Today, I would like to focus my thoughts on songs. Here is a music-themed story that reflects on one of the most recognized aspects of music - its uniqueness. The same song could be heard and sung by professional artists in various countries and sound different. This story attempts to see behind the musical hype and highlights how certain songs just seem to jive with certain singers and not so much for others.
It was a quiet January morning and one of my friends was listening to a classic ballad song on the radio called "Release Me" sung by Engelbert Humperdinck. As soon as Engelbert started singing at the beginning of the song, my friend stood up with a pen in his hand and started lip-syncing to the words. I enjoyed the slow and melancholy tones. As for my friend, it was clear that he was really passionate about the song. Every change in the stanza would evoke a different facial and bodily expression.
After the song finished, my friend offered me a challenge. I was to find the name of a singer around the world who sang with nearly the same power, tone, and quality as Engelbert. This singer was supposed to be around during the same time period where Engelbert was at his peak performing years. He said that I could seek help from others and use the 'world's greatest resource' - the internet. Once he said this, I accepted the challenge and began looking through the internet for the most popular (and obscure) singers that had covered this particular song.
It was no small task. I soon began finding myself digging through old files, notes, and CDs trying to find any singer that met my friend's criteria. I was on the verge of giving up when an idea entered my mind. I remembered I had another distant friend whose parents had toured other countries between the 1960s and 1970s. During their trips, they would collect and preserve some of the most iconic and popular records in each country that they passed.