"Nature boy was recorded for the first time by Nat King Cole, Celine says. It closes my album A New Day Has Come. It is Eddy Marnay, my accomplice, who spoke to me about it. I recorded it for voice and piano, accompanied by Jorge Calandrelli, who worked with Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand."
"This is the one I had the most kick out of in the studios, Dion says. I could hear the pedal of the piano and the touch of the keys while I was singing. We were following each other. It's the real thing."
" In the listening, we preferred not to add the symphonic orchestration nevertheless very beautiful which was originally foreseen. The original duet gets closer to the purity. I find it magic."
For the recording of the album Falling Into You, David Foster asked to Celine to do a remake of "All by myself".
"David informed me that he changed the orchestrations of the last part of the song, Celine tells. I had to sing a little higher, until a F# that almost reached the limit of my voice. The worst was that he wanted me to hold this note during several seconds... I knew that I couldn't do it more than two recordings without risking to break my voice.
The day of the recording, Rene and I quarrelled, for a mere trifle... He decided not to acompany me to the studio. I left all by myself, to the Record Plant (in Los Angeles), where I found a rather cold, condescending, almost contemptuous David Foster... While the technicians were finishing to put the orchestra tracks, I was going around in circles. I think that David was delaying everything on purpose... At one point, innocently, he told me: "If you don't manage... I could ask it to Whitney". Whitney Houston was recording on this day in the nearby studio...
I did not say a word... I sang "All by myself" with all my strength, with all my soul. When I came to the time to climb towards the F#, I put my voice at maximum, until it was hurting, and I held the note a very long time, without weakening. When I finished, the musicians on the other side of the glass were standing to applause.
I left without greeting David Foster...I was thinking of Rene. I was looking for the reason of our fight. And suddenly, I understood... He put once again the difficulty harder to give me new challenges, to force me to surpass myself."
Now, Celine speaks about the impact of this song when she sings it on stage:
"Before, people did not expect this note, she says, and when I was doing it, they were surprised, amazed or not, but they did not expect this note... And now they expect this note, and there is a silence which moves me, and which paralyses me, it's incredible! And then, I say to myself, "well, I can't leave them now", so, there is a hand inside me, this performer who loves singing, who's saying to me "go girl, do your note, make them happy, do it right!"
Eric Carmen originally recorded it.
This devastatingly emotional ballad speaks about the absolute love between a child and her mother. Shania Twain does the background vocals.
Céline first heard the Robert John "Mutt" Lange song three years ago and turn it down.
"Now, being a mother, I found the strenght to sing it, she says, but it was hard."
Its lesson?
"Never wait too long to tell someone how you feel."
This is an English adaptation of the song Tomber by French Gérald de Palmas.
"The album was finished, Dion explains, I had recorded twenty-seven songs, it was necessary
to cut ten songs as it was... It was in December, we were in Montreal. And there, I watch a french tv special about Garou,
I see an extraordinary fellow who is called Gerald De Palmas...I fell, it
is the case to say it, under the shock of this melody of the song Tomber.
"There, I say myself : I want a song like that, I want me to imagine that I am a part of a band, that
I play the guitar...
Rene says to me :
"It is not possible, we have already too many songs.
- Listen, I say to him, that, it will be my gift of the album, can we give it a try at least?
- Yes, it is ok but I do not know Gerald De Palmas.
- Call Jean-Jacques Goldman, ask him for Gerald De Palmas' number, I am sure that they know each other well...
And then we are going to ask to Aldo Nova to make the translation of the song..."
Finally, one thing leading to another, it arrived, Aldo Nova's adaptation perfectly stuck phonetically,
I call Gerald De Palmas :
"I would like to work with you... Your song Tomber, I love it! Do you want to make this song for me two tones higher?"
We sent for Gerald to the studio in Florida - it was his first journey in the United States, he could not get over it and
he expected to see Spielberg, E.T. or Mickey Mouse! - and we asked him to realize the adaptation of his piece."
"I can see beginning my show and looking into everyone's eyes and singing this song,
Céline says. This is my hello."
The song is simple garnished with fiddle, and a vocal that sounds ike it was captured from the church
rafters.
Glenn Miller and his Orchestra originate the instrumental version in 1941, for the film Sun Valley Serenade.
The original version with voice, sung by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday, is recorded in 1942 by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra
for the film Orchestra Wives. Etta James' version
, which is the most popular, is recorded in August, 1960, in Chicago for her album entitled At Last.
