A Conversation With My 12 Year Old Self

This video is so cool it really does not need any introduction.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Libera │ Angelic Choir

In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring Libera, the most extraordinary choir in the world.  I felt that in this time and place, we needed a moment of peace, reflection, and tranquility, and "O Holy Night" as performed by Libera is the perfect song for that.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Mein Kleinner Blumenstraub │ Christian Gebhardt

Christian Gebthardt comes across as a very bright, and friendly person.  He is from Germany, and has the most amiable disposition that I have ever seen in a young singer.  As he walks on stage, he appears to be very open to everyone.  Notice how at the end of his song Christian spreads his arms wide to embrace the whole audience.  Christian loves everybody.  I like that a lot.  Christian has given many successful concerts in Europe and America, and is a real star on the entertainment scene.  Christian sings for you the ever cheerful "Mein Kleinner Blumenstraub (My Little Bouquet)".  In this edition of Angel Watchers let Christian brighten your day with his happy voice, and musical bouquet.

The Living Years │ Mike And The Mechanics

"The Living Years" by Mike And The Mechanics, is one of the most evocative songs of the Twentieth Century.  In actuality, most of us, at one time or another, have had difficulties in communicating with our dads.  How many times did we hope to have had one more chance to say "Daddy, I love you"?   Well, now is always the best time to say so.  The American composer Burt Bacharach once said in an interview, “'The Living Years' is one of the finest lyrics of the last 10 years”.   Do we need to say any more?

Eternal Light │ Libera

A moment of peace from Libera, the extraordinary choir from England.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Classical Gas │ Mason Williams

 

In this edition of Angel Watchers, I thought that I would do something different and feature the great American composer/guitarist, Mason Williams.  His "Classical Gas" is the dream song that every guitarist wants to learn, but it is so hard to play correctly.  It first appeared on "The Mason Williams Phonograph Record" in 1968, and has been a classic of the guitar repertoire ever since.  In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring Mason Williams playing his evergreen classic, "Classical Gas".  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

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Roca Eterna │ Ariel Sebastián

What can one say about the angelic voice of Ariel Sebastián without sounding trite?  He has the name, and the voice of an angel.  My Dear Aunt Martha and I were, as usual, "auditioning" singers for Angel Watchers, when we discovered the amazing Ariel Sebastián.  I wish that you could have seen my Dear Aunt Martha's face, while she was listening to Ariel for the first time.  She had a look of complete serenity.  Well, that's the effect that Ariel's voice has on people.  Ariel is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and began his music studies at the age of eight.  In 2010, the National Academy of Music and Christian Arts, nominated him in seven, of the twenty-two categories of the Arpa Awards, so his talent is already being recognized by the music industry.  In this edition of Angel Watchers, Ariel sings the emotionally uplifting "Roca Eterna (Eternal Rock)".  Take notice of the charming, and sweet scenes of Ariel and his mother towards the end of the music video.  My dear Aunt Martha and I feel honored to share Ariel Sebastián's wonderful talent with all the fans of Angel Watchers.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Christmas In April With The Mini Beats

The Mini Beats from Germany, is a terrific musical group that I discovered  while I was browsing a little known music website located in Russia.  The Mini Beats specialize in performing covers of The Beatles' music, and they do an outstanding job of it.  The members of the group are:  Philip, guitar and vocals;  Andi, guitar; Markus, bass-guitar and vocals; Jonas, drums and vocals.  The Mini Beats was started by Jonas, who got the inspiration for it after watching "Help", and "A Hard Days Night", with his father one night.  The song that they play in the video below is John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's haunting Christmas anthem, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", that was released in October of 1971.  It just so happens to be my most favorite Christmas song in the whole world.  Incidentally, the melody of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is based on an old American folk song called "Stewball".  It is interesting to note, that Philip, the lead singer on "Happy Xmas (War Is Over), handles the English lyrics quite well.  His diction and pronunciation are perfect.  The original version of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over), by the Plastic Ono Band, is rather hard to find, actually it has been always hard to find, but I did locate a copy of it on an MP3 Christmas anthology called "The Essential NOW That's What I Call Christmas".  We are starting the Christmas season early at Angel Watchers, by featuring the  The Mini Beats' excellent version of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"  This is a virtual Christmas card to all of the fans of Angel Watchers from my Dear Aunt Martha and I.  Have a Merry, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from Angel Watchers.

Le Noël des Mamans │ Damien Archangeli

In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring one of my most favorite videos.  I found it over a year ago and I decided that it was about time that I posted it.  Damien Archangeli was born in Belfast, Ireland.  His father is Portuguese and his mother is Italian.  Damien started to sing at the age of three and has not stopped, which is a good thing for all of us.  In the video below Damien sings "Le Noël des Mamans (The Christmas Moms)", that was composed by Michel Jouveaux, Linda de Suza, and Pascal Auriat.  Notice Damien's shy, boyish fidget after he sings his song.  It is so cool.

