Tunes Du Jour Presents Covers of Show Tunes

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The theme of today’s playlist is cover versions of songs that originated in stage musicals. Here are the songs listed with the shows that introduced them:

  • Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin – From The Threepenny Opera (1928)
  • Till There Was You by The Beatles – From The Music Man (1957)
  • Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by The Platters – From Roberta (1933)
  • Little Girl Blue by Nina Simone – From Jumbo (1935)
  • You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry & The Pacemakers – From Carousel (1945)
  • I Am What I Am by Gloria Gaynor – From La Cage aux Folles (1983)
  • On The Street Where You Live by Vic Damone – From My Fair Lady (1956)
  • Everything’s Coming Up Roses by The Replacements – From Gypsy (1959)
  • Send In The Clowns by Judy Collins – From A Little Night Music (1973)
  • I Don’t Know How to Love Him by Helen Reddy – From Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)
  • Hair by The Cowsills – From Hair (1967)
  • Put On A Happy Face by Diana Ross & The Supremes – From Bye Bye Birdie (1960)
  • Losing My Mind by Liza Minnelli – From Follies (1971)
  • Tomorrow by Grace Jones – From Annie (1977)
  • My Favorite Things by John Coltrane – From The Sound of Music (1959)
  • Well Did You Evah? by Debbie Harry & Iggy Pop – From DuBarry Was a Lady (1939)
  • The Man I Love by Kate Bush – From Lady, Be Good! (1924)
  • If My Friends Could See Me Now by Linda Clifford – From Sweet Charity (1966)
  • Summertime by Big Brother & The Holding Company – From Porgy and Bess (1935)
  • Cabaret by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – From Cabaret (1966)
  • I Get A Kick Out Of You by Frank Sinatra – From Anything Goes (1934)
  • Don’t Cry For Me Argentina by Festival – From Evita (1978)
  • Somewhere by Pet Shop Boys – From West Side Story (1957)
  • The Lady is a Tramp by Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga – From Babes in Arms (1937)
  • I’ll Never Fall In Love Again by Dionne Warwick – From Promises, Promises (1968)
  • I Love Paris by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – From Can-Can (1953)
  • Night + Day by U2 – From Gay Divorce (1932)
  • There Are Worse Things I Could Do by Alison Moyet – From Grease (1971)
  • Corner of the Sky by The Jackson 5 – From Pippin (1972)
  • I Enjoy Being a Girl by Phranc – From Flower Drum Song (1958)

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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 8-26-22

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Today’s playlist celebrates the August 26 birthdays of Garbage’s Shirley Manson, The Velvet Underground’s Moe Tucker, Cassie, Ashford & Simpson’s Valerie Simpson, The Treacherous Three’s Special K, and The Cowsills’ Bob Cowsill; the August 27 birthdays of The Stanley Brothers’ Carter Stanley, Ma$e, The Captain & Tennille’s Daryl Dragon, and The Bloodhound Gang’s Jimmy Pop; and the August 28 birthdays of The Velvet Underground’s Sterling Morrison, The Stranglers’ Hugh Cornwell, Florence + The Machine’s Florence Welch, Shania Twain, David Soul, The Crew Cuts’ John Perkins, The Olympics’ Walter Ward, Phranc, and Mel & Kim’s Kim Appleby.

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Playlist For January 9, 2020

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One of these guys goes by the name AJ

While grocery shopping yesterday I was struck by an announcement that came over the loudspeaker. I can’t recall it verbatim, but it was something like “Attention shoppers: Signing up for our rewards program is the greatest thing you will do in your life.” I thought about that as I stood in front of the frozen pizzas. How sad a life that must be! I put some frozen pizzas in my cart, then asked a clerk where I can get a rewards program application. It’s too early to know if filling it out was the first step to the greatest thing in my life, but it certainly was the greatest thing to happen to me thus far in this young year.

Lots of music birthdays to celebrate today. On the playlist you’ll find music from celebrants Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Joan Baez, AJ McLean of Backstreet Boys, Sean Paul, Crystal Gayle, Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth, David Johansen (a/k/a Buster Poindexter), Bill Cowsill, Scott Walker, Haddaway, Paolo Nutini, Domenico Modugno, Vic Mizzy and Mic Murphy of The System. It’s also the birthday of Orbital’s Phil Hartnoll, but I left his music off as I’m not too familiar with it. In addition, it’s Dave Matthews’ birthday. I left his music off as I am familiar with it.

As there are so many birthdayees, each of them got only one song in the playlist, except for Bill Cowsill, because come on! Also, I should confess that although I worked at Backstreet Boys’ record label for four years and while there licensed their music at least 734 times per day, I don’t know one Backstreet Boy from another. I selected “I Want It That Way” for the playlist. Hopefully the lead vocalist on that cut is Birthday Boy AJ and not one of those other Backstreet Boys, like Justin or Donnie or Peter or Blitzen.

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Ringo + Elvis

Throwback Thursday – 1969

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In 1968, songwriter Mark James, whose hit compositions include “Hooked on a Feeling” and “Always on My Mind,” was married to his first wife, but he still had feelings for his childhood sweetheart, who also was married. Said James, “My wife suspected I had those feelings, so it was a confusing time for me. I felt as though all three of us were all caught in this trap that we couldn’t walk out of.”

He recorded and released a song he wrote based on his situation, but it flopped.

A year later, producer Chips Moman brought the song to Elvis Presley. Elvis loved it and was confident he could make it a hit.

Elvis was acknowledged as the King of Rock and Roll. During the ten years from 1956 through 1965 he scored 33 top ten singles, including 17 #1s. Then he hit a relative dry spell, with no top tens in 1966, 1967 or 1968.

The King recorded Mark James’ song. It became Elvis’ first #1 single since “Good Luck Charm” in 1962. The song, “Suspicious Minds,” was Presley’s final #1 in the US. Between 1956 and 1969, Elvis spent 79 weeks at #1, more than any other act.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Suspicious Minds” at no. 91 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Ringo + Elvis
This week, Tunes du Jour’s Throwback Thursday playlist spotlights twenty of the best singles of 1969, kicking off with Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.”


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