HELLO, DOLLY ! ~ LOUIS ARMSTRONG

*****************************
Grammy Song Of the Year 1965
*****************************

"Hello, Dolly!" is the title song of the popular 1964 musical of the same name. Louis Armstrong's version was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. The music and lyrics were written by Jerry Herman, who also wrote the scores for many other popular musicals including Mame and La Cage aux Folles. The best-known recording is by Louis Armstrong in 1964. His version reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ending The Beatles' streak of three number-one hits in a row (they also held the top three spots) and becoming the biggest hit of Armstrong's career, followed by a gold-selling album of the same name. The song also spent nine weeks atop the adult contemporary chart shortly after the opening of the musical. "Hello, Dolly!" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1965, and Armstrong received a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance, Male. Louis Armstrong also performed the song (together with Barbra Streisand) in the popular 1969 film Hello, Dolly!.

***************
Grammy Song of the Year 1965 Nominees

• "A Hard Day's Night" by The Beatles
• "Dear Heart" by Andy Williams
• "People" by Barbra Streisand
• "Who Can I Turn To?" by Tony Bennett
  ***************

DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES ~ ANDY WILLIAMS

*****************************
Grammy Song Of the Year 1963
*****************************

"Days of Wine and Roses" is a popular song, from the 1962 movie of the same name. The music was written by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. They received the Academy Award for Best Original Song for their work. The song is composed of only two sentences, one for each stanza. The best-known recording of the song was by Andy Williams in 1963, but several other recording artists have done the song, including Perry Como, composer Henry Mancini and the famous guitarist Wes Montgomery (1963: Boss Guitar) and Canadian virtuoso Lenny Breau. Andy Williams' version was recorded for Columbia Records. It was released as catalog number 42674. The song reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was the featured track of an album by Williams of the same name, which was a #1-charting album on the Billboard album charts.


***************
Grammy Song of the Year 1963 Nominees

• "Call Me Irresponsible" by Frank Sinatra
• "The Good Life" by Tony Bennett
• "I Wanna Be Around" by Tony Bennett
• "Wives and Lovers" by Jack Jones

***************

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

MOON RIVER ~ ANDY WILLIAMS

*****************************
Grammy Song Of the Year 1962
*****************************

"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer (lyrics) and Henry Mancini (music) in 1961, for whom it won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was originally sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, although it has been covered by many other artists. The song also won the 1962 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.It became the theme song for Andy Williams, who first recorded it in 1961 and performed it at the Academy Awards ceremonies in 1962. He sang the first eight bars at the beginning of his television show and also named his production company and venue in Branson, Missouri after it. Williams' version was disliked by Cadence Records president Archie Bleyer, who believed it had little or no appeal to teenagers. Andy Williams' version never charted, except as an LP track, which he recorded for Columbia in a hit album of 1962. The song's most famous line, "...my huckleberry friend...", was not a reference to Mark Twain's Huck Finn. Rather, Mercer had originally titled the song "Blue River" (changing it only after recalling another song with the same title), and the initial lyrics contained many references to that color. Although Mercer dropped most of the blue references in his revised lyrics, he kept the huckleberry in simply because he liked how it sounded.

***************
Grammy Song of the Year 1962 Nominees

• "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean
• "A Little Bitty Tear" by Burl Ives
• "Lollipops and Roses" by Jack Jones
• "Make Someone Happy" by Various Artists
  ***************

THEME FROM EXODUS ~ ERNEST GOLD

*****************************
Grammy Song Of the Year 1961
*****************************

Exodus is a 1960 epic war film made by Alpha and Carlyle Productions and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by Otto Preminger from a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo from the 1958 novel, Exodus, by Leon Uris. The Super Panavision 70 cinematography was by Sam Leavitt. The music, including the frequently covered title theme, was written by Ernest Gold. The main theme from the film has been widely remixed and covered by many artists. A version by Ferrante & Teicher went all the way to number 2 on the Billboard Singles Chart. Another notable version was recorded by jazz saxophonist Eddie Harris. Other versions were recorded by Mantovani, Peter Nero, Connie Francis, and the Duprees, who sang the theme with lyrics written by Pat Boone. Other artists include Gospel pianist Anthony Burger (in the Gaither Vocal Band's "I Do Believe"), singer Edith Piaf who used french lyrics, Classical pianist Maksim Mrvica and T.I. as a sample for Bankhead. Trey Spruance of the Secret Chiefs 3 rescored the theme for "surf band and orchestra" on the album 2004 Book of Horizons. Howard Stern uses it for comedic effect when discussing aspects of Jewish life. A sample of the Exodus was used also in Ice-T´s song Exodus from the Album 7 Deadly Sin, and Nas's song "You're Da Man" from the album Stillmatic. A portion of the main title was included in a montage arranged by composer John Williams and performed at the 2002 Academy Awards ceremony.

***************
Grammy Song of the Year 1961 Nominees

• "He'll Have to Go" by Jim Reeves
• "Nice 'n' Easy" by Frank Sinatra
• "Second Time Around" by Andy Williams
• "Theme from A Summer Place" by Percy Faith

****************

SILENT NIGHT ~ ANDY WILLIAMS

"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song Stille Nacht were written in German by the Austrian priest Father Josef Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber. The song has been recorded by over 300 artists, particularly successful in hit versions by Enya (sung in Irish), Andy Williams, Andrea Bocelli, Stevie Nicks, Bing Crosby, Mahalia Jackson, and an instrumental version by Mannheim Steamroller. Simon and Garfunkel recorded an ironic version of the song in which a depressing radio news report is overheard in the background (7 O'Clock News/Silent Night). There have also been choral recordings by the King's College Choir and the Vienna Boys Choir.

Lyrics | Andy Williams lyrics - Silent Night lyrics

SILENT NIGHT ~ BY ANDY WILLIAMS

"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song Stille Nacht were written in German by the Austrian priest Father Josef Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber. The song has been recorded by over 300 artists, particularly successful in hit versions by Enya (sung in Irish), Andy Williams, Andrea Bocelli, Stevie Nicks, Bing Crosby, Mahalia Jackson, and an instrumental version by Mannheim Steamroller. Simon and Garfunkel recorded an ironic version of the song in which a depressing radio news report is overheard in the background (7 O'Clock News/Silent Night). There have also been choral recordings by the King's College Choir and the Vienna Boys Choir.

Lyrics | Andy Williams lyrics - Silent Night lyrics