5 on Friday -- Set 298

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Happy New Year, Everyone! Hope you had a wonderful New Year's celebration last night. The photo above is a still from my favorite Russian New Year's movie Ironiya sudby, or The Irony of Fate. I fell in love with that film about seven years ago and I now watch it every year. In fact my husband and I will be doing just that, later this weekend.

As we head for my 300th set, coming up in two weeks, it's already time to launch my brand new once-a-month project for 2016.

This year I'll be focusing on Songwriters. Check back on the first Friday of each month as I take a look at the work of artists whose creative voices are most often brought to us through the performances of others.

One of the reasons I embark upon challenges like these is because of my own insatiable curiosity.

Over the years doing 5 on Friday, I've noticed my increasing tendency to seek out music by songwriter rather than by artist. I've come to really enjoy a well-done cover song, when a singer takes a tune associated with another artist and really puts his or her own stamp upon it. So this year's project has taken root over several years of putting sets together.

January launches with Paul Williams. Among his varied accomplishments, he has acted, scored films and television series, and is also an author.

This month's look at Paul Williams' work shows the breadth of his composer's voice, from quirky scores (like one of my husband's favorite's, The Phantom of the Paradise) to universal hits.    

1 - Faust - Phantom of the Paradise soundtrack - William Finley - 1974

2 - Talk it Over in the Morning - Anne Murray -1971

3 - An Old Fashioned Love Song - Three Dog Night - 1971

4 - We've Only Just Begun - The Carpenters - 1970

5 - The Rainbow Connection - Willie Nelson - 2001

If you'd like to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.