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The Life of a Song: My Favourite Things

Before Julie Andrews' famous film performance, John Coltrane had turned this Broadway number into an off-kilter jazz classic. Mike Hobart charts its history. Credits: RCA, FourMatt, Hallmark, EMI, Decca, Universal.  


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The Life of a Song: Running Up That Hill

Kate Bush retreated to a farmhouse to craft her richly layered song of love and insecurity. It reaffirmed her place as a pre-eminent songwriter and went on to feature in the London Olympics closing ceremony. Richard Clayton follows its history. Credits: Noble & Brite, Beams, Frontiers Records, Elevator Lady, Italians Do It Better, Obsolete Media Objects  


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The Life of a Song: God Bless the Child

Billy Holiday's secular hymn was born out of a blazing family row and its swaying melody went on to become a jazz standard, with versions by Tony Bennett and Sonny Rollins. Mike Hobart follows its history. Credits: Jazz Moon, Saga, Columbia/Legacy, Island, Geffen Gold Mine  


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The Life of a Song: Me and Bobby McGee

Janis Joplin achieved a posthumous No.1 hit with a rueful tale of love and loss, written by her old flame, Kris Kristofferson, which in turn helped launch him to stardom. Richard Clayton follows the song's bittersweet success. Credits: Columbia/Legacy, UMC, Top Town Records, Rhino/Warner Bros, Play Digital, Ricordi  


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The Life of a Song: Born in the USA

Bruce Springsteen's bleak ballad of American life has been promoted by politicians from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. David Honigmann examines the song's fraught relationship with power. Credit: Columbia  


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The Life of a Song: Rasputin

Boney M's unlikely disco ballad was a hit on both sides of the iron curtain but was banned by Soviet authorities. Harriet Fitch-Little explores its indestructible appeal. Credits: Ariola Express, Century Media, Super Cassettes Industries, MCI  


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The Life of a Song: Fast Car

Richard Clayton on how Tracy Chapman's searing ballad of low income life carried her to global acclaim. Credits: Elektra, King Tubby's Music, Virgin EMI  


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The Life of a Song: Because the Night

Fiona Sturges follows Patti Smith's lustful 1970s song of youthful abandon. Credits: Arista, Columbia, Coqueiro Verde Records, Stun Volume  


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The Life of a Song: Wade in the Water

Originally sung by slaves, the spiritual became a jazz and blues hit in the 1960s, with a cover by the British blues-rock musician Graham Bond. Credits: Repertoire Records, Isis, Edition Ahorn, UMC  


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The Life of a Song: Like a Rolling Stone

Peter Aspden deconstructs the creation of Bob Dylan's legendary song over the course of a single day in the studio. This podcast was originally published in November 2015; it is republished in celebration of Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize for Literature. Credits: Columbia/Legacy  


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The Life of a Song: Smoke on the Water

The origin of Deep Purple's 1971 hit is almost as famous as its instantly recognisable guitar riff. Credits: Parlophone UK, Thompson Music P/L  


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The Life of a Song: 'Ike's Rap II'

Snippets of Isaac Hayes' classic were used by trip-hop pioneers Portishead and Tricky. Richard Clayton tells the life of a sample. Credits: Decca, Universal Music, Virgin EMI  


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The Life of a Song: Yesterday

“Yesterday” came to Paul McCartney in a dream one night in 1963. It’s now among the most covered songs in history, with efforts from the likes of Elvis, Marianne Faithful and Marvin Gaye. Credits: EMI, TNA Records, RCA Legacy, Universal Music  


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The Life of a Song: Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen's most famous song nearly wasn't released after being rejected by his record label. It is now among the most covered songs, with notable contributions from Jeff Buckley, John Cale and Rufus Wainwright. Credits: Sony Music, UMOD, Syco Music, Columbia, Nonesuch  


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The Life of a Song: Over the Rainbow

Gene Wilder died Listening to Ella Fitzgerald’s cover, but it was Judy Garland who brought “Over the Rainbow” to fame. Credits: Spectra Records, Warner Bros, Blackbird, Documents 2  


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The Life of a Song: I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free

It's been the theme tune for the BBC's review series 'Film' since 1971, but Nina Simone's cover turned it into a civil rights anthem. Credits: Universal, Eagle Records, Rhino Atlantic, Decca  


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The Life of a Song: Not Fade Away

Buddy Holly's 1958 London performance of the song inspired the young Mick Jagger to form his own band. Credits: Universal, Not Now Music  


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The Life of a Song: I Believe in Father Christmas

Greg Lake died this week, and this track remains an enduring Christmas classic. Credit: Syco Music, Universal, Decca, Symphonia  


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The Life of a Song: Good King Wenceslas

This 1853 Christmas Carol, set to the melody of a 13th-century Nordic Hymn, has since fallen into the hands of Joan Baez, Tom Jones and Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple.  


