SoapChat Standards "Sympathy" [Rare Bird song]

With four voters and twenty four unique versions, here's Dear Prudence…






















































































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1. Siouxie & The Banshees - 27
2. The Beatles - 19
3. Danny Cox - 16
4. World Party - 11
5. Doug Parkinson In Focus / Grace Potter and The Nocturnals / Katfish - 10
6. Alanis Morissette / Carpet Frogs / Dana Fuchs, Evan Wood, Jim Sturgess & Anderson / Jeff Lorber / Radio Stars / U2 - 9
7. Fury In The Slaughterhouse - 8
8. Deep Blue Something / Gabor Zsabo - 7
9. Across The Universe / The Five Stairsteps / Rudy Rotta Band - 6
10. Lisa Lauren / The Pretty Reckless - 5
11. Chris Cornell - 3
12. The Clarks / Marija I Ljuba -1

So this round is a win for the covers, with the original coming in second place.​

 

Next up…
Bette Davis Eyes




Suggested by @Willie Oleson, "Bette Davis Eyes" is a song written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon. DeShannon recorded the song that same year for her New Arrangement album.

DeShannon's original version was performed in an "R&B lite" arrangement, featuring a prominent uptempo piano part, as well as flourishes of pedal steel guitar and horns. However, it was not until 1981, when Kim Carnes recorded her version of the song in a radically different synthesiser-based arrangement, that "Bette Davis Eyes" became a commercial success.

According to producer Val Garay, the demo that was brought to him sounded like "a Leon Russell track, with this beer-barrel polka piano part." Keyboardist Bill Cuomo came up with the signature synth riff which now defines Carnes's version. The song was recorded in the studio on the first take.

Confusion over DeShannon's original lyrics "she knows just what it takes to make a crow blush" meant a lyric change for the Carnes version. The phrase "could make a crow blush" is an early 20th-century Midwestern United States colloquialism meaning that one could unease someone with little effort. The arranger of Carnes's version, unfamiliar with the term, included the misnomer "to make a pro blush" which ended up in the Kim Carnes cover.

The Carnes version spent nine non-consecutive weeks on top of the US Billboard Hot 100 and was Billboard's biggest hit of 1981. The song was also a#1 hit in 21 countries and peaked at #10 in the United Kingdom.

Bette Davis then 73 years old, wrote letters to Carnes, Weiss, and DeShannon to thank all three of them for making her "a part of modern times," and said her grandson now looked up to her. After their Grammy wins, Davis sent them roses.

Other covers of the song include those by Courtney Love (2004); Sexton Blake (2007); Leighton Meester (2009) and Kylie Minogue (2014).

Almost forty versions may be found here. Explore, enjoy, and list your favourites in this thread. Please list up to ten versions with a minimum of three choices.

We'll bring voting to a close on Wednesday night after which our favourite version will be revealed.


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A bit late, but I'll sneak my ten in before I go and total up.

It was very close between my top three.



1. Kim Carnes

2. Jackie DeShannon

3. Milk Inc.

4. Sylvie Vartan

5. Kylie Minogue

6. The Moon Loungers

7. Morphology

8. Karen Souza

9. Sexton Blake

10. The Lightnin 3

 

The results are in… and they're exciting.


With five voters, twenty three versions and twenty two unique artists, let's waste no time in finding out who's got better days aside.











































































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1. Kim Carnes - 50 *FULL HOUSE*
2. Jackie DeShannon - 28
3. Milk Inc. - 21
4. Sylvie Vartan - 20
5. Brandon Flowers - 18
6. Kylie Minogue - 16
7. Karen Souza / The Moon Loungers - 10
8. Sonia Davis - 9
9. Bewilder / Gwyneth Paltrow / Marble Sounds / Rogue Wave / Sexton Blake / Sonia Davis [Belgian Remixes] - 8
10. Morphology / Rachel Franklin - 7
11. Big Daddy / Leighton Meester / Taylor Swift - 5
12. Paul Dempsey - 2
13. The Lightnin’ 3 / Sarah Walker - 1

Jackie DeShannon's original version came in a respectable second place, but there's no doubting this is an almighty win for the covers.

For only the fourth time in Standards history, every voter gave the same version the maximum ten points, yielding a full house for Kim's cover.



It's so exciting, I need to lie down. So the next Standard will be along a little later...​

 

After a bit of a break, let's get stuck back in with…
Waterloo Sunset



Suggested by @Emelee, "Waterloo Sunset" is a song Composed and produced by Ray Davies, frontman of British band The Kinks. The band's original version was released as a single in 1967 - their first single in true stereo.

