Flashback Friday Song of the Day - La Vie En Rosé - Grace Jones

Ah, La Vie En Rosé!  I needed something mellow and soothing for this Flashback Friday, and this 1977 Grace Jones remake of an Edith Piaf  classic is just the trick.  The fact that the song is sung mostly in French is cool on its own, but that bossa nova groove is always pleasing to the ears!  Ahhh!  Happy Friday!

Grace Jones...La Ve En Rose (Color Mix) by Sunshinemusikbox

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Song of the Day - Slave to the Rhythm - Grace Jones

And now ladies and gentlemen, heeere's Grace!

Well tonight is the big show at Roseland Ballroom in NYC.  Here's a clip of Grace Jones' performing one of her biggest hits at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert this past summer.  Hot!

 

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Flashback Friday Song of the Day - My Jamaican Guy - Grace Jones

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In just two weeks, the one and only Grace Jones will be performing a one night only show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City and I am hoping to be there. For those of you who aren't familiar with Grace Jones, she is a Jamaican American singer/actress/model whose androgynous and stark appearance made her quite the thing back in the late 70's/early 80's, during which she famously spent many a night at Studio 54 and then making a foray on to the music scene, scoring several dance/club hits, such as this one.

I'm not sure exactly when I really got into her, but sometime during the mid to late 80's I bought her greatest hits CD and practically burned it out. Several of her songs appear on my "All Time Favorites" list on my iPod, such as La Vie en Rose, Pull Up to the Bumper, I Need a Man, and others, but this one is my all time favorite.

My Jamaican Guy has an awesome, 'Caribbean reggae-dub' sound that was later nicely sampled in LL Cool J's Doin It.  The song's got that island feel and is oh so sexy.  Click the play button below and you'll see what I mean, and stay tuned for more Grace Jones as we get closer to the show.

 

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Song of the Day - La Vie En Rose - Grace Jones

Photo Source: last.fm

I was having dinner with my friend Ivan last night when our conversation invariably turned to music. Ivan is one of those friends of mine who's got a wide variety of musical tastes like myself and he's shared some good stuff with me from time to time. I don't know, but out of nowhere he mentioned Grace Jones, that iconic model turned singer of yesteryear who's had a respectable career in both fields. I've loved Grace's music for a long, long time and know virtually every word to the songs on her "Island Life" CD.

Ivan mentioned the song "Libertango (I've Seen That Face Before)," which I know from her "Greatest Hits" CD and it got me to thinking of some of her other stuff that I love. I started rattling off some great songs of hers that I love: "Slave to the Rhythm," "Pull Up to the Bumper," "My Jamaican Guy," etc.

"Oh, what's that French song?" my friend asked.

Since we had already mentioned "Libertango," I knew it couldn't be that. Then it hit me what he was talking about.

"La Vie En Rose," I answered.

That was the one! I pulled out my phone to make a note to feature it today. When I first bought Grace Jones' "Greatest Hits" album, I didn't know all of the songs on it, but I quickly learned them. This one opens up the CD and is quite simply a stellar piece of work! It opens with the smoothest of, I want to use the word interludes, even though that's not quite right. It's a semi-long intro that is some of the most soothing and smooth pieces of music I know.

As you might guess, the song is sung completely in French, but that doesn't matter. The title means, "life in pink," and I'm sure this one works much better in French than in English. It's funny, but I thought I would have a hard time finding a video for "La Vie In Rose," but I actually found two that I struggled with choosing from. (During my search, I also learned that the song has been done by several other artists, including Louis Armstrong, so it must be a very old tune.)

The video I chose to post here is the long version, seven minutes of it. There was a shorter version that claimed to be the "Official" video for the song, and it was pretty cool to watch, as well, but this one shows the complete version, which is the only version to do it true justice. Besides, that seven minutes is gone before you know it, the song is so smooth. The video also features some of the iconic, Amazonian model/singer's more famous photo shoots, which are interesting to look at, to say the least.

So please check out Grace Jones' "La Vie En Rose." I promise you're gonna love it!



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