This is I guess the original, that was composed and performed (and recorded) for the Broadway Play
The Roar of the Greasepaint by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse.
And a search on YouTube actually pulls up the name Herbie Mann (jazz flute player).
I 1st heard this song when hearing Muse's version from Origin of Symmetry, around the time I got into them in 2004. I thought it was their original, but obviously came to learn it wasn't.
Eventually I discovered Nina Simone's, and thought I even read once it was hers.
Not the case though, and I even thought I saw someone say she released a famous version, but it was just a standard for Jazz singers around that time.
Now looking at Wikipedia, its been covered almost ad nauseam, lol.
George Michael
Traffic
Lauryn Hill
Bobby Darin
John Coltrane
Sammy Davis Jr.
Sheryl Crow
Eels
Michael Buble
Joe Bonamassa
Leslie West (of Mountain, with Dee Snider of Twisted Sister)
Jay-Z with Kanye West
And I'm sure the list on Wikipedia is only a fraction of the people who have covered it.
I kind of wonder about this track, it's a bit like Leonard Cohen's"Hallelujah," as its been done by so many artists, it almost taints it. Granted many of the versions are very different spanning a bevy of genres and styles (maybe more than most songs in history perhaps), but I suppose at this point I hold Muse's version as my favorite still (and the best, although my George Michael-aholic wife would strongly disagree).
