Sorry, wrong link. The right one is here.
Bob James…
Night on Bald Mountain: Bob James "Night On Bald Mountain" One (1974) HQ - YouTube
In the Garden (based on Pachelbel’s canon): BOB JAMES - IN THE GARDEN (based on Pachelbel's "Canon in D") - YouTube
Before ELP, Keith Emerson did some classical pieces with The Nice. Here’s their version of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony
Brian Setzer Orchestra Wolfgang’s Big Night Out. Don’t let the titles fool you-every track is a classical piece.
Curved Air playing Vivaldi.
Always love Keith’s fat Hammond / Leslie sound!
You may be interested in this “Grumpy Old Rock Star Tour”interview with Rick Wakeman. He’s got some great stories and is an exceedingly nice bloke. He’s a stand-up comic to boot!
I was lucky to see Wakeman perform in both big venues and small (with YES at JFK Stadium and the Spectrum in Philly; solo in a small theater in Florida). He’s a gifted musician and quite the showman.
“Asia Minor” by Kokomo (and others - I’m sure) - based on Edvard Grieg’s “Piano Concerto in A Minor”. Asia Minor - Kokomo - 1961 - YouTube
And there are numerous vocal arrangements of the classics (if opera can be included in that category), such as:
“Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procul Harum - vaguely based on Bach’s “Air on the G String”.
“Night” by Jackie Wilson - based on the aria “Mon coeur s’ouvre a ton voix” from the opera “Samson and Delilah” (Camille Saint-Saens). Jackie Wilson - Night (1960) - YouTube
“Cans and Brahms” on *Fragile *by Yes. Rick Wakeman made an arrangement of the 3rd movement from Brahms Symphony No. 4 for keyboards.
Eric Carmen borrowed heavily from his classical music training. Both Never Gonna Fall In Love Again and All By Myself used major parts from Rachmaninoff.
Barry Manilow used Chopin for the music in Could it Be Magic.
Extreme’s “Play With Me” borrows heavily from Bach’s “Toccata & Fugue” for part of the guitar solo. It’s more of an interpretation rather than a recreation, but I think it still works for purposes of this thread.
I don’t normally care for such things, but “Joy” is terrific.
I didn’t see this one mentioned with all the other ELP tracks, but they also did a cover of Aaron Copland’s “Hoedown” (which is probably most famously known as the music in the old “Beef - It’s What’s For Dinner” ad campaign).
The Rezillos - 20,000 Rezillos under the sea.
Punky William Tell Overture played on a kazoo. And so on.
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Emerson, Lake & Palmer also played Alberto Ginastera’s the 4th movement to Piano Concerto No. 1, Op 28 “Toccata concertata” (link to the original piano version). Emerson heard the piece, got the music and eventually wrote his own version. ELP recorded it but had trouble getting permission from the publisher. Emerson finally met Ginastera, played the recording, but due translation difficulty thought Ginastera hated it. When told he said “diabolical” and he loved it, the rest was history.
Emerson played jazzy versions of classical music, including parts of **Toccata and Fugue in D minor **(BWV 565, not the “Dorian” BWV 538), but then again everyone plays that one (I’ve done it myself as a kid). The few live recordings I’ve seen him, he has to lay on the piano or pull his Hammon organ on top of himself so he can play it backwards. I wonder if ever learned to play it the right way around?
I’ve liked the Sounds Incorporated version since 1965.
Glen Campbell - William Tell overture, well worth a watch, unless you are a guitarist, in which case you might want to look away
Emerson routinely performed extremely difficult pieces and almost certainly could have sight read that particular fugue, no learning necessary. Upside down the opening minute or less is more of a memorization trick than a technical challenge.
Along with the (Greig) Sounds Incorprorated I posted a few minutes ago, KE’s arrangements of the** Ginastera Toccata, Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique, and Copeland’s Hoedown** would be my four choices for this thread.
The Mike Oldfield Christmas EP has In Dulci Jubilo (I have a video also) plus Vivaldo Concerto in C. I also have a version of the William Tell Overture from him, but everyone does that. The Zachariah movie soundtrack has a version with Elvin Jones playing drums to it, but the thread is about great versions, so I’m not including it.
[quote=“casdave, post:38, topic:855423”]
Glen Campbell - William Tell overture, well worth a watch, unless you are a guitarist, in which case you might want to look away
[/QUOTE]Campbell was a very talented musician, able to play multiple genres well. Roy Clark was another multi-talent. Here he is slaying the “classical” flamenco, Malagueña.