From time to time we post Cover Song instrumentals available for download because of a timely opportunity we have OR especially for those who sing, but perhaps do not have a band or Cover Songs already recorded.

The Cover Song instrumentals we provide are NOT for sale. You are also not allowed to sell or distribute them. Read Posting Policies before submitting. If we decide to promote and sell your Cover Song, we will notify you for contractual reasons and obtain a mechanical license from the song’s publisher.

So…

Download the Mack The Knife instrumental below.

Simply record your vocals to it using Garage Band or your recording software OR play it in the background while you record a web cam video singing the song. Then, go here and upload an mp3 or video of your performance. If you like, provide embed info to a video on youtube, but that will unfortunately limit our ability to promote you. If approved, your submission will be rated by others and will be considered by us for promotion and distribution or pitching to the TV and Film industry for placement. We’ll notify you if this is the case. Thanks and good luck!

A moritat (from mori meaning “deadly” and tat meaning “deed”) is a medieval version of the murder ballad performed by strolling minstrels. In The Threepenny Opera, the moritat singer with his street organ introduces and closes the drama with the tale of the deadly Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife, a character based on the dashing highwayman Macheath in John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. The Brecht-Weill version of the character was far more cruel and sinister, and has been transformed into a modern anti-hero.

The play opens with the moritat singer comparing Macheath (unfavorably) with a shark, and then telling tales of his robberies, murders, rapes, and arson.

The song was inserted in the play shortly before its premiere in 1928, because Harald Paulsen, who created the role of Macheath, wished a more effectful introduction of his character.

“Mack the Knife” was introduced to the United States hit parade by Louis Armstrong in 1956, but the song is most closely associated with Bobby Darin, who recorded his version at Fulton Studios on West 40th Street, New York City, on December 19, 1958 (with Tom Dowd engineering the recording). In 1959 Darin’s version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the Black Singles chart, and earned him a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Dick Clark had advised Darin not to record the song because of the perception that, having come from an opera, it wouldn’t appeal to the rock & roll audience. To this day, Clark recounts the story with good humor. Frank Sinatra, who recorded the song with Jimmy Buffett, called Darin’s the “definitive” version. Darin’s version hit #3 on Billboard’s All Time Top 100. In 2003, the Darin version was ranked #251 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. On BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, pop mogul Simon Cowell named “Mack the Knife” the best song ever written. Brecht’s original German language version was appropriated for a series of humorous and surreal blackout skits by television pioneer Ernie Kovacs, showing, between skits, the vibrating soundtrack line. Ella Fitzgerald made a famous live recording in 1960 (released on Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife) in which, after forgetting the lyrics after the first verse, she improvised new lyrics in a performance that earned her a Grammy Award. Robbie Williams also recorded the song on his 2001 album Swing When You’re Winning. Other notable versions include performances by Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Tony Bennett, Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave, Brian Setzer, Kevin Spacey, Westlife, and Michael Bublé. Swiss band The Young Gods radically reworked the song in industrial style, while jazz legend Sonny Rollins recorded an instrumental version entitled simply “Moritat” in 1956. A 1959 instrumental performance by Bill Haley & His Comets was the final song the group recorded for Decca Records. Tito Puente also recorded an instrumental version. Salsa musician Rubén Blades recorded an homage entitled “Pedro Navaja.” Brazilian composer Chico Buarque, in his adaptation of Threepenny Opera (Ópera do Malandro), made two versions called “A Volta do Malandro” and “O Malandro No. 2″, with lyrics in Portuguese. The song has been put to many other uses. American parodists the Capitol Steps used the tune for their song “Pack the Knife” in their 2002 album When Bush Comes to Shove. In the mid-1980s, fast food giant McDonald’s introduced “Mac Tonight”, a character whose signature song was based on “Mack the Knife.” Comedian Steve Martin famously parodied “Mack the Knife” in his opening monologue to the premiere of Saturday Night Live’s third season in 1977.

source – wikipedia

From time to time we post Cover Song instrumentals available for download because of a timely opportunity we have OR especially for those who sing, but perhaps do not have a band or Cover Songs already recorded.

The Cover Song instrumentals we provide are NOT for sale. You are also not allowed to sell or distribute them. Read Posting Policies before submitting. If we decide to promote and sell your Cover Song, we will notify you for contractual reasons and obtain a mechanical license from the song’s publisher.

So…

Download the Flowers instrumental below.

