Portugal. The Man have released a cover of “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie, which they made for a children’s charity benefit compilation called At Home With The Kids, out Friday, August 24.
Portugal. The Man’s John Gourley spoke about it in a press release, “We were approached to do a children’s song and without hesitation Zoe and I both immediately gravitated to “Tomorrow”. Though we have dramatically different upbringings, me in rural Alaska and Zoe from Northwest England, Annie was a staple growing up and a big part of why we love music, it was something we both watched and sang with our families. Now, we get to raise our daughter with the same tradition of singing ‘Tomorrow.’ Lyrically this song could not be better for the times, we hope the song does as much for you as it does for us.”
Gourley’s partner and former bandmate, Zoe Manville, contributes vocals to the track. The cover is a psychedelic pop take on the original, and the Beatles-like layered backing vocals add to the maximalist production along with 60’s sounding keys and walking bass line, guitar, drums, and a mid-song electronic horn build-up. To compare, the movie version of the original song is sung by Aileen Quinn as Annie with no accompaniment.
The musical originally debuted on Broadway in 1977 and ran for nearly six straight years. It was based on the comic strip by Harold Gray titled Little Orphan Annie, which began in 1924 and ran until 2010. Annie was hugely successful and had several reruns along with all the numerous local productions of it all over the world. “Tomorrow” is one of its big musical hits along with “It’s the Hard Knock Life.”
This cover of “Tomorrow” is Portugal. The Man’s first solo release since 2017’s popular full-length, Woodstock. They also appeared as feature on songs by Tom Morello, Cherry Glazerr and St. Francis Hotel. Additionally, they’re listed as a feature on Black Thought’s next EP, Streams of Thought, Vol 3: Cain and Abel, which was delayed indefinitely.
At Home With The Kids benefits Save the Children, a charity that supports a lot of children’s causes such as health and education. They believe that every child’s life deserves a healthy start. Some of the notable musicians on it include Sia, Shelley FKA DRAM, Chromeo, Saint Motel and Tove Lo.
At Home With The Kids Track List
01 Portugal the Man – Tomorrow
02 Sia – Riding On My Bike
03 Royal & the Serpent – The ABC Song
04 Shelley FKA DRAM – Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
05 Chromeo – Georgie Porgie
06 KYLE – Pickle
07 Anderson East – I Ain’t No Zebra I’m a Bumblebee
08 Gnash – Night Night
09 Christina Perri – It’s a Small World
10 Ema Jo Cobb – Hawaii
11 Midland – Famer John
12 Ben Abraham – Eat Your Food
13 Charlotte Cardin – Hush Little Baby
14 Charlotte Lawrence- Lavender’s Blue
15 IV Jay – Rock A Bye Baby
16 Matt Maeson – Giants
17 Chloe Moriondo – Oh My Darling Clementine
18 Saint Motel – Big Ol’ World
19 A Thousand Horses – The Golden Rule
20 Aaron Raitiere – If You Love Yo Mama
21 The Knocks – Star Design
22 Tove Lo – Buzz Buzz Hop Hop
23 Winona Oak – Who Can Sail
Photo credit: Kalyn Oyer
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