One of the best songs to come out of the '80s in my opinion, and I've always wanted to record it.  However, the track was slightly lackluster and I had the idea this past week to add in a supplemented piano/bass line to mimic the original riff, and to add a little enhanced drum.  I also got super creative with the intro in terms of a vocal change.  This has turned out pretty nice and I just love the vibe of this song - makes you want to roll the windows down on a summer day.  Will be updating the backing vocals later as well as a little video project in the next week.

I Can Dream About You (a Dan Hartman cover)

posted the first mix of this a couple of days ago, but have now added an enhanced crowd clapping beat, a few other things.  I simply cannot help but bounce my feet when I hear this song.  I hope you enjoy the added production

I Can Dream About You (a Dan Hartman cover) - updated mix

I was blown away when I heard Adam Lambert choose this song to honor Cher with at the Kennedy Center Honors concert, and I think Cher was too.  The song is totally different done as a ballad, and even though it is over 20 years old there is still a huge age range of folks who know and appreciate it.  I am hoping to use it as my final song in the current project I'm working on which is a Talent Contest for Talent Watch - the Texas branch of that contest, with the finals taking place today, 11/13/2021.

Believe (a Cher/Adam Lambert cover) - demo only

In the mid-80s Sheena Easton, while riding a huge wave of commercial success, took time out of her busy schedule to learn Spanish - phonetically - and re-record several of her biggest English-language hits for the Latin America market on EMI.  As most were only familiar with hearing her awesome Scottish accent speaking English, this was a surprising move but also a very successful one as the album produced a Grammy winning song in a duet with a then-very-young (15) year old teen singer named Luis Miguel with their hit  "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres".  (a song which did not have an English counterpart, incidentally).  I received a copy of the album for my birthday that year from Sheena's then-management-secretary Andi Stevens, who knew how big a fan I was of Sheena's.

Also not speaking Spanish in any sort of understandable way, I was immediately struck how the beauty of the language enhanced the songs I already knew; notably on the tile track which was the Spanish version of Sheena's previous hit "Almost Over You".  There is a recording on my SoundCloud of the single one time I did this resulting duet live, at a karaoke show in the early 90s, which alternates between English & Spanish phrases & verses.

Now, all these years later, I decided to do a proper studio based recording of the vocal, and this is the 2022 version, with a small alteration at the end which fans of the original song by Sheena will recognize immediately as a change.  I was pleased with the way this turned out and after all these years, actually know what some of the phrases mean ;-)

Here is "Todo Me Recuerda a Ti" ("Everything Reminds Me of You", aka "Almost Over You" with Sheena's lead vocal and my dubbed duet voice.  I hope you will enjoy this.

Todo Me Recuerda a Ti - duet with Sheena Easton (2022 re-recording)

ABBA was one of the most successful pop groups fro the 70s and 80's before they disbanded for a 10 year period.  This has always been one of my favorite songs of theirs, and after finding a piano-only track, decided to make a full blown cover of it with my own choice of instrumentation.  Everything you hear in this recording except the piano is by yours truly ;-)

The Winner Takes It All - an ABBA cover

Air Supply was the first group to release the song "The Power of Love" in the United States, several years before Celine Dion had a mega smash hit with it.  It was also recorded and released overseas and then again in the US by Laura Branigan before Celine too.  None of the US versions hit, but I think this arrangement, using Air Supply's arrangement and instrumentation is superior.  There is only one other male version that I am aware of and that is by Englebert Humperdink several years ago.  It's a "big" song - and I have wanted to sing it since hearing the original release by Air Supply, which I believe was 1985.  I do hope you'll enjoy it.

The Power of Love - an Air Supply cover

This is one of the most iconic songs from the entire late 70's and 80's catalog combined.  It is still played on radio and it's just such a great song.  You can almost feel yourself out in the wind, on a quiet sailboat, just you and the water, and maybe someone special with you.  I had done it live years ago and decided it was time to update it.  I completely remade the intro with those awesome orchestrated swells and put in a little actual sound of being on the water along with it. .... I hope you enjoy!  Just meant to be a one-off, but the recording kind of took on a life of it's own in the process.  I love this song.