Simply record your vocals to it using Garage Band or your recording software OR play it in the background while you record a web cam video singing the song. Then, go here and upload an mp3 or video of your performance. If you like, provide embed info to a video on youtube, but that will unfortunately limit our ability to promote you. If approved, your submission will be rated by others and will be considered by us for promotion and distribution or pitching to the TV and Film industry for placement. We’ll notify you if this is the case. Thanks and good luck!

A trio of sisters with a strong gospel base, the Emotions (based in Chicago) were one of the leading female R&B acts of the ’70s. Lead singer Sheila Hutchinson and her sisters Wanda and Jeanette were only teenagers when they crashed the soul charts in 1969 with the engaging “So I Can Love You,” but they sang gospel as children and enjoyed secular fame locally before signing with Memphis-based Volt and working with producers Isaac Hayes and David Porter. When Stax folded in 1975, the group hooked up with Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, an association that led to the number one pop/R&B hit “Best of My Love” in 1977.

Two years after Best of My Love, Maurice White and the Emotions collaborated on “Boogie Wonderland,” which was both a number two R&B and number six pop hit. They issued three more albums on White’s ARC label from 1979 to 1981, but were unable to duplicate their earlier success. They moved to the Red label for the 1984 LP Sincerely, which included the single “All Things Come in Time.” They issued three other singles from the album, but none made much impact, though each one charted. They then signed with Motown, but issued only one album, If I Only Knew. Sheila Hutchinson was a featured vocalist on Garry Glenn’s “Feels Good to Feel Good” in 1987. Pam and Jeanette Hutchinson did background vocals on Helen Baylor’s gospel song “There’s No Greater Love” in 1990. Wanda Hutchinson and Jeanette sang on Earth, Wind & Fire’s Heritage in 1990.

Bill Dahl and Ron Wynn – All Music Guide

A long waited Mason Lindahl has recently told us he is headed out on tour. He spent time recently recording a mostly instrumental record titled SERRATED MAN SOUND. It’s spooky, it’s erie, it’s magnificent. It has the maturity of thousands of years before and after now. Mason is a songwriter with depth looking back to his first releases to the sound of Serrated Man Sound. Listen to Everyone’s Anywhere But Home he wrote when he was 16 and you’ll know what I mean. Don’t expect his next record to sound like Serrated Man Sound , but do not also expect him to never go there again – expect his music to twist, turn and grow. Porter Records put out Serrated Man Sound October 20th 2009.

Feb 19 2010
8:00P
St Josephs w/ Ellie Fortune , Aaron Ross and Black Bear. nevada city / Grass Valley, California

Feb 21 2010
8:00P
Biko Garage w/ ellie fortune isla vista, California

Feb 23 2010
8:00P
ports o call w/ ellie fortune west covina, California

Feb 23 2010
8:00P
live on KUCI UC Irvine 88.9 FM w/ ellie fortune Irvine, California

Feb 24 2010
8:00P
ACROBATICS EVERYDAY / UC IRVINE w/ Ellie fortune Irvine, California

Feb 25 2010
8:00P
echo curio w/ ellie forune echo park / los angeles, California

Feb 26 2010
8:00P
Pehrspace w/ ellie fortune Los Angeles, California

From time to time we post Cover Song instrumentals available for download because of a timely opportunity we have OR especially for those who sing, but perhaps do not have a band or Cover Songs already recorded.

The Cover Song instrumentals we provide are NOT for sale. You are also not allowed to sell or distribute them. Read Posting Policies before submitting. If we decide to promote and sell your Cover Song, we will notify you for contractual reasons and obtain a mechanical license from the song’s publisher.

So…

Download the Get Down On It instrumental below.

Simply record your vocals to it using Garage Band or your recording software OR play it in the background while you record a web cam video singing the song. Then, go here and upload an mp3 or video of your performance. If you like, provide embed info to a video on youtube, but that will unfortunately limit our ability to promote you. If approved, your submission will be rated by others and will be considered by us for promotion and distribution or pitching to the TV and Film industry for placement. We’ll notify you if this is the case. Thanks and good luck!

Formed as a jazz ensemble in the mid-’60s, Kool & the Gang became one of the most inspired and influential funk units during the ’70s, and one of the most popular R&B groups of the ’80s after their breakout hit “Celebration” in 1979. Just as funky as James Brown or Parliament (and sampled almost as frequently), Kool & the Gang relied on their jazz backgrounds and long friendship to form a tightly knit group with the interplay and improvisation of a jazz outfit, plus the energy and spark of a band with equal ties to soul, R&B, and funk.

