by Jan Dalley
As for recorded versions: it was first committed to gramophone disc in 1890 by Emile Berliner, the inventor of the medium (through the crackles he can be heard making the common mistake of pronouncing ‘syne’ as ‘zyne’). Elvis, Hendrix and Springsteen have covered it. It is perhaps best to draw a veil over the 1976 disco version by the Salsoul Orchestra, and Cliff Richard’s exquisitely awful millennium mash-up with ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ as a lyric, and celebrate instead its appearance on a 2011 song called ‘New Year’s Eve’. This wonderfully woozy, boozy ballad twice breaks into ‘Auld Lang Syne’. The singer? There can surely be no voice better suited to the song’s slurring, small-hours sentimentality than that of Tom Waits.
David Cheal
PHOTO CREDITS
1 Frank Sinatra performing at Madison Square Garden, New York, 1967; © Santi Visalli Inc./Getty Images
3 Bob Dylan with Joan Baez, 1965; © Keystone/Getty Images
4 Singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, performing at Newcastle City Hall, 1972; © Michael Putland/Getty Images
5 Paul McCartney, 1965; © Express Newspapers/Getty Images
8 Gladys Knight and the Pips (1973); © Jon Lyons/Rex/Shutterstock
9 Patti Labelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash of Labelle, 1975; © John Bryson/Rex/Shutterstock
10 Billie Holiday performing at the Club Downbeat in Manhattan, 1947; © William Gottlieb/Redferns/Getty Images
12 David Bowie performing at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, 1973; © Express/Getty Images
13 Harry Nilsson, 1971; © Michael Putland/Getty Images
14 Katy Perry in concert at the Allphones Arena, Sydney, 2014; © Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
16 Prince performing at The Palladium, New York, 1981; © Waring Abbott/Getty Images
17 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana performing in Seattle, 1993; © Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
19 Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra recording in the studio, c.1966; © Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
20 Leonard Cohen, mid 1980s; © Oliver Morris/Getty Images
21 Aretha Franklin rehearsing, c.1972; © Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
23 Marvin Gaye 1964; © Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo
24 Glen Campbell, 1967; © Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
25 Britney Spears, 2003; © Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
26 Ian Gillan, lead singer with Deep Purple, performing in Copenhagen, 1972; © Jan Persson/Redferns/Getty Images
28 Elvis Costello performing in New York, 1982; © Michael Putland/Getty Images
29 Ike Turner’s band Kings of Rhythm (back row left to right) Jackie Brenston, Raymond Hill, Eddie Jones, Fred Sample and Billy Gayles (front row left to right) Jesse Knight Jr., Ike Turner and Eugene Washington, 1956; © King Collection/Photoshot/Getty Images
32 Sam Cooke, c.1960; © Jess Rand/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
34 Bruce Springsteen during his Born in the USA tour, 1984–5; © Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images
36 Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, 1939; © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/MGM Studios/Moviepix/Getty Images
37 Kirk Hammett of Metallica, 1991; © Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images
40 Woody Guthrie, c.1943; © Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Library of Congress/Getty Images
41 Patti Smith performing in Central Park, New York, 1978; © Richard E. Aaron/Redferns/Getty Images
42 Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, 1965; © 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
43 Randy Newman; © Alan Messer/Rex/Shutterstock
44 Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, performing at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, 1977; © Rick Diamond/Getty Images
45 Isaac Hayes photographed for GQ magazine, 1971; © Peter Hujar/Condé Nast via Getty Images
48 Janis Joplin, c.1970; © Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
49 Chaka Khan performing in Berlin, 1995; © Baltzer/ullstein bild via Getty Images
