This, my fourth publication, on cover versions of the Beatles and other performers. In fact, it was not at all supposed, as “to be going back to the beginning of the 50s of the twentieth century”. But today, quite by accident, I “stumbled upon” a cover version of the most popular rock'n'roll of the 50s performed by none other than…. the world renown drummer from the legendary Beatles – Sir Ringo Starr. Moreover, judging by the muzzles (face masks to be “saved from covid” ) on the faces of some musicians, this is a very recent record. "And Ringo is so young there ..." (Only people of the older generation understand this ... Like a caricatures of the song from the USSR "And Lenin is so young ... )
Yes. John Lennon was killed 41 years ago. George Harrison died exactly 20 years ago. Even Paul McCartney stopped dyeing his hair and he is now very old - 79 years old - and he has stopped singing at live concerts .. His voice began to fail and give out senile notes. Alas. And here in a fresh clip appears …. Ringo the handsome. Who in the Beatles was the most NOT HANDSOME out of the Legendary Four. He briskly knocks on drums and merrily sings, albeit in a very mediocre, but such a recognizable voice from the Beatles times. Sir Ringo appears in the video with a black beard and black hair. A brunette. Let it be even freshly dyed. But this is a very good idea ! Don't scare people with gray hair. But in this image, Ringo can only please people aged 65 plus, who are now ( in Russia after 25th October, 2021 , put under actual house arrest in connection with the pandemic, as almost inferior people ... “ Sit and breathe ( or may by die) strictly at home “... But it turns out that even at the age of 80, you may not be in this discriminated age category as if somebody has decided: “They have already outlived their own life time ” and we, in fact/ should discriminate against them under the guise of “caring for their health” ... This approach reminds me an old, still pre-revolutionary joke: “I whipped this boy named Vaska, naturally for his own good, and he, the rascal, then hanged himself.” Do THEY expect us to hang ourselves during 4 month of lockdown till the end of February, 2022 ???
But it turns out that not only after the age “60 plus”, but even after “75 plus”, one can look so cheerful and sing with so much fun!
Looking at Sir Ringo in this video, the thought involuntarily arises: "So, despite the Covid, we still will live on !"
Finally, in the context of the pandemic and Covid restrictions (the end of which is not visible), this clip deserves to be watched to cheer up ourselves. But before watching at and listening to the music in the video, follow a little story about this composition itself.
“Rock-Around-the Clock” is not considered the very first rock and roll composition . But this composition, written back in 1952 by two American musicians, was little known until 1955, when Bill Haley sang it and recorded it on a single. And it was a bomb! This composition played a huge role in popularizing the rock-and-roll music genre. Among other things, its impact was great on the Beatles, and on the founder and the leader in the early years of this group - John Lennon, who was undoubtedly a real rocker. What is felt in the compositions written by him personally during The Beatles times. John Lennon wrote his famous slow ballad, in the spirit of Paul McCartney, - "Imagine" after the collapse of the Beatles ....
So this composition, as an ancestor of the genre of music "Rock and Roll", it is directly related to our theme of my recent publications - "Cover version of the Beatles compositions". Although in a "mirror image" - a lively and vigorous member of the Beatles – Sir Ringo Starr - in 2021 performs a cover of this 1955 composition - the ancestor of the to much of music that the Beatles wrote and performed in 1963-1969.
The video to this text is recorded in THREE versions - 1) the original composition performed by Bill Haley (By the way, at the 20th second of the video you can see for a second the still young film actor and the future US President Ronald Reagan. It is simply impossible to confuse him with someone else)… And 2) on the second video clip this song is sung by ... a famous Italian singer and film actor Adriano Celentano. Who would have thought that he sings in English an American composition ! We all know him as a performer of Italian songs. But he also sang a cover for this famous composition. What we can assume from all this ? An evident fact that too many cover version are not just an imitation, but it is a kind of tribute to the memory of the past famous musicians and of the music of the past. And also a sort of a respect for those who still love this kind of music ... But Celentano sings it even better than Ringo. As a vocalist that Ringo never really was.
Happy viewing !
https://zen.yandex.ru/id/5c9f38ac78122b00b4aa330f?utm_source=main_stripe_big#video