SAILING (A Christopher Cross cover)

In honor of Bobby Caldwell, who recently passed, and was the original artist of this great song.  Go West recorded it too many years later, and fortunately stayed true to the original arrangement.  I just started doing this song a few months back as it's an all time favorite, and it gets a grear reception every time.  This is a live recording, slightly mixed, that I'll probably end up doing in the studio soon. Hope you enjoy this classic! 

Kenny - What You Won't Do For Love (Go West cover)

This is such a timeless and classic song originally written and performed by the legendary Roy Orbison.  Don McLean covered it several years later, taking the song out to a lushly orchestrated ballad arrangement, which happened to be the first version of the song I heard and became familiar with.  I've always loved it, and many years later, kd Lang recorded it both solo and as a duet with Roy Orbison himself.  If you get the chance, you should check out a live recording she did several years ago that you can find on YouTube, and hear what she does with her amazing voice with this song.

CRYING (an Orbison/McLean cover)

One of the most popular songs of the entire 70's, this sad tale about life has moments of happy sounding chord progressions.. but it covers the life of a man after being left at the altar, losing his parents, and unsure of what life has to bring.  But it's also one of my all time favorite songs that I've wanted to record.  I hope you enjoy my take.

Alone Again Naturally (a Gilbert O'Sullivan cover)

Slammin' "Shoop" Remix - originator unknown
A great remix of this tune.

Salt N' Pepa - Shoop - 2014 Manzone Remix

Probably one of the most beautiful tunes I've ever heard, with the original version being stunningly performed by Gino Vanelli.  I had actually heard just a piano & vocal version he'd done, and then I heard the studio version and was even more blown away.  But there's more about this song than just this cover version.

In the early 80's after I graduated high school, I began singing in some of the local nightclubs in the area around Oak Lawn in Dallas, and was introduced to a man named Paul Allen.  Paul was an incredibly talented pianist and we hit it off very well.   We performed at a club called "The Blue Mill" for over 2 years on a regular basis and really became close friends.  Life happens, you go in other directions, and it was wonderful to be able to pop in where he was playing pretty much anywhere - and he'd always ask me to come up and sing a few songs.  He could play literally anything and played for many many people over the years.  We still stayed in touch through social media and email, and every once in a while i'd forward a song to him or he'd suggest something to me to learn.  

We both sent this song to each other at different points; he was blown away by the piano only version and I was blown away by Vanelli's voice on both.  We said we'd make it happen one day.

Well, many years passed, and I got contacted to perform at a memorial for another fabulously talented individual who had played for many many people over the years and was a good friend of Paul's, mine, and many others.  Buddy Shanahan.  I immediately knew that Paul would be playing and we both knew it was time to work this one up.  But we had very little time, no sheet music arrangement, and Paul said he'd just transcribe it out when I got there to rehearse.  We had one rehearsal the day before the memorial and there we were, over 30 years from those first days of playing together, to performing a song that we had both been wanting to do for years and years.  

It was the last time that Paul and I would see each other or perform together again, as he was tragically taken away from us all in a senseless crime the next year.   I still have a hard time watching the video of our performance, knowing he is not here anymore, and the wonderful love of music he shared with anyone he ran into in his life.  I hope he rests in peace, and I had promised him at one point I was going to do this in the studio.

I hope his angel gets to hear it because I love how this turned out.  

It also marks the first recording I've ever gotten to do in which I was able to get a successful vocoder recording in an arrangement.   It's in the 2nd verse, and brings a dreamlike quality to the words, in my opinion.  

It's beautiful slow jazz; a song like this comes along once in a lifetime to get to spend time working on and recording. If you like this you should really check out both versions that Gino Vannelli has done - they're both on Youtube.

Gypsy Days 2023 (Gino Vannelli cover) - dedicated to Paul Allen

By far my favorite LRB song, this is patterned after their 2nd recording of the song on "The Hits...Revisited" with a slightly faster tempo than the 1983 recording.  I rushed at the chance to record this a few years ago and didn't like the resulting recording,  I'm much much happier with this vocal performance and added a bit of production myself to the arrangement.  I think it rocks and it's always going to be one of my favorite tunes.

We Two (Little River Band Cover, 2nd version) - Studio 2023

The classic song originally by Elton John; this version patterned after the duet with Sir Elton &amp; George Michael.It was fun dueting with myself ;-)  Recorded approximately 1991.


Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (Cover, Studio)

Probably one of Dan Fogelberg's best songs - and there are many of those to choose from.  I haven't done much of his stuff over the years although I really really like most everything I've ever heard.  I believe he was tremendously talented, and maybe I'm just having a Renaissance moment.  This song has been in my head the last week or so, and this was the easiest way to get it out.

Heart Hotels - (a Dan Fogelberg cover) - DEMO

By far my favorite Christmas or holiday tune, I have recorded this before and used this same arrangement, but it was at least a decade ago and my style has changed along the way in many ways.  This is the Larry Gatlin arrangement which floored me the first time I heard it - seems tailor-made for me!

Oh Holy Night (Gatlin arrangement/cover) - 2023

A live (tracked) performance at my weekly show that I've been wanting to sing for 40 years and to catch it live was a great opportunity to snag a recording.  I'll definitely keep this one in the rotation - it's such a great song written by the Vannelli's  and sung by Gino's magnificent multi timbred voice.  This was the single song in history that changed my own musical direction and I remember that being the first time I'd heard a man sing with that kind of power and control and emotion in his voice.  I've since covered several of his songs including 3 from the "Nightwalker" album itself.  I've had the pleasure of meeting him 3 times now as well and that album not only deeply affected me at the time of it's release but also 2023-2024 as one of the main albums I listened to during the cancer journey.  I hope I brought it a bit of justice. Thiis was only my 2nd take on the song and I'm sure there will be others.

Living Inside Myself (a Gino Vannelli cover)

An edited version of an older recording, but one of my best and most played songs.  A live performance that is often requested, and one of my favorite recorded songs.   Masterfully caught by none other than Glenn Lukin, this has been remastered via AAMS software and edited to remove the beginning.  I love this song & always have, with this version reflecting the Al Jarreau vocal arrangement.

Since I Fell For You - Sample (Live) -sc

The things you run across when you're cleaning up hard drives....
This was one of Restless Heart's first hits and I loved the song.  I can't even remember right off when this was first recorded but I found the files and whole folder lurking on a hard drive and gave it a quick remix and remaster.  Hope you like.  It's at a minimum 15 years old....

I'll Still Be Loving You (2015 Mix/Remaster)

On a dare,  I was asked to sing this many moons ago one night.  I freaking loved the song at that time and still do - and boy is it a high one.  I had been doing a show at the time which was utilizing my upper range quite heavily and that upper register was in pretty good form that night.  It's a great tune, though you should really hear Ms. Arena do it.  Powerhouse voice.

Chains - Live  - (Tina Arena cover)

A little sample of the direction of where "The Color Of Light' has been going and where it's headed.  Here's a clip of the rhythm track of the 2nd verse and chorus into the skeleton of the bridge w/ no bass.  I think it's quite the groovy beat.  When I got this lined up finally the other day I actually rose out of my chair and boogied.  Yes, I just said boogied.  I hope you like it.  It's quite a cool little song.

The Color Of Light- Thanksgiving Bare Bones 2nd Verse Instrumental Sample

January 24, 2016 Opening Games for TXRD - The National Anthem
The Star Spangled Banner
It has been my honor and great privilege to sing the National Anthem as the Official Anthem singer for the last 3 years for the TXRD on nearly every game.  I thank Mr. Robert Muraida for the contact initially and this has continued.  I have been warmly received there and the crowd is wonderful and loving and kind!  Great people!

National Anthem 1.24.2016 at the TXRD! Opening Game

One of the few people that I thoroughly enjoyed singing with on a regular basis in the "early years" was Mr. Glenn Lukin - in fact, he & I STARTED Karaoke in Dallas in 1989/1990 and it took off from there.  So many relationships grew out of those days.  There were several songs that we built great harmonies out of, and he had the fantastic ability to harmonize like pretty much no one else I've ever known; we instinctively knew where the other was going and he was a master at it.  This was a favorite.  Found on my "lost drive" and remastered here.

