“How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and recorded by The Bee Gees in 1971 for their album Trafalgar. It was the first Bee Gees single to reach #1 on the Hot 100 and also spent two weeks at #1 on the Cash Box Top 100.
For this battle, I’ve chosen two “middle of the road” singers’ covers of the song.
Andy Williams
From his 1971 album You’ve Got A Friend.
Johnny Mathis
From his 1971 album You’ve Got A Friend.
Voting is open to anyone who has an opinion to offer. Here’s what you do:
The polls close at 12:00 noon Eastern Time next Saturday, July 22, so be sure and cast your vote by then.
The lines are now open. Good luck to Andy and Johnny!
Thanks for visiting my ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog.
I don’t know why, but ordinarily only crazy, or somewhat-screwy, or very-outta-whack-people visit my blog. So I am hoping that perhaps you may be something… different from that. (As Karen Carpenter sang: ‘I Can Dream, Can’t I?’)
My next BOTB will be posted on August 1st (one week before my 29th birthday).
Feel free to submit a vote for your favorite recording. Don’t worry, if your vote is wrong, I will let you know… relatively subtly (I don’t like to embarrass my visitors).
I was being silly and deliberately projecting. In truth, everyone knows that *I* am the wacky, looney tune of Battle Of The Bands.
Incidentally, we are always looking for new BOTBers. (It’s been a long time since we’ve had any new blood in this blogfest.) If’n you or anyone you know would like to join our 1st-of-the-month BOTB blogfest, just let me know and we’ll get you added to the list of participants.
Hey, that’s terrific! Welcome aboard the BOTB train (maybe more like a drain).
(I don’t know why I wasn’t alerted to this most recent comment of yours. I ‘followed’ additions to the Comment section but didn’t receive an Email.)
I kind of miswrote when I wrote that “It’s been a long time since we’ve had any new blood in this blogfest”. Actually, dIEDRE joined us about 4 or 5 months ago, but she was a regular voter for so long that I always automatically thought of her as “one of us”.
I’ll be sure to announce your participation (& link to your blog) in my August 1st BOTB post, so everyone will know that we have a new member and they will visit your blog to cast a vote in whatever contest you put together for our consideration.
I started the ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blogfest on AUGUST 1, 2013, so you will be joining us on the 10th anniversary. In truth, it wasn’t originally intended to be a blogfest, but so many people wanted to participate that it eventually became an ‘open membership’ thing. At one time, years ago, we had at least two dozen bloggers regularly participating, but as time went on and blogging became less popular, the numbers dropped significantly.
Here’s some good info to get started:
There are NO RULES. (I’m not big into rules that pinch a person’s creativity.) But there are some Solid Suggestions that will help a person create a good, popular ‘Battle Of The Bands’ installment.
Most of the time it’s best to use just TWO song recordings. It’s OK to do a 3-Way once in awhile, but since that’s a bigger investment of time on the listener’s part, if you do a 3-Song Battle, I recommend that you make sure all 3 songs are vastly different in style and/or tempo. If 2 of the 3 songs seem very similar, voters won’t feel that they justified the additional listening time. (No one will say that out loud because all the BOTBers and non-BOTB voters are very nice & cool. But some will definitely be *thinking* it.)
Generally, you’re trying to create a match-up that will be very close, so the race is exciting. The last thing you want is a shutout, where one of your musical artists don’t even get a single vote from anyone. (In 10 years, I’ve never had a single shutout, and I’m weirdly proud of that fact. I’ve had plenty of blowouts and plenty of ties, but never – yet – a shutout.)
You can use ANY KIND OF MUSIC you want. But beware of using a big hit song against a relatively unknown cover of that same song. Most people will vote for “the hit they know” and you will be begging for a shutout. If you’re going to use a song that was a big hit for someone, it’s best to use two cover versions of the song, which most people will be unfamiliar with.
The *TRADITIONAL* way of constructing a BOTB installment is using two cover versions of the same song. But another way (my personal favorite) is tying the songs together via a *THEME*. In other words, the songs you use are completely different but they share a common theme (e.g., the day, the night, flowers, riots, the ocean, the sky, the color green, etc.) I like to use *both* forms; however, my own favorite Battles have usually been the *THEME* type because it allows a greater amount of creativity. But any BOTB installment should employ either the Traditional or the Thematic approach.
Lastly, don’t get discouraged. For most folks, this thing is harder than it seems and it’s definitely more of an art form than a science. It usually takes some practice, some trial and error, before a person gets the hang of it. Our dear dIEDRE (‘Landmark Sounds’ blog) had some rough blowouts in her first few Battles, but her last one was masterful! I can tell that she’s got this thing figured out now. The main thing is… have FUN!
If you know anyone else who would like to join, please send them my way. (I’m the only crazy BOTBer. The rest are relatively sane… although I worry about Mike. 😉
Stine Writing 
Thanks for visiting my ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog.
