“The greatest love song of the past 50 years.” And he famously credited Lennon-McCartney with having written it.
Tori Amos rather famously has a hero-worship thing for Robert Plant.
lingyi
November 12, 2019, 4:48am
23
Eric Clapton has talked about The Band’s *Music from Big Pink * was a factor in part of the decision to end Cream, though AFAIK, he’s never specified one song. And of course there’s his admiration for Robert Johnson’s songs, notably Crossroads .
Jimi Hendrix did Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love , most notably unplanned on the Lulu Show.
And of course, almost every rock guitarist will cite some song or songs by the early blues artists as an influence on their playing.
Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders famously loved the Kinks. I can think of a couple of ways this manifested itself:
[ol]Stop Your Sobbing , an old Kinks song[/li][li]Hynde had a child by Ray Davies[/li][/ol]
Does that put her in the lead?
j
kayaker
November 12, 2019, 3:57pm
25
When I think of truly great artists, of course Starving Artist comes to mind. He had a true appreciation for Frank Sinatra.
Sinatra was known throughout his entire career for his ability to convey the emotion of a song. Most good singers of the era would sing a song and the feeling you came away with was ‘hey, that guy’s a good singer’. But when Sinatra sang, most of his listeners came away not only with the feeling that the song’s protagonist was truly feeling the sentiment of the song, but also in a way that made his listeners feel they were along for the ride. If the song was lighthearted, cheerful and breezy (Come Fly With Me , for example), his singing of it could transport his listeners into a light, cheerful and breezy mood. You felt you were on that plane to Peru with him. Or if the song was sad or remorseful (One For My Baby ) you would feel his sadness and lost love yourself. And if the song was triumphant, as with New York, New York or My Way , he made you feel the same grit and determination that the song’s protagonist was experiencing.
In my estimation Sinatra was and remains the best singer of popular songs who ever lived. I recall watching a special that CBS broadcast on what would have been Sinatra’s 100th birthday that had popular current singers doing renditions of Sinatra’s songs, and reading later that most if not all were terrified at the prospect when first approached – “You want me to do a Sinatra song?”. But they soldiered on and gave it their all anyway, and they came across like I said before – as good singers skillfully hitting the notes. But the emotional reaction within the listener’s mind just wasn’t there.
I think what some see as arrogance in Sinatra’s singing is really just confidence. The impression of arrogance is probably boosted also by his actions in private life, where often his behavior was indeed arrogant. But Sinatra had great respect for music and took it seriously, and the only times I’ve ever perceived arrogance in any of his songs is when the song itself called for it, as was the case with New York, New York and* My Way*, and yet even in these songs he inserts elements of wistfulness and sensitivity that counterbalance the arrogance.
I doubt that I would have liked Frank Sinatra in person. By most accounts he had a sort of Jekyll & Hyde personality and was either generous and charitable, or cruel and hurtful, as the mood struck him. And he seemed like a hard guy to stay on the good side of.
But when it comes to both technical skill and the ability to convey the emotion of a song so as to make the listener truly feel what the song’s about, he is in my opinion head and shoulders above everyone else.
I will say the two I think come closest are Tony Bennett and Willie Nelson. I’ve been a fan of Willie Nelson for a long time. Saw him in concert in the late seventies and to this day I consider it one of the best concerts I’ve had the pleasure to experience. Unfortunately, I think Willie missed the mark with this tune. His voice was part of the problem, as was the incongruity between the style of the instrumentation and the style of his vocals. I gave up on it half way through.
Perhaps I’m a Philistine, but I disagree with his Sinatra worship. He was a good singer, but certainly not to the extent that SA made him out to be. Frank was actually kinda boring to listen to.
digs
November 12, 2019, 9:20pm
27
So… your quoting him only makes sense if SA was a… singer? Or a great instrumentalist? Or even in a band? If not, why did you make us read all that?
Yes, I read it, looking for a reference to another “great artist” admiring Frank.
Treppenwitz:
Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders famously loved the Kinks. I can think of a couple of ways this manifested itself:
[ol]Stop Your Sobbing , an old Kinks song[/li][li]Hynde had a child by Ray Davies[/li][/ol]
The Pretenders also recorded “I Go to Sleep”, a Davies-penned song not recorded by the Kinks, but given to The Applejacks, and later covered by Cher.
Speaking of Davies, supposedly John Lennon really liked The Kinks’ “Wonderboy”.
ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness:
The Pretenders also recorded “I Go to Sleep”, a Davies-penned song not recorded by the Kinks, but given to The Applejacks, and later covered by Cher.
I never knew that (authorship, I mean). Thank you for the enlightenment.
Another I was going to mention, (but I can’t find a cite to back it up, so you’ll just have to take my word for it) - I remember Tom Robinson saying of The Clash’sWhite Man In The Hammersmith Palais something along the lines of: It’s one of the best records I’ve ever heard. It’s certainly the only single I’ve bought in the last five years - and I don’t even own a record player!
j
kayaker
November 15, 2019, 12:45pm
30
digs:
So… your quoting him only makes sense if SA was a… singer? Or a great instrumentalist? Or even in a band? If not, why did you make us read all that?
Yes, I read it, looking for a reference to another “great artist” admiring Frank.
Starkers was, indeed, a great artist. Maria Muldaur, in Midnight At The Oasis was referring to him when she sang, “And you can be my sheik”.
Cite: personal communication.
Chronos
November 15, 2019, 9:53pm
31
[Moderating]
kayaker , that post served no good purpose whatsoever, and a fair amount of bad purpose. There is no need to be dredging up vendettas against former posters in unrelated threads. Drop it.
Charlie Parker was a big fan of Hank Williams Sr.
dorvann
November 16, 2019, 12:30am
33