Pink Martini has twelve instrumentalists (and sometimes travels with string sections), and performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia and New Zealand and North America. Pink Martini made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998 under the direction of Norman Leyden. Since then, the band has gone on to play with over 30 orchestras around the world, including multiple engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London. Other appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year’s Eve 2003, 2004 & 2008; two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall; the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in NYC; the Governor’s Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008; and the opening of the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia.
Lauderdale met China Forbes, Pink Martini’s lead vocalist, at Harvard. He was studying history and literature while she was studying English literature and painting. Late at night, they would break into the lower common room in their college dormitory and sing arias by Puccini and Verdi – and the occasional campy Barbra Streisand cover –thus sealing their creative collaboration. Three years after graduating, Lauderdale called Forbes who was living in New York City, where she’d been writing songs and playing guitar in her own folk-rock project, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together for the band. Their first song “Sympathique”– with the chorus “Je ne veux pas travailler” (”I don’t want to work”) – became an overnight sensation in France, and was even nominated for “Song of the Year” at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards. Forbes, though fluent only in English, sings in 15 different languages.
Pink Martini’s debut album Sympathique was released independently in 1997 on the band’s own label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog), and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Best New Artist” in France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards in 2000.
In October 2004, the group released its second album, Hang on Little Tomato.
In May 2007, it released its third album, Hey Eugene!.
A fourth studio album, Splendor in the Grass, followed on October 27, 2009.
Sympathique, Hang on Little Tomato and Hey Eugene! have all gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey; collectively, Pink Martini's records have sold more than two million copies worldwide.
On New Year's Eve 2005, Pink Martini performed live at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. This performance was aired live on National Public Radio's Toast of the Nation, and in partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting was recorded for a live DVD and later broadcast on US public broadcasting and French television.[citation needed] The DVD has been rereleased to retail as Discover the World: Live in Concert, featuring not only the full concert, but several vignettes and a short documentary of the band's history.
The band has collaborated and performed with Jimmy Scott, Carol Channing, Henri Salvador, Jane Powell, Chavela Vargas, Georges Moustaki, Michael Feinstein, DJ Dimitri from Paris, clarinetist and conductor Norman Leyden, Hiroshi Wada, DJ Johnny Dynell and several drag queens from New York City, among others. On June 1, 2007, the band appeared on the long-running BBC Two Later with Jools Holland TV music program. On June 14, 2007, Pink Martini performed on Late Show with David Letterman, performing "Hey Eugene".
Pink Martini played Walt Disney Concert Hall on New Year's Eve for the first two years it was open (2003/4 and 2004/5). They returned to play NYE there again in 2008/9.
In May 2009, the band recorded three concerts with the Oregon Symphony under the direction of Carlos Kalmar for the band’s fifth album … a symphonic record which is slated for a 2011 release.
Pink Martini songs appear in such films as In the Cut, Nurse Betty, Josie and the Pussycats, Tortilla Soup, Shanghai Kiss, Mary and Max, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith and have been used on television shows such as Dead Like Me, The Sopranos and The West Wing, among others.[citation needed] Their song "Una notte a Napoli" is an integral part of the Italian movie Mine Vaganti (2010), by the Italian-Turkish director Ferzan Özpetek. The song "No Hay Problema" is included as background/setup music for Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 and was also used as the background/setup music for an early build of Windows Longhorn, now known as Windows Vista.[citation needed]
In February 2011, the group's lead singer, China Forbes, recorded a video greeting to the European Space Agency's Italian astronaut, Paolo Nespoli, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri, on board the International Space Station. The astronauts were preparing to oversee the docking of ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo vessel, Johannes Kepler, which took place at 17:08 CET on 24 February. The greeting was set to the sound track of Dosvedanya Mio Bombino - one of Pink Martini's signature songs - and was mixed with footage of the actual docking.
In November 2011, they played at the Balboa Theater with the Bonita Vista High School band, Club Blue.
Sing
Pink Martini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad.
Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.
Sing, sing a song
Let the world sing along
Sing of love there could be
Sing for you and for me.
Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.
The lyrics to Pink Martini's song "Sing" encourages listeners to sing out loud, strong, and joyfully. The song suggests singing about good things and happy moments rather than focusing on the negative aspects of life. The message of the song is to not worry about being perfect, but instead, to let one's voice be heard regardless of how good or bad the singing may be. Regardless of the quality of the singing, the song suggests that people should just simply sing and let the world join in.
Throughout the song's lyrics, the words "sing, sing a song" are repeated frequently creating a sense of urgency and importance in the message being conveyed. The song emphasizes the importance of love and encourages people to share their love through song. The lyrics are positive and lighthearted, which makes for an upbeat and refreshing listen.
Overall, Pink Martini's song "Sing" is a beautiful reminder of the power of music in bringing people together and spreading positivity. Singing is a universal language that can unite people from all walks of life and the song's message is to encourage people to use their voice and spread joy through singing.
Line by Line Meaning
Sing, sing a song
Start singing a song
Sing out loud
Sing with all your heart and soul
Sing out strong
Sing confidently and boldly
Sing of good things not bad
Sing about positive things, not negative ones
Sing of happy not sad
Sing about joy instead of sorrow
Make it simple to last
Keep the song easy to remember and timeless
Your whole life long
Sing this song throughout your entire life
Don't worry that it's not
Don't stress over whether it's good enough or not
Good enough for anyone
Even if it's not impressive enough for others
Else to hear
To listen to or judge your performance
Let the world sing along
Invite everyone to join in singing this song
Sing of love there could be
Sing about the love that has yet to be discovered
Sing for you and for me.
Sing for ourselves and for others
Contributed by Sarah E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Wanderley Orias Rocha
SÃO FABULOSOS !!!! MARAVILHA !!!!!
Barbara Abelhauser
Emilio Delgado, who played Luis on Sesame Street, is the Spanish voice in this song. RIP Sr. Delgado, you were a huge part of my growing up, and you will be missed.
canis majoris
AWESOME cover tune..... Kept it fresh like the original, just love it.......
ILINCUTA ALEX
canis majoris Which is the original version????
canis majoris
The Carpenters, Karen Carpenter'' died 1983'' she played drums/sang with her brother who played piano. She played in her school band........................................get a CD you will like it....
ILINCUTA ALEX
canis majoris Thank you
ILINCUTA ALEX
canis majoris And this version is quite a good one.
canis majoris
I thought so when I first heard her, amazing likeness....she should do a Grace Slick tune, find her on you tube..........
9raider
Such a feel good song!
ILINCUTA ALEX
This is music ! thanks for posting!