SUMMER BREEZE

AL JARREAU & GEORGE BENSON

SONGWRITERS: JIMMY SEALS & DARRELL CROFTS

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: GIVIN’IT UP

LABEL: CONCORD RECORDS

GENRE: JAZZ

YEAR: 2006

 

           Alwin Lopez Jarreau(March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album Breakin' Away spent two years on the Billboard 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R&B sound. The album won Jarreau the 1982 Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. In all, he won seven Grammy Awards and was nominated for over a dozen more during his career.

            Jarreau also sang the theme song of the 1980s television series Moonlighting, and was among the performers on the 1985 charity song "We Are the World."

             George Washington Benson(born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.

           A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, playing soul jazz with Jack McDuff and others. He then launched a successful solo career, alternating between jazz, pop, R&B singing, and scat singing. His álbum Breezin' was certified triple-platinum, hitting nº 1 on the Billboard album chart in 1976. His concerts were well attended through the 1980s, and he still has a large following. Benson has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

          Givin' It Up is a collaborative album by American musicians George Benson and Al Jarreau, released on October 24, 2006, by Concord Records. It contains songs previously recorded by both artists (Benson's "Breezin" and Jarreau's "Mornin") and original music. Other vocalists and musicians featured are Jill Scott, Patti Austin, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Abe Laboriel, Chris Botti, Marcus Miller, and Paul McCartney. This project also includes standards by Billie Holiday ("God Bless the Child") and Sam Cooke("Bring It On Home to Me"), pop songs by Seals and Crofts("Summer Breeze") and Daryl Hall("Everytime You Go Away") along with the jazz-swing "Four" by Miles Davis, and "Ordinary People" by John Legend.

            In 2007, Benson was awarded his ninth (or tenth) and Jarreau was awarded his sixth Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance on "God Bless the Child" with Scott. Benson also won his tenth (or ninth) Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance on "Mornin'", while "Breezin'" received a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

See the curtains hanging in the window

In the evening on a Friday night

A little light shining through the window

Let me know everything is alright, sing this song

 

Summer breeze makes me feel fine

Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind

Hear me sing, summer breeze makes me feel fine

Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind

 

See the paper lying on the sidewalk

A little music from the house next door

So I walk on up to the doorstep

Through the screen and across the floor

 

Summer breeze makes me feel fine

Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind

Sing it, summer breeze makes me feel fine

Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind, yeah

 

When I come home from a hard day's work

And you're waitin' there not a care in the world

 

See the smile a waitin' in the kitchen

Food cooking and the plates for two

Feel the arms that reach out to hold me

In the evenin' when the day is through

 

Summer breeze makes me feel fine

Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind

Summer breeze makes me feel fine

Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind

 

Here we go, summer breeze makes me feel fine

Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind

Come on, summer breeze makes me feel fine

Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind.

CAKE

MELANIE MARTINEZ

SONGWRITERS: MELANIE MARTINEZ; CHRISTOPHER J. BARAN & KARA DIOGUARDI

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: CRY BABY

LABEL: ATLANTIC RECORDS

GENRE: INDIE

YEAR: 2015

 

           Melanie Adele Martinez(born April 28, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, director, photographer, screenwriter, and visual artist. Born in Astoria, Queens, and raised in Baldwin, New York, Martinez rose to prominence in 2012 after appearing on the American television vocal talent show The Voice. Following the show, she released her debut single "Dollhouse", followed by her debut EP of the same name(2014), through Atlantic Records.

        Martinez later released her debut studio album, Cry Baby(2015), which went on to be certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Martinez's songs "Sippy Cup", "Mad Hatter", "Mrs. Potato Head", "Cry Baby", "Pacify Her" and "Soap", were all certified gold in the U.S., and her songs "Dollhouse" and "Pity Party" received platinum certification from the RIAA.

        Martinez released her second studio album, K-12(2019), alongside its accompanying film, as a follow up to the storyline of Cry Baby. Her EP was released a year later in 2020, called After School.

           Cry Baby is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Melanie Martinez. It was released on August 14, 2015, by Atlantic Records through digital download, CD, vinyl and audio cassette. The album was supported by the release of three singles. Two singles preceded the album's release: lead single "Pity Party", was released on June 2, 2015, while the second single, "Soap", was released on July 10, 2015. The third and final single from the album, "Sippy Cup" was released July 31, 2015. Cry Baby is a visual concept album. The album is labeled as na alternative pop, electropop, and indie pop release, and received generally positive reviews from critics. In 2021 the album was certified double platinum, after earning 2 million album-equivalent units (sales, streaming, and track sales).

