I was reading up on Johnny Mercer, the great lyricist, the other day, and one of the things I learned was that he was a fan of Barry Manilow, primarily because Barry had done the song "Mandy" and that was the name of Johnny’s daughter. After Mercer died in 1976, his widow, Ginger Mehan Mercer, gave a number of Johnny’s incomplete songs to Manilow, hoping that he could finish the lyrics and add music to them. One of those songs was "When October Goes." Manilow set Mercer’s lyrics to music and first recorded it on his 1984 album Paradise Café. It’s become a standard in the 40 years since then. I’ve picked versions by a couple of women singer who I hadn’t heard of up until now as the basis for this battle.
Wendolina
Lauren Koval
Those are our contestants for this round. I’d really like to know what you think, so please consider voting this round. There’s no need to run a Battle of the Bands yourself, all you need is a discerning ear and an opinion. Here’s what you need to do:
- Listen to the two songs.
- Decide which song you like the best.
- Vote for your favorite by leaving me a comment with your choice. If you feel like telling us why, feel free.
- Then, visit the other participants and vote in their Battles:
- Stephen at STMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
- Arlee at Tossing It Out
- Mike at Mike’s Ramblings
- Cathy at Curious As A Cathy
- Mary B at Jingle Jangle Jungle
- Diedre at Landmark Sounds
- Debbie at BOTB by Debbie D
Voting ends next Monday, May 8 at noon Eastern (US) Daylight time. I’ll tally the votes and announce the winner Monday afternoon.
The lines are now open. Good luck, Wendolina and Lauren!
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
Sorry, thought I had left a comment before, but I don’t see it. Anyway, I enjoyed the tune and my vote is for Lauren Koval. She brings a little more emotion to it, in my opinion.
LikeLike
Tough to choose. I heard a little of Rosemary Clooney from Lauren Koval. I’m going with Ms. Koval.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a pretty song. A vote for Lauren, please.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This one is a difficult decision because they both are good. My vote goes to Wendolina because her voice is purer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I definitely prefer Wendolina’s version she has a purer voice no affect to it 💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like Wendolina’s vocals for this. I can picture her singing in a smoke filled room along with Julie London. She gets my vote.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Both sound so similar that it makes it difficult. It sounds like the same singer singing very slightly differing versions.
The name Wendolina sounds like it should belong to a comic strip witch. I like Lauren’s name better as well as the tone of her vocal.
A vote for Lauren Koval.
Lee
LikeLiked by 1 person
JOHN ~
I always hate to see October go, too. Because then comes all that white crapola which I do NOT like — except on post cards or at a great distance.
Both of these renditions were nice but very similar. Pretty much the same tempo and similar sparse piano arrangements. So that leaves it up to the voice. And in this case, I slightly preferred LAUREN’s vocals (although I preferred Wendolina’s looks).
~ D-FensDogG
LikeLiked by 1 person
his was a hard decision, John, but I settled on Wendolina. I think her voice is a little softer. I felt more like the smokey room.
LikeLiked by 1 person