The Seekers are an Australian band formed in 1962. The Folk and Gospel group achieved the zenith of their popularity in the mid ’60’s with several hit songs. Their most memorable chart-topper is a song titled “I’ll Never Find Another You.” It reached #1 on the UK charts in 1965, making the Seekers the only Australian band with a #1 hit song outside of Australia. The song reached #97 in the United States, quite a feat in itself. The group has continued to perform to standing ovations around the world into the 1990’s.

I am dedicating this song to my wife of 37 years, Bonnie Erens-Gittlin. Without exaggeration, every word in the lyrics of this song applies. I am grateful to have spent my adult life with this woman and the beautiful daughter we have raised. Here’s my cover.

Listening to the Heart Brings Peace and Harmony into a Life

• (00:00:10) - "For You Will Be My Someone Forever"

“True Colors” is a song with legs. It started out as a song written for a mother in a traditional ballad format. Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly wrote the song in 1986 and offered it to Anne Murray, a popular singer at the time. Murray passed on the song. Cyndi Lauper took it and creatively revamped the format into a stark and breathtaking version.

The song became a hit worldwide because of its universal appeal. The songwriters acknowledge that Lauper was the perfect artist to adapt the song partly because of her bold style. Released as the title song on Lauper’s 1986 album, “True Colors,” is the only original song on the album that the artist did not help to write.

In 1998, Phil Collins covered the song on his “Greatest Hits” album. Australian country music star Kasey Chambers covered the song as the theme for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In 2007, Cindy Lauper launched “The True Colors Tour” to support gay rights and fight hate crimes. In 2016, Justin Timberlake and actress Anna Kendrick used the song in the soundtrack for the movie “Trolls.” Kodak also used the song to advertise its film stock.

Like I said: The song has legs. Here’s my version.

• (00:00:05) - True Colors

Eric Andersen’s voice, songs, guitar, and piano playing created a career that has spanned over 45 years. He has recorded 25 albums of original songs and made numerous tours of North America, Europe, and Japan.

His songs have been recorded and performed by world-renowned artists such as Judy Collins, Peter Paul and Mary, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead, Linda Thompson, plus many others in Europe, Australia, England, and Japan. One of Eric's most famous songs is "Thirsty Boots." I loved it from the first time I heard it. Here's my cover.

• (00:00:09) - A stranger stops for a while

Cat Stevens first met Alun Davies as a backup musician in a recording session. He liked what he heard. After another session, Stevens recognized that Davies was an exceptional talent. In a following private session, Stevens played something like fifty of his original songs for Davies, whereupon Davies decided Cat was also an exceptional talent. He agreed to accompany Stevens on an upcoming tour. After the tour, Davies became Stevens' permanent 2nd guitar until Stevens stopped playing music with his conversion to Islam in 1977. When Stevens began performing again in 2003, the two artists reunited.

Here is a new version of "How Can I Tell You" with me playing and singing Davies' now famous second guitar part.

• (00:00:00) - How Can I Tell You That I Love You?

In this song, Cat Stevens is singing to a woman he yearns for in a Human form. On another level, he may be singing, aware or unaware, to the Divine Feminine. In either case, the object of Stevens’ love is unattainable in the present. Yet, I believe, the admirer (Stevens) continues to yearn for his beloved in the hope that he will, one day, meet his perfect love.

There are many interpretations of “How Can I Tell You.” In my view, the song is hopeful rather than despairing. However one interprets “How Can I Tell you,” I feel the song is filled with incredible beauty that cannot help but shine through.

Stevens first met Alun Davies as a backup musician in a recording session. He liked what he heard. After another session, Stevens recognized that Davies was an exceptional talent. In a following private session, Stevens played something like fifty of his original songs for Davies, whereupon Davies decided Cat was an equally exceptional talent. He agreed to accompany Stevens on an upcoming tour. After the tour, Davies became Stevens' permanent 2nd guitar until Stevens stopped playing music with his conversion to Islam in 1977. When Stevens began performing again in 2003, the two artists reunited.

Here is a new version of "How Can I Tell You" with me playing and singing Davies' now famous second guitar part.

• (00:00:00) - Sam How Can I Tell You That I Love You?

Have you heard of Steve Gillette? If you were alive in the 1960s and liked folk music, there’s a chance the name rings a bell. Gillette never reached the top of the charts, but he’s a very talented singer/songwriter. Many of his songs have been performed by artists you have heard of, including John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, Ian and Sylvia, Nanci Griffith, and Linda Ronstadt.

“The Bells in the Evening” appears on Gillette’s debut album, released in 1967. The album, simply titled “Steve Gillette,” stands as one of Steve’s finest recordings. “The Bells” is a bittersweet (actually sweet-bitter) song of love blossoming in the spring and fading away in the fall. I find the melody and lyrics deeply moving. Perhaps you will, too. The song is also replete with imagery. When you listen, what images come to your mind?

I’ve revisited “The Bells of the Evening,” adding a new background track by Giovanni Egusquista. Here’s my cover.

A movie studio commissioned a composer to write "Everything I Do" for Kevin Costner's Film, "Prince of Thieves." Bryan Adams, with his producer Mutt Lange, wrote the lyrics, bridge, arrangement, and outro. Adams used a line from the movie for the song title.

The studio did not like the instrumentation in the finished product. They buried it midway in the credits, not anticipating what a huge hit the song would become.

"Everything I Do" is one of the most successful singles of all time, selling over 3 million copies. It was #1 for 16 weeks in England and seven weeks in the United States.

Please enjoy my cover with background instrumentation by Giovanni Egusquiza.

• (00:00:12) - "Everything I Do, I Do It For You"

If you missed the vocal and guitar cover of "Heaven," here it is again with a rocking digital enhancement.

• (00:00:07) - God's Love Songs For People In Heaven