Sting 65

An all-time favorite dish of mine in a Chinese Restaurant is Chicken65. Order it in a good restaurant and you enjoy the finger-licking goodness or maybe spice. 

One of my favorite singers - and definitely the most versatile one ever - celebrated his 65 yesterday. Since the day was absolutely full of commitments and deadlines, I thought I should just squeeze in a quick wish while it is still October 2nd  in some small part of the world. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STING

Since Sting is possibly one of the most featured artistes on this blog, I thought I could just curate some of my previous posts where he is mentioned.

Gandhi Jayanti and More Birthdays

Sting shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi - a model of non-violence for Indians and others around the world.  Last year, I posted a tribute to the 'Father of the Nation' (India) besides greeting some musicians who shared the birthday including Youssou N'Dour.

Gold and Diamonds - The Highlight of Festivities

Sting's birthday also marked the start of a festive month in India with Navratri having started yesterday... and Diwali at the end of the month. A few days before Diwali, India will celebrate Dhanteras. 

Money For Nothing

Sting has a special association with Mark Knopfler on this song and was mentioned on this blog post celebrating Mark's birthday.

Around The World In 14 Songs

Just last week, we celebrated World Tourism Day... with a special mention and a song for the traveler Sting - The Englishman in New York.

Signing off with an all-time favorite from Sting with The Police - Every Breath You Take.

Gold and Diamonds - The Highlight of Festivities

Mumbai is all aglow. The Diwali festivities have begun with Dhanteras today. While the focus of the day is on gold and precious jewelry, I thought I'd keep this post all glittering with a peek into some precious songs.

I asked my friends on a couple of Social Network groups to list songs they know with 'Gold' or 'Diamonds' in the title. I was surprised at the number of party and Mumbai Masala songs they came up with - "Golden chains around her neck, whose lovely daughter is she?" and "Golden tiles on the top of the house" - songs I know sung in English, Marathi and Konkani at least. Other contributions includes some of Bollywood's tunes that I don't quite recall. And talking about movies, I can think of two James Bond 007 movies with Gold in their titles - Goldfinger (1964) and Golden Eye (1995).

Goldfinger - Shirley Bassey

Gold was not sufficient for James Bond and they even had to go for Diamond. "Diamonds are Forever"

Diamonds Are Forever - Shirley Bassey

Leave the spies alone, Diamonds were also a topic of discussion in the romantic comedy of the 50s, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" - featuring Marilyn Monroe telling us that "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" - a song covered more recently by Madonna and Nicole Kidman and so many others. Do you want to know why? 

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend - Marilyn Monroe

In 2012, 'Diamonds' was a big winner for Rihanna.

Diamonds - Rihanna

And while on the theme of Gold and Diamonds, the 'true gold' is what we see in the fields of a good harvest. 

Fields of Gold - Sting

Have a wonderful festive season. And enjoy the holidays...



(Thanks to all my friends on MCI and FB who listed possible songs for inclusion in this post)