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The Life of a Song: '1999'

Prince wrote his song about partying in the face of nuclear threat during the cold war but it gets heavy rotation to this day  


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The Life of a Song: Stairway to Heaven

David Honigmann follows Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway' from its origins in a Welsh cottage to 'Wayne's World', the White House and bedrooms everywhere  


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The Life of a Song: The Chain

The song that defined Fleetwood Mac's high water mark went on to be covered by country-folk and hip-hop artists Credits: Rhino/Warner Bros, Charly Digital, Universal Music International Ltda, S4DK  


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The Life of a Song: Red Red Wine

Ian McCann charts the transformation of UB40’s number one hit, from Neil Diamond’s country ballad to iconic reggae ditty. Credits: Virgin Records, Universal Music International Ltda, Sanctuary, Capitol Records, Authentic Jamaican Music, K-Licious Music  


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The Life of a Song: She's Lost Control

Joy Division's stripped-down sound signaled a new direction for music in 1978, but the lyrics to this song would prove horribly portentous. Credits: WM UK, London Records, Universal Music International Ltda, Palare, BBE  


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The Life of a Song: Some Velvet Morning

The song crystallises a moment in time between the optimism of the Summer of Love and the darkness on the desert horizon. Cathi Unsworth explores its history. Credits: Boots Enterprises, Inc., 4AD, Columbia, Ever  


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The Life of a Song: I Put a Spell on You

Songs can be mixed blessings. Screamin' Jay Hawkins' most famous one brought bliss to all who touched it - except its composer. Credits: AP MUSIC LTD, Universal Music International Ltda., Rhino  


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The Life of a Song: The Long Black Veil

For more than 50 years, this ballad's haunting charms have proved irresistible to many of the world's leading musicians. Credits: Firefly Entertainment, Black Sheep Music, X5 Music Group, Manhattan Records, UMC, Mute/BMG, Sony Music Classical, RCA Records Label  


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The Life of a Song: My Way

Paul Anka originally wrote the song for, and in the persona of, Frank Sinatra, claiming he'd "never written something so chauvinistic, narcissistic, in-your-face and grandiose."  


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The Life of a Song: Sukiyaki

The Japanese hit has been renamed and redefined by western artists from the Gipsy Kings to Snoop Dogg. Credits: JB Production, K-Tel, New Jersey, 2012 Carinco Neue Medien AG  


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The Life of a Song: Wild is the Wind

David Cheal traces the song's journey from a forgotten 1950s melodrama to an enduring love ballad covered by Nina Simone, David Bowie and George Michael. Credits: Old Style, Blooming Jazz Records, Rhino/Warner Bros., Parlophone UK, One Little Indian Ltd, Lakeshore Records, Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd.  


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The Life of a Song: Try A Little Tenderness

Amy Walker on how a saccharine love song was transformed by Otis Redding into a provocative and impassioned soul classic. Credits: Baierle Records, Cool Note, 104pro Media, Daxa production, Digital Remasterings, ABKCO Music & Records Inc., Rhino Atlantic, Universal Island Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC/Shawn Carter  


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The Life of a Song: 9 to 5

Harriet Fitch Little on how Dolly Parton's anti-work anthem went from the movies to the White House to a muddy field in Glastonbury. Credits: Sony Music Entertainment, Capitol Steps, Pumpin' UK Records, Dolly Records, BBC/Glastonbury  


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The Life of a Song: Midnight Train to Georgia

Sue Norris on how Cissy Houston and Gladys Knight respectively transformed the sound, and meaning, of Jim Weatherly's country number. Credits: X5 Music Group, Jim Weatherly, Carinco AG, Capitol Records LLC.  


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The Life of a Song: Hotel California

Peter Aspen looks at how The Eagles turned a few improvised chords into one of the most iconic, and enigmatic, rock songs of the 1970s. Credits: Rhino/Elektra, Parlophone UK, UMG Recordings, Elemental Records, Sony Music Entertainment  


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The Life of a Song: Let It Go

Helen Brown looks at how the most successful Disney song of all time became an unlikely favourite among prisoners and a "coming out anthem" for the LGBT community. Credits: Walt Disney Records, Black Crow Records  


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The Life of a Song: O Sole Mio

Ian McCann looks at how a turn-of-the-century Neopolitan ballad was adapted into a hit for Elvis, before becoming an anthem for ice cream lovers and football fans alike. Credits: Bongiovanni, Delta, AP Music Ltd, Nuova Canaria, Randy's Group, Inc, Autarc Media GmbH  


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The Life of a Song: Tainted Love

Sue Norris explores how a B-side by a little known American singer, Gloria Jones became a cult hit on the 1970s English northern soul scene, before being turned into one of the most recognizable pop songs of all time by Soft Cell. Credits: Universal Music TV, Universal Music Enterprises, Parlophone UK, Interscope Records, The Island Def Jam Music Group, Tacca Musique  


