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The first of February on this blog means it's time for another Battle of the Bands, the blogging event first introduced by our friends at Far Away Series and StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. This event happens twice each month on the 1st and 15th. The premise is simple: Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it. Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.
Having just celebrated my birthday this past Friday has me in a celebratory mood to honor a birthday of a notable figure of rock music history. Don Everly was born on February 1st in 1937. He and his brother Phil comprised the Everly Brothers who had a career that spanned nearly 50 years with a string of hits that eventually landed them a place in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame--no small achievement. Many major artists including the Beatles, Paul Simon, and Neil Young have named them as an influence.
The Everly Brothers will long be remembered for their music. Happy birthday Don Everly.
"Bye Bye Love"
"Bye Bye Love" (1957) was the debut of the Everlys and became a million seller hit record for the duo kicking off their stellar career. The song was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, a husband and wife songwriting team who have composed many well-known songs including "Rocky Top", "Love Hurts", and "Wake Up, Little Susie". Since the Everlys' initial success with "Bye Bye Love", the song has been recorded by numerous artists over the years and used in several movies, television shows, and commercials.
In this edition of Battle of the Bands I will once again be closing with a 3rd entry that is a somewhat long movie clip. You can choose to disregard this final clip if you don't want to spend the time watching it--and let me add here that this is an outstanding version of the song with a great visual production. As in my previous Battle of the Bands I'm going to announce my pick ahead of time and my pick will be the long movie version at the end of the post. But if you prefer you can choose between the two shorter versions that I'm offering first. I think they're both very good. I'm not including the original version by the Everly Brothers since that might give an unfair advantage.
Let's get started! (If you want to hear the version by the Everly Brothers you can click on this link, but please don't vote on that version)
Ray Charles "Bye Bye Love" (1962)
From his album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Ray Charles jazzes up the Everly Brothers' hit with a big band flair. This is a short one that flies by, but it's classic Ray Charles style. Enjoy.
Madeleine Peyroux "Bye Bye Love" (2013)
Jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux gives the song a bit of a New Orleans voodoo twist giving it a cool groove. This is from Peyroux's album The Blue Room.
Ben Vereen and Roy Scheider "Bye Bye Life" (1979)
The film All That Jazz is based on the life story of Bob Fosse who also co-wrote, directed, and choreographed the movie. The film was nominated for 9 Oscars in 1980, winning in four categories and it won numerous other entertainment awards as well. This highly acclaimed film starred Roy Scheider in the lead role. You might remember Scheider as the police chief in the movie Jaws--he's the one who says "You're gonna need a bigger boat". Scheider appeared in numerous roles in a film career that spanned nearly fifty years and garnered him two Academy Award nominations as well as several other awards.
********* (Spoiler alert! -- though it's probably not a big deal in regard to the film musical All That Jazz)******
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In the final death scene musical production, the song "Bye Bye Love" gets some lyric changes that turns the song into "Bye Bye Life". In my opinion this is the best rendition of the Everly Brothers' hit ever recorded--this really rocks! I cast my vote for this version. Since this runs for nearly ten minutes you might choose not to watch and just vote between the two shorter versions offered above. I think you will be well rewarded if you do watch the clip below.
If you never have seen the film and enjoy musical films about show business, dancing, and pushing life beyond the limit, I highly recommend All That Jazz. It's one great film.
Warning: There is brief nudity in this clip.
Time to Vote!
Which do you prefer? I've started off the voting with one vote for the version of "Bye Bye Life" from the film All That Jazz which as I said earlier is an optional choice in this contest. I hope you will consider this one, but I'll understand if you only choose between the shorter versions.
Now it's up to you to determine the winner. Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the one you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
‘FAR AWAY SERIES’
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
DC Relief Battle of the Bands
The results of my Battle will be announced on this coming Friday February 6th. No post this Monday since I've posted this and want to give this post more of a chance to allow for voting. On Wednesday I'll have my post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.