On November 25, 2016, Martinez released an EP titled Cry Baby's Extra Clutter. The EP, released exclusively on vinyl, consisted of the three bonus tracks from Cry Baby, and "Gingerbread Man", which was released on December 23, 2015, as a single. The album was promoted by the Cry Baby Tour (2015–2017).

Your skin is warm like an oven

Your kiss is sugary sweet

Your fingers feel like cotton

When you put your arms around me

 

I feel like I'm just missing

Something whenever you leave

We've got all the ingredients

Except you loving me

And respectfully

 

I'm not a piece of cake

For you to just discard

While you walk away

With the frosting of my heart

So I'm taking back what's mine, you'll miss

The slice of heaven that I gave to you last night

 

You smell just like vanilla

You taste like buttercream

You're filling up my senses

With empty calories

 

I feel like I'm just missing

Something whenever you leave

You've got all the ingredients

Except you needing me

So respectfully

 

I'm not a piece of cake

For you to just discard

While you walk away

With the frosting of my heart

So I'm taking back what's mine, you'll miss

The slice of heaven that I gave to you last night

 

If I am just a piece of cake

I am just a piece of cake (cake)

Then, you're just a piece of meat

You're just a piece of meat to me

 

If I am just a piece of cake

I am just a piece of cake (cake)

Then, you're just a piece of meat

You're just a piece of meat to me

 

I'm not a piece of cake

For you to just discard

While you walk away

With the frosting of my heart

So I'm taking back what's mine, you'll miss

The slice of heaven that I gave to you last night

 

The slice of heaven that I gave

Sli-li-li-ce of heaven that I gave to you

Slice of heaven that I gave to you last night.

HOLE IN MY HEART

CYNDI LAUPER

SONGWRITER: RICHARD ORANGE

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: N NIGHT TO REMEMBER

LABEL: EPIC RECORDS

GENRE: POP ROCK

YEAR: 1989

 

        Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton(born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album She's So Unusual(1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night"—and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies and her second record True Colors (1986). This album included the number one single "True Colors" and "Change of Heart", which peaked at number three. In 1989, she had a hit with "I Drove All Night".

          Since 1983, Lauper has released eleven studio albums and participated in many other projects. In 2010, Memphis Blues became Billboard's most successful blues album of the year, remaining at number one on the Billboard Blues Albums chart for 13 consecutive weeks. In 2013, she won the Tony Award for best original score for composing the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, making her the first woman to win the category by herself. The musical was awarded five other Tonys including Tony Award for Best New Musical. In 2014, Lauper was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the cast recording. In 2016, the West End production won Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards.

     Lauper has sold over 50 million records worldwide. She has won awards at the Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, the New York's Outer Critics Circle, MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), Billboard Awards, and American Music Awards(AMAs). An inductee into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Lauper is one of the few singers to win three of the four major American entertainment awards. She won the inaugural Best Female Video prize at the 1984 VMAs for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". This music video is recognized by MTV, VH1 and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest music videos of the era. She is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Women Who Rock exhibit. Her debut album is included in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, while "Time After Time" is included in VH1's list of the 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 years. VH1 has ranked Lauper Nº 58 of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.

     Lauper is known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful and distinctive four-octave singing range. She has been celebrated for her humanitarian work, particularly as an advocate for LGBT rights in the United States. Her charitable efforts were acknowledged in 2013 when she was invited as a special guest to attend U.S. President Barack Obama's second-term inauguration.

          A Night to Remember is the third studio album by American recording artist Cyndi Lauper. The album was supposed to be released in 1988, under the name Kindred Spirit but was delayed until 1989 and the songs from the initial project were reworked. Even though the album managed to get a top 10 hit single and sell 1.3 million copies worldwide by the end of 1989 it was seen as a disappointment by her record company. The album was met with mixed-to-poor reviews and in interviews Lauper refers to it as A Night to Forget.

I've got a ticket, no turning back

My destination,

The sea of trouble, the land of pain

You're sending me where it always rains

Oh reconsider, I'm begging you, some hesitation

I'm holding on to my sanity

I feel the beginning of emergency

My hands are slipping, oh please don't let me fall into

 

This hole in my heart that goes all the way to china

You gotta fill it up with love before I fall inside of,

This empty hole in my heart that goes all the way to China

And though you can't see the bottom, believe me it's a long way down

 

I'm on a planet without a plan

It's oh so lonely

I need to see you to get out of here

There's something deadly in this atmosphere

I'm in a desert, without a drink of your sweet water

You're my oasis in the burning sand

I'm out of danger when you touch my hand

Throw me a lifeline, I'm standing on the edge of

 

