Wednesday 7 August 2013

Music - Part 113 - eden ahbez And Nature Boy




If asked to pick my favourite song of all time it would probably be between two slow tempo numbers.  One would be Somebody by Depeche Mode which I just think is one of the finest songs ever written.  The other, whilst undoubtedly a classic, and, recorded by well over 40 artists ranging from James Brown to Engelbert Humperdinck, is Nature Boy.


George Alexander Aberle, known as eden ahbez was born in 1908.  He was an American songwriter and recording artist from the 1940s to 1960s, whose Californian lifestyle was a major influence on the Hippie movement.  He was known to friends simply as 'ahbe'.
Ahbez composed Nature Boy which became a No. 1 hit for Nat 'King' Cole in 1948 and has since become a pop and jazz standard.
He lived an idyllic rural life from at least the 1940s, travelled in sandals and wore shoulder-length hair and beard, and white robes.  He camped out below the first 'L' in the famous Hollywood sign above Los Angeles and studied Oriental mysticism. He slept outdoors with his family and lived purely on vegetables, fruits, and nuts. He claimed to live on $3 per week.

Stealing an idea from fellow Blogger Dukla Prague Away Kit, here are three versions of the song:

The first version I heard was by post-disco/pop/jazz-funk group, Central Line on Top Of The Pops in 1983. I don't really kow why but I seemed to recall it when I heard the Nat 'King' Cole version circa 1987.  It was a time when I discovered Cole and fell in love with his voice.  For me, he had the greatest voice ever - the vocal equivalent drinking Guinness.  





The second version I've picked is by David Bowie.  It was used in one of my favourite films, Moulin Rouge, although not the version sung by The Thin White Duke.  The character of Toulouse Lautrec (John Leguizamo) performed his version in the opening scenes, and, the song lyrics play a huge part in the film itself.  A remix by Massive Attack was used in the closing credits, and, both this and the Bowie version appear on the film soundtrack.





Version three is by Amanda Ghost.  Her debut album, Ghost Stories, in 2000 is so far her only 'physical' album (The Download Collection was released in 2008), and, is an absolute corker - well worth checking out.  She has written songs for Beyonce & Shakira (Beautiful Liar), James Blunt (You're Beautiful), Prodigy (Colours), Ian Brown (I Did It For The Glory), to name but a few.  She was also CEO of Epic Records from 2009 to 2010.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the full song on the net, if anyone can help it would be much appreciated.





The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is, just to love, and be loved, in return.



Links
The Unforgettable Nat 'King' Cole website
David Bowie website
Amanda Ghost website
Dukla Prague Away Kit Blog






No comments:

Post a Comment