Asha & Szaffy ~ What a wonderful world

Asha (aka Asha Elijah & Asher Quinn) and Szaffy (aka Katalin Csiszár) sing 'What a wonderful world' from Asha's album of covers "God Gave Us Flowers". CD/download: http://www.ashaquinn.com/godgaveusflowers.htm.

Written by Bob Thiele & George Weiss, this heart-warming higher-love anthem was made famous by Louis Armstrong ('Satchmo') in 1967, the 'summer of love'. In 1999, it was inducted into the musical hall of fame.

I was a child then, more used to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones & Bob Dylan, but this song cut through to my heart... although it was not considered 'cool' by my peers. I particularly loved it that the simple and plaintive major-to-minor melody, and one-love lyrics were sung by the gruff voice of the perpetually-smiling 'Satchmo'... a jazz trumpeter!

This unlikely combination was inspired, and Louis Armstrong then went on to sing another poignant and beautiful ballad called 'We have all the time in the world', used as a James Bond theme.

So I stood my ground whilst all the 'cool cats' were laughing at me, criticising my sentimentality! I knew it in my soul to be a healing message in its own way, and a song of enormous uplift orchestrated by the angels and the higher beings to enter the world in exactly that way, at exactly that time, in order to touch millions, and whisper a simple little message of higher love to us.

It was a little test of faith for me, actually... if I consulted my ordinary ego, my defences, my resistances, my status amongst my friends and so on, I could see the temptation to 'betray' the love vibe inherent in the song, as it didn't fit in with the culture of protest, rebellion and expanding musical and cultural sophistication (such genres as 'prog-rock' for example, and experimenting with hallucinogenics).

It was a song your Mum & Dad could be happy with... your Nan, even... it was not San Francisco, LSD, or rock stars trashing hotels! I bucked the trend as an enduring rock icon and international sex-symbol myself (both my fans support me in this)... I never trashed a hotel room, or took any drugs. The worst it ever got to for me was missing the trash-can with a casually lobbed piece of rubbish.

So I didn't deny, doubt or betray (like Peter, Thomas and Judas in the Gospels), I saw the unifying higher-love presence in this unlikely 'hit' and let it enter my heart to help heal my wounds, already forming through my own inner and outer battles with life.

In later years I have sung it in concert sometimes, and now I've finally recorded it. It's not easy, actually, because Louis Armstrong gives it so much soul and individuality that I feel inspired both to honour that fully, and yet somehow express my own. It's taken years to be happy with how I present it!

Here, Szaffy contributes enormously, not only with her radiant beauty, but with the clarity of her interpretation, and her grace and poise in delivery. It seemed effortless for her, just her natural way of being!

We were filming it only last week actually, at this lovely, magical place in remotest Hungary, and in a couple of hours we were done, thanks to Szaffy who just got everything right all the way through, at the first time of asking. She's a bright star! It was only a possibility between us, not a plan... we had the location, the song and each other's company in a weekend group, but no 'script'. So we sat by the fireplace and kind of just 'did it'.

Yesterday I chose some library footage to complement our singing, and today, just now, I edited it. To me it seems that it has something 'more than the sum of the parts'... 50 years later, true, pure, unifying love is 'cool'.

Видео Asha & Szaffy ~ What a wonderful world канала Asha Elijah (aka Asha & Asher Quinn)