Yesterday Once More

20 Jun 2017

Sleep

Hi Listeners,

‘To sleep -perchance to dream- aye there’s the rub’ says Hamlet in one of his most famous soliloquies. Sleep or the lack of sleep has long been associated with a restless condition of the heart. This week there is a surprising variety in the different ways song writers and singers approach ‘Sleep’. The Fifth Dimension sum up the restlessness associated with the inability to get to sleep in ‘Last Night I Couldn’t Get To Sleep’ which is re-iterated in Ray Hoffa and the Offbeats Aussie version of ‘Tossin’ And Turnin’.

The Romantics sing about ‘Talking In Your Sleep’ while Doris Day sanitises the sexuality of the situation in ‘Pillow Talk’ ( maybe it’s because she was in bed with Rock Hudson!). The dark side of sleep features in the fifties hit ‘Endless Sleep’ from Jody Reynolds whereas Neil Sedaka’s “Forty Winks Away’ is a song about the comfort and romance of sleeping and dreaming. The Everly Brothers very popular ‘Wake Up Little Susie’ highlights the teenage dilemma of staying out too late and accidentally falling asleep.

Of interest is Petula Clark’s ‘Don’t Sleep In The Subway’ which is a somewhat satirical jibe at male egoism. The brilliant version of the 1961 smash hit ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ by The Tokens evokes the atmosphere of African jungles. Add to the mix the beautiful instrumental guitar work of Santo And Johnny (Sleepwalk) and two two very different treatments of the legendary sand man ( Mr Sandman by the Chordettes) and ‘Sandman’ by America and you have a very eclectic blend of different approaches to the theme of ‘Sleep’.

Playlist