A few weeks ago, I was playing The Clash’s Combat Rock in the record store (where I work). When the song “Straight to Hell” came on, the clerk I was working with gave me a look and said something along the lines of “I didn’t think you liked MIA” (in reference to MIA’s song “Paper Planes”, which features a sample of “Straight to Hell”). For the record, I don’t like MIA, but I quickly corrected her as to what it was we were listening to. She responded, “Ah, I knew it sounded familiar, but the tempo was different.”
This got me thinking about so many contemporary songs that feature samplings or interpolations of previously recorded material. In today’s musical landscape, the use of another’s material is a bit ubiquitous and, at times, overwhelming. When samples are used with skill, the listener often doesn’t even realize that the song isn’t truly original; so, it’s almost forgivable (to a point) when mistakes like MIA vs. The Clash pop up.
Despite today’s prolific tendencies of borrowing, this is by no means a new phenomenon. Instead of sampling, artists just simply covered songs, especially if they had to fill up space on an album. Many times, though, the cover song became bigger than the original, to the point of overshadowing the original songwriters or performers. Below is just a small sampling.
“Crazy” – Patsy Cline / Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson wrote “Crazy” in 1961. At the time, he was a songwriter named Hugh, working his way up as a journeyman by providing material for artists like Faron Young and Billy Walker to perform. Patsy Cline, however, was one of the biggest names in country music. After years of developing his craft as a songwriter, Nelson’s “Crazy” would be the song that clinched it.
The song, as sung by Cline, is very obviously a ballad. However, Nelson’s original version somewhat defies a simple categorization. “Crazy” is not written like a traditional country song. Nelson borrowed heavily from jazz and classic pop songwriting when composing the tune. The verse and chorus smoothly meld into one another rather than standing rigidly separated like in most country songs. This jazz-like lean is most often recognized when Nelson performs the song live, never performing it the same way twice.
Originally intended for, but declined by, Walker, Nelson managed to get a demo of the song to Cline after meeting her husband, Charlie Dick, at a Music Row watering hole. Nelson’s style of speaking his lyrics rather than singing them did not sit well with Cline, who rejected the song upon initially hearing it. After her producer, Owen Bradley, rearranged the song as the ballad we’ve become familiar with, Cline fell in love with it, recording the vocals in a single take. Though it didn’t have the success of her previous hit, “I Fall To Pieces”, the song did signify Cline’s return to music after surviving a near fatal automobile accident. “Crazy” was released in 1962, peaking at number two on the country charts.
I remember as a child hearing stories about Cline (or someone in her camp) stealing this song from Nelson. I can’t remember if it was just my grandfather spinning a yarn, a Jessica Lange movie filling in my historical blanks, or what, but I found no such evidence indicating those sentiments. In 1993, Nelson said that he felt Cline’s version was his favorite song of his that anybody had recorded. Maybe at the time he got a little less than what he thought he should once the song became a hit. Regardless of any of the fine print, the success of Cline’s version not only cemented Nelson’s reputation as a songwriter, but it also opened the door to his own recording career. Based on the success of “Crazy”, Liberty records signed Nelson to his own recording contract.
“Head On” – Pixies / The Jesus and Mary Chain
Admittedly, this one might be stretching it somewhat, as most people might not even realize that an alternate version of this song exists. “Head On” originally appears on the Jesus and Mary Chain’s 1989 album, Automatic. Engineered by future shoegaze mastermind Alan Moulder, the song features the signature feedback sound that JAMC were known for, and it ups the tempo into a fabulous pop song. The ambiguity of its lyrics can give the impression that the song could either be a boy-meets-girl ditty or a psychedelic drug experience swirling around your head.
The true ambiguity of the song comes from the Pixies’ cover version. Around 1990, a year or so before the Pixies would release their fourth album, Trompe Le Monde, they had begun covering “Head On” in concert. The original version of the song started to achieve a moderate level of popularity on modern rock radio on its own merits, but with the Pixies covering it, an argument could be made that the song received a Colbert style “bump.” The Pixies version became slightly famous for the video and the production behind the making of the video. The band had agreed to provide a video for the single only if it was recorded live. Using 12 cameras divided among the four band members, the song was played, the video was recorded, and everybody was happy. I don’t know the reason for the band’s (or perhaps Black Francis’s) stubbornness regarding the making of the video. Maybe it stems from a time when the band was covering “Head On” during a show, and Francis looked down into the audience to see Jim and William Reid, the song’s writers, looking back at him. True story.
“There She Goes” – Sixpence None the Richer / The La’s
This misconception is more an American mistake, as I find it almost impossible to believe that anyone in the UK would not know that the La’s originally performed “There She Goes”. Originally written by Lee Mavers and performed by his band The La’s, the song was released at least three times before it finally achieved any kind of chart status. In fact, the third version was a remix by Steve Lillywhite, who produced the band’s self-titled debut in 1990. Helped by the song’s inclusion on the album, the band finally had a taste of success, peaking at 13 in the UK and just barely missing out on the US Top 40.
