearsals started.
After that the actual Sanremo winner only went to Eurovision on four occasions.
Sometimes the Sanremo winning artists would pick another song or someone who ended lower on the Sanremo table represent Italy in Europe. In the 70's and 80's the Eurovision choice was often Sanremo unrelated.

To celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Sanremo contest a 4CD was released by Azzurra Music in 2016. It includes all Sanremo winners recorded by new, young and upcoming artists. 15 of the 65 songs are Eurovision entries.
The 4CD is still available at Azzurra Music, but for you digital youngsters, it's also available through your favorite mp3 outlets, or if you're broke, Spotify.

These are the Eurovision songs on the Sanremo 65 Tutte Le Vincitrici 4CD:
(For the full tracklist see picture below)
Year     Title  - original artist - artist on the Sanremo 65 4CD

1956 Aprite le finestre - Franca Raimondi - Serena Carpi

1957 Corde della mia chitarra - Nunzio Gallo - Marco Tascone
1958 Nel blu dipinto di blu - Domenico Modugno - Swinger Twinger
1959 Piove (Ciao ciao bambina) - Domenico Modugno - Blues Coffee Trio ft Teresa
1960 Romantica - Renato Rascel - Animarma ft. Eniko
1961 Al di là - Betty Curtis - Carlotta ft. Olly Vincent
1962 Addio... addio - Claudio Villa - Michael Vaiasinni
1963 Uno per tutte - Emilio Pericoli - Kabaré Voltaire
1964 Non ho l'età (Per amarti) - Gigliola Cinquetti - Francesca Beccaria
1965 Se piangi se ridi - Bobby Solo - Mercoledi Notte
1966 Dio come ti amo - Domenico Modugno - Luca Bui
1972 I giorni dell'arcobaleno - Nicola Di Bari - Errequatro

1997 Fiumi di parole - Jalisse - Ibrevidiverbi

2013 L’essenziale - Marco Mengoni - Proclama
2015 Grande amore - Il Volo - S.Ma.C.K (Stefania, Carlotta, Karol)

More at Eurocovers about: Aprite Le Finestre, Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, Piove, Romantica, Al Di La, Addio Addio,  Uno Per Tutte,  Non Ho L'eta,  Se Piangi Se Ridi, Dio Come Ti Amo.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Chile, Argentina, Mexico

The Year Of The Puppet takes us to all corners of the globe. Here's three versions of the song made by South American stars of the 60's.

Chile - Gloria Benavides - Marionetas en la cuerdaSinger and comedienne Gloria Benavides, born in 1952, was a child star rising in the early 60's, mainly with Spanish versions of worldwide hits like Norman (Sue Thompson) and Amor por teléfono (Telephone lover, Connie Francis). She was a part of La Nueva Ola Chilena, the generation of young rock'n'roll and pop stars of Chile in the 50's and 60's.

She made her actual radio debut at the age of three in the popular Uncle Alex Club (Club del Tio Alejandro).
Her teenager career was mainly musical, but she finally focussed more on acting and comedy, resulting in the mid 80's show 'La show de Gloria', a regular TV show with comedy and music. Benavides is still regarded as one of the biggest comedy stars of Chile.

Gloria Benavides also recorded No Tengo Edad Par Amar Te (Non Ho l'Eta, Italy's 1964 winner) and Primo O Poi from the 1965 San Remo contest (10th)


Violeta Rivas is a hugely popular singer in Argentina in the from the 60's to today.
You can read all about Violeta Rivas at her homepage (in Spanish)

Here is her Eurocovers Discography (all songs in Spanish)

Dios como te amo (Italy 1966, Dio come ti amo by Domenico Modugno)
- b-side to Ninguno me puede juzgar (RCA Victor 31A-084)
- EP Canciones del Festival de San Remo 1966 (RCA Victor)
with 4 San Remo 1966 songs
- also on LP with the same title with 12 San Remo 1966 songs (RCA Víctor AVL 3650)

Merci Cherie (Austria 1966 winner, original by Udo Jürgens)
- 7" single (RCA Victor 31A-0963)
- EP Sin Final (RCA Victor 3AE-3536)

Titere (U.K. 1967 Puppet On A String - Sandie Shaw)
- 7" single (RCA Victor 31A-1100)
- EP Kilimandjaro - (RCA Victor 3AE-3607)

Dios como te amo & Titere can be found 2004 compilation CD 20 Secretos de amor (BMG Argentina)


Mexico - Los Rockin Devil's - Muñeco de cuerdaLos Rockin Devil's were a rock band from Tijuana, Mexico, part of a huge wave of rock'n'roll bands that emerged in the 60's.
At the height of their fame they produced 2 LP's each year (1964-1969) on which they covered all the Rock 'n' roll classics in Spanish but also turned some Eurovision songs into fresh pop hits.

