12 MEMORABLE SONGS BY FEMALE SINGERS

Comfortable in intimate surroundings and in close proximity of my School in Jaipur, who can blame me for indulging in some musical nostalgia. So here goes my pick of 12 songs by female singers, generally in chronological order.

The first one has to be Judy Garland's "Over The Rainbow" which is just one year younger than me. I don't know if I heard it in my infancy but a definite memory is from Father Cosgrove's screening of "The Wizard of Oz" in School in early 1950s. A timeless classic, the song takes us to a child's dreamland. Told by her guardian aunt to go find a place where she won't get into trouble, Dorothy (Judy Garland) starts walking with her dog, Toto, fantasising about a place which is far far away, not where you can get by boat or train, but 'somewhere over the rainbow, way up high....birds fly over the rainbow, why then, oh, why can't I.'

I became a Doris Day fan listening to her on Radio Ceylon in my schooldays and beyond as she kept coming up with hits after hits such as "Secret Love" and "Que Sera Sera", a song loved by children of all ages! But I will always remember her for "This Is Beautiful Music To Love By." An enchanting song, it is the right piece to play when in a romantic mood. Put it on, take your partner in your arms and gently waltz away into the night.

The '60s brought up a whole new crop of singers and one of them was Nancy Sinatra, a chip of the old block. My top song by her was ''You Only Live Twice", composed by John Barry as the theme for the James Bond movie. After much deliberation, he decided that Nancy should sing it.  John Barry's lush orchestra provided a distinctive opening with violins, French horns and strings setting the stage for a smooth entry by Nancy to deliver a touching, melancholic song. The intriguing lyrics speak of love as a stranger that involves a danger which must not be thought of, else the stranger would be gone.The lover 'must pay the price, make one dream come true, you only live twice'. The song became Nancy's top hit. 

Shirley Bassey burst into fame in the late '60s though her popularity lasted much longer. She was a favourite with John Barry who gave her a record three James Bond themes in ''Goldfinger", "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Moonraker". She had so many hits that it is difficult to choose one but I'll stick my neck out with "Never Never Never'', the English version of the Italian hit titled "Grande Grande Grande". In her captivating style, Shirley casts a spell on her listeners with her 'Love you hate you, love you hate you' conundrum, but 'Whatever you do, I'll never, never, never want to be with anyone but you.'

For most of us, Mary Hopkin was a one-hit wonder but that one number made her unforgettable."Those Were The Days" was a bittersweet song recounting the passage of time from 'where we used to raise a glass or two' and 'laughed away the hours and think of all the great things we would do' to 'then the busy years went rushing by us, we lost our starry notions on the way' and finally 'tonight....nothing seemed the way it used to be, in the glass I saw a strange reflection, was that lonely woman really me?' Harsh realities of life!

For sentimental songs, the French singer, Francoise Hardy, was one of the best. Pretty and seductive with an anxious voice, she would make a hole in your heart with her melancholic ballads. She was her own songwriter which might be the main reason why she could put the right emotion in her singing. For me, the song never to forget is ''Will You Love Me Tomorrow":

'Tonight you're mine completely, you give your love so sweetly,

Tonight the light of love is in your eyes, But will you love me tomorrow?

Is this a lasting treasure, or just a moment's pleasure....

Do tell me now and I won't ask again,

Will you still love me tomorrow.'

On to the next song on my list- oops, just realised I am jumping a decade. The last few songs were from the '60s and the next is from 1981. Perhaps the '70s were dominated by groups such as ABBA, Boney M and The BeeGees, leaving new soloists far behind. So the next number I have from a female vocalist is 'Memory' from the '81 musical "Cats". The pedigree of the song is in a class by itself- music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Trevor Nunn based on poems of the famous T.S. Eliot. The original show had Elaine Paige singing the song as the climax in the musical. Later, Barbra Streisand came up with her remarkable version. The lyrics tug at the heartstrings and while it would be too long to reproduce the entire song, I must quote two stanzas:

'Memory, all alone in the moonlight, I can dream of the old days,

Life was beautiful then, I remember the time I knew what happiness was,

Let the memory live again.

Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise, I must think of a new life, and I mustn't give in,

When the dawn comes, tonight will be a memory too,

And a new day will begin."

Next year, Laura Branigan sang "Gloria', a number adapted from Umberto Tozzi's Italian superhit with the same title. Laura's English version was an instant hit and became her signature tune. It is a fast paced, catchy tune designed to get you in a swinging mood though its lyrics are complex and not happy. Different interpretations have been given to its lines but the most accepted one is that of a woman whose looks have withered though she thinks she is still beautiful and everyone is lusting after her. She is becoming desperate for a stable relationship and could be heading for a breakdown as the line repeated four times in the song implies, 'Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria?' Little did Laura know that in her own head she was developing cerebral aneurysm to which she would succumb in her sleep at the age of 52.

Sinead O'Connor gave her all in the deeply emotional number, "Nothing Compares To U". Listening to her and watching her passionate performance on video, one gets the feeling that she is actually suffering a heartbreak. In the song written by Prince, Sinead takes us through the torment of losing her lover '7 hours and 15 days' ago trying all means to move on but continuing to miss him ' 'Cause nothing compares to you'.

An all-time romantic classic was featured in the movie "Titanic"with Celine Dion's fabulous "My Heart Will Go On". The song provided the perfect background for the burgeoning love of the characters played by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. The enchanting scene of the two in a close embrace with arms outstretched on the bows of the ship will remain etched in our minds for a long, long time.

Being an old-timer, present day singers don't move me much. Even Billie Eilish's award winning theme song from "No Time To Die" left me cold. There is one song though that I chanced upon recently that I would put on the same pedestal as the ones mentioned above and that is "One Moment In Time'. Originally a Whitney Houston hit, I love the passion and energy the Belgian singer Dana Winner puts into her version. Its lyrics are truly touching:

'One moment in time, when I'm more than I thought I could be,

When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away, and the answers are all up to me.

Give me one moment in time, when I'm racing with destiny,

Then in that one moment in time, I will be, I will be free.'

And now, I go more than 70 years back in time to round up my list with the Caterina Valente tango, "Kiss Of Fire". I used to sing this song as a 13 year old before quite knowing what the word 'kiss' meant let alone 'kiss of fire'! But the passion with which Caterina sang, it could leave one burnt and smoldering:

'Just like a torch you set the soul within me burning, I must go on, I'm on this road of no returning,

And though it burns me and it turns me into ashes,

My whole world crashes without your kiss of fire....

Give me your lips, the lips you only let me borrow, love me tonight and let the devil take tomorrow,

I know that I must have your kiss although it dooms me, though it consumes me ,

The kiss of fire.'

Really!