It’s funny how your intent sometimes leads you to some interesting things. Well, maybe not so much interesting as goofy or kitschy. I was thinking this morning about a version of a song, the theme from the classic movie The Third Man (great film!), that I had posted on this blog a few years back. It was from the early ’60’s from an Indonesian guitar band called The Crazy Rockers, a group of which I was totally unaware.
Looking it up this morning, I began to notice all the different versions of this song from many different types of musicians. There were Gypsybands, which seemed in character with the music. Jose Feliciano did a guitar version and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass did a horn version. The Band did a chunky, lumbering version. There were so many versions, so many takes on the same song. I began to think this wouldbe an interesting subject to write on– how one composition can be tranlated in so many various ways.
But as I clicked on several versions of The Third Man theme I noticed something on the side of the YouTube page I was on among the suggested videos. Spacemen with guitars. It looked like they were on some early ’60’s TV set. The Spotnicks. Looking them up quickly, I found that they were a Swedish band that started in 1961 , gaining popularity throughout Europe for their electric guitar sounds. They have sold over 18 million records over the last half century and are still performing together.
That was all interesting but I wondered how they sounded. I clicked on this video and I was sold. It’s their version of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean and it’s performed in full Spotnicks spaceman regalia. They seem to be singing the song phonetically which adds to the charm of this wonderful early 60’s period piece. Take a look and behold The Spotnicks!
Redtree Times 