This hole in my heart that goes all the way to china

You gotta fill it up with love before I fall inside of,

This empty hole in my heart that goes all the way to China

And though you can't see the bottom, believe me it's a long way down

 

The gun was loaded, I didn't know

I pulled the trigger,

I heard a noise then the room went dark

I felt the bullet going in my heart

I feel so dizzy, oh please don't let me fall, don't leave me in

 

This hole in my heart that goes all the way to china

You gotta fill it up with love before I fall inside of,

This empty hole in my heart that goes all the way to China

And though you can't see the bottom, believe me it's a long way down

 

I've got a hole in my heart

You've got to fill it up with love.

DRAW OF THE CARDS

KIM CARNES

SONGWRITERS: KIM CARNES; BILL CUOMO; VAL CHRISTIAN GARAY & DAVE ELLINGSON

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: MISTAKEN IDENTITY

LABEL: EMI AMERICA

GENRE: POP ROCK

YEAR: 1981

 

           Kim Carnes(/kɑːrnz/; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a session background singer with the famed Waters sisters (featured in the documentary 20 Feet from Stardom). After she signed her first publishing deal with Jimmy Bowen, she released her debut album Rest on Me in 1971. Carnes' self-titled second album primarily contained self-penned songs, including her first charting single "You're a Part of Me", which reached No. 35 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1975. In the following year, Carnes released Sailin', which featured "Love Comes from Unexpected Places". The song won the American Song Festival and the award for Best Composition at the Tokyo Song Festival in 1976.

           In her breakthrough year, 1980, Carnes was commissioned by Kenny Rogers to co-write the songs for his concept album Gideon(1980), and their duet "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" hit Nº 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and earned the duo a Grammy Award nomination. Later that year, her cover of Smokey Robinson's "More Love", from her fifth album Romance Dance(1980), hit Nº 10. The following year, Carnes released Mistaken Identity, which featured the worldwide hit, "Bette Davis Eyes". This became the best-selling single of the year in the United States, spending nine weeks at Nº 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, going Gold, and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Mistaken Identity went to Nº 1 on the Billboard 200, was certified Platinum, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

           Carnes also saw success with the singles "Draw of the Cards" (Nº 28), "Does It Make You Remember" (Nº 36), "Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)" (Nº 15), "Make No Mistake, He's Mine" (Nº 51), with Barbra Streisand, "What About Me?" (Nº 15), with Kenny Rogers and James Ingram, "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is", from the Flashdance soundtrack, and the Grammy Award nominated singles "Voyeur" (Nº 29) and "Invisible Hands" (Nº 40). Her other successes as a songwriter include co-writing the Nº 1 duet "The Heart Won't Lie" with Donna Weiss(who had co-written "Bette Davis Eyes" with Jackie DeShannon), which was recorded by Vince Gill and Reba McEntire, and released on McEntire's 1993 album It's Your Call.

Her distinctive, raspy vocal style has drawn comparisons to Rod Stewart. Her most recent studio album is Chasin' Wild Trains(2004). As of 2017, Carnes was residing in Nashville, Tennessee, where she continues to write music.

            "Draw of the Cards" is a 1981 single release from Kim Carnes's Platinum-plus Mistaken Identity album.

             The single reached #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1981. Tampa Bay Times contributor Kevin Wuench felt that the song has a "great '80s synth sound." Music critic Colin Larkin described the song as having a "contagious, swirling organ-dominated sound." Viacom ranked "Draw of the Cards" as Carnes' 10th best song, stating that it was "just as intoxicating in its creepiness" as Carnes' previous single, "Bette Davis Eyes."

         The music video was directed by Russell Mulcahy, who had also directed the video for "Bette Davis Eyes." According to Wuench, the video "has some weird carnival activities and one long tongue by some creature of the underworld."

               The song failed to match the chart success of its predecessor, "Bette Davis Eyes", stopping short of the Top 20 in many of the countries where her previous hit had reached pole position.

Sleight of hand

Hands of Fate

Chance you take

Life's a snake

And it's all in the draw of the cards

Lightnin' strike

Breath of life

Red black or white

Watch 'em fall

And it's all in the draw of the cards

And it's all in the draw of the cards

Drop the cards

Watch the eyes

Down and dirty

Let 'em ride

Boulevard

Small cafe

Cavaliers

Pass the day

The joker laughs

From the street

Weaves his web

Bittersweet

Ace is high

Deuce is low

Take the first

The rest should go

And it's all in the draw of the cards

And it's all in the draw of the cards.