Here’s a Tuesday tune for you a cover of Bobby Darin’s Things, courtesy of Vocal Studies students Daniel Doolan and Michael Yeoman.
Daniel has been using the time at home to revisit old hobbies, including the guitar, and has been busy recording some of his favourite tracks, from Fly Me to the Moon by Bart Howard to John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads.
“Shortly after lockdown was announced, I recorded and uploaded my first video that I would go on to share, a cover of Pennies in Heaven famously performed by Louis Prima,” says Daniel.
“Prima, Bobby Darin, and Frank Sinatra were some of my performing inspirations before I ever considered studying classical vocalism, so it was a nice optimistic video to release given the bleak nature of recent events, while also allowing me the chance to revisit and share my love for the jazz and swing styles.”
He says he hoped to spread the optimistic sentiment of Pennies in Heaven to anyone who might have been feeling down: “It’s at times such as these that music is perhaps needed most, and so I hope that these videos I’m now creating can offer some joy to anyone who might need it.
“It’s also true that I miss the adrenaline of performing and so this channel provides an outlet through which I can receive some of that same buzz!”
For Things, Daniel recorded the guitar and the vocal aspects of the song on his phone and sent them to Michael who recorded his vocals on top and edited the video.
“Michael and I plan to release some more music together in the future and I’m very excited to say that there are some other extremely talented musicians that I’m going to collaborate with as well. We’ll also be looking to tackle a larger variety of musical styles as well which I’m highly looking forward to, including swing, rock, classical and country.”
Daniel is in his fourth and final year of the BMus Performance programme.
“It has been very enjoyable and I’m looking forward to joining the MMus Performance later this year. The staff and students in the RCS have helped to form a nurturing and encouraging environment that I’m delighted to be a part of. I’ve met some wonderful people during my time here and am lucky enough to be working with one of them in this video!”
Subscribe to Daniel’s YouTube channel to be kept up to date with new releases.