CASTLES IN THE AIR

DON MCLEAN
SONGWRITER: DON MCLEAN
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: BELIEVERS
LABEL: MILLENNIUM
GENRE: COUNTRY
YEAR: 1981
 
      Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his 1971 hit song "American Pie", an 8.5-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation.
          His other hit singles include "Vincent", "Dreidel", a rendition of Roy Orbison's "Crying", a rendition of the Skyliners' "Since I Don't Have You", and "Wonderful Baby".
           His composition "And I Love You So" has been sung by Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Helen Reddy, Glen Campbell, and others, and in 2000, Madonna had a hit with a rendition of "American Pie".
         In 2004, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In January 2018, BMI certified that "American Pie" and "Vincent" had reached five million and three million airplays respectively.
        "Castles in the Air" is a song by Don McLean. Originally recorded in 1970, it was his first American single release, preceding "American Pie". The original version of "Castles in the Air" was included on the Tapestry album. In February 1971, it was released as the first single from the album and reached Nº. 40 on the Billboard Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary chart. After the success of the "American Pie" single, "Castles in the Air" was included as the B-side to its follow-up, "Vincent", and received enough radio airplay to reach the Hot 100 chart as a "flip".
        In 1981, McLean re-recorded and re-released "Castles in the Air" The new version of the song, a slower ballad version compared with the more mid to uptempo version of the original, first appeared on his álbum Believers, and later replaced the original version on some copies of Tapestry. The new rendition was more successful, becoming a Top 40 hit in the US (No. 36 Billboard and Nº. 31 Cash Box), and reaching No. 11 in Australia. It was also a top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary charts of both the US (No. 7) and Canada (Nº. 2). "Castles in the Air" became McLean's final pop hit before his genre shift to country music in the mid-1980s
          The song describes a man who is unsatisfied with and weary of an urban lifestyle. Although native to the city, he decides to forsake not only his urban 'castle in the air' but also his love interest there. Because of his desire for and love of a country life, he decides to seek romance with a like-minded woman.
And if she asks you why you can tell her that I told you
That I'm tired of Castles in the Air
I've got a dream I want the world to share in castle walls
Just leave me to despair
 
Hills of forest green where the mountains touch the sky
A dream come true, I'll live there 'til I die
I'm asking you, to say my last goodbye
The love we knew, ain't worth another try
 
Save me from all the trouble and the pain
I know I'm weak but I can't face that girl again
Tell her the reasons why I can't remain
Perhaps she'll understand if you tell it to her plain
 
Oh, but how can words express the feel of sunlight?
In the morning in the hills away from city strife
I need a country woman for my wife
I'm city born, but I love the country life
 
For I will not be part of her Cocktail-Generation Partner's Waltz
Devoid of all romance
The music plays and everyone must dance
I'm bowing out, I need a second chance
 
Save me from all the trouble and the pain
I know I'm weak but I can't face that girl again
Tell her the reasons why I can't remain
Perhaps she'll understand if you tell it to her plain
 
And if she asks you why you can tell her that I told you
That I'm tired of Castles in the Air
I've got a dream I want the world to share in castle walls
Just leave me to despair.

CHEEK CHEEK

BOSWELL SISTERS
SONGWRITER: IRVING BERLIN
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: THE BOSWELL SISTERS/COLLECTION, VOL. 5, 1933-1936
LABEL: COLUMBIA RECORDS
GENRE: JAZZ
YEAR: 1935
 
          The Boswell Sisters were a singing group of close harmony, formed by sisters Martha Boswell Lloyd (9 of June of 1905 - 2 of July of 1958), Connee Boswell (originally Connie, 3 of December of 1907 - 11 of October of 1976) and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell (20 of May of 1911 - 12 of November of 1988), known for intricate harmonies and rhythmic experimentation. They achieved national prominence in the United States in the 1930s.
            The sisters grew up in a middle class family at Camp Street, 3937, in uptown New Orleans, Louisiana. Marta and Connie were born in Kansas City, Missouri. Helvetia was born in Birmingham, Alabama. (Connee changed the way he wrote his name in the 1940s.) Born from a former vaudeville actor, Clyde "AC" Boswell, and his music-loving wife, Meldania, the sisters, along with his brother Clyde Jr. ("Clydie"), aged 14 - arrived in New Orleans as children in 1914. Martha, Connie, and Vet studied classical piano, cello, violin and guitar, respectively, under the tutelage of Professor Otto Finck, from Tulane University. They played their repertoire of classics in local recitals, often as a trio, but the jazz scene soon won them over, personally and professionally. "We were studying classical music... And we were being prepared for the stage and a concert tour across the United States, but the saxophone got us," Marta said in an interview in 1925 for the Shreveport Times.
            In addition to providing young Boswells with a classical and formal musical education, Meldania Boswell regularly took her children to see the great African American artists of the moment at the Lyrical Theater. There, young Connie heard Mamie Smith, whose "Crazy Blues" (1920), the first blues recorded by an African American, was a success. Connie would later emulate Smith's style on the Boswells 'first recording, "I'm Gonna Cry (Cryin' Blues)," before defining her own vocal style. In interviews, the sisters reported that they were walking around New Orleans in search of new and interesting sounds, which were often found outside African American churches and bars.
Heaven, I'm in heaven
My heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancin' cheek to cheek!
 
Heaven, I'm in heaven
The cares that hung around me through the week
Seem to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak
When we're out together dancin' cheek to cheek!
 
Oh I love to climb a mountain
And to reach the highest peak
But it doesn't thrill me half as much
As dancin' cheek to cheek
 
Dance with me
I want my arm about you
That charm about you
Will carry me through to...
 
