Musicians from three music schools in Belgium met on a field to cover Bruce Springsteen’s “Waiting on a Sunny Day.”
More than 200 musicians from three Belgian schools came together recently to perform Bruce Springsteen’s “Waiting on a Sunny Day” in a field. The musicians came together for the joy of playing the uplifting song, and they came together to send a message to Springsteen.
The musicians hope the video of their performance will somehow make it to Springsteen and that it will inspire Springsteen to travel to Belgium for a concert. As they explain on a website about the event, “[W]e hope that Mr. Springsteen will appreciate the result and will come to do us the honor of a concert in the Belgian fields because we want to prove that you don’t have to be a big music business company to reach the greatest artists in the world.”
I suspect Springsteen would like the video. I know I do. The song is joyous in concert and it also sends an uplifting message when musicians gather to play it on an open field. I also like that the video is professional but not too professional. The musicians are not overly coordinated in their dress or the way they move as in many videos involving large groups and music. It’s a wonderful interpretation of “Waiting on a Sunny Day.”
What do you think of the Springsteen cover? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In 1964, Connie Smith recorded “Once a Day,” creating one of the perfect county records out of the song written by Bill Anderson.
Connie Smith’s 1964 recording of the song “Once a Day” is one of those perfect moments in country music. Smith is one of the great voices in country music, and here she has a perfect song. “Once a Day” was written by Bill Anderson specifically for Smith. The song features catchy music and country heartbreak wrapped up with a clever chorus that would be humorous if were not for the aching it describes.
Connie Smith released “Once a Day” on August 1, 1964 when Smith (born in Indiana in August 14, 1941) was barely twenty-three. According to Wikipedia, the record become the first number one debut on the Billboard Hot Country songs by a woman. It stayed at number one for eight weeks, a feat not duplicated by a female artist until Taylor Swift did it in 2012.
The clever hook in the song is that the singer misses a former love and cries only “once a day.” That does not sound too awful. But then she reveals that the “once a day” is “all day long.”
Once a day, all day long; And once a night from dusk ’til dawn; The only time I wish you weren’t gone, Is once a day, every day, all day long.
Below, a young Connie Smith performs “Once a Day” in 1965 on the WSM Nashville syndicated TV show The Bobby Lord Show. Check it out.
Smith, who is married to Marty Stuart, also played guitar on the hit recording of “Once a Day.” She recorded a number of wonderful songs through her career. But she never had a song that was as big of a hit as “Once a Day.”
Pas Souvent
“Once a Day” has been covered by artists such as Dean Martin and Van Morrison. After Smith initially released her original version, the song was so popular that Smith recorded a French version of the song.
Smith released the French version, “Pas Souvent,” credited to both Bill Anderson and French lyricist Pierre Delanoë, in 1966. Give it a listen.
Great stuff, no matter the language. Leave your two cents in the comments.
In 1993, Bruce Springsteen performed moving renditions of the Louvin Brothers song “Satan’s Jeweled Crown” at several concerts before he stopped playing the song.
Although I love Bruce Springsteen’s work with The E Street Band, my heart also has a soft spot for the different directions Springsteen took in the 1990s. In addition to some amazing solo work that decade, he released two albums on the same day in 1992 with a band that was not the E Street Band. Subsequently, he toured with a new band.
As Springsteen sought rejuvenation by temporarily surrounding himself with (mostly) new backing musicians, he often tried different directions. For example, at a handful of stops on his tour with the band, Springteen chose an unusual cover, the Louvin Brothers’ song “Satan’s Jeweled Crown.”
Springseen has only performed “Satan’s Jeweled Crown” six times, all while touring in 1993. Below, Springsteen performs “Satan’s Jeweled Crown” backed by several vocalists.
The YouFube video states that the performance is from Stockholm Olympic Stadium in 1993, but the song is not on the setlist from that show and more likely from shows around the same time in England, Germany, or Ireland. Check it out.
The Louvin Brothers
“Satan’s Jeweled Crown” is a cover of The Louvin Brothers song that appeared on their 1959 album Satan is Real. Songwriter Edgar L. Eden wrote “Satan’s Jeweled Crown” as a religious song, where the singer rejects the temptations of Satan with the help of God.
There is not much about songwriter Edgar Eden on the Internet, with his name only coming up as the writer of “Satan’s Jeweled Crown.” So it is unclear if he wrote anything else. Yet, even if all he left us is “Satan’s Jeweled Crown,” it is a beautiful work. The chorus of the song recounts the casting off of the jeweled crown given by Satan:
Satan’s jeweled crown, I’ve worn it so long; But God, for my soul, has reached down; His love set me free, He made me His own And helped me cast off Satan’s jeweled crown.
Springsteen’s Version
As most Springsteen fans know, the characters in the Boss’s songs have a complicated relationship with religion, and rarely are conflicts so clear. Perhaps that is why Springsteen made some small changes to the lyrics of his version of “Satan’s Jeweled Crown.”
For example, Springsteen begins with the first verse instead of the above chorus that begins the version by The Louvin Brothers. So, Springsteen instead begins with: “If I could be king and ruler of nations . . . I’d rather know that I have salvation. . . ” Whether intentionally or not, this opening takes a Springsteen fan back to “Badlands,” where Springsteen sang about people not finding happiness in being rich or being a king (“a king ain’t satisfied / ‘Til he rules everything”).
After the opening verse of “Satan’s Jeweled Crown,” Springsteen changes the words in the Louvin Brothers’ chorus to replace the reference to “God” with “you” (or “You”): “Then You, for my soul reached down / Your love set me free, You made me your own.”
One may then interpret that the singer is singing about a lover who saved them. Or the “You” could still be God or a reference for whatever religion one practices. It is a tweak to the words that does not undermine the song in many ways and perhaps makes it more inclusive at the same time.