Holdin' On To Yesterday (with Glenn Lukin)[2000] [Cover, Remastered/Live]

In 1985 I got the opportunity for the first time to actually go into a recording studio to SING something.  Even though it was still using a track, it was my first experience doing so with professional equipment.  This song had been out a few years at that time, and while the idea of the word "karaoke" was still a few years away, there were a few small independent "fun" outlets in which you could find tracks for performances.  I had found one of Gary Morris's version of the song although that still wasn't the first version of the song I'd ever known or sung.  That's coming a bit later.  i will be posting a link to the background of this very, very special song and why it's so special a bit later, but I found a copy of it on that lost hard drive, cleaned it up the best I could considering the source file, and here it is, dedicated to my mother once again as her copy was taken away by the tornado on 12/26/2015.

Wind Beneath My Wings [1985] First Studio Recording, Copy Remaster)

This duet was seemingly an "under-the-radar" hit for Whitney Houston & Jermaine Jackson and at the time, one of my favorite songs.  It had a great range on it especially for the female part, but also for the male part and great harmony lines.  During the early to mid-90's, one of my very favorite duet partners on songs like this was the incomparable Hope Boyle (Hope Calzada) and we were lucky enough to have them recorded by none other than Glenn Lukin at the time.  I found this in the "lost drive" and remastered it today.

If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful (Live - Duet With Hope Boyle)[1995]  [2016 Remaster]

I thought this was a cool little song by the unfortunately-named "Extreme", who'd just had a huge hit with "More Than Words", and by all practical purposes, this should have been a big hit.  But it was nowhere near the success of their first single.  Either way, it was a fun song to record.  Found on the lost drive and remastered February 2016

Hole Hearted [2009] (Cover/Remix/Studio/2016Remaster)

Another - and the only other - duet with one of the most beautiful voices the world had heard in the early 80's...and this one song held so much for me.  The post can't explain everything, but this version of the song was the first version I'd heard, although several people went on to record it; Gary Morris had a huge country hit with it, and then a few years later, of course Bette Midler used it in Beaches and it was a smash.  However, this was the "original" to me, and helped me through some terrible times at home in my personal life.  I heard it as a duet, and while I have the two-track master somewhere, I FINALLY found a cassette copy and transferred it over after the tape being lost for ages, over 30 years, as this was recorded in a small studio in Dallas in 1984, and I sent it to Sheena for her birthday the next year.

Wind Beneath My Wings (duet with Sheena Easton)[1984] {Cover/Studio/2016Remaster)

David Pack, the leader of the group Ambrosia, wrote and first released this song in the 80's. It had the definite sound of Ambrosia, but he released it as a solo effort on his first solo album. Later on, it was slightly retooled and released on Ambrosia's Anthology album as an Ambrosia song with Michael McDonald and James Ingram featured heavily on backing vocals. It's a great song for my style & range, and I finally got the chance to lay down a vocal - make that SOME vocals for it. I love this song and while I had a vocal elimination live recording of this from the early 90's, it was only in recent months that I actually found a real track to the song. Recorded on 6.24.2016, remixed & remastered on 9/1/2016, my 51st birthday.

I Just Can't Let Go (Studio, 2016, Cover)-[Remix/Remaster]

One of the best examples of positive energy encapsulated in song & lyric, this is Savage Garden's amazing "Affirmation".

Affirmation (Savage Garden Cover) 2016 - Studio (Cover, 2016)

If there was ever a song of hope that encapsulated a generation, it's "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey.  Not only did it capture the heart of their fans, but the entire 80's generation and for generations to come.  That was "my" generation and the song has stayed with me, in some ways arresting that teenager forever in that great music.  But it also has stayed with generations that followed for the song is still quite popular as evidenced by its resurgence and cover by the television cast of "Glee".  When I first heard it by that group I was actually impressed with how they'd arranged the song with a vocal backing but also paying homage to the original's infamous guitar run.  It's an iconic song that I was also privileged to solo on part of with the 2nd run with River City Pops and a friend whose no longer with us, the wonderful Kendra, for part of it.  Anyway, the song itself sends a great message of hope that we must NEVER stop believing...in anything...ourselves....our dreams...for the movie never ends, it goes on & on & on & on....

