Sunday, 12 January 2020

Single Song Sunday

Later in the day than originally planned - pesky real life intruded - we bring you the first Single Song Sunday of 2020. To ease us into the year we've chosen something suitably mellow, the old blues/jazz standard "Since I Fell For You".   

Written by Buddy Johnson, we kick things off with his original version from 1947 (that's his sister Ella on vocals), and follow it with the most commercially successful recording. Lennie Welch took it to Number 4 in the US charts in 1963. 

As you might imagine, just about every female jazz and soul singer of the 1950s and 1960s working between 1947 and the mid 1970s had a crack at the song. Dinah Washington's may be the pick of the jazz versions; Laura Lee's is definitely the pick of the soul ones (and may be my favourite of all). 

Most of the other names should be familiar to you, with two possible exceptions. One is Furgone di Piufiglio, the Italian soul sensation who recorded this version live in 1973, the other is Claudia Schmidt. She can explain better that I can who she is, but I saw her perform the song at the Cambridge Folk Festival back in the early 1980s and was mightily impressed. 

With a degree of inevitability, the Mandatory Reggae Version comes from John Holt, very much the MVP of the MRVs.

"Since I Fell For You" - Buddy Johnson & His Orchestra

"Since I Fell For You" - Lenny Welch

"Since I Fell For You" - Dinah Washington


"Since I Fell For You" - Charlie Rich

"Since I Fell For You" - Furgone di Piufiglio

"Since I Fell For You" - The Sonics

"Since I Fell For You" - Wilbert Harrison

"Since I Fell For You" - Claudia Schmidt

"Since I Fell For You" - John Holt



PS One of those names is a pseudonym for a well-known artist who has people who clamp down on this sort of thing. When you work out who it is, keep it to yourself.

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9 comments:

  1. Charity Chic13 January 2020 at 10:21

    Did John Holt cover Jolene?
    He asks hopefully

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    Replies
    1. Ernie Goggins13 January 2020 at 11:01

      Not to my knowledge. If you want reggae versions of country songs by female singers, J.C. Lodge is often a good bet.

      Delete
    2. Charity Chic13 January 2020 at 11:18

      Thanks - had a look but she doesn't appear to have covered that one
      Will check her out after recovering from the news that Sisters of Mercy have a Goth version

      Delete
  2. George13 January 2020 at 15:01

    I am now going to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to work out where you got Furgone di Piufiglio from. I've tried saying it (in my head) in a laughably bad Italian accent and, for some unknown reason a faux-Irish accent, but apart from embarrassing myself, I can't work it out.

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  3. George13 January 2020 at 15:03

    ...got the "furgone" bit

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  4. George13 January 2020 at 15:08

    got it. I am impressed (with you, not my use of the internet). My research took me to a page of italian swearwords, many of which, of course, are remarkably similar to portuguese swear words.

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    Replies
    1. Ernie Goggins13 January 2020 at 16:06

      And many of which have probably been uttered by Furgone himself. He has a reputation for being a bit moody.

      Delete
    2. George13 January 2020 at 16:57

      He would be "furgão" here, or camionete or carrinha

      Delete
    3. Ernie Goggins13 January 2020 at 18:03

      I'll bear that in mind in case he appears again in the future

      Delete