Here are two names that I am going to put in front of you and see if you can make the connection between them. Natasha Cook Jenkins, 18 from Troon, Scotland. And Tony Visconti, 73 from New York, USA. These two names may not be household names but you will soon remember the both of them.
Natasha Cook Jenkins. This talented young Scottish singer has been busking on the streets around Glasgow since she was 12-years-old. One fateful morning she was singing in the open area of Buchanan Street, the song she was singing was Ralph McTell’s “Streets of London”. A crowd formed around her to watch her mesmerizing version of this classic. One man in particular was paying a lot of attention to her performance and stayed until she had finished. He then place money into her bag and told young Natasha that it was the best version of the song that he has very heard.
Tony Visconti. Native New Yorker, Tony has been associated with some of the biggest names in the music industry. This talented Producer, arranger and musician has worked with the likes of David Bowie, The Moody Blues, T Rex and the Kaiser Chiefs, just to name a few. He has been in the music industry since the late 60’s and is still an active producer today. Visconti was also the producer on the original Ralph McTell version of The Streets of London.
The song Streets of London was written and recorded in 1969 and was on McTell’s album “Spiral Staircase, but wasn’t released as a single in the UK until 1974. This remarkable song has been covered by over 200 other artists over the years. The songs life continues, as it was re-released in December 2017 featuring McTell and Annie Lennox as a fundraiser for the charity “CRISIS the Homelessness Charity”. The song was inspired by McTells busking and hitchhiking throughout Europe, mainly Paris, and was originally going to be called Streets of Paris until McTell realized that he was singing about London.
Have you guessed the link yet? That’s right, the man in the crowd listening to Natasha was none other than Tony Visconti himself. So impressed with Natasha that he offered to help get her a recording contract which he did. She has just recorded her first album and hopes to release it soon. American comedian and talk show host Steve Harvey has also invited her onto his show after seeing her perform on YouTube.
This 18-year-olds dreams are all about to come true, thanks to a fateful meeting on a Glasgow street. Click on the link below the sea Natasha’s haunting version of the Elvis classic “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and see just what all the fuss is about.
https://youtu.be/0RwFbxpJcSo