The song’s popularity throughout the 90s is most evident by its inclusion on at least four soundtracks from the era. The soundtrack to So I Married An Axe Murderer features both the La’s version and a Boo Radleys version, which bookend the album. Despite appearing in Hollywood heavy-hitters like The Parent Trap remake, Mavers found his biggest success when Austin, Texas, band Sixpence None the Richer included a version on their self-titled third album. The Sixpence version broke the US Top 40 and the Top 10 on most AOR charts. To this day, this is the version you will most likely hear on US AOR/Adult Contemporary radio stations. The Sixpence version also achieved a boost in popularity after appearing on yet another soundtrack, one for the film Snow Day. I find it darkly ironic that so many family oriented films have chosen to use a song that at one point in its history was accused of being an ode to heroin.
“I Want Candy” – Bow Wow Wow / The Strangeloves
The Strangeloves were a “band” comprised of 3/4 of the songwriting team behind “I Want Candy”. The song was written by Bert Berns, Richard Goettehrer, Jerry Goldstein, and Bob Feldman, all of whom (sans Berns) were the Strangeloves. Assuming the personalities of three Australian ex-sheep-herding brothers named Giles, Miles, and Niles Strange, The Strangeloves recorded their hit in 1965. Oddly enough, though, all writing, recording, and performing credits are under the band members’ real names. The alter egos were just for publicity.
The song achieved a second bit of recognition when, later in the same year, Brian Poole and his band the Tremoloes hit the UK Top 25 with their cover. However, the song’s biggest boost in popularity came not from the mod scene or the swingin’ hipsters of the 60s but rather from new wavers of the early 80s and a cover version by a new British band, Bow Wow Wow.
Bow Wow Wow was a project assembled by Malcolm McLaren, the guiding force behind the Sex Pistols. Never one to shy away from exploiting the sexuality of a teenager, McLaren discovered his singer, a mohawked Annabella Lwin, in a launderette at the tender age of 14. With dollar signs in his eyes, he absconded with the Ants from Adam and the Ants to round out Bow Wow Wow’s lineup, leaving Adam all alone. The band had a series of minor hits in the UK, but “I Want Candy” was pretty much their only success State-side. Appearing ubiquitously on “One Hit Wonder” lists and “Best of the 80s” types of countdowns, “I Want Candy”, with one of the most recognizable intros since the hand claps on “Car Wash”, may have provided Bow Wow Wow with a bit more immortality than it did the song’s creators, but I would place bets that Annabella is back doing her delicates at the launderette.
“After Midnight”/“Cocaine” – Eric Clapton / J.J. Cale
Clapton has recorded at least three J.J. Cale songs throughout his career: “Cocaine”, “After Midnight”, and “Travelin’ Light” are the most important three. The first two are so closely associated with Clapton that, unless you read the liner notes, you may never have even thought that they weren’t his songs. “After Midnight” was on Clapton’s solo debut in 1970 and immediately became a hot single for the guitarist.
An upbeat, slightly funky number, “After Midnight” features Clapton leaving the experimentation of Blind Faith and the heaviness of Cream behind for a smoother, simpler approach. Cale first recorded a demo of “After Midnight” four years earlier in 1966, which features Cale’s signature laid-back feel. When listening to Cale’s playing, it’s easily as relaxed as any of Clapton’s work. And when listening to Clapton, especially during this period, the influence of Cale is greatly felt.
When Clapton recorded his version in 1970, Cale, apparently, was totally unaware. Dirt poor, scraping by, and barely able to feed himself, Cale was nonetheless pleased to begin receiving royalty checks. In fact, Clapton’s success with Cale’s song led Cale back to the studio to record his own music once again. Cale’s own re-recording of “After Midnight” even managed to chart on Billboard at #42. Clapton would re-re-record the song for a Michelob beer commercial in the late 80s.
Ten years after penning “After Midnight”, Cale wrote “Cocaine” for his 1976 release, Troubadour. The style and arrangement on Cale’s and Clapton’s versions are pretty much the same, with the only major difference being that Clapton’s is a bit cleaner, Cale’s a bit rawer. The famous guitar riff opening the song (and carrying it throughout) is a bit grittier on Cale’s version. His songwriting allows for the music and lyrics to live on their own terms and provide the listener with a chance to absorb both. The message is rather clear in its anti-drug position; however, Cale is careful not to beat the message over the listener’s head. Clapton said once “…from a distance…it just sounds like a song about cocaine. But actually, it is quite cleverly anti-cocaine.”
Produced by Glyn Johns and appearing on Clapton’s 1978 Slowhand, the song was originally a B-side to “Lay Down Sally”, only to be re-released as its own single in 1980. “Cocaine” became one of Clapton’s (and by default, Cale’s) biggest hits, eventually becoming a concert staple and a fixture on contemporary classic rock radio.
