Phoebe Snow and Linda Ronstadt sing "It's In His Kiss"

Phoebe Snow and Linda Ronstadt singing the classic "It's In His Kiss" on "Saturday Night Live" in 1979. Watch Snow's pure joy at the end of the song, and in the background, watch for Paul Shaffer and Patti Austin.

Mercedes Scores

Despite the wildly erratic writing and the producers' continuing and embarrassing feuds with high profile musicians who won't allow their songs on the show, somehow "Glee" keeps reeling us back in. Because somehow, despite all the show's other problems, the producers always seem to remember that it really just comes down to the music. So although the script for last night's show had about as much coherence as a Charlie Sheen night of stand-up or a Michele Bachmann discussion of foreign policy, the music hit it out of the ballpark.

First up was a return guest spot by Charice who nailed a version of Eric Carmen's 70's classic "All By Myself", but then she was one-upped by another returning guester, Gwyneth Paltrow, who proved her real singing ability with a high-quality rendition of Adele's plaintive "Turning Tables".

But then came the moment of the show, which not only blew us away, but left our jaws hanging at the wonder that is Mercedes (Amber Riley) as a singer. In the first season of "Glee", it was all about Rachel, (Lea Michele), who seemed to get a song on every episode, while the other cast members were relegated to back-up singing. But Riley has recently proven she's a force to be reckoned with. Her performance last night of Aretha's "Ain't No Way" was stunning in its power, and coupled with her bouncy rendition a couple of weeks back of "Hell To The No" might just get the attention of Emmy voters this fall. Whole Oscars have been given to actresses who sang their way to awards show glory, (Sissy Spacek, "Coal Miner's Daughter" and Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"), so we wouldn't be surprised if the strength of Riley's vocals win her an Emmy Award nomination this year.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of possible Emmys for "Glee", another nomination you can take to the bank will be one for Best Guest Actor for Gwyneth Paltrow for her hilarious portrayal of sex-ed teacher, Holly Holliday. Paltrow has a real gift for comedy, and she proved it again last night; that Wallis Simpson scene last night had us on the floor. But Paltrow's talent aside, last night belonged to Mercedes. Watch her performance below and enjoy.

This Is The Way You Do It, Pia

Mercedes and Santana sing "River Deep, Mountain High" on "Glee"

"Hell To The No" by Amber Riley

How fun was this? Mercedes, (Amber Riley), sings "Hell To The No" on "Glee" and single-handedly saves pop music.

The Heineken Commercial

The Golden Age by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

"Pass The Peace Pipe" by Hugh Martin

Gwyneth Does Joan

The "Fuckers" Team Up

Cee Lo Green, whose smash hit, "Fuck You", propelled him back to the top of the pop music world in 2010, said in an interview in New York this week that he's teaming with actress Gwyneth Paltrow on a new song.
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Paltrow, of course, scored her own massive points of popularity when she performed Green's song on the Fox hit, "Glee". Green was so impressed with Paltrow's performance that he reached out to her to collaborate. This is a really interesting mash-up, and we can't wait to see/hear the results. Paltrow is no stranger to pop music duets, having scored a minor hit in 2000 with Huey Lewis on "Cruisin'". And Paltrow's cameo on "Glee" had an even bigger effect on Cee Lo Green; Green also mentioned in his interview that after watching the show, he'd like to appear on "Glee" himself, albeit in "an R-rated episode". Maybe Green can spin-off a second coming of the "Walrus of Love" by singing a Barry White hit while in bed with both Britney and Santana. Now, that we'd watch.

That Girl Theme

"That Girl" had one of the most classic theme songs of all time. And if you're too young to remember Marlo Thomas as Ann Marie, just think "Sex and The City"'s Charlotte in a flip-do, and you've got it.

Despite the light-hearted nature of the show, it did, however, make history by being the first show which portrayed a single girl working on her own to make it, without a man. Most people think of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" as being that ground-breaker for women, but Ann Marie pre-dated Mary by four years.

Diamonds, Daisies...

In the final season of "That Girl", lyrics were added to theme song, making it a rarity in television history, one of only a handful of successful sitcoms in which the theme song was tweaked.

The Paltrow is Back!

There for awhile, it seemed like Gwyneth Paltrow was just going to take her Oscar and go home. She's rarely acted for the past few years, and even when she did, she was barely noticed, except for the Iron Man movies. Maybe getting married and having children had something to do with it. Anyway, Paltrow is back, bigger than ever. She has a new movie coming out, "Country Strong", singing the title song from the film on last week's telecast of the CMA Awards Show, doing a pretty respectable job. But then, on this week's "Glee", she really turned it out with a fantastic cover of Cee Lo's "Fuck You/Forget You". In addition to the great song performance on "Glee", Paltrow was, surprisingly, also very, very funny. Who knew G.P. had such a talent for comedy? And if anyone doubts that the Paltrow still has mass appeal, her "Glee" episode was the second highest rated episode ever for the show, (11 million viewers), second only to Britney Spears' "Glee" a few weeks ago, (13 million viewers). And unlike when Brit Brit was on, no one tuned in just to see if Paltrow would flash her twat, marry a Glee boy and drop a baby!

Going For The Crown

But as great as Gwyneth's "Forget You" was on "Glee", come on, it can't hold a candle to the original "Fuck You" version by Cee Lo. Cee Lo has proven himself to be an incredibly talented, versatile singer in the past few years, turning out three critically acclaimed albums in a row, and in the process producing some of the smartest and most fun pop songs of the 21st Century. If this guy keeps this up, he could quite possibly vy for the title of "Most Important Pop Singer of His Generation". Forget Jay-Z, Kanye and Eminem, this guy can actually sing! Watch the Grammy's next year, Cee Lo will be hauling out the trophies.

"A Song for You" by Leon Russell

We could fill up the next three pages with all the Youtube versions of famous singers singing "A Song for You", but we'd be remiss if we didn't paste the version by the man himself, Leon Russell. But do yourself a favor and go to Youtube and compare the many versions, especially the ones by The Carpenters and Ray Charles. Ray Charles is pure soul perfection in his version, and in Karen Carpenter's recording, you can actually hear the desperate longing in her voice. But for many, many folks out there, Donny Hathaway's verson is possibly the most beloved. Also listen for the the line in the song that has been described as one of the most famous and haunting lyrics in all of popular music, "I love you in a place where there's no space or time." Wow.

"Cry To Me" by Solomon Burke

Solomon's Burke's best known song, "Cry to Me", 1962. British soul singer, Duffy, has covered the song in live television appearances, which you can find on Youtube.

The Batman Theme Song

"I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones

"Wedding Bell Blues" by The 5th Dimension

"Wedding Bell Blues" by The 5th Dimension which went to #1 in 1969.

"Finally" by Ce Ce Peniston

Pump It Up

Happy 55th Birthday to Elvis Costello!