26/4/2013 10:55 pm  #1


An alternative ''Holiday In Europe''

Bing of course sang "standards" and songs introduced by others. Others sang songs which he introduced. But few would confuse the style or voice of Frank Sinatra or Dick Haymes with Bing.

They have diiferent styles, interpretations and voices, as well as orchestral treatments.

When we cross into other languages there is an additional dimension - both of language but frequently also of tradition in the very approach to song itself.

Bing recorded in several languages, particularly Spanish, and but also sang songs that had become popular in their original language in nterpretation. 

A particular case is on the album "Holiday In Europe" about which I have exchanged a thought or two with Anton. He has identified some of the original versions for me, and I have added a couple to his list.

To kick off here is one track of Bing's album - 





Anton wrote -

 
-"April in Portugal" is an English version of the Portuguese fado "Coimbra," very popular in Portugal in the beautiful voice of Alberto Ribeiro. Here is the original:



-"C'est Si Bon" is, of course, the French classic introduced by the great Yves Montand and subsequently sung by many different artists stateside, from Dino to Louis. Here is Montand's live version: 


 
-"Domenica" is an English version of "Domenica E' Sempre Domenica" ("Sunday Is Always Sunday"), an Italian classic, here sung by Claudio Villa:

And here, by Mario Riva:

There is also a version in Spanish by crooner Jose Guardiola, but I haven't been able to find a video with it.
 


I hope I have correctly identified some others - 

-"Never On Sunday" (Ta pedia tou Pirea) with Melina Mercouri from the film 



-"Morgen (One More Sunrise) here performed by Ivo Robic



-"Under Paris Skies (Sous le Ciel de Paris) again performed by Yves Montand 



-"Pigalle"  with Georges Ulmer - un "version française sur des immages du quartier et des personnes celebres qui y ont habitées"






whilst here we have "Melanc(h)olie" with one of the writers, Pierre Dudan from 1948. 



Of them all, this performance seems to me to differ most from Bing's as Pierre Dudan adopts a recitative approach, Bing giving greater emphasis to the melodic line. I had momentarily to check on the lyrics to ensure that the songs was indeed the correct version.

As for More and More Amore, though there are numerous versions, I cannot trace a copy of anything that might be the original and, for me at least, "Moment In Madrid" is a bit of a mystery, as also are "My Heart Still Hears The Music" and "Two Shadows On The Sand"  

Possibly others may be able to help. 

I found this quite an interesting exercise and I hope that some others might also find something to interest them in these interpretations.

 

28/4/2013 4:35 pm  #2


Re: An alternative ''Holiday In Europe''

Richard,

Thanks a lot for sharing my e-mail and videos with all forum members. It has always been an interest of mine to compare different versions of pop songs, find covers of American pop songs in other languages, and find the originals of foreign songs that were covered by American artists. Bing certainly sang several foreign pop songs in English (as other crooners did), and he did that particularly on this lesser-known but very interesting album, Holiday in Europe.

Thanks also for the other original versions of songs that you added to the post, some of which I had never heard before. I have been doing a little research on those that you mention for which you haven't been able to track down any original versions, and I must admit that it has been quite difficult. "My Heart Still Hears the Music" remains a mystery to me, and I haven't been able to find any information on it. There is a song called "Moment in Madrid" that jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader does on his album Concert on Campus that doesn't seem to be the same tune. However, the Bob Thompson Orchestra does a version of "Moment in Madrid" that is the same song that Bing included in Holiday in Europe. However, although I've been able to listen to the song on Spotify (the album is called The Sound of Style), I haven't found a video with it to share here. Thompson's is a fine instrumental version with some good-sounding brass, but I don't know if he recorded it before or after Bing, and I am not sure if it's originally a Spanish song or not.

"Two Shadows on the Sand" is a Hawaiian classic by the renowned Hawaiian singer Alfred Aholo Apaka, a crooner with a beautiful voice who had a very short but influential career. In his Musical Autobiography, Bing talks about his love for Hawaiian music, a style that he cultivated quite a bit, so it is not impossible that he had heard of artists like Apaka or Andy Iona. Apaka passed away in 1960, so his version of the song certainly predates Bing's. Unfortunately, although I have been able to listen to it on Spotify, yet again I haven't found a video with the song. I have, however, found this video of Apaka singing the great "Beyond the Reef," a Hawaiian classic that I knew in the voices of Bing and Elvis Presley. Here it is:




As for the song itself, the best I can offer is this version by another great Hawaiian artist, songstress Mikilani Fo, who recorded "Two Shadows on the Sand" sometime in the 1950s. Here's her version, and what a beautiful voice she had!!!


Last edited by Anton G.-F. (28/4/2013 5:20 pm)

 

29/4/2013 6:07 am  #3


Re: An alternative ''Holiday In Europe''

Anton G.-F. wrote:

"Two Shadows on the Sand" is a Hawaiian classic by the renowned Hawaiian singer Alfred Aholo Apaka, a crooner with a beautiful voice who had a very short but influential career. In his Musical Autobiography,

Anton,
Thanks for the extra info.

How extraordinary! Hawaii transplanted to Europe?? Or someone made a mistake? 

 

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