I don’t know why, but ordinarily only crazy, or somewhat-screwy, or very-outta-whack-people visit my blog. So I am hoping that perhaps you may be something… different from that. (As Karen Carpenter sang: ‘I Can Dream, Can’t I?’)
My next BOTB will be posted on August 1st (one week before my 29th birthday).
Feel free to submit a vote for your favorite recording. Don’t worry, if your vote is wrong, I will let you know… relatively subtly (I don’t like to embarrass my visitors).
~ D-FensDogG
‘Loyal American Underground’
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I may be some of the above but overall I think I’m pretty normal. I found your blog I think from John Holt’s
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was being silly and deliberately projecting. In truth, everyone knows that *I* am the wacky, looney tune of Battle Of The Bands.
Incidentally, we are always looking for new BOTBers. (It’s been a long time since we’ve had any new blood in this blogfest.) If’n you or anyone you know would like to join our 1st-of-the-month BOTB blogfest, just let me know and we’ll get you added to the list of participants.
I hope you have a terrific day!
~ D-FensDogG
LikeLiked by 1 person
sure, add me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, that’s terrific! Welcome aboard the BOTB train (maybe more like a drain).
(I don’t know why I wasn’t alerted to this most recent comment of yours. I ‘followed’ additions to the Comment section but didn’t receive an Email.)
I kind of miswrote when I wrote that “It’s been a long time since we’ve had any new blood in this blogfest”. Actually, dIEDRE joined us about 4 or 5 months ago, but she was a regular voter for so long that I always automatically thought of her as “one of us”.
I’ll be sure to announce your participation (& link to your blog) in my August 1st BOTB post, so everyone will know that we have a new member and they will visit your blog to cast a vote in whatever contest you put together for our consideration.
I started the ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blogfest on AUGUST 1, 2013, so you will be joining us on the 10th anniversary. In truth, it wasn’t originally intended to be a blogfest, but so many people wanted to participate that it eventually became an ‘open membership’ thing. At one time, years ago, we had at least two dozen bloggers regularly participating, but as time went on and blogging became less popular, the numbers dropped significantly.
Here’s some good info to get started:
There are NO RULES. (I’m not big into rules that pinch a person’s creativity.) But there are some Solid Suggestions that will help a person create a good, popular ‘Battle Of The Bands’ installment.
Most of the time it’s best to use just TWO song recordings. It’s OK to do a 3-Way once in awhile, but since that’s a bigger investment of time on the listener’s part, if you do a 3-Song Battle, I recommend that you make sure all 3 songs are vastly different in style and/or tempo. If 2 of the 3 songs seem very similar, voters won’t feel that they justified the additional listening time. (No one will say that out loud because all the BOTBers and non-BOTB voters are very nice & cool. But some will definitely be *thinking* it.)
Generally, you’re trying to create a match-up that will be very close, so the race is exciting. The last thing you want is a shutout, where one of your musical artists don’t even get a single vote from anyone. (In 10 years, I’ve never had a single shutout, and I’m weirdly proud of that fact. I’ve had plenty of blowouts and plenty of ties, but never – yet – a shutout.)
You can use ANY KIND OF MUSIC you want. But beware of using a big hit song against a relatively unknown cover of that same song. Most people will vote for “the hit they know” and you will be begging for a shutout. If you’re going to use a song that was a big hit for someone, it’s best to use two cover versions of the song, which most people will be unfamiliar with.
The *TRADITIONAL* way of constructing a BOTB installment is using two cover versions of the same song. But another way (my personal favorite) is tying the songs together via a *THEME*. In other words, the songs you use are completely different but they share a common theme (e.g., the day, the night, flowers, riots, the ocean, the sky, the color green, etc.) I like to use *both* forms; however, my own favorite Battles have usually been the *THEME* type because it allows a greater amount of creativity. But any BOTB installment should employ either the Traditional or the Thematic approach.
Lastly, don’t get discouraged. For most folks, this thing is harder than it seems and it’s definitely more of an art form than a science. It usually takes some practice, some trial and error, before a person gets the hang of it. Our dear dIEDRE (‘Landmark Sounds’ blog) had some rough blowouts in her first few Battles, but her last one was masterful! I can tell that she’s got this thing figured out now. The main thing is… have FUN!
If you know anyone else who would like to join, please send them my way. (I’m the only crazy BOTBer. The rest are relatively sane… although I worry about Mike. 😉
~ D-FensDogG
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, thanks for the tutorial! I will definitely put the effort in. I’m already starting to think of a few songs…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry John Holton
LikeLike
Thanks for the shout-out!
LikeLike
Love The Bee Gees!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oo I am going to follow this blog! I love a good battle!
LikeLiked by 3 people
right?!?!?!
LikeLike