Today we have a collection of colourful songs which I am entitling ‘Honourable Mentions’ this is because there were not enough entires to warrant to a separate post but it would be a shame if they were not celebrated in some way. So today we will bring to light some of the lesser or more intriguing colours that have found their way into the titles of songs or popular music.
The Love for Three Oranges, (Opus 33), also known by its French language title L’amour des trois oranges, is a satirical opera by Sergei Prokofiev. Its French libretto was based on the Italian play ‘L’amore delle tre Melarance’ by Carlo Gozzii. The opera premiered at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, in December 1921. The original Italian and French titles actually mean The love of the Three Oranges, which makes the word for in the English version of the title a slight corruption or mistranslation. Probably the best-known piece in the opera is the “March”, which was used by CBS in the radio-drama series The FBI in Peace and War that was broadcast from 1944 to 1958. Prokofiev also quotes the march in act 2 of his ballet Cinderella (Opus. 87).
“Mood Indigo” is a jazz song with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard and lyrics by Irving Mills. The tune was composed for a radio broadcast in October 1930 and was originally titled “Dreamy Blues”. It was “the first tune I ever wrote specially for microphone transmission”, Ellington recalled. “The next day wads of mail came in raving about the new tune, so Irving Mills put a lyric to it.” Renamed “Mood Indigo”, it became a jazz standard.”
The fiddle tune “Orange Blossom Special”, about the passenger train of the same name, was written by Ervin T. Rouse (1917–1981) in 1938. The original recording was created by Ervin and Gordon Rouse in 1939. It is often called simply The Special. It has been referred to as the fiddle player’s national anthem. Rouse copyrighted the song before the Orange Blossom Special train ever came to Jacksonville. Years later, Johnny Cash learned of Rouse and brought him to Miami to play the song at one of his concerts. In a video on YouTube, Gene Christian, a fiddler for Bill Monroe who knew both men, confirms that Rouse wrote and copyrighted the song. Christian says in the interview that Chubby Wise popularized the song by playing it weekly on the Grand Ole Opry.
“Tangerine” is a popular song. The music was written by Victor Schertzinger, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1941 and soon became a jazz standard. It was introduced to a broad audience in the 1942 movie, The Fleet’s In, produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by Schertzinger just before his death, and starring Dorothy Lamour and William Holden. The song portrays a fictitious South American woman with universally recognized allure: “When she dances by,/Señoritas stare/And caballeros sigh.” As one of Mercer’s biographers explained the initial popularity: “Latin America, the one part of the world not engulfed in WWII, became a favorite topic for songs and films for Americans who wanted momentarily to forget about the conflagration.”
“Crimson and Clover” is a 1968 song by American rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Written by the duo of Tommy James and drummer Peter Lucia Jr., it was intended as a change in direction of the group’s sound and composition. “Crimson and Clover” was released in late 1968 as a rough mix after a radio station leaked it. It spent 16 weeks on the U.S. charts, reaching number one in the United States (in February 1969) and other countries. The single has sold 5 million copies, making it Tommy James and the Shondells’ best-selling song. It has been covered by many artists including Joan Jett and Prince. In 2006, Pitchfork Media named it the 57th best song of the 1960s.
“Lilac Wine” is a song written by James Shelton in 1950. It was introduced by Hope Foye in the short-lived theater musical revue, Dance Me a Song. The lyrics form a narrative of heartache at losing a lover and taking solace from wine made from a lilac tree. The song focuses on the blissful oblivion achieved by becoming intoxicated. Its inspiration was a line in the 1925 novel Sorrow in Sunlight by Ronald Firbank, in which the main character, Miami Mouth, circulates through a party “offering a light, lilac wine, sweet and heady”.The song has since been recorded by many artists. The only artist to have major chart success with the song was Elkie Brooks, and the song remains closely associated with her, especially in the UK and Europe. Her rendition peaked at No. 16 in the UK in 1978. It was included on her 1981 album, Pearls.
“Grey Day” is a 2-Tone song written by Mike Barson and recorded by Madness. The song was the first single released from the band’s third studio album. It was a big departure from their early ska sound with a much darker, miserable feel. The song title does not appear in the lyrics as a single phrase, though a couplet rhyming “grey” with “day” features in the chorus. The song was written prior to the band becoming a success in the UK music scene, and the first performance of the song came back in 1978 at the Acklam Hall while the band were known as “The North London Invaders”. The song was finally recorded in 1981 and was released as a single in April 1981. The song spent 10 weeks in the UK Singles chart, reaching a high of number 4.
“Fade to Grey” is the second single by Visage, released on Polydor in 1980. The song was the band’s most successful single. It entered the singles charts in late 1980, peaking at no. 8 in the UK and reaching no. 1 in Germany and Switzerland. Steve Strange was on lead vocals; the French lyrics were spoken by Rusty Egan’s Belgian girlfriend Brigitte Arens. The music video became one of the first videoclips that Kevin Godley and Lol Creme directed.
“Orange Crush” is a song by the American band R.E.M. It was released as the first single from the band’s sixth studio album, Green, in 1988. It was not commercially released in the U.S. despite reaching number one as a promotional single on both the Mainstream and Modern Rock Tracks (where, at the time, it had the record for longest stay at number one with eight weeks). It peaked at number 28 in the UK, making it the band’s then-highest chart hit in Britain, where they promoted the song by making their debut appearance on Top of the Pops.
“Behind These Hazel Eyes” is a song recorded by Kelly Clarkson for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). It was written by Clarkson with the song’s producers Max Martin and Sr. Luke. The song was released in April 2005 as the second single from the album. Clarkson considered “Behind These Hazel Eyes” as one of her favourite songs; it narrates Clarkson’s broken relationship with her ex-boyfriend. “Behind These Hazel Eyes” peaked at number six on the Billboard and stayed inside the top 10 in the chart for 15 weeks, a record at the time for the longest time spent in the top 10 for a song that did not hit top five. It also became Clarkson’s first song to top the Adult Pop Songs chart. It was certified platinum by RIAA for selling over one million digital downloads. Elsewhere, the song charted in the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
