General Gregory N. Pigott: Late Night Music Part 102............"Acapella"

I forget how this one triggered, but I was talking about acapella songs at work the other night, and this idea popped up in my head. Sorry it took me so long. Sorry I don't have much else clever here. I just really am looking forward to getting this one published. Really great variety on this one.

In order to be included on this list, the song had to be in accapella (duh). In a rare "Late Night Music" feat, all songs receiving votes were included on this list.

"Michael Jackson Medley"- Sam Tsui. Sam Tsui is one of those recent artists who made a name for himself by posting popular viral videos on youtube. This guy's voice is amazing and his balls to tackle a medley of the king of pop (AFTER his passing no less) is in itself incredible. Due to this immense popularity of doing cover songs on youtube. He released the digital album "The Covers" in 2010. I can listen to this medley 100 times and never get sick of it, but I am BEGGING Sam Tsui to find a different pair of pants to wear in his future videos. Just look and see what I mean. All vocals on this track are Sam Tsui with the exception with his "bandmate" Kurt Schneider who provides all the percussion sounds. Only thing I hate about this song is that it's nearly impossible to perform live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R12QVtuB0_Q

"Lady Gaga Medley"- Naya Marie. Naya Marie is another up and coming artist from Toronto who has spent several nights, unknown to her, singing me to sleep. Some of you may remember the "Love Will Never Do Without You/ California Gurls" mashup with Shannon Alvares I put up recently, but this song is still my favorite by her. To add bonus points, Naya is not only better looking than Lady Gaga, she's a better singer. There I said it. This track, which features all vocals by her, would also be virtually impossible to perform live, but is SO cool. To check out more of Naya Marie's music check her out at www.nayamarie.blogspot.com or www.myspace.com/nayamariemusic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGKErn2Zr88

"It's Alright"- Huey Lewis and the News. COVER SONG ALERT! In the mid/late 80's Huey Lewis and The News were one of the biggest acts in the world with their albums "Fore!", "Sports", and "Picture This". A lot of people didn't give Huey Lewis his due as a more than capable soul artist pulling off this cover of Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions hit from 1963 which reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. This version was released 30 years later in 1993 on the Mayfield tribute album "People Get Ready".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI7qhV36FQ0

"The Longest Time"- Billy Joel. In 1983, Billy Joel released one of his most famous albums (and that's saying a lot seeing how the man has TWO Best Album Grammys) "An Innocent Man", which was a concept album paying homage to the "music of his childhood", with this particular song being a tribute to the doo wop groups of the 1950's. By the time this song was released in 1984, the album was already a hit, but this was definitely the coolest song of the bunch and the coolest video. Bonus points for the janitor whistling "The Stranger" in the opening of the video, and more bonus points for the band of Joel actually lip synching good enough to make us think they were really singing. All 14 vocal tracks on this song were sung by Billy Joel. This song reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and this album was nominated for yet another Album of the Year Grammy, but it lost to a little album you may have heard of called "Thriller". Quick- name another Joel song that reached the Top 20 that DOESN'T feature him playing the piano. I can't either. Still one of the most underrated pure musicians in music history here. Oh yeah, my dad always got cracked up with the janitor joining in at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_XgQhMPeEQ

"Don't Worry, Be Happy"- Bobby McFerrin. In 1988, Bobby McFerrin became a very famous one hit wonder by having the first ever acapella song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Every sound on the record is made by McFerrin's voice. Unfortunately, McFerrin was never happy with the publicity this song brought him, and he no longer performs it in his concerts. Despite this, McFerrin has gone on to enjoy a successful jazz music career. Bonus points for Robin Williams in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU

"A Capella (Something's Missing)"- Brandy. Ok, so this one is a borderline one because it DOES feature an electric guitar, but it's the only thing on the record that isn't Brandy's voice. This song was included on Brandy's 2008 album "Human", and while the album hadn't done as well as her previous releases, this album and this song in particular were praised by critics for Brandy showing her true vocal talent. I've never been a huge Brandy fan despite her being a fellow Mississippian, but this is a super cool song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdRq4oFFQl8