Don't Stop Believin' (2016)- Cover, Glee Version - {Track/Studio/Remix/Remaster)

Carpenters recorded this song in 1970 and it instantly became a Christmas classic, still played today at the holiday season.  With Karen Carpenter being one the most influential vocalists to my development, I had always dreamed of meeting her.  Of course, that was cut short by her passing away in 1983.  Fast forward to 2015, when I decided it would be fun to try & match up my recording of this song with hers.  However, even though the songs were recorded in the same key, the tempos were off a bit.  Painstakinly, I digitally altered the Carpenters version and mixed them to where I could get a workable "duet" together.  Please feel free to visit my YouTube channel to see a short "video" where I give a quick phone call to heaven, to make "a special wish" for a det with Karen, so to speak.  That link is at:  https://youtu.be/41lw5z8Q1Jo

Thanks as always for your support!
Happy Holidays,
Kenny

Merry Christmas Darling

Merry Christmas Darling , Duet Version with Karen Carpenter (2016)

I've been wanting to work on covering this song for a while; this was something I needed to work on today.  It was just to start getting a feel for it in the studio setting.  Thought I'd play around with it.  Still owe it to Jen Plank for suggesting it to me.  About 2 minutes of it here.  Will be re-recording some vocal tracks and mixing different style here.

Sound of Silence - Preliminary Demo Sample

I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it waaaaay back when David Pack had left Ambrosia to do a solo album - something that had been guessed about for a while.  This song got SOME airplay but not enough to break him away from the group for long.  He's an amazing writer and producer, and I admire his work.  This song was of course right down my alley and I eventually found a decent track and worked on it.  I don't know why I was too critical of myself at that time and didn't post it.  It's definitely a Kenny song, lol.  I thought this turned out pretty well.

I Just Can't Let Go (David Pack/Ambrosia cover)

The idea of me covering a Madonna song was pretty preposterous to me, even way back when - not because i didn't like her music, I do - especially that from the 80's & 90's, but mainly because the range was so high in comparison.  However, this was a brand new song in 1996 and I thought it was and till is one of her very best.  I was doing a LOT of theater and my voice was in probably the best shape it's ever been in, especially to hit these notes.  It was a good couple of years of a stretch of time that I could do this pretty easily - of course, 20 years and being a smoker has brought my natural key down by about a full step and a half, but that also has to do with age.  Anyway, ran across this gem tonight and thought I'd share it.

Random Finds - more from the Vaults!

You'll See ( Madonna cover, live, 1996)

This has long been a favorite of mine and i always intended to go back and remix and/or rerecord it.  Since I have been expanding my library with so many "updates" now, I decided to upload this version new instead of just replacing the old file.

Danny's Song (2020 Mix, Loggins & Messina Cover)

A direct cover of Kenny Loggins' "Heart To Heart", which in my opinion is one of his best songs ever written and one I've always wanted to take a stab at.  I was in good voice today prepping for an audition and thought "Why Not?".

HEART TO HEART (Kenny Loggins Cover)

Music has always been at the very core of 'who' I am....and I like that in the fact that it's always changing.  I'm still working on "Worth The Wait", and it WILL be out this year come hell or high water.  You can actually catch an updated version of the instrumental tracks for both 'Nightwind' and "The Color of Light" as recent uploads here.  

Because work has been so very sparse and sporadic for the last year, I've definitely taken SoundCloud up on the "Artist Support" button.  If you have enjoyed my songs, both original and cover music, and are so inclined I'd be honored and humbled and very appreciative.  

The album itself has a playlist here of the mostly-most current versions of the tunes, with a few taken down for a variety of personal reasons.  But it is coming along nicely, with some songs finally being able to BE finished... they still had some growing, and I'm not ashamed of that.  And, as I'm doing all the recording, writing, arranging, and re-writing myself with no input or assistance, this is a painstakingly long process for 13 songs, and trying to keep life in order at the same time.  I thank you all for those who have had and expressed patience at the final project - I really think you're going to like it.  It is as unique and personal as I myself am, and I'm sure you are too.  I have not really heard anything like it out there and I am super happy about that - as well as the fact that with each song that I've played for friends/family/school friends, the one thing that is most often said is that they found themselves humming the tune sometimes even days later, and then realizing it was my song.  If that's not the sign of a good hook, I don't know what is.

I get asked / chided about the bulk of cover material that is here and on my YouTube channel.  It is just as a matter of rehearsing and keeping my voice in some kind of shape.  I post the items here for no other reason than to share the power of music.  These songs have all touched me in some way, and I hope you enjoy them too.

As always, thanks for the notes of encouragement, understanding where a song is coming from, and the wonderful support,  Never give up on a dream.
Kenny

Kenny Peters

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