Valentine's Day is approaching, a day filled with love for one another. Eventhough love should be shown to each other all year round, on the 14th of February we like to emphasize our love for our family, friends, partner and maybe even our lovely pets! No matter how you are going to spend this day, together with Gigstarter you can immerse yourself in the universal language of music. From timeless classics to modern favorites, these melodies capture the essence of love in all its shapes and forms. In this first part we will travel in time. The classics stand the test of time, offering a refreshing take on love that goes beyond the conventional.
Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
'Iris' was written for the movie City of Angels. John Rzeznik, founder, guitarist and frontman, explained:
"When I wrote it, I was thinking about the situation of the Nicolas Cage character in the movie. This guy is completely willing to give up his own immortality, just to be able to feel something very human. And I think, ‘Wow! What an amazing thing it must be like to love someone so much that you give up everything to be with them.’ That’s a pretty heavy thought."
Heaven - Bryan Adams
'Heaven' stands as a powerful ballad that delves into a profound love shared between two individuals. Drawing significant inspiration from Journey's 'Faithfully' created the previous year. Interestingly, 'Heaven' nearly missed inclusion in the album, as both Bryan Adams and producer Jimmy Iovine felt it might not seamlessly blend with the album's predominantly harder rock theme. However, for reasons not entirely clear, Adams had a change of heart at the eleventh hour and decided to keep it in.
The rest, as they say, is history. 'Heaven' went on to become one of the most iconic tracks in Bryan Adams' extensive discography.
Somethin' Stupid - Frank & Nancy Sinatra
'Somethin' Stupid' is a duet sung between Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy Sinatra. In many uncertain relationships one side can ruin the moment by saying "I love you," forcing the other person to explain why they don't share these feelings. Lee Hazlewood was the producer behind this song: "Frank called me to his office and told me he had found the song (for his daughter) but Nancy wouldn't work with any other producer but me. He played me the demo of 'Somethin' Stupid' and said: 'Do you like it?' I said 'I love it and if you don't do it with Nancy, I will.' He said 'We're gonna do it, book a studio.'"
Kiss From A Rose - Seal
'Kiss from a Rose' is a song from Seal’s second album named Seal II. The song was first released as a single in July 1994 and then re-released in 1995, it was included on the Batman Forever Soundtrack. At the 1996 Grammy Awards, it won awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. This track was written way before Seal wrote any songs of his first album. He shared the following about the process of this beautiful song
"I had one of those four-tracks port-a-studios, basically a tape machine that takes a cassette and splits it up into four tracks. I threw the tape in the corner. I was embarrassed by it so I wouldn’t play it for my producer, Trevor Horn. But I played it to a friend. So then, when I was recording my second album, Trevor kept asking me about this 'rose' song he’d heard about. My friend had told him about it. I finally played it to him on the second album, because he kept brow beating me into it. To be honest, I was never really that proud of it, though I like what Trevor did with the recording. He turned that tape from my corner into another 8 million record sales and my name became a household name. I realized it just wasn’t a song from a tape in the corner when I was picking up Grammys for it. Of course I love it now and I am just so appreciative of the fact that I have a song like that, that most people love."
However, Seal refuses to elaborate on the meaning of the song, leaving it to our own imagination what it truly means.
At Last - Etta James
Originally written in 1941 by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren and originally performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra for the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade. The ballad only found its greatest success when it got in the late Etta James her hands. The tune became her signature song. Although it is about finding love, for Etta it was about finding her emotional core and her place in music after such a turbulent and uncertain life. Her tone exudes a raw sense of relief upon returning home, expressed with passion yet without any overt display.
As you navigate through the various love songs, remember that love, in all its forms, is a complex tapestry. It's not always about the obvious choices but often about the unexpected gems that resonate with the intricacies of human connection. So, whether you're spending Valentine's Day with a romantic partner or celebrating the broader spectrum of love, let the music guide you and make you feel loved!
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