Welcome to another edition of
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
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.
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
Sound of One Hand Typing
Tossing It Out Women: We Shall Overcome Your Daily Dose
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!
♫♪♫♪♫ Rockchick Rapture!
Follow THE DOGLADY’S DEN ‘s board BATTLE OF THE BANDS #BOTB at THE DOGLADY’S DEN on Pinterest.
MORE FROM THE BLOG:
LATEST FROM INSTAGRAM:
Follow THE DOGLADY’S DEN on WordPress.com
Discover more from The Doglady's Den
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
46 thoughts on “SWAY – BATTLE OF THE BANDS #BOTB #MUSICMONDAY”
This one was close but I will give my vote to Pink Martini for the strength of one vocal.
Thanks for your vote Mike. 🙂 Pink Martini it is. They’re catching up!
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! 🙂
Hi Dixie; Great minds think alike. 🙂 Your vote for Pink Martini is duly noted. Cheers!
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’
Hi Stephen; Glad you enjoyed the contest and your vote for the Pussycats is duly noted. Pour yourself a martini. Cheers! 🙂
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.
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.
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
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. 🙂
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
Thanks for your vote, Naila. 🙂 One more for the Pussycat Dolls.
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
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.
You got me, indeed. Just learning about this ensemble. It is all good.
Yes, it is. Did the Doris Day video work for you? 🙂
Absolutely! Now I have an overwhelming urge to watch all four seasons of Coupling BBC.
Hey Debbie. I like the Pussycat Dolls version best. It’s so seductive and smoldering! I like the music in that version better as well. Both are great though. Fun match-up!
Michele at Angels Bark
Hi Michele; It seems that most people agree with you. The Pussycat Dolls it is! Thanks for your vote.
They are both very good.
But I’d choose Pussycat Dolls because of the emotions and need to dance.
Thanks for sharing with us and rocking.
Have a great week!
Thanks for your vote. Another one for the Pussycat Dolls. 🙂
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
Looks like Pink Martini is catching up! 🙂 Thanks for coming by and casting your vote, Madilyn.
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.
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.
Fun song. Great background music for my Sunday sedoku puzzle. I know, it’s Monday. We’ve had problems with paper delivery.
Hi Joyce; But, you didn’t say which version you liked the best! Thanks for coming by, anyway. Have a good week.
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.
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.
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
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.
Out of the choice I voted for The Pussycat Dolls version I didn’t realise so many people had covered it 🙂
Have a battletastic week 🙂
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.
I would vote, but unfortunately the GEMA laws are so strict in Germany, I was unable to open the Pussy Cat Dolls. My heart belongs to Dean too. A fun topic!
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. 🙂
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
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.
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! 🙂
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.
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!
Hi Mary; Thanks for your vote. 🙂 This might be a close one. Those other links are fun music ones as well. Have a great week!