Robert “Kool” Bell and his brother Ronald (or Khalis Bayyan) grew up in Jersey City, NJ, and picked up the music bug from their father. A professional boxer, he was also a serious jazz lover and a close friend of Thelonious Monk. With Robert on bass and Ronald picking up an array of horns, the duo formed the Jazziacs in 1964 with several neighborhood friends: trombone player Clifford Adams, guitarists Charles Smith and Woody Sparrow, trumpeter Robert “Spike” Michens, alto saxophonist Dennis Thomas, keyboard player Ricky West, and drummer Funky George Brown (all of whom, except Michens and West, still remained in the group more than 30 years later).

The growing earthiness of soul inspired the Jazziacs to temper their jazz sensibilities with rhythms more akin to R&B, and the newly renamed Soul Town Band began playing clubs in Greenwich Village. After a mix-up with a club owner resulted in the group being billed Kool & the Flames, they moderated the title to Kool & the Gang and found a leg up with the tiny De-Lite Records. Three singles from their self-titled debut album hit the pop charts, and although the position wasn’t incredibly high, Kool & the Gang became a quick success on the R&B charts. Always a staple of their appeal, the group’s live act was documented on two 1971 LPs, Live at the Sex Machine and Live at P.J.’s, including left-field covers of “Walk On By” and “Wichita Lineman” (as well as the not so unusual “I Want to Take You Higher”).

Studio albums followed in 1972 and 1973, but it was with Kool & the Gang’s sixth LP, Wild and Peaceful, that they hit the big time. “Funky Stuff” became their first Top 40 hit at the end of 1973. Then both “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging” reached the pop Top Ten. During the next four years, however, Kool & the Gang could only manage an occasional Top 40 hit (“Higher Plane”, “Spirit of the Boogie”), and though they did win a Grammy award for “Open Sesame” (from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack), the rise of disco — a movement centered around producers and vocalists, in direct contrast to the group’s focus on instrumentalists — had appeared to end their popularity.

Then, in 1979, the group added two new vocalists, Earl Toon, Jr. and, more importantly, James “J.T.” Taylor, a former Jersey nightclub singer. Kool & the Gang also began working with jazz fusion arranger Eumir Deodato, who produced their records from 1979 to 1982. The first such album, Ladies Night, was their biggest hit yet, the first of three consecutive platinum albums, with the Top Ten singles “Too Hot” and the title track. Celebrate!, released in 1980, spawned Kool & the Gang’s only number one hit, “Celebration”, an anthem favored by innumerable wedding receptions since. With Deodato, the group produced several more hits, including the singles “Take My Heart (You Can Have It if You Want It),” “Get Down on It”, and “Big Fun”, and the albums Something Special in 1981 and As One a year later. After Deodato left the fold in late 1982, Kool & the Gang proved their success wasn’t solely due to him; they had two immense hits during 1984-1985 (“Joanna” and “Cherish”), as well as two more Top Tens, “Misled” and “Fresh.” The group’s string of seven gold or platinum records continued until 1986’s Forever, after which James “J.T.” Taylor amicably left the group for a solo career.

Although Taylor did reasonably well with his solo recordings (many of which were produced by Ronald Bell), Kool & the Gang quickly sank without him. They replaced Taylor with three vocalists, Skip Martin (formerly of the Dazz Band), Odeen Mays, and Gary Brown, but failed to chart their albums Sweat (1989) and Unite (1993). Taylor finally returned to the group in 1995 for the release of a new album, State of Affairs. They continued well throughout the 2000s, releasing 2001’s Gangland, 2004’s The Hits: Reloaded, and 2007’s Still Kool (recorded after the 2006 death of co-founder Charles Smith). They often collaborated with new and well-known younger talent.

John Bush – All Music Guide

From time to time we post Cover Song instrumentals available for download because of a timely opportunity we have OR especially for those who sing, but perhaps do not have a band or Cover Songs already recorded.

The Cover Song instrumentals we provide are NOT for sale. You are also not allowed to sell or distribute them. Read Posting Policies before submitting. If we decide to promote and sell your Cover Song, we will notify you for contractual reasons and obtain a mechanical license from the song’s publisher.

So…

Download the Already Gone instrumental below.

Simply record your vocals to it using Garage Band or your recording software OR play it in the background while you record a web cam video singing the song. Then, go here and upload an mp3 or video of your performance. If you like, provide embed info to a video on youtube, but that will unfortunately limit our ability to promote you. If approved, your submission will be rated by others and will be considered by us for promotion and distribution or pitching to the TV and Film industry for placement. We’ll notify you if this is the case. Thanks and good luck!

