The Underground of Happiness

A little while back I put together a mix of my favourite singers and vocalists . There were 39 tracks in it but as soon as I finished it I realised there were loads I’d forgotten about. So here’s Part 2 (possibly of an ongoing series). There’s a capella, shoegaze (a genre often highlights and heightens the vocals), stirring soul, sunshine pop, jazz, group singing, solo. It can be hard to distinguish where the great song ends and the great singer starts. Is it the song or the singer? I don’t know but I know what I like. Enjoy. Playlist Nat King Cole – Nature boy (Capitol) Doris Day – Secret love (from the soundtrack of the film Calamity Jane ) Julee Cruise – Falling (from the soundtrack of the film/tv series Twin Peaks ) Susanna & the Magical Orchestra – Hallelujah (Rune Grammafon) Laetitia Sadier – Invitation au silence (Drag City) C Duncan – Silence and air (Fat Cat) Kathryn Joseph – the want (Hits The Fan Records) Jonathan Hering – Hear my p...

We mentioned an album last month, the great Eden's Island by Eden Ahbez, which has been re-issued on Trunk Records . First of all, you need to hear that. But secondly, it made me think again about another Eden Ahbez song, Nature boy , which was made famous by Nat King Cole . Here's some footage of the Nat trio doing a version, very close to the recorded one. The date isn't given but I'd guess it's around 1948 or so, when the song was a hit. That's one of the high water marks in pop music history, hands down. I went through a period, some years ago, of being quite obsessed with the tune, but I haven't listened to it in too long (my CD copy went astray). It's great to hear it again. Plus Nat could play one mean piano, in fairness.