"Can You Stand The Rain?"- Boyz II Men. COVER SONG ALERT!!!!!!! I can't think of many groups who can pull off a New Edition song and do it not only just as good, but better. The song was originally featured on New Editions's 1988 album "Heart Break" (their first Johnny Gill album) and reached #44 on the Billboard Hot 100. This version was featured on Boyz II Men's 1997 mega smash album "Evolution". As you can imagine, this song had to be stupid hard to do live. When I saw Boyz II Men live in 1998, they did a piano version of this song that was really cool. I have to think they did it just to make it easier to sing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCVIqHkOHr0

"She's Out Of My Life"- 98 Degrees. I get so mad when people say 98 Degrees was a "stupid boy band". They were a pure quartet who had R/B soul, but just happened to be white. As goofy as Nick Lachey is and as dumb as his marriage and TV show with Jessica Simpson was, the guy has a mad awesome voice. This track closed out their sophomore smash album "98 Degrees and Rising". Oh yeah COVER SONG ALERT! This original song was Michael Jackson's smash album "Off The Wall" in 1979. A few cover versions have been attempted (including a very bad one by Genuwine), but this one is the only one that measures up. Honestly, I would have liked to have seen the Jackson 5 do this song rather than MJ. This is a great song to close out an album, and I think it showed that 98 Degrees was serious about keeping their R&B image.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUFNPsp14SY

"So Much In Love"- All-4-One. Another underrated group, All-4-One had to be one of the goofiest and most unlikely R&B groups ever. Seriously, just look at these guys. However, their blend of vocals was nearly impeccable and they actually recorded all of their music around 1 microphone rather than using individuals. In all honesty, I think if they wouldn't have looked so dang silly they might have been more successful than they already were. This was the lead single from their debut self titled album which is actually another COVER SONG ALERT! The song was a #1 hit in 1963 for the group the times. This version for All-4-One peaked at #28, but gave them exposure before their smash hit "I Swear". Interesting fact- All-4-One had 3 top 40 hits. All 3 were cover songs. Yikes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsu4yRmxNWc

"Sukiyaki"- 4pm. I know I showed these guys before, but this song is pretty cool, and how often are we really gonna talk about 4pm? 4pm did themselves in by saying their name stood for "4 Positive Music" in the 90's when the "violent and sex music" era was beginning. Smart move? As I stated before, I heard this song a lot in England while I was there in 1995, as the song was widely popular in Europe. This again is another COVER SONG ALERT!!!!!!!!!!! This Japanese hit for Kyu Sakamoto was translated into English (partially- we all know how translating to make songs rhyme works- just look at Julio Iglesias) for 4pm's 1995 album "It's The Time" and hit #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave 4pm their 15 minutes of fame, which I guess lasted until 4:15. I crack myself up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSYS7cPc3nE

"If I Ever Fall In Love"- Shai. Yes! One of my all time favorite groups to make fun of. This title track off of their debut album in 1992 was a hit peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, but I'm still confused. If you ever watch/listen to Shai, you can see they are good singers, but they remind of Dru Hill in the fact that they don't really have all 4 vocal parts present to be a real quartet. Funny how they pulled this one off. Anyway, super cool song by a good 90's band here. However, this video is even worse than "Baby, I'm Yours". What a goober bunch of guys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXNNVUuIDgc

"Firework"- Mike Tompkins. Ok, I had to include this new viral hit by multitrack master Mike Tompkins. The amount of tracks on this song is ridiculous, and all sounds are made by Mike Tompkins. Like the other multitracks, and even more so, this one would be impossible to do live. However, super cool video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyepYaE_JS4

BONUS VIDEO- "Love Will Never Do Without You/California Gurls"- Naya Marie and Shannon Alvares. Had to put it on here- SUPER COOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG4XFOOKa20