22 January 2009

At Last...





FOUR videos of the timeless song "At Last." Pick the one you want; I like all four (which of course is why I've stored them in the blog.)

The song was written before I was born, in the early 1940s for the musical "Orchestra Wives." The original performance was by the Glenn Miller orchestra (top video). Arguably the most famous version was recorded in 1960 by blues singer Etta James. This was her signature piece and put her in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Since then seemingly everyone has covered the song: Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Céline Dion, Lou Rawls, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper and Beyonce Knowles, among others.

I've chosen the power of Celine Dion's voice (second from top) and the rawness of Stevie Nicks (third) because I like their vocal styles. (More of Stevie Nicks here)

On the bottom is what likely will be one of the enduring videos of our times - the performance by the talented (and beautiful) Beyonce Knowles at the Inaugural ball. If you search YouTube you can find a HD version of this performance, but it's spoiled by advertising; this was the best I could locate so far. The video is iconic not just for the vocal, but obviously for the dance by the two young people on the stage who are so obviously in love.

Even if your politics cause you not to like the Obamas, the video is still enchanting... Enjoy.

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