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Song: Unchained Melody (1965) Artist: The Righteous Brothers Label: Philles Writers: Alex North, Hyman Zaret The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody is a soaring, or as Billboard put it in 2007, towering song. Few know that it was not an original. In fact, the song was over ten years old when The Righteous Brothers recorded it. … Read more
Song: Eat It (1984) Artist: Weird Al Yankovich Label: Scotti Brothers Writers: Michael Jackson, Al Yankovic Just as Michael Jackson’s album Thriller and the mega-hit Beat It was reaching its height, propelled by MTV and the 1984 Grammy Award for Record of the Year as well as a vocal performance Grammy for Jackson, Weird Al … Read more
Song: Ring My Bell (1979) Artist: Anita Ward Label: Juana Records Songwriter: Frederick Knight Yes, some people think that the hit disco song Ring My Bell was recorded by Blondie and sung by the great Debra Harry. In fact, if you search for “blondie ring my bell lyrics” you will get a result that lists … Read more
The answer is a resounding NO! The Kinks and specifically Dave Davies of the Davie brothers did not invent the concept of guitar distortion. The fact is that guitarists have been intentionally overloading their amps to create distortion for pretty much as long as amplifiers have been around. The Kinks happened on a sound that … Read more
Song: Bull Doze Blues (1928) Artist: Henry Thomas, aka Ragtime Texas Label: Vocalion Records Canned Heat had a smash hit with their 1968 song ‘Going Up the Country.’ Few know that their song was actually a reprocessed version of a much earlier blues song by Henry Thomas, aka Texas Ragtime called Bull Doze Blues, recorded … Read more
Song: House of the Rising Sun (1964) Artist: The Animals Label: Columbia Writer: Traditional (arrangement by The Animals, et al.) House of the Rising Sun Original? The tune most identified with the animals was not written entirely by them and yet was not a cover. House of the Rising Sun, also known as Rising Sun … Read more
Song: American Girl (1976) Artist: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Album: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Shelter) Writer: Tom Petty Although American Girl never charted in the U.S. the first time it was released in 1976, it has become one of the favorite Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers songs of all time. It is considered … Read more