With five number one singles, fourteen Top 40 hits, and four number one albums, the Eagles were among the most successful recording artists of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, two of those albums — Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) and Hotel California — ranked among the ten best-selling albums ever, and the popularity of 2007’s Long Road Out of Eden proved the Eagles’ staying power in the new millenium. Though most of its members came from outside California, the group was closely identified with a country- and folk-tinged sound that initially found favor in Los Angeles during the late ’60s, as championed by such bands as the Flying Burrito Brothers and Poco (both of which contributed members to the Eagles). But the band also drew upon traditional rock & roll styles and, in their later work, helped define the broadly popular rock sound that became known as classic rock. As a result, the Eagles achieved a perennial appeal among generations of music fans who continued to buy their records many years after they had split up, which helped inspire the Eagles’ reunion in the mid-’90s.

The band was formed by four Los Angeles-based musicians who had migrated to the West Coast from other parts of the country. Singer/bassist Randy Meisner (born in Scottsbluff, NE, on March 8, 1946) moved to L.A. in 1964 as part of a band originally called the Soul Survivors (not to be confused with the East Coast-based Soul Survivors, who scored a Top Five hit with “Expressway to Your Heart” in 1967) and later renamed the Poor. He became a founding member of Poco in 1968, but left the band prior to the release of its debut album in order to join the Stone Canyon Band, the backup group for Rick Nelson. Meanwhile, singer/guitarist/banjoist/mandolinist Bernie Leadon (born in Minneapolis, MN, on July 19, 1947) arrived in L.A. in 1967 as a member of Hearts and Flowers, later joining Dillard & Clark and then the Flying Burrito Brothers. Singer/drummer Don Henley (born in Gilmer, TX, on July 22, 1947) moved to L.A. in June 1970 with his band Shiloh, which made one self-titled album for Amos Records before breaking up. Finally, Glenn Frey (born in Detroit, MI, on November 6, 1948) performed in his hometown and served as a backup musician for Bob Seger before moving to L.A. in the summer of 1968. He formed the duo Longbranch Pennywhistle with J.D. Souther, and the two musicians signed to Amos Records, which released their self-titled album in 1969.

In the spring of 1971, Frey and Henley were hired to play in Linda Ronstadt’s backup band. Meisner and Leadon also played backup for Ronstadt during her summer tour, though the four only did one gig together: a July show at Disneyland. They did, however, all appear on Ronstadt’s next album, Linda Ronstadt. In September 1971, Frey, Henley, Leadon, and Meisner signed with manager David Geffen, agreeing to record for his soon-to-be-launched label, Asylum Records; soon after, they adopted the name the Eagles. In February 1972, they flew to England and spent two weeks recording their debut album, Eagles, with producer Glyn Johns. It was released in June, reaching the Top 20 and going gold in a little over a year and a half on the strength of two Top Ten hits — “Take It Easy” and “Witchy Woman” — and one Top 20 hit, “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”

The Eagles toured as an opening act throughout 1972 and into early 1973, when they returned to England to record their second LP, Desperado, a concept album about outlaws. Produced by Glyn Johns and released in April 1973, it reached the Top 40 and went gold in a little less than a year and a half, spawning the Top 40 single “Tequila Sunrise” in the process. The title track, though never released as a single, became one of the band’s better-known songs and was included on the Eagles’ first hits collection.

After touring to support Desperado’s release, the Eagles again convened a recording session with Glyn Johns for their third album. Their desire to make harder rock music clashed with Johns’ sense of them as a country-rock band, however, and they split from the producer after recording two tracks, “You Never Cry Like a Lover” and “The Best of My Love.” After an early 1974 tour opened by singer/guitarist Joe Walsh, the band decided to hire Walsh’s producer, Bill Szymczyk, who handled the rest of the sessions for On the Border. Szymczyk brought in a session guitarist, Don Felder (born in Gainesville, FL, on September 21, 1947), an old friend of Bernie Leadon’s who so impressed the rest of the band that he was recruited to join the group.

On the Border was released in March 1974. It went gold and reached the Top Ten in June, the Eagles’ fastest-selling album yet. The first single, “Already Gone,” reached the Top 20 the same month. But the most successful song on the LP — the one that broke them through to a much larger audience — was “The Best of My Love,” which was released as a single in November. It hit number one on the easy listening charts in February 1975 and topped the pop charts a month later.