Los Devil's Eurocovers, all in Spanish

No tengo edad para amarte (Italy 1964 winner Non ho l'eta by Gigliola Cingquetti)
- on LP Los Rockin Devils (Orfeon 1964)
Muñeco de cuerda (Puppet on a string)
- on LP Nuevos Hit's de Los Rockin Devil's (Orfeon 1967)
Bum Bang A Bang - (Lulu's co-winner, UK 1969)
- on LP Los Nuevos hits de Los Rockin Devil's (Orfeon 1969)

Bio and Discography can be found on the Los Rockin Devil's website







The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.
Other versions already featured are from France, Singapore (Mandarin-Chinese), Jamaica. Yugoslavia, Estonia, U.K. (Comedy), Iceland, Lithuania, USA (Musical), Spain, Brasil, UK punk, Norway (gloom) Norway, Turkey, Portugal, Basque country Organland, Tirol, Denmark, CzechoSlovakia, Hungary, Russia, Yugoslavia (Slovenia) more to come....

Tar And Cement: Oh How Much I Love Verdelle Smith

I recently 'discovered' American 60's singer Verdelle Smith. Hadn't heard about her, but through my obsession with coverversions of Dio Come Ti Amo I stumbled upon her LP In My Room from 1966.
It includes her version of the Modugno/Cinquetti classic, titled Oh How Much I Love You.

After a bit of browsing I noticed she's qualified as a one hit wonder*, and the one hit is Tar And Cement.
Tar And Cement is a coverversion of Adriano Celentano's Il Ragazzo Della Via Gluck. The original song is from the 1966 Sanremo contest, and even though it didn't do very well there, it became one of Celentano's signature songs.
Where Verdelle Smith's version of Dio... is nice, Tar And Cement is a moving interpretation, and a wonderful piece of music history. I don't know if it's sacrilege to say, but she sometimes reminds me of Dusty Springfield.
Verdelle's Tar And Cement was a top 40 hit in the US, and even got to #1 in Australia.

The 2013 CD Tar And Cement: The Complete Recordings 1965-1967 (City Hall records, US) features both songs and Smith's take on some other classics like Catch A Falling Star (Perry Como, Francoise Hardy**), I Don't Need Anything (A minor hit for Sandie Shaw) and Autumn Leaves (Yves Montand).
Similar compilation CDs have been released earlier.

Both tracks and other Verdelle Smith songs are available through the Tunes and the likes, but you can already have a listen to the crackin' ol' records thanks to some tremendous Youtube people.

Oh How Much I Love You at Youtube
Tar And Cement at Youtube
Verdelle Smith is still around, but she hasn't been pursuing a career in pop since the 60's.

Tar And Cement was also recorded by Virginia Lee (South Africa), Joe Dolan (Ireland) and The Young Idea (ft Mott The Hooples Ian Hunter)

Anna-Lena Löfgren recorded it in Swedish (Youtube)

And here's a Finnish version I quite like, Asfalttia Ja Sementtia by Kari Kuuva.

* Actually a two hit wonder. Her first hit (Alone) In My Room was a US #62 in 1966.
** Hardy also recorded a version of Il Ragazzo... titled La Maison Où J'ai Grandi.

10.000: # 7 - Non Ho L'eta (Per Amarti) - Gigliola Cinquetti (1964)

Here's the # 7 most covered Eurovision song of all time. A close call between # 8 and # 7 in the top 10 of most covered Eurovision songs.

# 7
- Non Ho L'eta (Per Amarti)
- Gigliola Cinquetti

- 187 versions listed

Eurovision fans know 1964 is the 'Lost Contest'. Until today all footage of the contest seems lost except for a few fragments. Danish TV (the contest was in Copenhagen) destroyed all light entertainment archives in the late 60's because they were branded uncultural and not worth saving. And somehow all the other TV companies have displaced their copies too.

