100 year old love songs for modern music lovers and romantics

A new music album by an Australian musical artist features 100 year old love songs performed in contemporary styles of country, jazz, bossa nova and funk.

After recording over 40 famous classical compositions of composers like Bach, Beethoven and Chopin in contemporary styles of rock, jazz and hip hop, David Mulliss has gone on to produce his third vocal album entitled “Songs for Dreamy Lovers”.

The artist has recreated perennial wedding and love songs that have given joy to young-at-heart lovers for over a century. Songs include "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland" which is said to be one of the most famous popular songs of the twentieth century. Written in 1909, the song has been recorded by many musical artists including Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Judy Garland.

American composer Jerome Kern is featured on this album too. In his lifetime, Jerome Kern wrote more than 700 songs including many jazz standards. His song "Look for the Silver Lining" appears on this album as a bossa nova, which was a genre that didn't exist when the song was written in 1919.

Most people are familiar with the song title “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” even if they haven’t heard the recordings of this song by Pat Boone or Patti Page. This version is performed as a modern country waltz for contemporary listeners. Another waltz performed as modern country is “You Belong to Me” which the American composer Victor Herbert wrote the music for in 1916.

Track seven of the album gives us Guy d'Hardelot's song "Because" originally written in French in 1902. This track is performed in a rock/orchestral crossover style which sets it apart from the bulk of recordings of other artists made by Andrea Bocelli, Plácido Domingo, Nelson Eddy, Mahalia Jackson and even The Three Tenors.

The “Moonlight Serenade: Intermezzo” was written in 1905 and unrelated to Glenn Miller’s similarly entitled “Moonlight Serenade” song. This recording of “Intermezzo” is a Nashville-sound influenced modern country ballad. The song features a smoothly rockin’ beat that will make you want to close your eyes and dance.

The oldest song on this album is “I Love You Truly” and has been a popular wedding song since it was first published in 1901. This recording is performed as a modern rockin' country ballad – mostly because electric guitars didn’t exist 100 years ago!

One song that should have been more popular in its day was "To Have, To Hold, To Love". Even though the song was written in 1913, the lyrics are so well written that one gets the sense that this is truly a modern song, and when you hear it performed on this album as a modern country ballad, you'll be hard-pressed to think the song is more than only a few years old.

Another song that has been performed by famous artists over the years is “You Made Me Love You”. Since the “World’s Greatest Entertainer” Al Jolson first introduced this song in 1913, a multitude of artists have recorded this song including Patsy Cline, Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow and even Gloria Estefan. This artist’s favourite recording was by Helen Forrest and Harry James, hence doing the song in a swing style with a smooth trumpet section in the middle.

“Somebody’s Sweetheart I Want To Be” was written in 1905 and is really a well-written song with a rich melody and quaint lyrics. This artist believes the original composers got the lyrics and melody just right, and that’s why this jazz/swing version was made. On the other hand, it’s quite possible that “Only a Dream of You” written in 1909 has not been recorded in a Western/Bluegrass style before, but it seems to have worked out well with mandolin, guitars, and a thumping kick drum.

Many mid-20th century recording artists recorded Jerome Kern’s “They Didn’t Believe Me” that was written in 1914, the most famous of which is probably Frank Sinatra’s recording. This particular recording features an extraordinarily fat and funky arrangement that is best enjoyed with a decent subwoofer.

“Songs for Dreamy Lovers” was released on 1 June 2019 and is available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and other online music stores. Modern brides might find a unique soundtrack on this album for their “entrance” or “first dance”.