Violetta Zironi : Let Her Go

Now this is kinda an odd one. I came across this song when it was featured on an episode of Law & Order : Special Victims Unit and I was immediately struck by the haunting melody. I first thought the voice was British singer Ellie Goulding but then I decided to investigate further and I came across Italian singer Violetta Zironi.

Violetta Zironi is a country singer-songwriter who was one of the finalists in The X-Factor Italy where she finished the competition in third place. She was best known for playing her ukelele. Let Her Go was featured in her debut EP Dimmi Che Non Passa.

The song itself is a cover version of the hit by English singer-songwriter Passenger. While I'm not diminishing the significance of his version, I'm actually a huge fan of Violetta's version. I have to say more so than the original.

Check out Violetta's version of the song :-

And for the fans of Passenger's version here is the original :-

Hazell Dean : Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)

The year was 1984 ... Hazell Dean had just had a top 10 hit with Searchin' (I Gotta Find A Man) and was looking for a follow-up single. Her record company contacted then-up and coming producers Stock Aitken Waterman who had just had a hit with You Think You're A Man, a UK no. 8 hit by American drag queen, Divine, and the trio wrote the song Dance Your Love Away.

Hazell Dean hated the chorus and the song was re-written as Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go) and the rest, as they say, was history. The song was a huge hit for Dean, reaching no. 4 in the UK. The song was fresh and catchy even to this day (even if I do say so myself).

Check out Hazell Dean performing the song on Top Of The Pops :-

Stock Aitken Waterman, of course, went on to have huge hits with such diverse artistes as Rick Astley, Kylie Minogue, Bananarama, Donna Summer and Sir Cliff Richard and Hazell Dean herself had further chart entries, both with Stock Aitken Waterman and other producers.

Singles like Who's Leaving Who (UK No. 4), Maybe (We Should Call It A Day) (UK No. 15) and cover of Kylie's Japanese hit Turn It Into Love (UK No. 21) provided Dean with further forays into the UK charts although perhaps not quite matching the chart glory of Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go).

The song was covered by the late American singer Laura Branigan which was also produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. I'm not such a huge fan of her version because to me it seems so tame and sanitised compared to Dean's version but you can check out the song here :- 

Blondie : Rapture

Ahh ... the legendary American band Blondie ... they epitomised the early American new wave and punk movement of the 1970s.Their trademark is, I would say, lead singer Debbie Harry. She is classy with a capital "C" ... very much the gorgeous uberblonde with the commanding presence. Harry is the recognisable face of Blondie.

Their eponymous debut album spawned their first single X Offender. Originally titled Sex Offender, that song is a whole story in itself. Apparently, the original lyrics were about an 18-year-old boy being arrested for having sex with his younger girlfriend which was then changed to a story about a prostitute being attracted to the police officer that had arrested her. The record company insisted the title to be changed because they were worried the title might be too much.

Blondie really came into their own with the album Parallel Lines which produced the UK No. 1 singles Heart of Glass and Sunday Girl. Further hits followed including UK No. 1 singles Atomic and The Tide Is High. 

One of my most favourite Blondie songs is Rapture which came from Autoamerican, the same album that gave us The Tide Is High. Blondie has a talent for recording different genres of music. They had given us disco (Heart of Glass), reggae (The Tide Is High) and they were soon to give us calypso (Island of Lost Souls). Rapture was the first song to top the US Billboard Hot 100 to feature a rap.

In the UK the song failed to top the charts but still peaked at a respectable No. 5. Check out the video here :-

Justin Timberlake recreated Rapture as part of a medley of songs at the 2003 Brit Awards with the Princess of Pop herself, Kylie Minogue, performing the rap. Check out the video here :-