What have we here? The legendary former Beatle (redundant I suppose, since you can’t be a former Beatle and un-legendary) teams with producer Jeff Lynne for a 1987 #1 hit that sounds like…a 1987 ELO song.Īgain the contrast with the original (James Ray in 1962) is striking. While both versions have merit, the contrast between the two is jarring. While its arrangement is heavy on the atmospheric 80’s synths, Jackie DeShannon’s 1975 original by contrast comes on like Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show band. In this our third installment revealing the relatively obscure original versions of familiar songs, we hope to open your eyes and ears once more with revelations about songs you didn’t know quite as well as you thought you did.Ĭarnes’ career-making “Bette Davis Eyes” topped the charts for nine weeks and won Grammy awards for Record- and Song of the Year in 1981. Have you ever been taken aback to discover a beloved or familiar song has roots in another decade, style, or incarnation? Did something you heard on the oldies station ever cause you to lose just a little of the awe and reverence you had for a particular artist’s creative proclivities?
