Song of the Day #1,040: ‘Samsonite Man’ – Alicia Keys

I’ve featured only one other Alicia Keys song on the blog so far and that was during a week in which I posted songs with no commentary. Sitting here wondering what to write about this one, I can see why that’s the case.

I simply don’t have much to say about the 30-year-old R&B sensation who was raised in Hell’s Kitchen and went on to study classical piano before recording her multiple Grammy-winning first album.

You could make a movie about that backstory, but I can barely tap out a blog post. Why is that?

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Song of the Day #607: ‘How Come You Don’t Call Me?’ – Esmée Denters

Over the years I’ve linked to a number of amateur musicians who sing and play their hearts out on YouTube in the hopes that somebody out there will notice. I recently stumbled upon one who managed to turn a popular YouTube channel into a career.

Esmée Denters is a Dutch singer-songwriter who started posting songs (covers, mostly) on YouTube in the summer of 2006. She caught the attention of an artist manager who arranged an audience with Justin Timberlake. A smitten Timberlake signed her to his own label and had her open for a leg of his international tour.

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Song of the Day #113: ‘Another Way to Die’ – Jack White & Alicia Keys

keysTo celebrate today’s release of Quantum of Solace, the latest James Bond film, I have selected as my Song of the Day its theme song, ‘Another Way to Die.’

The song was written by Jack White (of The White Stripes) and he performs it with talented singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. It’s the first duet in the Bond series’ history.

My favorite Bond song has to be ‘The Spy Who Loved Me,’ Carly Simon’s theme from the film of the same name, with Paul McCartney’s ‘Live and Let Die’ a close second. And of course I love to sing the chorus of Shirley Bassey’s entry in the series… “Gold-fingah!” And those who know about by infatuation with Shirley Manson of Garbage won’t be surprised to hear I’m a fan of their Bond song, ‘The World is Not Enough.’

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