Do Whatcha Wanna

A promotional single is a single track of music that is made available to media outlets, live music venues and music publications by a record label and/or artist for the express purpose of advance promoting that specific song or an entirely new album.  Sometimes a single is released weeks or months in advance in an effort to build interest in the single and gauge audience response.  Building interest in new music is a great thing, but it now often comes with the obligation of the artist/band to play that song.

Some people consider a defining moment in the career of Elvis Costello & The Attraction’s his Saturday Night Live performance in December 1977.  Costello had just released his debut album, “My Aim Is True” in the United States and the band received a break when asked to replace The Sex Pistols.   The band was supposed to play their single “Less Than Zero,” but only a few bars into the song, Costello stopped the song and the band launched into “Radio Radio,” a song that takes a jab at corporate-controlled broadcasting.   Years later when Costello was interviewed about the matter, he referenced a similar scenario from January 1969 in which The Jimi Hendrix Experience were to appear on the BBC show ‘Happening for Lulu’, and the show’s producers wanted Hendrix to sing a particular song, but the band did their own thing. 

Throughout the 1990s, I saw the band Blues Traveler, perform live more times than I can count.  Venues ranged from the McDonough Arena on Georgetown University’s campus to Roseland Ballroom in New York City along with various stops on the 1995 & 1996 H.O.R.D.E. festival tours.  One of the best things about all of those concerts in advance of 1995 is that similar in style to the Grateful Dead, every show had a different set list.  But then in 1995, the band won a Grammy Award for their song “Run-Around” and all of a sudden the Billboard hit would always find its place in their set.  According to BluesTraveler.net "Run-Around" has been played live 928 times (as of April 2012) and not surprisingly if you see the band now, they are now playing an ‘experimental’ version of the song.

Monty Python pokes fun at the thought of singles and radio hits with its “Contractual Obligation Album” highlighted by the short track, "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on theRadio".  Meanwhile on the flip side, in August 2013 using her millions of followers on Twitter, Katy Perry asked her fans to choose the next single off of her album, “Prism”.   With the average number of tracks on a record in the ballpark of 12, does one song always have to stand out?  Are fans really going to see a live concert by Darius Rucker in 2014 to only hear his version of the Old Crow Medicine Show song, “Wagon Wheel” and then getting up to leave?

Artists/bands should not be obligated to play a particular song for their fans.  There will always be artists/bands with that one signature song that overshadows their other work, but the next time that Matisyahu passes through your city, don’t you want to find out if there is more to his music than, “One Day”?

That’s My Jam!

Sometimes it only takes a few notes to get into your head.  Then once you have gotten past the fact that it is not the original song, you can either embrace the song for its original interpretation or disregard it for its lack of respect for the original.  Songs can exist in all formats these days – the original, the improvisational or the unexpected.  

There are also cover songs that it takes time to realize who originally wrote the song.  After talking with a friend of mine who is knee-deep in song licensing, he believes the idea of covering a song “is essentially how the ‘American Songbook’ was born.  Most performers were playing similar tunes and this was essential for presenting (live) performing musicians with a set language upon which folks could instantly communicate on the bandstand.  You just needed a tempo and a key, and a musician could sit in immediately with the group.”  

But I believe it is very, very hard to generate a good cover.   The good cover tends to happen naturally and then it is discovered.  I remember being blown away by the fact that Sammy Hagar was the writer of “I've Done Everything for You” in 1977 but his version was not successful, and then in 1981, Rick Springfield released the same song and it became a chart-topping single.  And in a similar instance, Prince originally released the song 'Nothing Compares 2 U' in 1985, but it became a worldwide hit for Sinead O’Connor in 1990.

Can a cover song be better than the original?  Can a cover song ruin the original?  Does the artist performing the cover respect the original song?  There is a website called Second Hand Songs dedicated to compiling statistics on covers and interesting to note is that The Beatles are the most covered artist/band in the world.  Not too far behind are Bob Dylan; Duke Ellington and Elvis Presley.  And of course, as we move further into the 21^st century, remixes can be looked at as the modern day cover.  I would also be remiss if I also did not touch on the volume of musicians making a living playing other people’s music – cover bands.

According to Todd Henry founder of Accidental Creative, "Cover bands don’t change the world, but this is not to imply that there is anything wrong with imitation. One of the key phases of creative growth is imitation".   And creative imitation can refer to a strategy in which someone else establishes the viability of something (i.e. a song) then a second person improves upon the original idea.  We could further analyze Nicola Tesla and Thomas Edison about the concept of creative imitation and their battle over who discovered what in the field of electrical engineering, but I prefer to continue to seek out versions of Hall & Oates "Rich Girl".  The one I am listening to right now is by Lake Street Dive.

In fact, I really like the idea of going to a show and being bowled over by a cover song.  If done well, the song has the potential to rope you in and potentially pursue listening to a new artist.  As for a list of some of my favorite, recommended covers, please check out this eclectic Top 10, listed in chronological order based on the year the original song was written:

J Roddy Walston & The Business "Lucille" – originally recorded in1957 by Little Richard

Stevie Ray Vaughn "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" – the last track on 1968’s‘Electric Ladyland’, the final album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience

Glen Hansard “Astral Weeks” – title track from VanMorrison’s album that was released also released in 1968

Seth Avett (of the Avett Brothers) “Movin’ Out [Anthony’s Song]” – written and recorded by Billy Joel for his 1977 album, "The Stranger"

Allen Stone "Is this Love” – song by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released on the1978 album ‘Kaya’

Ben Rector "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" – made famous byWhitney Houston on her 1987 album ‘Whitney’, but written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam of the band Boy MeetsGirl

Iron & Wine "One More Try" – often overlooked by his song 'Faith',George Michael's 'One More Try' was another well received single in 1988

Rage Against the Machine "How Could I Just Kill A Man" – the debut single by Cypress Hill from their 1991 self-titled album

Bon Iver "Come Talk to Me" – from Peter Gabriel's album 'Us', originally released in 1992

Florence + The Machine “Take Care” – a song by Drake from his 2011 album of the same name.

Thanks again for reading!