Cleo Laine sings 'Turkish Delight' (Mozart arr. Dankworth)

Husband and wife jazz duo, Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, present their unique take on a much-loved piano favourite, 'Rondo alla Turca' - their preferred title is 'Turkish Delight'. This performance was recorded live in the Carnegie Hall in 1983.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• John Dankworth
• Cleo Laine
• Rondo alla Turca
• Turkish Delight
• Mozart
• paulprocopolis

[DivasOfSong]

Thanks for posting. The concert took place in 1983, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their first Carnegie triumph. The album was released some time after and won a Grammy in February 1986.

[paulprocopolis]

@DivasOfSong Thanks for the correction. My failing eyesight misread the '8' for a '6'. I guess I should have known, since Cleo wasn't really singing this sort of stuff in 1964! I'll amend the info now.

[nyelkenci]

Ms Laine, how wonderful of you to perform this masterpiece in your version and at the end dedicate this song for us: The Turkish people. Cok yasa sen. With lopve, Nihat

[ViktoriaKaunova]

Thank you so so so much for the text!!!

[ViktoriaKaunova]

Thank you so so so much for the text!!!

[sharecroppermike]

Wonderful....incredible high note!! Always liked her!

[ATsarIsBorn]

And thanks SO much for the lyrics, morinoroba!

[8492grob]

truly amazing breath taking wonderful there is nobody too touch her vocal range

[theoriginalbadbob]

I'm told that the note she hits, near the end of the song, is E-flat above high-C. She could do more damage, in a china and crystal shop, than a 2,000 pound el toro.

[morinoroba]

@tyoonz Thank you very much now I could understand the lyrics,I enjoyed this song doubly !

[tyoonz]

@morinoroba Here are the lyrics:

Many years ago, centuries ago, long before the Beatles ever had a single fan,

There was one sad guy called Mozart and he was a keyboard man.

Wrote a lot of songs, wrote a lot of tunes, he became a legendary figure overnight.

He wrote symphonies, concertos--his quartets were out of sight!

But though almost every single song charted high and charted very long,

There was one more thing to be achieved--one more accolade to be received.

So, he tried again.

[tyoonz]

@morinoroba With his music pen

Searching for a tune to put him in the hall of fame

And he worked by day and night until at last that moment came.

He had found just the ditty for a Cleo Laine recital

Yes, it seemed just the right one--not too slow and not too bright!

Mozart found something special for us two to swing along to

And we won't rest a moment 'til we get the darn thing right!

At the end of the song, Cleo sings "And they called the number "Turkish Delight!"