Category: Music

Sweet Child o’ Mine, by Guns N’ Roses

Jennifer Zivoin - cover of Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses (2020)
Jennifer Zivoin – cover of Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses (2020)

Guns N’ Roses (often abbreviated as GNR) is a hard rock band from Los Angeles, California. It has existed without interruption since 1985. One of their greatest hits is the song “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” recorded in August 1986, which first appeared on their debut studio album Appetite for Destruction released on July 21, 1987. The song was next released as a single in August 1988, and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it would be the band’s only number 1 US single. It was released again in 1989, reaching then number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Ma petite fille de rêve, par Jean-Michel Caradec

Jean-Michel Caradec - Ma petite fille de rêve
Jean-Michel Caradec – Ma petite fille de rêve (1974) – pochette de 45 tours

Jean-Michel Caradec est un auteur-compositeur-interprète français d’origine bretonne, né le 20 septembre 1946 à Morlaix (Finistère) et mort le 29 juillet 1981 à l’hôpital de Rambouillet (Yvelines), après un accident de la route. Il composa et interpréta de nombreuses chansons de 1969 à 1981, dont 8 albums.

Il rencontra le succès en 1974 avec son deuxième album (label Polydor, référence 2473 035, avec deux versions de couverture, voir ici et ici), intitulé Ma petite fille de rêve d’après le titre de sa première chanson. Celle-ci fut également pubiée comme face A d’un single (label Polydor, référence 2056 332, avec deux versions de couverture, voir ici et ici), et elle devint un tube. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Teacher Teacher, by Dragonette

I have presented the song “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” by The Police, relating the temptation of a love affair between a schoolgirl and her teacher. Indeed, the band’s lead singer Sting had previously worked as an English teacher, and he had noticed 15-year-old girls fancying him.

In 2005, the Canadian band Dragonette released its first disc, an EP titled Dragonette EP, with six tracks. The sixth one, called “Teacher Teacher,” describes the same situation, but this time from the point of view of the girl. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Curious Child, by Prince

Boris Groh - Christmas Wonders
Boris Groh – Christmas Wonders (2017) – from ArtStation

Prince Rogers Nelson (b. June 7, 1958; d. April 21, 2016), known as Prince, was an American artist with multiple talents: singer, songwriter, guitar virtuoso, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker. In some way he represented a dark counterpart of Michael Jackson, and indeed these two contemporary musicians were often rivals.

His 14th studio album (released on October 13, 1992) was titled by a personal “Love Symbol,” and it became his identity, he used it as stage name from June 7, 1993 to May 13, 2000. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant, par Georges Chelon

Pochette du 45 tours "Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant"
Pochette du 45 tours “Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant” (1973) – provient de Discogs

Georges Chelon est un auteur, compositeur et chanteur français, né à Marseille le 4 janvier 1943. Sa chanson “Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant” parut en septembre 1973 sur un simple 45 tours avec “Les grands ensembles” en face B (Disques Meys 10055 ou 128.21, voir ici la pochette). Elle figure également en position 5 de la face B de son LP 33 tours Ouvrez les portes de la vie, également paru en septembre 1973 (Disques Meys 30014 puis 528.202 en 1975, Disques Meys Barclay 45001 au Canada, voir ici la pochette). CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Don’t Stand So Close To Me, by The Police

Romances between teachers and their adolescent pupils must be frequent, and indeed they are the topic of many popular songs.

The British rock band The Police released in September 1980 the song “Don’t Stand So Close To Me,” written by their lead singer Sting, as the lead single from their third album Zenyatta Mondatta. It won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. It is about the temptation of a love affair between a schoolgirl and her teacher, “This girl is half his age” and the song alludes to “That book by Nabakov” (I keep the bad spelling). Before joining The Police, Sting had previously worked as an English teacher, and he had noticed 15-year-old girls fancying him. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Little Girl Blue, by Janis Joplin

Mary Cassatt - Little Girl in a Blue Armchair
Mary Cassatt – Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878)

The popular song “Little Girl Blue,” with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, was published in 1935 for the musical Jumbo, starring Gloria Grafton. In 1962 the musical was made into a musical film, Billy Rose’s Jumbo, starring Doris Day, who sang the song. I found two different versions of the lyrics, on the Lorenz Hart site, and on Genius. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Yuri Krotov - Before debut performance
Yuri Krotov – Before debut performance – from iamachild.wordpress.com

Gigi is a 1958 musical comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, based on the 1944 novella of the same name by the French writer Colette. The screenplay and the song lyrics were written by Alan Jay Lerner, while the music was composed by Frederick Loewe. It starts with Maurice Chevalier singing the song “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” and ends with a reprise of the same song by Maurice Chevalier with a studio chorus. Part of the charm of this performance comes from his typical French accent. Rather than the movie version, I prefer the following video of the song illustrated with pictures of little girls. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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