The lyrics describe a solitary narrator watching (or imagining) two lovers passing over a bridge, with the melancholic observer reflecting on the couple, the Thames and Waterloo station. The song was rumoured to have been inspired by the romance between two British celebrities of the time, actors Terence Stamp and Julie Christie. Ray Davies denied this in his autobiography and claimed in a 2008 interview it was a fantasy about his sister and her boyfriend emigrating. Despite its complex arrangement, the sessions for "Waterloo Sunset" lasted a mere ten hours. To get a more unique feel, a tape-delay echo was used, which sounded new because nobody had done it since the 1950s.

The record reached #2 on the British charts in mid 1967 (it failed to dislodge the Tremeloes' "Silence Is Golden") from #1). It was also a top 10 hit in Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe. In North America, "Waterloo Sunset" was released as a single but it failed to chart.

Highly esteemed for its musical and lyrical qualities as well as its association as a symbol of the swinging Sixties, "Waterloo Sunset" is not uncommonly the subject of study in university arts courses. The song became one of the band's best known and most acclaimed songs in most territories. It was ranked #42 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".

Cathy Dennis's cover was released as the second single from her 1997 album Am I The Kinda Girl?. Her version peaked at #11 on the UK Singles Chart.

Other cover versions include:

Elektryczne Gitary (Na Krzywy Ryj, 1997); David Bowie (2003); Barb Jungr (2003); Def Leppard (2006); The Jam (finally included on the deluxe version of their 2010 album Sound Affects); Dragon (2011) and Colin Meloy (2013).

Forty five versions may be found here. Have a listen, then come back and list your favourites below.

As always, single song entries won't be counted. Please list up to ten versions with a minimum of three choices. You're very welcome to list more than ten, but only the first ten will be counted, with the maximum ten points going to your #1 choice.

Everyone is very welcome to join in. If we could have our choices in by Sunday night that would be super. Have fun!!


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1. Def Leppard

2. Peter Bruntnell

3. Cathy Dennis

4. MiG

5. Peter Gabriel

6. Affairs Of The Heart

7. Caterina Varente

8. The Kinks

9. Joe Stilgoe

10. Barb Jungr


I also love David Bowie and Twiggy's versions, but couldn't quite fit them in.

 

The sun has set on this round.

Three of us posted our favourite versions of Waterloo Sunset, yielding twenty one different versions. Here is our final tally…































































































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1. Def Leppard - 29
2. The Kinks / Peter Gabriel - 20
3. David Bowie - 16
4. Cathy Dennis - 13
5. Peter Bruntnell - 9
6. MiG / Ray Davies / Twiggy - 7
7. Affairs Of The Heart / Olsen Brothers - 5
8. Caterina Varente / Frank Turner / The Jam - 4
9. Barb Jungr / Cornershop / Joss James - 3
10. Elliot Smith / Joe Stilgoe - 2
11. Damon Albarn & Ray Davies / Dragon - 1

With twenty nine points, this is not only an outstanding win for the covers, but Def Leppard were also just one point away from a Standards Full House. A very impressive feat. The original version comes in joint second place. ​

 

Next up…
Don't Rain On My Parade






"Don't Rain on My Parade" is a popular song from the 1964 musical Funny Girl. Written by Bob Merrill and Jule Styne, it was also featured in the 1968 film of the musical. Both the stage and film versions featured Barbra Streisand performing the song. In 2004 it finished No. 46 in AFI's 100 Years… 100 Songs survey.

A reprise version of the song with alternative lyrics served as the finale for the stage show, but was was omitted from the film.

"Don't Rain On My Parade" has been covered many times. Notable cover versions include: Nancy Wilson (1964); Bobby Darrin (1965); Shirley Bassey (1968); Diana Ross & The Supremes (1968); Japan (1978); Linda Eder (2003); Mireille Mathieu (2006); Only Men Aloud! (2008); barbershop quartet Max Q (2009).

In the TV series Glee, Lea Michele covered the song for the first season episode Sectionals (2009), while Naya Rivera's version was featured in the fifth season episode Frienemies (2014).

Over forty versions can be found here. Have a rummage through and let us know your favourites.

Please list up to ten versions with a minimum of three choices. Single song entries won't be counted. You're welcome to list more, but only the first ten will be counted, with the maximum ten points going to your #1 choice.

Everyone's welcome to join in. Let's say Saturday night as the closing date to have our votes in. Have fun!

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With there being so many versions I really like, this is one of the key songs that inspired the idea for the Standards, so I'm glad to finally hear everyone's choices for this one.


My top four was really tough. I love them all in different ways. In the end my top choice was decided by play count. And it is a massive one.


1. Glee Cast (Lea Michele)

2. Shirley Bassey

3. Barbra Streisand

4. Linda Eder

5. Michael Ball

6. Glee Cast (Naya Rivera)

7. Caroline O’Connor

8. Lilias White*

9. Jack Jones*

10. Nancy Wilson*




And some more versions I enjoy:


Rebecca Lowe

Jim Bailey*

Johnny Mathis*

Sally Ann Triplett

Donna Summer






* = New discovery