So the song Non, je ne regrette rien by Edith Piaf was recorded at the very end of her career and it is one of her best known songs. Similarly My Way was recorded by Sinatra in 1969 which was at the end of his recording career. Are there are any other signature songs recorded late in a singers career?
I saw the title of the thread and besides tagging it, I was coming in to mention Sinatra and New York, New York recorded around 1977.
Another good one, Louis Armstrong recorded What a Wonderful World in 1967.
“Hurt”, by Johnny Cash.
And Hello Dolly, 1964.
Warren Zevon - Keep Me In Your Heart
I love Warren Zevon’s music, and Keep Me In Your Heart is among his very best songs. But his signature song? For better or worse, the one song of his that everybody knows is Werewolves of London.
Jimmy Durante had success with “September Song” and “Young at Heart” when he was 70. The first especially was his signature from then on.
Another Louis Armstrong one - We Have All The Time In The World. The theme song of the 1969 James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
That is probably a better example for Sinatra than mine. There was a period where no function in Ireland didn’t have New York, New York as the last song of the night.
I would argue that Ring of Fire or Folsom Prison Blues would be his signature song, but Hurt certainly opened him up to a younger generation.
Ethel Merman had a signature song in “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” which she started singing at age 51 in Gypsy. Her final screen appearance had her singing it to identify her in a cameo appearance
Carlos Santana started in 1966, and released the album Supernatural in 1999, which featured the massive hit Smooth.
My first thought is Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay, which was (re)recorded just 3 days before Redding died in a plane crash in 1967.
The single was released a month after Redding’s death and became the first ever posthumous single to top the charts in the U.S.
mmm
Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee” reached number one in March 1971, six months after she died at 27.
Jeff Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah” came only three years before his death. Admittedly, he died at 30. Which means his signature song was done when he was 27.
Numerology!
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was first performed in 1824, three years before his death (and when we was quite deaf).
George Jones didn’t record “He Stopped Loving Her Today” until 1980, which was twenty-five years into his career.
I am not sure if it is considered their signature song but The Grateful Dead’s only song to make the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten was 1987’s “Touch of Grey” after they formed in 1965. I think it would count because it is probably the only song of theirs that most people know.
It was their only big hit but hardly their signature song which would be Truckin’ or Casey Jones (one could argue Dark Star).
Here’s a uniquely British example (with explanation).
Music Hall legend Bud Flanagan (1896 - 1968) recorded Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mister Hitler? in the year of his death (aged 72). Doesn’t get much later in a career than that.
The song was recorded as the theme tune to second world war based sitcom Dad’s Army. The writers sought out Flanagan as an authentic voice of the period, and he obliged (the song was written by one of the show’s writing team). Dad’s Army has become part of British cultural history.
I can’t imagine anyone is in the least bit interested, but the opening credits with Bud Flanagan:
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