Haven't done one of these in ages, but I definitely feel the need to send a big fat old Bacardi Show Birthday Greeting to the lovely Welsh chanteuse and former Apple artist Mary Hopkin, who turns an astounding 54 today. I'm listening to her Paul McCartney-produced debut as I type, and I'm always finding myself enjoying the quaint, retro feel of the whole thing, which features a wide range of material from Donovan and Nilsson to Irving Berlin and "The Inchworm Song" from Hans Christian Anderson, and on many cuts is augmented by old-timey jazz horns, full symphony orchestras, latin acoustic guitar & brass, and many other diverse sounds which were contributed by McCartney, no doubt. I love her third album, Earth Song/Ocean Song very much, it's one of my favorites...but it's in more of a Britfolk mode, with hubby Tony Visconti at the helm and people like the Pentangle's Danny Thompson and Strawbs' Dave Cousins accompaning her.
Happy happy to ya, Mary. Those were the days, indeed.
