Julee Cruise - "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears"

It's been almost a year since her death, but somehow I failed to mark the passing of Julee Cruise.  I indirectly referenced it when I wrote of the death of Angelo Badalamenti, but somehow I mistook sending a flurry of texts to my friends last year for actually writing about it.  

Having covered Julee extensively in the past (Twin Peaks, Industrial Symphony #1, Floating into the Night), I'm not sure I have anything new to say.  I have a fair amount of her later collaborations (i.e., those not with Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch), but instead I want to draw your attention to a cover of an Elvis song she did for the "Until the End of the World" soundtrack, "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears".  

I'm guessing it was recorded during the sessions for either "Floating into the Night" or maybe even "The Voice of Love".  To the best of my knowledge, it never appeared on a Julee Cruise LP and the soundtrack is the only place to get it.  

As I've mentioned before, Cruise was a titan in the dream pop genre and her discography is just too short.  Unless there are some unreleased tracks sitting in a vault somewhere, this is it, so enjoy this excellent Elvis cover -- and bonus points for a cover of an obscure B-side too. 

Julee Cruise - "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears"

Elvis - "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears"

The Everly Brothers - "Cathy's Clown" (spotlight)

I'm just over a month late, but I wanted to acknowledge the passing of Phil Everly, one-half of The Everly Brothers.  If you're tracing the history of rock and roll, the line between Elvis Presley (the rockabilly sound) and The Beatles (and their early vocal harmonies) passes through The Everly Brothers.  Since their distinctive vocals yielded 26 Top 40 singles in their career, you can't really claim that they were overlooked, but they are certainly overshadowed now by Elvis and The Beatles. 

During their career they made famous songs written by others (e.g., "Wake Up Little Susie") as well as writing songs that others would successfully cover (e.g., "When Will I Be Loved"), but my favorite is probably their 1960 hit "Cathy's Clown", which: they wrote themselves, was never popularized by others, and had a direct influence on The Beatles. 

"Cathy's Clown":  TV July 9th, 1960, UK TV 1961 (backed by The Crickets)
In both videos Phil is on the left; also Don sings the lead and Phil sings on the harmonies / chorus.