Before the Eurovision victory Gigliola Cinquetti won the San Remo contest with Non Ho L'eta (Per Amarti) (written by Mario Panzeri & Nicola Salerno) together with Patricia Carli. (from 1957 to 1967 all San Remo songs were performed by two artists).

It was the start of a formidable career for Gigliola Cinquetti in Europe but also in South America and Japan. Non Ho L'eta was her breakthrough hit and she returned to Eurovision in 1974 where she finished second (behind ABBA's Waterloo) with Si. In 1991 she had the daunting task to restrain Toto Cutugno, her co-host in the chaotic Eurovision song contest at Cinecitta.
You can find a superb worldwide Gigliola Cinquetti discography at Big Cobra's site.

Too Young To Love?Several local legends recorded the song but the only worldwide superstar I could find is Vera Lynn, Sweetheart of the forces (47 at the time). Her English version was released on a 1964 single. (This Is My Prayer HMV POP 1287, 1964) which has just been issued on CD for the first time on a 2CD 'Vera Lynn - Singles Collection'.

Eurovision stars that have recorded Non Ho L'eta are Sandra Reemer (when she was 14 years old), Karina (at 20), Alice & Ellen Kessler (both 28), Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann (29 & 42), Mrs Einstein (Combined age 300), José Guardiola , Micky and Raquel Rastenni.

伊東ゆかり- 夢見る想い
A word.doc with all versions (Cinquetti's and covers) listed is here. Versions in 20 languages are there including Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean.
One of the nine Japanese versions listed is sung by Yukari Ito - 伊東ゆかり who performed in the San Remo contest herself in 1965 with the wonderful L'amore ha i tuoi occhi.
HMV Japan stocks a nice compilation of Yukari Ito's hits including Non Ho L'eta and Dio come ti amo.

Тамара Миансарова - Дай помечтать мне
The Russian version Day pomechtat' mne featured here by Tamara Miansarova started out life as a Flexi-disc with the Krugozor magazine. (San-Remo-64 Krugozor 1964 N2 (12) - Flexi also has Cinquetti's own version. (CD pictured does not include this track)

조애희 -나이도 어린데
A Korean version was recorded by Jo Aehee - 조애희 in the 60's and there's a later re-recording too.
I don't have many details but I do know the first version was on a various artists LP with a title somewhat like this: 이금희,박재란 외 - 오아시스 하이라이트 (or....)

Elly Vilhjálms - Heyr mína bæn

The last version featured is by Ellý Vilhjálms (1935-1995) from Iceland.
Elly Vilhjálms was one of the most popular singers in Iceland in the 60's and 70's and she's still regarded as a national treasure. She earned her pedestal in the Icelandic music history gallery singing Jazz standards, Pop hits and national originals in Icelandic. A recommended CD compilation is Lítill fugl which includes Heyr mina bæn and Það er svo otal margt (A cover of All kinds of everything, Irelands 1970 winner)
The CD is available from various Icelandic CD shops and as a download from http://www.tonlist.is/ (English version is under construction though)

Vilhjálms Icelandic version has been covered at least three times, by Ína Valgerður, Paul Oscars sister Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) and by Ragnar Bjarnasson.

LOOKING FOR:
Actually I miss quite a few interesting versions of this song, most notably the one Tsin Ting (Jìng Tíng) 静婷- Aini Aini (Non ho l'eta) - Chinese on EP (Tae 142) from Hong Kong, probably sung in Mandarin.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Brasil

Brazil may be famous for the rainforests, caipirinha's and futeball magic, but most of all Brazil is the country with the most Eurovision cover versions to its name, without ever setting foot on the Eurovision stage.
Although they lost interest after the 70's, the amount of coverversions from the land of the Carnival far outnumbers any other. The selection is limited though, it mainly includes the songs from Italy, the U.K. and Udo Jürgens.
Domenico Modugno's entries 'Nel blu dipinti di blu' (Volare) and 'Dio come ti amo' seem the most popular of all, but also the late 60's British songs have been Brazilified by the Brazilian greats and less greats.
Puppet on a String is no exception and I know of five versions made in the land of Pelé.

