"Killing Me Softly" by The Singers Unlimited AND Perpetuum Jazzile, Reaction/Analysis

[@naresh2592]

Amazing. Thanks for sharing. ❤.

[@richardtodd7295]

Jeff, my whole reason for these two requests, London by Night and Killing Me Softly, is to highlight the exceptional arranging work of Gene Purling. Both of these pieces were originally done by The Singers Unlimited as arranged by Gene Purling in the early 1970's, using multi-tracking techniques. In the case of Perpetuum Jazzile, almost 40 years later, Purling's arrangement was adopted for Perpetuum Jazzile for live performance in front of 20,000+ people in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in November, 2009! Voces 8 duplicated Purling's arrangement of London by Night in, I believe 2017. The originals were done by 4 singers using multi- layering. Perpetuum Jazzile performed theirs live, acapella with about 45 singers. Voces 8 did theirs with 8 singers in a wonderfully live small room. Search Gene Purling on You Tube and you can discover many, many groups performing his work. Most important to me is the sound he developed that is heard is so many performances today. I'll request a video that explores his work. Thank you for your wonderful response and analysis.

[@Connifffan]

@richardtodd7295, I became aware of The Singers Unlimited and Gene Puerling after hearing a song by the HiLo's on Siriously Sinatra about a week ago. I'm completely obsessed now and can't believe that this kind of sound came from four people. I would love to communicate more about them if you are interested. Great channel, Jeff.

[@richardtodd3453]

Stay tuned. Check out London By Night on Jeff's channel. I used to fly a LOT and sat next to Bonnie Hubbard headed to LA. She was looking at a chart by Gene Puerling and humming. We talked about what SU was doing and how they NEVER knew what Gene Puerling would give them to sing! As a once upon a time musician, I couldn't believe the complexity. A delightful lady. I have more requests in mind that will fill in information about Gene Puerling and the Singers Unlimited. His music lives on, and continues to be performed in ways you might not imagine!@@Connifffan

[@Connifffan]

@@richardtodd3453 Great story about Bonnie! i'm looking forward to hearing your additional requests! I heard London by Night here and loved Jeff's amazement at Puerling's sophisticated harmonies and phrasing. Very similar reaction to mine - they give me chills. At Christmas, I first heard "Noel Blanc" by Quartom, with similar harmonies to Puerling's. His influence is everywhere. I'm a big Ray Conniff fan, as my name implies. Conniff's bold and sassy arrangements are a stark contrast to the subtleties of this music.

[@lisedonsgrnning6518]

❤️+❤️=🥰🫠👌🏼👌🏼✨✨ (Sorry that I can’t write more right now, dear Jeff, but …. THANK YOU!🙏🏼)

[@michaelgwfrogwelge]

The four members of Singers Unlimited might have laid down more tracks than the 45 members of Perpetuum Jazzile...

[@richardtodd7295]

Amen!

[@jazzmaster9426]

Jeff this song reminds me of November 22, 1963. The JFK Assassination. Ever since I heard it for the first time it takes me back to that terrible day.

[@StrateleStudios]

Oh man yes! You are right on the money brother