Hello, kittens & dawgs! I’m back feeling refreshed after my little blog break and ready to go. Well…I’m almost ready to go. I’ll explain a little later, but first let me say, I can’t believe it’s November already, can you? Usually, I feature a group or artist on Saturdays, but it’s the first of a new month. What’s that got to do with anything, you say. If that’s why you’re here this morning, then you’re know it’s time for BATTLE OF THE BANDS, but if not and you’re not familiar with BOTB, then hop over to STM’s website to get the 411!
I said I’m almost ready to get back into blogging. DH has a week of vacation he needs to use or lose before the year ends, and since there is no better time than the present, we decided to kick back for a little extra fun next week. Actually, it started last night if you want to get technical about it. Cyberville gets neglected, but do you blame me when faced with a wonderful opportunity?
That being said, if you’re here for Monday’s Music Moves Me and looking to boogie with me, then I’m sorry. I promise to be back next week in full dancing mode! Sometimes life hands you unexpected treasures that are too good to pass and knowing life is too short I want to enjoy these precious moments with the one I love!
Are you ready for the battle? Let’s get started!
In 1956, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins wrote I Put a Spell on You. According to Wikipedia, Hawkins intended to make it a refined bluesy, love ballad. However, something went terribly wrong in a good sorta way. He divulges this little snippet about that day. “The producer brought in ribs and chicken and got everybody drunk, and we came out with this weird version….I don’t even remember making the record. Before, I was just a normal blues singer. I was just Jay Hawkins. It all sort of just fell in place. I found out I could do more destroying a song and screaming it to death.”
Many artists over the years have done this song as a cover and I listened to a lot of the versions preparing for today’s challenge. I’m quite fond of Bette Milder doing this song in Hocus Pocus and it’s perhaps one of the most popularly played videos. However, I grew up listening to CCR and its this version I remember most and love. There are other excellent choices to considered, but thought it would be interesting to pit Casey Abrams against Queen Latifah.
I’m not ashamed to admit it, I’m an AI fan…or at least I used to be. Last season wore me just a bit thin and I sorta fell out of love with the show because the contestants were NOT the cream of the crop despite the judges boosting that they were. Please, don’t insult me! Anywho, there was a time when rare talent popped up and Season 10 was just one of those special times when Casey Abrams was introduced to America! I love Casey! Well… his voice and style, I love. He’s an energetic, wild rocker, but the way he ended this song grabbed me. How about you?
I’m gonna tell you this, I was not prepared to like Queen Latifah, but I was a bit smitten with her rendition. Unlike many of the female artists I listened to, Latifah kept the vocals simple and that I liked…a lot. Listen!
Which artist put a spell on you ~ Abrams or Latifah?
Okay, here’s what you do to vote. In my comments section, tell me which band you like the best and why. After you’re done, then why not see what other BOTB participants (see below) are sharing.
STMcC Presents ‘Battle of the Bands’
Creative Outlet of Stratplayer
You probably thought I forgot, but I didn’t. The #BOTB: Chick Fight winner is Imogen Heap. She stole every single person’s vote, including mine with her rendition of Spooky.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll hop over to see you soon. Be sure to come back on the 15th to see who wins #BOTB this go around. Have a tunetastic week!
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Another vote for Dana Owens, a/k/a Queen Latifah. I love that woman’s voice, and I love that she didn’t try to be Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. The kid from American Idol has a good voice, but not for this song, and the arrangement was a little too “Vegas, baby!” for my taste.
My favorite version of this song is Creedence Clearwater Revival’s version off of their eponymous first album.
Ahh I totally understand. I’m glad you are feeling refreshed and home you’ll be even more so after this part.
Thanks for rocking.
Queen gets my vote by a mile. Though Casey had some moments with his growls.
I have to say in this battle the Queen took the crown. She is an amazing singer.
Casey lost me less than 30 seconds in with the, “You know what I’m talkin’ ’bout, Baby!” and never got me back. Schock, lounge-act, affected, wanna-be-cool does NOT equate to true soul. vocally, the guy has decent technical ability, but he was playing pretend on the artificial stage of an artificial show manufacturing artificial “stars.”
Queen Latifah, on the other hand, showed great vocal maturity and sultry soul. Her version won by a mile.
But, Chris…how do you really feel about AI? LOL You made me laugh when I read your comment. I just loved it! I have very little experience with live performances. I know these artists are cheating their way to fame and only a few of these will actually wide the wave to success. Casey was a lot of fun to watch when he was on Idol and I haven’t kept up with him. You’ve inspired me to do some digging to see what became of him and others like him, but that’ll have to wait till next week as I’m enjoying life with DH this week. Thanks for your vote. Latifah seems to be stealing all the votes.
I liked both of them versions, at the moment here in the UK there’s a car ad running on TV the last few months using the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins version 🙂
Have a tanfabulous week 🙂
I am just not fond of screaming while singing. So, I didn’t much care for the first one.
Wow. QL shocked me. I really liked that a whole lot more than I expected. Color me a bit smitten, too. My vote goes to the Queen.
Casey is a wild man for sure and he does a lot of screaming. He has a lot of talent and it was great watching him on Idol, but his style isn’t always for everyone. Everyone is enjoying QL over Casey. I wasn’t sure how this would play out, but I didn’t think it would be as one sided as it is turning out to be. Thanks for stopping by, Robin!
My vote goes to Queen Latifah. Although not a fan of her usual style, she really nails it on this one.
Queen Latifah all the way. She did an original take (for me) on this great song. I love the jazzy feel to it and pictured myself in a cellar club with smoke in the air (I see it in black and white of course) and her at the mike-She nailed it! The first one, he is good but you can tell he needs to refine himself still. Queen is a true professional.
I haven’t watched any american idol lately. I fell out of it after Simon left. Anyways, we did away with cable subscribing so no more tv watching period. 🙂
WOW, no TV watching at all! We don’t have cable, either. All of our TV viewing is done off broadcast stations. Luckily we are in a part of town where our reception is incredible and we can get several channels. So, there’s no need for the added expense. We do a lot streaming (Netflix or Amazon Prime), though. That cost is by far better than having cable TV.
This song showed Casey’s vocal range, and I think I could be a fan, but not with this song. Maybe I just feel the song suits a female voice. And yes, I’m surprised I liked Quenn Latifah. Wierdly enough, I’ve always thought she was a beautiful woman, even with all the weight.
She gets my vote – but Bette’s Hocus Pocus version will always be my favorite.
I am not an American idol fan-I still think the best way to become a musician is to work at it and hone your skills in front of audiences that slowly increase in size as your skills increase.
An opinion I feel is validated by the number of Idol winners who fade into obscurity by the time the next season starts compared to those who have sustained careers.
Queen Latifah did two albums of standards that I found quite good-surprising considering the genre she achieved her fame in.
Between the rapper and the wannabe, it was easy to vote for Dana Owens!
(That’s Queen Latifah’s real name, in case you were wondering)
Larry
I didn’t know QL’s real name. Thanks for the tid-bit! It was a delight stumbling across her cover and to learn she can actually sing.
I can’t say I’m in love with either version when put up against the classic take by CCR. I do like Casey Abrams. I thought he did some very original stuff on AI–I like his unique jazzy twists that he put on things. I wasn’t thrilled with his big band approach to this song.
I was prepared to vote Casey because I expected to dislike Latifah’s version, but she surprised me like she did you. That was pretty smokin’.
I vote Queen Latifah.
Lee
Tossing It Out