Saturday, October 13, 2012
Minnie Riperton - Loving You
"Lovin' You" is a 1975 hit single by Minnie Riperton. The song became the 400th No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 5, 1975. Additionally, the song reached No. 2 in the UK, and No. 3 on the R&B charts in the US. The song is especially noteworthy due to the unusually high pitches that Riperton reaches during the song. It's also noteworthy for the sound of the chirping songbirds that are heard throughout the song, which Riperton phonates by use of the whistle register.
It was the fourth single from the album Perfect Angel (1974). The song is notable for Riperton's use of the whistle register.
"Lovin' You" was among the first several songs to top the U.S. pop chart without the help of a percussion instrument. Prior examples of percussion-less Number Ones were Jim Croce – "Time in a Bottle" (1973), The Beatles – "Yesterday" (1965), and on the UK Singles Chart, The Beatles – "Eleanor Rigby" (1966).
According to the liner notes from Riperton's compilation CD Petals, the melody for "Lovin' You" was created as a distraction for her daughter (Maya Rudolph) when she was a baby so that Minnie and her husband Richard could hang out. Maya was in the studio with her mother on the day the song was recorded and Riperton can be heard singing her daughter's name at the end of the song, but only in the unedited or album version of the song. The song fades out early in the single edit, because the disc jockeys felt that the repeated "MAYA" was being overdone and too misunderstood, thinking that it was a "Mayan Chant".
Friday, October 12, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston - When You Believe
"When You Believe" is an Academy Award-winning song by American recording artists Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. The song was written and composed by Stephen Schwartz for the 1998 DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. A version of "When You Believe" was produced as a single with additional music by writer-producer Babyface for the film's soundtrack album. Additionally, the song was featured on Houston's fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love and Carey's first compilation album, Number 1's. The song was described as a big ballad, with meaningful and inspirational lyrics, describing the ability each person has to achieve miracles when they reach out to God and believe.
The song received generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. "When You Believe" experienced moderate success on the US Billboard charts, peaking at only number fifteen on the Hot 100, despite heavy media attention and live promotion. The song however, achieved strong charting throughout Europe and other worldwide regions, peaking within the top five in Belgium, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Due to strong single sales in Europe and the US, the song was received various certification awards throughout many major music markets.
"When You Believe" was awarded the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 71st annual ceremony on March 21, 1999. Prior to their performance of the song that night, Schwartz left Babyface's name off the nomination submission sheet. He felt that because the additions Babyface added to the song weren't featured in the actual film version, he didn't deserve writing credits. However, while Babyface did not receive the Oscar, Carey and Houston performed his version of the song, because they were more familiar with it than the one in the film. Prior to their performance at the Academy Awards, they sang it on November 26, 1998 on The Oprah Winfrey Show, promoting the song, as well as both their albums.
The song featured two music videos. The first and most commonly seen video was filmed at Brooklyn Academy of Music performing arts center. The video features both females, and begins with Houston and Carey performing in a large auditorium, giving the allusion of a concert. Towards the end of the video, clips of the film are projected onto a large screen at the concert, whole they belt out the final verse. The alternate video features a similar synopsis, with both singers performing on a large stage an old Egyptian pyramid. The main difference however, is the fact that no film clips are played in the video and there is no audience present.
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