I see the stars .... I hear the rolling thunder ..

It is the only appropriate opening for today. There are few entertainers who can take a song already widely in circulation and put their indelible stamp on it. Sinatra did it with "New York New York" which was released by Liza Minnelli in 1977 before Blue Eyes drove it to the top in 1979. Here is the great version by Bennett and Sinatra.

How Great Thou Art has, of course, been around much longer. It has been a staple in the diet of American evangelical Christianity since it was first penned. It origins date back to the 19th century.

George Beverly Shea made it famous in the Billy Graham meetings as millions converted to Christ in the 50s and 60s – not the least one Harry Roger Web, better known as Cliff Richard. Elvis sang it, but I am fairly sure that Sinatra did not.

But it was Howard Morrison who really put his stamp on it, especially with the addition of Maori Lyrics. In the olden days, there was, and perhaps still is, that slippery genre called “Easy Listening”. It was under that sign on the shelf, you were likely to find the likes of Sinatra and Howard Morrison.

Howard Morrison was the epitome of easy listening. Like Sinatra, he could take a song and infiltrate with his unique emotional energy. Like Sinatra, he could have the audience in the palm of his hand. Like Sinatra, he had that thing that makes all the difference on stage – Charisma.

It is therefore quite appropriate that in 2002 Morrison released and album called “Old Brown Eyes”.