Heaven, I'm in heaven
My heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancin' cheek to cheek!
 
Oh, darlin' I'm in heaven when I'm out with you
I'm in heaven when I'm dancin' with you
My heart beats so that I can't speak
When we're out together dancin' cheek to cheek!
 
Oh, darlin' I'm in heaven when you're by my side
When we're out together I'm so satisfied
Blues disappear like a gambler's streak
When we're out together dancin' cheek to cheek!
 
I love to climb a mountain and reach the peak
It doesn't thrill me like dancin' cheek to cheek
 
Heaven, I'm in heaven
My heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancin' cheek to cheek!

CLOUDY

SIMON AND GARFUNKEL
SONGWRITERS: PAUL SIMON & BRUCE WOODLEY
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: PARSLEY, SAGE, ROSEMARY AND THYME
LABEL: COLUMBIA RECORDS
GENRE: FOLK ROCK
YEAR: 1965
 
             Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk-rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "The Boxer" (1969), and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970)—reached number one on singles charts worldwide.
            Simon and Garfunkel met in elementary school in Queens, New York, in 1953, where they learned to harmonize together and began writing material. By 1957, under the name Tom & Jerry, the teenagers had their first minor success with "Hey Schoolgirl", a song imitating their idols the Everly Brothers. In 1963, aware of a growing public interest in folk music, they regrouped and were signed to Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel. Their debut, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., sold poorly, and they once again disbanded; Simon returned to a solo career, this time in England. In June 1965, a new version of "The Sound of Silence" overdubbed with electric guitar and drums became a major U.S. AM radio hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The duo reunited to release a second studio album, Sounds of Silence, and tour colleges nationwide. On their third release, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), the duo assumed more creative control. Their music was featured in the 1967 film The Graduate, giving them further exposure. Their next álbum Bookends (1968) topped the Billboard 200 chart and included the number-one single "Mrs. Robinson" from the film.
        The duo's often rocky relationship led to artistic disagreements and their breakup in 1970. Their final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water, was released that year and became their most successful, becoming one of the world's best-selling albums. After their breakup, Simon released a number of acclaimed albums, including 1986's Graceland. Garfunkel released solo hits such as "All I Know" and briefly pursued an acting career, with leading roles in two Mike Nichols films, Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge, and in Nicolas Roeg's 1980 Bad Timing. The duo have reunited several times, most famously in 1981 for The Concert in Central Park, which attracted more than 500,000 people, one of the largest concert attendances in history.
             Simon & Garfunkel won 10 Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Rolling Stone ranked them number 3 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time. Richie Unterberger described them as "the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s" and one of the most popular artists from the decade. They are among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 100 million records. Bridge over Troubled Water is ranked at number 172 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
            "Cloudy" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). It was co-written by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley of the Seekers; that band later covered it on their 1967 album Seekers Seen in Green. The Cyrkle released a version of the song on their 1966 debut album, Red Rubber Ball. The title track, Red Rubber Ball, was also written by the duo of Woodley/Simon.

Cloudy
The sky is gray and white and cloudy,
Sometimes I think it's hanging down on me.
And it's a hitchhike a hundred miles.
I'm a rag-a-muffin child.
Pointed finger-painted smile.
I left my shadow waiting down the road for me a while.
 
Cloudy
My thoughts are scattered and they're cloudy,
They have no borders, no boundaries.
They echo and they swell
From Tolstoy to Tinker Bell.
Down from Berkeley to Carmel.
Got some pictures in my pocket and a lot of time to kill.
 
Hey Sunshine
I haven't seen you in a long time.
Why don't you show your face and bend my mind?
These clouds stick to the sky
Like floating questions, why?
And they linger there to die.
They don't know where they are going, and, my friend, neither do I.
 
Cloudy,
Cloudy.

WALK AWAY

BEN HARPER
SONGWRITER: BEN HARPER
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: WELCOME TO THE CRUEL WORLD
LABEL: VIRGIN RECORDS
GENRE: FOLK
YEAR: 1994
 
             Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances, and activism. He has released twelve regular studio albums, mostly through Virgin Records and has toured internationally.
           Harper is a three-time Grammy Award winner and seven-time nominee, with awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album in 2004 and Best Blues Album in 2013.
       At the 40th Blues Music Awards ceremony, Harper's joint composition with Charlie Musselwhite, "No Mercy In This Land," was named Song of the Year.
Welcome to the Cruel World is Ben Harper's debut album from Virgin Records. Released in 1994, the album established Harper as a popular folk musician in the California area. After this release, Harper went on to add a permanent backing band, the Innocent Criminals, although they remained unnamed until the Burn to Shine album.
Oh no
Here comes that sun again
That means another day
Without you my friend
 
And it hurts me
To look into the mirror at myself
And it hurts even more
To have to be with somebody else
And it's so hard to do
And so easy to say
But sometimes
Sometimes you just have to walk away
Walk away
 
With so many people
To love in my life
Why do I worry
About one
 
But you put the happy
In my ness
You put the good times
Into my fun
And it's so hard to do
And so easy to say
But sometimes
Sometimes you just have to walk away
Walk away
And head for the door
 
We've tried the goodbye
So many days
We walk in the same direction
So that we could never stray
They say if you love somebody
Then you have got to set them free
But I would rather be locked to you
Than live in this pain and misery
 
They say time will
Make all this go away
But it's time that has taken my tomorrows
And turned them into yesterdays
And once again that rising sun
Is droppin' on down
And once again you my friend
Are nowhere to be found
And it's so hard to do
And so easy to say
But sometimes
Sometimes you just have to walk away
Walk away
And head for the door
You just walk away
Walk away.