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The Life of a Song: The Message

Ian McCann takes a look at one of the greatest and most culturally influential rap songs by genre pioneers Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. A hit urban anthem, it almost wasn't recorded... Credits: Castle Communications, Warner Bros, Wagram Music, The Island Def Jam Music Group, Atlantic Records  


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The Life of a Song: Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus

Helen Brown looks at how Serge Gainsbourg's infamously salacious love song originally written for Brigitte Bardot would become a hit for the French composer and his English girlfriend Jane Birkin, despite facing widespread bans and condemnation. Credits: Mercury France, Mercury Music Group, Rarity Music, Parlophone UK, Barclay.  


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The Life of a Song: A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

David Cheal looks at how Bob Dylan took inspiration from an old Scottish border ballad while writing this era-defining apocalyptic vision of what he saw as the violent, ignorant and hypocritical socio-political landscape of 1960s America. Credits: Sony Music Entertainment Inc, A Wing & A Prayer Ltd, Vanguard Records, Virgin Records. Patti Smith Nobel ceremony recording courtesy of: Nobelprize.org.  


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The Life of a Song: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

David Honigmann looks at how a sleeping Keith Richards dreamt up a riff that would later develop into a number one hit for Rolling Stones and become one of the most recognisable rock anthems of all times. Credits: ABKCO Records Inc, Universal International Music B.V, Rhino Atlantic, Virgin Records Ltd.  


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The Life of a Song: Radiohead's No Surprises

Twenty years after they headlined Glastonbury, Radiohead return to the British music festival. FT pop writers Ludovic Hunter-Tilney and David Cheal discuss the band's lullaby of despair 'No Surprises' from their 1997 album OK Computer. Credits: Sire/Warner Bros, mudhutdigital.com, XL Recordings, Easy Star, SKIP Records  


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The Life of a Song: Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel

The singer’s old label boss called the song ‘a morbid mess’, but it shot to number one in the US. Ahead of the 40th anniversary of Elvis’s death in August, FT pop writers Peter Apsden and David Cheal discuss the song's origins, dark appeal and afterlife. Credits: 104pro Media, Legacy Recordings, Entertain Me Ltd, Spectrum, Omnivore Recordings, Vengeance Records  


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The Life of a Song: Wild Thing

It achieved distinction in an era of elemental riffs, and journeyed effortlessly to and fro across the Atlantic. It also marked a turning point in the career of the greatest guitarist who ever lived: Jimi Hendrix. FT pop writers Peter Aspden and David Cheal discuss "Wild Thing" 50 years after Hendrix's groundbreaking performance at the Monterey Pop festival.  


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The Life of a Song: Make You Feel My Love

From Bob Dylan to Adele, the song that was first called 'a spare ballad undermined by greetingcard lyrics' is now a karaoke tearjerker. FT pop writers David Cheal and Helen Brown debate the origins, meanings and cover versions of 'Make You Feel My Love'.

 

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The Life of a Song: Strange Fruit

Billie Holiday’s 1939 'Strange Fruit' was called 'the first significant protest in words and music, the first unmuted cry against racism'. Other singers attempted it, from Nina Simone and Diana Ross to Jeff Buckley and Kanye West. But could any match the power of the impassioned original? FT pop writers David Cheal, Fiona Sturges and Helen Brown discuss the song's origins and afterlife.

 

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African nations move swiftly to head off coronavirus spread

Fears over health systems prompt states to take early preventive measures




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Mid-life financial MOT, credit card debts and Britain's growing tax gap

Do you find yourself stumped by questions about how much to put towards your mortgage payment versus your investments? It may be time for a midlife financial MOT. Presenter James Pickford talks to FT reporter Lucy Warwick-Ching about why advisers are targeting people in their forties and fifties. Next, we speak to a woman who cleared credit card debt to the tune of £16,000. And finally, we discuss what's behind Britain's growing tax gap. 

 

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Investing for the under 40s - the pros and cons of the Lifetime Isa

Presenter Claer Barrett and guests explore how under 40s are using the Lifetime Isa to save for a property, or invest for the future. What strategies are younger investors taking? Plus the new rules on automatic compensation when broadband goes down, and the six ways pensions scammers are most likely to try and con you - would you fall for it? 


 

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What you should do if your company wants to cut your pay

There are lots of pressures on household budgets at the current time, but experts on the FT Money show are here to guide you through it. On this week's podcast we’re going to be talking about worker’s rights if companies want to cut their pay; whether you should take a ‘payment holiday on your mortgage’, and how to get a refund on a holiday you can no longer take - our Money Mentor Lindsay Cook is here to help. And with children at home, we’ve also got ideas to inspire them to learn more about money matters - and there’s even a competition parents can enter for sharing their best ideas.

 

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