Sunny Days

The depressing gloom and chill of February lasted through most of March in my neck of the woods. But now the sun is shining and it’s pleasantly warm. I even got sunburned when I was out and about on Thursday. Time for a tribute to our good friend Mister Sun.

Mel Tormé “Sunshine Superman” (Donovan)
They just don’t ’em like Mel Tormé any more. The Velvet Frog was a gifted singer who didn’t take himself too seriously. He had a sense of humor and wasn’t afraid to tackle musical styles beyond the world of jazz where he made his reputation. Like this super-groovy take on Donovan’s hit.

Frank Zappa “Sunshine Of Your Love” (Cream)
This comes from an album recorded on FZ’s last tour in 1988 called The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life. The album has great liner notes, referring to the collection of “demented” covers it contains. That’s a fine word to describe this Kingfish-meets-Johnny Cash mariachi mashup. It ends rather abruptly because all the songs on that album segue into each other.

Frente! “Open Up Your Heart And Let The Sun Shine In” (The McGuire Sisters)
Long before I was hip to the McGuire Sisters I knew this song from the Flintstones cartoon show. I don’t remember Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm singing the overtly Christian lyrics but it’s been awhile since I heard their version. It would be kinda cool to hear them singing about how they hate Satan, now that I think about it. This is a very chipper alterna-rock arrangement.

Andy Griffith “House Of The Rising Sun” (Traditional)
Andy Griffith did a fair amount of singing on his TV show, mostly folk and bluegrass stuff. A lot of the time he was singing with the Dillards, so his musical talents were disguised to a certain extent. Here ol’ Anj is front and center singing in a blues style for which he has absolutely no aptitude.

Tom Jones “Sunny Afternoon” (The Kinks)
Nothing says summertime like a bracing shot of Tom Jones. He works his leather lunged magic over a wonderfully creative arrangement that completely reimagines the classic rock staple.

4 thoughts on “Sunny Days

  1. mb

    Didn’t care much for this Frente song, but they did a wonderful version of Bizarre Love Triangle that would be worth using.

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