Hope all of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving and fun celebrating the holiday weekend with family and friends. It was a crazy busy time here for me with a zillion dogs boarding for the holiday and in fact I completely forgot to post the battle results so my apologies for being so tardy.
This is going to be short and sweet: my computer is acting up and I have to take it in to clear off whatever is making it stall and move so sluggishly. I’m getting irritated seeing “Not Responding” in every single program, and productivity is only a pipe-dream at this point.
Anyway, this month’s battle featured the Classics IV classic “Spooky” with Joan Osborne and Deana Martin both vying for the win.
JOAN OSBORNE steamrolled Deana Martin. Voters most definitely preferred Osborne’s smoky vocal style over Deana’s swing approach, myself included. I liked Deana’s version and enjoyed it very much. Her style set a whole new tone for the song, whereas I think Joan’s version is more fitting for the overall context of “Spooky.”
FINAL TALLY:
JOAN OSBORNE – 10 votes
DEANA MARTIN – 3 votes
Another female vocal version that I considered using in this battle was a cover by Dusty Springfield. For those not familiar with Dusty, here’s the opening paragraph from her Wikipedia bio page:
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien, OBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), professionally known as Dusty Springfield, was an English pop singer and record producer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s. With her distinctive sensual mezzo-soprano sound, she was an important blue-eyed soul singer and at her peak was one of the most successful British female performers, with six top 20 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 and sixteen on the UK Singles Chart from 1963 to 1989. She is a member of the US Rock and Roll and UK Music Halls of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female rock artists of all time. Her image, supported by a peroxide blonde bouffant hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy make-up, as well as her flamboyant performances made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.
To close this battle out, here is another fine cover of the classic “Spooky”. I really like the video of this particular performance: the set is really cool, love the colors and the overall style of the time period. I don’t know the date of this recording or the setting but I think you’ll like it. Here is Dusty Springfield’s version:
As always, thanks for participating in my battle. See you next month on December 15th for the final battle of 2017. Until then, rock on…
Angels Bark 
Hooray, Joan! If Dusty had been the opponent it would have been a closer battle I think and Dusty might have won.
Lee
Tossing It Out
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Hi, Michele!
It’s great to see you, dear friend! Thanks for posting the outcome of your BOTB. I wound up on the winning side for a change and I’m happy to know your ears matched mine. The Classics IV are categorized as a “soft southern rock” band and “Spooky” as a “jazz fusion” recording. The late Dennis Yost had a soulful voice and I believe it takes a soulful artist to cover his material effectively. Joan Osborne delivers the goods, and so does the smoky voiced Dusty Springfield. In fact Dusty’s version would have received my vote if it had been entered in the contest. Another great example of a Classics IV cover done right is “Stormy” by The Supremes:
I hope you, your mom and your dogs are in good health and good spirits. Have a wonderful week, dear friend Michele!
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Dusty’s dress and jewelry take me back in time. I’m not surprised that Joan won. She had the right sound. Good battle. I love Spooky.
Love,
Janie
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Glad to be on the winning side, this time. 🙂 Deana can sing well, but I think the arrangement did her in. Dusty’s version is good too. As Arlee said, she likely would have made it a close battle. I can imagine things were a little hairy over the Thanksgiving weekend. Hope you get a bit of a break before your Christmas rush starts.
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