Don't expect any exotic samba rhythms, the Brazilians surely knew Pop back in the 60's.



My favorite version is the one by Ed Carlos, at the time a child star, who's youthfull voice gives the song the innocent identity it never was supposed to have.
Katia Cilene, another Jovem Guarda star sticks closer to Sandie's original in both sound and looks.
Vocal group Os 3 Morais, three siblings of the Espírito Santo family, recorded the song for their first LP as Os 3 Morais. This also includes a version of Tell The Boys, the song that finished 2nd in Sandie Shaw's Song For Europe selection and that was Sandie's own favorite.

Discography of Brazilian Puppets:
All songs are titled Estou Feliz and are sung in Portuguese.
Ed Carlos - 7" (Fermata FB 33320)
- also on LP Ed Carlos (Fermata FB 209, pictured)
UPDATE Ed Carlos rerecorded the song in 1977 for an LP and EP (CBS) with his voice dropped a few octaves.
Katia Cilene - EP (CBS 33500)
Suzy Darlen - EP 'Oh Johnny' (Odeon 7 BD 1134)
João Luiz - EP (Polydor 555 008)
Os 3 Morais - LP 'Os 3 Morais' (Premier PRLP 1087)

I haven't heard the versions by Suzy Darlen or João Luiz and there may be more too.
Discographies of Brazilian young 60's artists - http://www.jovemguarda.com.br/

MySpace, Lenny Kuhr and more

MySpace YourSpace OuttaSpace
MySpace is brilliant. Sometimes a bit slow maybe, but brilliant.
I already mentioned a load of Volare covers featured on MySpace. But there's more, so I'll check out the ones I find of interest by the great known and even greater unknown on a probably not so regular basis and share some of my my findings here at Eurocovers.

The handsome fellow on the right is Aaron Caruso.
On his MySpace he sings some Italian classics in various styles, but the relaxed laid back style on Dio Come Ti Amo (Italy 1966 Domenico Modugno) fits him like his pants do.
The song can also be found on his 2003 debut CD Passione. I really love the flugelhorn in the intro too.

You can find out more about Aaron at his own website and buy his music (digital and cds) at CDBaby
Another sweet one that caught my ear is by Trio Los Hispanicos. (link restored 2011) Their MySpace features a coverversion of the Italian 1971 entry l'Amore È Un Attimo by Massimo Ranieri. It's in Spanish, titled Perdon Cariño Mio (track 4) and it only had 12 plays (most by me)!, can you believe that?
Trio Hispanicos are from Alamo, Texas and their Eurocover is a perfect melancholic Tex Mex ballad. Go check 'em out.
40 years De Troubadour tribute site.
Your Eurocovers celebrated the four 1969 winners in the 4 x 40 - Madrid 1969 series but now a new website has been launched with all you need to know (and more) about the Dutch co-winner De Troubadour.

It's created by the Official Lenny Kuhr fansite and they have done a marvellous job.
The work of love features many insights on Lenny Kuhr's adventures, the history of the song, discography, coverversions (yep) and many great pictures.

I love the Curiosa / Curiosities page with pictures from ads, postcards and even Lenny Kuhr cigar bands. And also the page about De Generaal / The General, the Lenny Kuhr tribute to Legendary Football Coach Rinus Michels is great.
And there's more, but you better check it out for yourselves.

The site is in Dutch, but with the Google Translator it works reasonably well in English and other languages.
Lenny Kuhr - De Troubadour tribute site (new link) and on this YouTube channel there are many Lenny Kuhr clips and performances.


Eurovision 2009 - The Moscow Collection
The Latest News At The Moscow Collection Blog:
Sweden: Melodifestivalen Charts, history and some other trivia
Netherlands: Website launched, listen to the new version, new cds.
France - Patricia Kaas - Kabaret CD info, tour info, new version
Georgia: Disco Inferno: EBU Rejects song, Georgia Out?.
Belgium: Copycat is here! Elvis fans not happy.
Ukraine: Svetlana Loboda to Moscow, Official Video
Romania: Elena Gheorghe Website launches
Cyprus - Radio version of Firefly available
Serbia, Slovakia, Russia, Estonia decided
Albania: Carry Me In Your Dreams