SWAY – BATTLE OF THE BANDS #BOTB #MUSICMONDAY

46 Comments#MusicMonday, Battle of the Bands (BOTB), Blogfests, Music

Welcome to another edition of
BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Battle of the Bands BOTB

BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB), hosted by Far Away Series and  StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. is where you listen to different recordings of the same song and vote for the one you like best. Two “Battles” per month, on the 1st and 15th. Votes will be tallied and posted the following week. (See below for further details.)

Switching gears today. How about a little mambo action?

SWAY

HISTORY
[for reference only – please do not vote on these two]

Sway” is the English version of “¿Quién será?“, a 1953 mambo instrumental song by Mexican composers Luis Demetrio and Pablo Beltran Ruiz. The most famous English version is that of Dean Martin recorded in 1954. English lyrics are by Norman Gimbel. The song was covered by Canadian singer Michael Bublé for his self-titled debut album, released in 2003.

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The foregoing serves as background information only. Now, on to the actual contest……


The Pussycat Dolls

The Pussycat Dolls were founded in 1995 by choreographer Robin Antin as a  female burlesque troupe in Los Angeles. After attracting media attention, Antin negotiated a record deal in 2003, turning the group into a music franchise, fronted by Nicole Scherzinger. They recorded “Sway” for the Shall We Dance? soundtrack album, released in 2004. It garnered favourable reviews and was included as a bonus track on their own (debut) album, PCD, the following year.

Pink Martini

Pink Martini is a band formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon. Describing itself as a “little orchestra,” its music crosses genres such as classical, latin, jazz and pop. The co-lead vocalists are China Forbes and Storm Large. They recorded “Sway”, featuring Storm in her recording debut for their 6th album, “Get Happy”, released in 2013. It features sixteen songs selected and arranged by Thomas, including foreign language numbers in German, French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Farsi, Turkish and Romanian. Even more noteworthy is Phyllis Diller’s rendition of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”, which turned out to be her final recording, and became the soundtrack for the many tributes to her when she passed away several months later

VOTE NOW!

Please state your preference in comments below and why you chose it.

