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by Clarence Ewing
There is a chance that you have come across a song (or two, or so many more) that you enjoy and did not realize that it's either been covered by someone else or is a cover itself. We hope that this series allows you to appreciate both the original and the covers they have inspired, and to seek out and enjoy new music in the process.
The Strangeloves were a New York based production team that had a handful of singles chart in the bottom half of the Hot 100 during the mid-to-late '60s, sometimes using different band names. "I Want Candy" was their 2nd single of note. The percussion sets the tone with an overwhelimg Bo Didley rhythm, immediately putting the listener in the middle of the best beach party ever. It also featues one of the most gloriously ragged guilar riffs in pop music history. At a time when Elvis Presley and Annette Funicello were making the "Beach Party" scene popular across the USA, This was a song that got the go-go dancers movin'.
by Eddie Sayago
There is a chance that you have come across a song (or two, or so many more) that you enjoy and did not realize that it's either been covered by someone else or is a cover itself. We hope that this series allows you to appreciate both the original and the covers they have inspired, and to seek out and enjoy new music in the process.
A good dance song doesn’t need much. A catchy beat and an easy to learn chorus is all one needs to create a hit song that will outlive almost everything else. inspiration hit lead singer Ivan Doroschuk to write “The Safety Dance” after getting kicked out of a club for pogo dancing. (When someone jumps up and down like a pogo stick on the dance floor.) “I was kind of mad that they wouldn’t let me dance if I wanted to, so I took matters in my own hands and wrote an anthem of it,” said Doroschuck in an interview in 2012.
“The Safety Dance” peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been cited as one of the most popular one-hit wonders in pop culture history. The music video, set in a very believable Renaissance Faire, features the band and their friends dancing however they wish while dressed in some of the best medieval outfits one can buy on a tight budget.
There is a chance that you have come across a song (or two, or so many more) that you enjoy and did not realize that it's either been covered by someone else or is a cover itself. We hope that this series allows you to appreciate both the original and the covers they have inspired, and to seek out and enjoy new music in the process.
The original version of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” was written by Scottish singer and activist Ewan MacColl. The song’s subject matter was a bit of a departure for him, as he was mainly known for his political and protest songs. The vocalist is Peggy Seeger, who would often perform the song with MacColl in England. The two would eventually marry, once MacColl got divorced from the woman to whom he was then wed.
The song is made up of Seeger’s voice and MacColl’s arpeggioed guitar lines, evoking a rustic mood with that certain woozy, hallucinogenic feel that separates it from traditional folk tunes. It’s the kind of arrangement that was right in line with the folksy style that was just becoming popular among listeners.
Pop music’s acoustic-based titans (The Kingston Trio; Peter, Paul & Mary; etc.) were just getting started, and their styles (derived from what musicians like MacColl and Seeger were doing) would become essential sounds of the 1960s. Current musicians like Mike and Cara Gangloff, whose music has even more of a psychedelic-pastoral edge, can also trace their roots to songs like this.
There is a chance that you have come across a song (or two, or so many more) that you enjoy and did not realize that it's either been covered by someone else or is a cover itself. We hope that this series allows you to appreciate both the original and the covers they have inspired, and to seek out and enjoy new music in the process.
Around the mid-’80s George Michael split from his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley and successfully proved he could make it as a solo act. The title track to his debut album is a fun, flirty pop number that channels ‘50s Elvis-style rockabilly through a solid Bo Diddley-esque rhythm.
The song was cemented in ‘80s lore by the iconic video of Michael working his guitar and his hips in sunglasses and a leather jacket, a stark contrast to the day-glo bubble gum image he was known for in his old band. And at a time when the music industry was still reluctant to have a star openly declare that they’re gay, the song used just enough vague, gender-neutral lyrics to keep the tabloids and morality police guessing.
This track became one of a string of hits for Michael, including “Father Figure,” “I Want Your Sex,” “One More Try,” and “Kissing a Fool” (one of the greatest pop vocal performances of all time, BTW). “Faith” went to #1 on the Billboard charts, where it stayed for four weeks.
by Eddie Sayago
There is a chance that you have come across a song (or two, or so many more) that you enjoy and did not realize that it's either been covered by someone else or is a cover itself. We hope that this series allows you to appreciate both the original and the covers they have inspired, and to seek out and enjoy new music in the process.
From the album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006, Domino)
The world (especially music) was very different in 2006 when Arctic Monkeys released their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. YouTube debuted the year before, occupied by abstract and weird humor, home movies, and music videos and live performances. The best selling album of the year was the High School Musical soundtrack. (Olivia Rodrigo, of “Driver’s License” fame and who began her career on a TV series based on the musical, was three years old at the time.)
One of the first music acts to become popular thanks to the Internet (primitive music blogs, Myspace, non-creepy chat rooms, file-sharing sites), Arctic Monkeys were led by Alex Turner, who at age 19 revived a dismal indie rock scene in the U.K. with 13 rambunctious rock songs on Whatever People Say.... Their debut single, “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor,” is a homage to the punk rock of the late 1970s, a short, catchy dance song that can be played at both Sweet Sixteens parties and dive bars where only sixteen people can sit inside.