Heitor Villa-Lobos - Choro no.1 │ Tim Callobre

In this edition of Angel Watchers, I am featuring Tim Callobre.  Tim is from California, and has been studying the guitar since the age of seven.   Needless to say he is a fantastic guitarist.  I am particularly impressed with his excellent left hand.  Tim makes the chord changes, and runs look so easy, and believe me they are not.   By-the-way, Tim also plays the piano.  He has a cool website that can be found at this link:  Tim Callobre - Official Website   Please click on the video widget below to watch Tim Callobre's incredible performance of Heitor Villa-Lobos' "Choro no. 1".

The Amazing Ronan Parke

In this edition of Angel Watchers, I am featuring again, the amazing and magnificent Ronan Parke.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Libera

In this very special edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring a moment of peace, from Libera, the most extraordinary choir in the world.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Angelic Oldies │ Robert Mitchell Boys Choir

Angel Watchers is proud to present, a golden oldie, a blast from the past.  Very few people remember nowadays, that at one time, America had the preeminent boy choir in the world.  It was called the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir.  In 1934, Robert Mitchell started his eponymously named, Robert Mitchell Boys Choir.  Robert Mitchell was only twenty-two years old when he founded the choir.  The Robert Mitchell Boys Choir performed in over 100 films, including 1944's Best Picture winner "Going My Way" with Bing Crosby, "Carefree" with Fred Astaire, "Angels with Dirty Faces" with James Cagney, and Pat O'Brien, and "The Bishop's Wife" with Cary Grant.  Noted film composer Dimitri Tiomkin said of them, "Bob Mitchell’s boys represent the unusual combination of musicianship, artistry and versatility.  Bob Mitchell’s genius is ever present".  Robert Mitchell had a very long and illustrious career.  He passed away after suffering complications from pneumonia in Los Angeles, on July 4, 2009 at the age of 96.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

I Have A Dream │ Angel Voices

In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring another moment of peace and tranquility.  The St. Phillip's Boys Choir (Angel Voices), is an early incarnation of the amazing Libera.  "I Have A Dream" has to be one of my all time favorite songs.  It's an old Abba classic, but as sung by Angel Voices, it still has the power to move the soul.

The Great Elvis Presley

I am an American, and will always be an American, so I thought that it was about time that I featured on Angel Watchers the greatest performer ever to be produced by my country.  His name is Elvis Aaron Presley, and he was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935, thirty-five minutes after Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, who was delivered stillborn.  Who would have known at that time, that from such humble beginnings, Elvis would grow up to be the most popular singer in America, and as they say, the rest is history.  In 1961, Elvis recorded "Suspicion" that was written specifically for him by famed American composers Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman .  It is probably the best recording that Elvis ever made, but for reasons unknown, it was not released as a single, but instead, it came out as part of an album called "Pot Luck" that did not go anywhere on the pop charts.  Even today, I wonder who was the genius, or geniuses at RCA, that were responsible for that debacle.  Unfortunately, in 1964, a cover version of "Suspicion" was released by Terry Stafford, an Elvis sound-alike on the Crusader record label, and that version soared on the pop charts.  Stafford's "Suspicion" made it to number 3 in the U.S., and number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.  It's now considered to be the definitive interpretation of "Suspicion".  Few people today know that Elvis actually recorded the original version of "Suspicion", which is far superior to Terry Stafford's cover.  It is interesting to notice that the opening notes of "Suspicion" in the Elvis version, sounds a lot like the opening notes of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me", which is not surprising, as the co-composers of "Stand By Me" are Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller who wrote "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" for Elvis.  I take great pleasure in reintroducing everyone to Elvis' classic and wonderful "Suspicion".  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Sounds Of Silence │ Gregorian

In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring a moment of peace, tranquility, and introspection, with the mystical sounds of Gregorian.  A Happy Easter to all the fans of Angel Watchers.

The Littlest Fadista │ Luís Carlos

In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring the littlest fadista of them all.  He is Luís Carlos, and he appeared recently on the award winning Portuguese TV show "Grande Prémio do Fado - Portugal No Coração (Grand Prize Of Fado - In The Heart Of Portugal)".  Luís sings the beautiful, and very difficult "Noite Cerrada (Dark Night)", with a surprising amount of emotion for one who is so young.  After all, he is only seven years ago.  It's good to see that the Fado is alive and well in Portugal.

Hooray For Armenia! │ Vladimir Arzumanyan

In this edition of Angel Watchers, I am featuring Vladimir Arzumanyan, the incredible new singing sensation from Armenia.  Vladimir has an incredible voice and stage presence.  In the video below he sings the powerful "Mama".  This is a great video with very high production values.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

إنسان Insan (Man) │ Hamza Namira

In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring a fantastic singer from Egypt by the name of Hamza Namira.  I was very touched by "إنسان Insan (Man)", which by-the-way, was composed by Hamza.  As you have probably noticed, Angel Watchers is a blog of international themes, and Hamza's music is a perfect fit.  "إنسان Insan (Man)" is a very beautiful song and video, that has very high production values.  "Insan" has moved me deeply.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

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