Voting remains open until 6:00 p.m., EDT June 21,
after which I will count the votes, add mine and publish the results.

~~~~~~

These are the other BOTB regulars and semi-regulars.
Please cruise on by their sites and, if they have a post up, vote on their selections as well:
[Check back – there’s no set posting time]

Angels Bark     Book Lover     Cherdo On The Flipside     Curious as a Cathy    DC Relief BOTB 
 ? Far Away Series?  J.A. Scott   Jingle Jangle Jungle  Mike’s Ramblings  Novel Brews  
   Sound of One Hand Typing    ?StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands?
Tossing It Out    Women: We Shall Overcome   Your Daily Dose

?HOSTS? 

Also linking up to the #MusicMonday feature at LadyJava’s Lounge
and
X-mas Dolly’s “Monday’s Music Moves Me

As always, “Sharing is Caring”. Spread this musical joy all over your social networks.
Hashtags are #BOTB and #MusicMonday

Until next time.

ROCK ON!

Debbie

♫♪♫♪♫ Rockchick Rapture!

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46 thoughts on “SWAY – BATTLE OF THE BANDS #BOTB #MUSICMONDAY

  1. Hi Debbie – I had the same thought your friend, Myke Todd had… Doris Day! I also appreciate the video you posted on her. Loved Dean Martin, and Pink Martini is so close to his version. I vote for them 🙂

    Pink Martini for me, please – pour it on! 🙂

  2. Well, DEBBIE D., this was certainly different, and I liked it.

    Although I’m a fan of the color pink and a fan of martinis (gin, not vodka) I’m going to have to vote for the The Pussycat Dolls because I’m a fan of pussycats and dolls, too.

    No. The real reason is because of all that percussion in the Pussycat Dolls version. Loved that percussion and the high energy!

    ~ D-FensDogG
    ‘Loyal American Underground’

  3. GAds, no contest: The Pussycat Dolls. They were simply awesome. And not just because they are beautiful and looked awesome dancing to this; they just sound awesome. Wish they had a better name though.

    Storm performed well, no doubt, and had she not been pitted against Pussycat’s she would have likely won my vote.

    1. That was a fun performance. 🙂 I agree about the name; my nose always wrinkles ever so slightly when I say it. Storm is a better vocalist than Nicole in my opinion and that makes for an interesting contest. Thanks for your vote. Pussycat Dolls for you.

  4. Well, it’s a good thing Dean Martin and Buble were not in the running, it would have been hard to choose between the two. As for these covers of the song, I think I’m going to go with Pink Martini. It just seemed to flow more naturally and was slower, which I liked. Oddly Buble has a faster version, but I love that song.
    So yes, one vote for Pink Martini

    1. Dean vs Michael would have a been a fun match, but I wanted to go with lesser known versions of the song. Thank you for your vote. Pink Martini it is! They’re catching up. 🙂

  5. This is an excellent match-up! I’m listening for the second time. I really like them both. BUT, now that I’ve stopped/started them I find that I prefer The Pussycat Dolls. The fact that I had to work at it so hard shows what a tough contest this is! Congrats on a top-notch battle!

    1. Glad you enjoyed this one, Robin. 🙂 I’m going to have a hard time deciding, as well. Thanks for your vote. Pussycat Dolls it is! BTW, you’ve inspired me to start my own “Musical Memories” series, based on your “Soundtrack” series. I’ll link up to your blog when I publish those – no set time or frequency. I’m not that great with scheduling. See you soon.

  6. Hi Shady; I wasn’t familiar with the Bobby Rydell version, so I’ll post it here, in case anyone else wants to hear it. Catchy! 😀

    Thanks for your vote. Another one for Pink Martini, so they may even catch up. Storm Large is good, isn’t she? 🙂 She used to be a rock singer and finished 5th in the “Rockstar Supernova” singing competition in 2006. Glad you enjoyed the selections today.

    1. Thank you for that, Shady. 🙂 Engagement with others and building relationships is an important part of blogging, in my opinion. Sadly, so many don’t seem to “get it”. Your friendship is much appreciated and reciprocated. Cheers!

  7. Oh the Pussycat Dolls have it all for me.
    The other singer is good too but just does not have that sensual sound for me.

  8. I really like Nicole. She is from Kentucky, not far from me now. I bought the first Pussycat Dolls album, just for “Don’tcha.” So, the obvious choice for me is… not Nicole. First time for me to hear Pink Martini. China Forbes is a find pure singer. Their version reminds me so much of Doris Day, singing “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.”

    Myke votes : Pink Martina

    1. Ha! Gotcha on this one, Myke. 😀 Pink Martini’s recording features their other vocalist, Storm Large. She used to be a rock singer and finished 5th in the “Rockstar Supernova” singing competition in 2006. You’re right, definitely reminiscent of Doris Day.

      Thanks for your vote. One more for Pink Martini.

  9. I kind of feel like the Pussycat Dolls picked the pace up too much for the song. I prefer the Pink Martini version. It’s got an interesting sound and I can see people actually dancing (and not in a club) to it. shrug

  10. Both versions are really good. I usually take exception to over produced ‘specialty’ groups like The Pussycat Dolls, but in the case of this song, I just like their version better. Perhaps it’s because THAT movie, in which Stanley Tucci steals the show, is one of my guilty pleasures.

    1. I think Stanley Tucci steals the show in just about every movie he’s in. 🙂 Another vote for the Pussycat Dolls. Thanks for coming by today.

  11. Fun song. Great background music for my Sunday sedoku puzzle. I know, it’s Monday. We’ve had problems with paper delivery.

  12. Both of these versions are musically sound and worthy (say like Wayne & Garth).

    The Pussycat Dolls are obviously polished, but I have to give me vote to PINK MARTINI! I like the orchestra backing and it just sounds authentic…I can see a person wandering into the club and Pink Martini firing up this song as dancers hit the floor.

    1. Loved the Wayne and Garth reference! 😀 Cool – we have another vote for Pink Martini; they’re catching up. Thanks for coming by today and happy dancing.

  13. I like the Pussycat Dolls’s cover a lot. Nicole really has a good voice ~ soft & seductive which is perfect for this song. But, I went with Pink Martini because I enjoyed the more traditional vocals with the orchestra backing in her version. I think her style was a bit more interesting over all, so I voted for Pink Martini this round of BOTB. Nice battle! Side note: I may buy the Pussycat Dolls’ cut. It’s kinda smokin’ hot! Thanks for stopping by and voting.

    Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get #BOTB

    1. Hi Cathy; You’re the first one voting for Pink Martini. 🙂 I think both versions are good and will have a hard time deciding, myself. Thanks for your vote.

    1. That’s another one for Pussycat Dolls. They seem to be running away with this one! 🙂 Thanks for your vote, Steve. Have a great week, yourself.

    1. Sorry about that, Angelika. I tried a few more videos and they were all blocked in Germany! 🙁 Dean would win this thing hands down if he were part of the contest. No doubt in my mind. Thanks for dropping in. 🙂

  14. This is really a tough one since both versions are excellent and I could go either way. But my inclination pulls me to the Pussycats. Their version is more fun, more energetic, and filled with a lot more musical flair.

    Pussycat Dolls for me. Their video was fun to look at as well though I did not let it influence my vote.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

    1. Interesting! 🙂 I thought this one might be close, but so far it’s all Pussycat Dolls. I think most guys enjoy their videos. They did start out as a Burlesque style dance troupe. Thanks for your vote, Lee. We’ll see what happens.

  15. OK, so I had to listen to the ‘original’ three first to see what I was ultimately comparing to (but reserved the voting comparison to the two up against each other…heh!) I’m with Mary on this one – cast my vote for the PussyCat Dolls – there wasn’t quite the same emotion from Pink Martini as there was from Nichole’s vocals. PCD was more ‘smooth’ similar to Dean Martin’s smoothness (who, if we’d been voting for those three, would have gotten my vote there). 😉 Thanks so much for the dance! 🙂

    1. Oh yeah; Dean would win this thing hands down! 😀 Thanks for dropping by and casting your vote, Stacy. That’s 2 for the Pussycat Dolls. Have a good week.

  16. While I am inclined to give major props to my local band (Pink Martini), I was ‘swayed’ by Nicole Scherzinger and the PussyCat Dolls. Nicole’s sultry voice won me over with this one. My vote goes to the PussyCat Dolls. Great battle! And thanks for sharing the links to the other 2 linkys!