The Eagles’ fourth album, One of These Nights, was an out-of-the-box smash. Released in June 1975, it went gold the same month and hit number one in July. Moreover, it featured three singles that hit the Top Five: the chart-topping title song, “Lyin’ Eyes,” and “Take It to the Limit.” “Lyin’ Eyes” won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus, and the Eagles also earned Grammy nominations for Album of the Year (One of These Nights) and Record of the Year (“Lyin’ Eyes”). The group went on a headlining world tour, beginning with the U.S. and expanding into Europe. But on December 20, 1975, it was announced that Bernie Leadon had quit the band, and Joe Walsh (born in Wichita, KS, on November 20, 1947) was brought in as his replacement. He immediately joined the tour, which continued to the Far East in early 1976.

The Eagles’ extensive touring kept them out of the studio, and with no immediate plans for a new album, they agreed to release a compilation, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), in February 1976. The album’s success proved to be surprisingly meteoric. It topped the charts and became a phenomenal success, eventually selling upwards of 25,000,000 copies and dueling with Michael Jackson’s Thriller for the title of the best-selling album of all time in the U.S.

It took the Eagles 18 months to follow One of These Nights with their fifth album, Hotel California. Released in December 1976, the record was certified platinum in one week, hit number one in January 1977, and eventually sold over 10,000,000 copies. The singles “New Kid in Town” and “Hotel California” hit number one, and “Life in the Fast Lane” made the Top 20. Meanwhile, “Hotel California” won the 1977 Grammy for Record of the Year and was nominated for Song of the Year; the album itself was nominated for Album of the Year and for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus. The Eagles embarked on a world tour in March 1977 that began with a month in the U.S., followed by a month in Europe and the Far East, then returned to the U.S. in May for stadium dates. At the end of the tour in September, Randy Meisner left the band; he was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit (born in Sacramento, CA, November 20, 1947), formerly of Poco, in which he also had replaced Meisner.

The Eagles began working on a new album in March 1978 and took nearly a year and a half to complete it. The Long Run was released in September 1979. It hit number one and was certified platinum after four months, eventually earning multi-platinum certifications. “Heartache Tonight,” its lead-off single, hit number one, and “I Can’t Tell You Why” and “The Long Run” became Top Ten hits. “Heartache Tonight” won the 1979 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The Eagles toured the U.S. in 1980, and at a week-long series of shows at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, they recorded Eagles Live. (Also included were some tracks recorded in 1976.) Released in November 1980, the double LP (since reissued as a single CD) reached the Top Five and went multi-platinum, with the single “Seven Bridges Road” reaching the Top 40.

The Eagles were inactive after the end of their 1980 tour, but their breakup was not officially announced until May 1982. All five released solo recordings. (Walsh, of course, maintained a solo career before, during, and after the Eagles.) During the rest of the 1980s, the band members received several lucrative offers to reunite, but they declined. In 1990, Frey and Henley began writing together again, and they performed along with Schmit and Walsh at benefit concerts that spring. A full-scale reunion was rumored, but did not take place. Four years later, however, the Eagles did reunite. In the spring of 1994, they taped an MTV concert special and then launched a tour that ended up running through August 1996. The MTV show aired in October, followed in November by an audio version of it, the album Hell Freezes Over, which topped the charts and became a multi-million seller, spawning the Top 40 pop hit “Get Over It” and the number one adult contemporary hit “Love Will Keep Us Alive.”

The Eagles next appeared together in January 1998 for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, when the five present members performed alongside past members Leadon and Meisner. On December 31, 1999, they played a millennium concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles that was recorded and included on the box set retrospective Selected Works: 1972-1999 in November 2000. All was not well within the band, however, and Felder was expelled from the lineup in February 2001. A protracted legal battle ensued as the Eagles soldiered on as a quartet, releasing The Very Best of the Eagles in 2003 and achieving minor success with the single “Hole in the World.” Felder’s case was settled out of court in 2007; that same year, the Eagles returned with the band’s seventh studio album, Long Road Out of Eden, a double-disc album that quickly went multi-platinum.

William Ruhlmann – All Music Guide

Check out Eddie’s version of Gimme Some Lovin off of the Covers EP Volume Two. The original song was written and performed by the Spencer Davis Group back in 1967. If you clicked on the last link, you may have noticed, Steve Winwood, who was the lead singer of the band and one of the writers on this #2 hit in the UK and #7 on the US Billboard charts.