Springsteen also tweaked the second verse, changing the description of the singer’s life from “reckless and evil” to “wasteful and sinful.” He also changes the Louvin Brothers’ “drinking and running around” to eliminate the drinking part: “Yeah, I just keep moving around.”
Springsteen may have learned the song from Emmylou Harris’s recording of the song, which she entitled with a slight alteration, “Satan’s Jewel Crown.” Her version appeared on her 1975 album Elite Hotel. Either way, he clearly was aware of her version.
Like Springsteen, Harris begins the song with the verse instead of the chorus (changing “if I were king” to “if I were queen”). The changes that Springsteen made to the Louvin Brothers’ second verse also are similar to changes earlier made by Harris to that verse. Still, he made some alterations to Harris’s version too, using “wasteful and sinful” versus Harris’s “sinful and needless” (in contrast to the Louvin Brothers’ “reckless and evil”).
There is one big difference between Harris’s version and Springsteen’s. Harris kept the reference specifically to “God” in the chorus. So Springsteen’s change to “You” likely was original to him.
Many Rivers to Cross
Springsteen and the same singers during the May 28, 1994 Stockholm concert did perform Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross.” (You also can see that Springsteen is in a different outfit for this performance, confirming that the “Satan’s Jeweled Crown” video is not from the same show.
Yet, it is another amazing and somewhat unusual Springsteen concert performance.
These covers show one side of the many sides of Bruce Springsteen. While his albums have gone in a variety of musical directions, he has never released a gospel album. Such a gospel album project was in the works as recently as 2008, but never released. These performances above, however, show what a treat it would be if Springsteen were to ever release an album devoted to gospel music.
Etta James took “Almost Persuaded,” the hit David Houston song, and made it her own.
The country song “Almost Persuaded” has been recorded by some great singers. Two of the greatest country singers of all time — George Jones and Tammy Wynette — each recorded wonderful versions. But Etta James, not usually thought of for country music, has the greatest version of the song.
“Almost Persuaded” was written by Glenn Sutton and the famous country producer Billy Sherrill. David Houston first released the song in 1966, and his version of “Almost Persuaded” was a number one country hit. It also was top 40 on the pop charts.
The song’s topic is somewhat unusual, as it is not celebrating love or reporting a heartbreak. In “Almost Persuaded,” the singer is married but finds an attraction to another. The singer considers having an affair, but ultimately sees the wedding ring and remembers to be faithful to his or her spouse.
In Houston’s version, the song is slow and sort of sad. In the version by Etta James, she takes the song and stretches out the anguish in the tale while also finding empowerment.
James released her version two years after Houston scored a hit, releasing her version of “Almost Persuaded” in December 1968.
What is interesting about the lyrics is the singer’s decision to be faithful is based on more than one reason. There is the obvious reason, that the singer does not want to lose the “sweet love” she has. But she also recognizes that cheating will change her.
And I was almost persuaded to strip myself of my pride; Almost persuaded to push my conscience aside.
“Almost Persuaded” is a beautiful song, maybe the best one about struggling to be faithful to the one you love. Some have noted the song’s connection to gospel music, noting also that the title comes from a hymn from the ninth century, “Almost Persuaded” by Philip Bliss
Interestingly, the song started out as a B-side. When David Houston recorded a song called “We Got Love” as his A-side, he didn’t have a B-side song. So his producer Billy Sherill worked with Glenn Sutton to write the B-side song (although another source reports that the song was originally written for Charlie Walker). They came up with “Almost Persuaded.” But after the single was released, a DJ in Atlanta started playing Houston’s B-side and soon “Almost Persuaded” became the hit.
Sometimes a great song finds its own way. And sometimes a great song finds another great version in an artist like Etta James.
The “empty garden” of Elton John’s tribute to John Lennon originated from the location where the two had once performed together.
John Lennon was killed on December 8, 1980. In 1981, Elton John recorded a tribute song to Lennon that was released in 1982. John had been good friends with Lennon and initially balked at the idea of a tribute song. But he changed his mind upon seeing Bernie Taupin’s lyrics for “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny).”
I had loved the song since its release. Although I was a little kid when the Beatles broke up, the Beatles had always been a part of my musical life. And in 1980 when I had just started college, Lennon’s death was a memorable marker in my life. I know it is a cliché, but I still remember where I was when I heard the news and who was with me.
The “Garden” is a Real Place
The lyrics to “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” incorporate images of a garden left behind by its keeper. Only recently, though, have I understood where Elton John’s and Bernie Taupin’s idea for the garden images originated. Their choice gives the song deeper meaning.
In the 2007 performance below from Madison Square Garden for Elton John’s 60th birthday concert, John explains the song’s reference to the “Garden.” He tells the audience that Madison Square Garden is the only place appropriate for the song, and it is the only place where he plays the song.
Upon hearing his comments, one better better understands the reference to an “empty garden.” Elton John and John Lennon had performed together at Madison Square Garden in 1974. It was one of Lennon’s final public performances.
Thus, when John sings about the “empty garden,” he imagines the emptiness of the great New York City performance venue without Lennon. From there, Taupin’s lyrics use the image to describe a living garden.
Since that performance, though, John has has not limited the song’s performance to Madison Square Garden. He has performed the song in many other locations.
The lyrics also make other clever references to Lennon. The chorus question of “can’t you come out to play” refers to Lennon’s song written for the Beatles, “Dear Prudence.” The opening line of that song asks “Dear Prudence, won’t you come out to play?”
“Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” is far from Elton John’s best-known song. It is not even his most popular tribute song. He is more known for “Candle in the Wind,” his song for Marilyn Monroe that was later altered for Princess Diana. But “Empty Garden” remains one of his most heartfelt songs.
