10 Moving Songs

from the last six decades, performed by artists ranging from Billie Holiday to Janis Joplin, and Shirley Bassey to Al Green that appeal to the soul.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved music. Not any particular genre, it just has to do something for me.

It has to excite me.

But sometimes it does more than that.

It makes something in my solar plexus slip.

That's what I mean when I say 'it appeals to the soul', or 'touches a nerve'.

Thinking it would be a good idea to compile a collection of such songs, what better place to do it than here.

Of course, I could have added a good many more, but some of these are interesting, because they appear to have been widely forgotten.

Others here, though, have become classics.

There are videos attached to each song, but three of them do not show the artist performing. If anyone knows where a better video can be found, please let me know.

It was only by coincidence that I ever got to hear this very slinky song.

When I moved to Cologne back in 1987, I left my record collection in England. One song I really wanted again was 'Fine and Mellow' by Billie. I found it on a cassette, and on it was this one, too.

'Stormy Blues' was recorded with BB King in 1957 and is, in my opinion, one of Billie's best ever, and strangely enough, one of her least played.

Nobody seems to be able to explain exactly what this song is about.

It certainly has something to do with being at sea; two additional verses -- never to date recorded -- more or less confirm this.

The lyrics '... the miller told his tale ...' I always mistook for '... the mirror told its tale ...'. That would seem logical, but little is logical here. And the line has nothing to do with a Chaucer poem, as largely speculated.

As far as this song is concerned, I find it better to just listen and not think too much about what I'm hearing. Atop the fabulous images the lyrics conjure, Gary Brooker's vocals are magnificent.

The song was released in 1967, reaching number 1 in the UK charts, and number 5 in the US. It has since become a rock classic.

Don't you love the ingenious simplicity of this video?

In 1972, my Father gave me a K-Tel compilation album. Had I not taken it, he would have chucked it out.

On it was 'In a Broken Dream' by the Australian band Python Lee Jackson, featuring Rod Stewart.

I played that one track until it was worn out.

Apart from the music itself being amazingly powerful, the lyrics are some of the most disconcerting I have heard to date.

The record flopped in the charts in 1970, becomming a UK number three hit in 1972 after re-release.

I recently rediscovered it on Amazon, and wondered how such a great title could have been forgotten.

And 'Evergreen' has become an evergreen.

After I'd seen the movie 'A Star is Born' in 1976, the first thing I did was go out and buy the sound track.

Barbra wrote this song, remarkably composing it on the guitar while she was still learning to play it.

There is an equally beautiful version by Luther Vandross, but I think I'm drawn to this one by Barbra's unearthly voice.

By the way, the video here was recorded live on the set of "A Star is Born'.

Because I love the song so much, I decided to sing it myself, so I've slipped that video in, too.

A song like this would probably never be a smash hit, but from the very first sublime chord, I get an uplifting jolt.

Although not in any way religious, this one makes me want to go to one of those Baptist churches where the congregation take hysterically and trembling to the floor possessed by the good spirit (or I suppose that's what it is they're possessed by).

It energizes and tranquilizes at the same time.

In 1983, I bought the single 'Let's Stay Together' by Tina Turner. Wanting to hear the original version of that song, I discovered Al Green, and have been a fan ever since.

This song was written in 1950, and has been performed by, among numerous others, Eartha Kitt, Nina Simone and Jeff Buckley. But this 1978 version by Elkie Brooks is, in my opinion, by far the most impressive.

Why it's fallen into almost complete obscurity, I can't imagine.

I was hooked on it from the very first moment I heard and saw Elkie perform it on 'Top of the Pops'.

In case you haven't guessed, the song is about being in love and drunk; on love or wine, the confusion is the same.

Have any of you ever tried lilac wine?

I've also added my own rendition of 'Lilac Wine'. If you'd like to see and hear more of me, then take a look at my Hub, Karaoke - 10 Songs to Sing and Playbacks to Download. I sing all 10 songs myself, including this one and 'Evergreen'.

When I first heard this in 2006, I was mesmerized.

I've always been fascinated by Shirley's incredible vocal talent, but rarely by her choice of songs. Having said that, I love her Bond themes, and this could almost be one of them.

There'll never be another singer like her, and we're lucky to have her.

I hope she does more of this kind of stuff.

As you've probably gathered, I love this song.

But watching Billie perform it, well ... it makes the hair stand on end.

Truly a charismatic lady.

And the solos are unbelievable.

Billie wrote the song, first recording it in 1939. This is a TV clip from 1957.

It was the 1972 movie 'Lady Sings the Blues' starring Diana Ross that introduced me to Billie Holiday.

It was some time durung the early eighties that I first heard this song .

It moved me in the same sort of way as Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata'.

It's been said that if Beethoven were alive today, he'd be a Soul Man -- one of the greatest.

Maybe Otis was his reincarnation.

There are numerous covers of this song -- my favourite by Tina Turner, my least favourite by Seal -- but nobody does it better than Otis.

There are three songs for which Janis Joplin is famous; Mercedes Benz, Me and Bobby McGee, and Cry Baby.

But what about this one?

When I first heard it, it made my heart skip a beat. Janice's performance of this tremendously powerful song proves she certainly was one of the world's best ever blues singers.

Yet it seems to go unnoticed.

The studio version is even better than the one here.

10 songs that appeal to the senses, and that's what makes them exceptional.

Hope they touched a nerve for you, too.

Thank you for reading -- and listening!