Vinyl Gladiators Fight to the Finish!

 Welcome to 

Vinyl Gladiators, 

 another variation of my song cover 

 competition heretofore known as 

 Winning Hand... Version Sacrifice... 

 and BATTLE OF THE BANNED. 

 Today I present a lurid spectacle 

 staged solely for your amusement! 

Covers of popular songs will do battle today as you sit comfortably in your box seat

in the amphitheater eating grapes, getting a massage and having your feet washed.

The fate of these brave warriors rests in your hands. How many of them, if any,

 will survive the day? Let the squeamish be forewarned. Molten wax will

surely be spilled in the course of this gruesome contest!

 The combatants have 

 entered the ring. 

 Vinyl gladiators now 

 stand before you. 
 Allow me to introduce 

 them and... let the 

 games commence! 

 BEN E. KING  

Drifters lead singer Ben E. King co-wrote and originally recorded "Stand By Me,"

a secular love song inspired by the spiritual "Lord, Stand By Me." King intended

for the song to be recorded by The Drifters but they declined. In 1961, as a solo

artist, King waxed a version that reached #1 on the R&B chart and top 5 pop.

 "Stand By Me" - Ben E. King 

 (June 1961, highest chart pos. #1 R&B/#3 Cash Box/#4 Hot 100) 

 SPYDER TURNER 

Born in Beckley (WV) and raised in the Motor City, Dwight David "Spyder"

Turner sang with doo-wop groups and signed a recording contract with

 MGM. In late 1966, Spyder released a cover of "Stand By Me."

The recording is novelty in nature because Turner imitates Ben E. King

and other R&B and soul greats including Smokey Robinson, David Ruffin,

Chuck Jackson and Billy "Motormouth" Stewart. Spyder's take on the song

made the top 3 on the R&B chart and brushed the top 10 on the pop survey.

 "Stand By Me" - Spyder Turner  

 (Jan./Feb. 1967, highest chart pos. #3 R&B, 
 #11 Cash Box/#12 Hot 100) 

As a bonus, I'd like you to see and hear this very rare clip of Spyder Turner doing

his hit on Village Square, a weekly music TV show that originated from a studio

in Charleston, SC, and was syndicated across the country from 1965 to 1968. 

 "Stand By Me" - Spyder Turner  

 (perf. on TV show The Village Square, Charleston, SC) 

 JOHN LENNON 

In February, 1975, John Lennon released a cover of "Stand By Me" on his sixth

solo studio album Rock 'n' Roll. The following month the song was released as

a single and reached the top 20 in the U.S. In April, John performed his latest

hit on the UK based TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test.

 "Stand By Me" - John Lennon 

 (Apr./May 1975, highest chart pos. #20 Hot 100 & Cash Box, 

 perf. on Apr. 18, 1975, ep. of The Old Grey Whistle Test) 

SCARLET FEVER! 

That's right. Shady's come down with a case of scarlet fever,

because three exciting female rockers are about to join the

competition, each of them a ravishing redhead, each of

them covering an 80s hit. Let's meet the ladies now! 

 COLE ROLLAND & 

 HALOCENE feat. 

 ADDIE NICOLE 

I introduced this first fiery frontwoman

a few weeks ago in my special feature

 That Was Then - This Is Now. She's

Addie Nicole... lead singer of the

Phoenix, Arizona, band Halocene.

Once again, Addie is joined by

Canadian guitarist Cole Rolland as

they do a metal cover of Bon Jovi's

hit "You Give Love A Bad Name!" 

"You Give Love A Bad Name"

Bon Jovi  metal cover by

Cole Rolland & Halocene

(Feb. 2021) 

 ANDREEA MUNTEANU 

 & ANDREI CERBU 

Now, from Eastern Europe, and also making a return visit to Shady's Place, here's that

zesty rising star from Romania, zinger Andreea Munteanu. On her popular YouTube

channel, versatile Andreea is part pop princess and part classic rocker. Andreea

shines as lead zinger of guitar wizard Andrei Cerbu's band The Iron Cross,

and in this performance Andreea & Andrei collaborate on a cover of

English popper Samantha Fox's 1986 synth-rock hit

"Touch Me (I Want Your Body)." 

"Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" - Samantha Fox

cover by Andreea Munteanu & Andrei Cerbu (Feb. 2021) 

 SHUT UP & KISS ME! 

 feat. DARIA BAHRIN 

The third sassy redhead is Daria Bahrin,

another Romanian singer discovered by

Andrei Cerbu. Daria fronts a band of

Andrei's called Shut Up & Kiss Me!

Enjoy this cookin' cover as sassy

Daria and her bandmates bring out

our animal instincts performing

Def Leppard's 1987 rock

anthem "Animal!"

"Animal" - Def Leppard cover

by Shut Up & Kiss Me! feat.

Daria Bahrin (Dec. 2020)

 Put down your 

 wine goblet... 

 slowly rise from 

 your throne... 

 face these vinyl 

 gladiators and 

 render your decision. 

 Which lucky cover gets thumbs up 
 and lives to play another day? 
 Which poor devils get the 
 dreaded thumbs down 
 and are reduced to 
 puddles of molten wax 

 on the Colosseum floor? 

 The decision is yours! 

Hey, That Sounds Just Like... Vol. 3: Candlelight Afternoon with the Old Man Down the Road

WELCOME TO VOL. 3 OF

"HEY, THAT SOUNDS

JUST LIKE..."

This is the series that compares recorded songs that sound similar
to each other and, in some cases, sound almost exactly alike.
Which do you prefer, the originals or the soundalikes?

Remember, ladies and gentlemen...

This is only an exhibition...
This is not a competition...
Please... no wagering.

 JOHN FOGERTY 

Singer, songwriter and guitarist John

Fogerty came to fame in the late 60s

as leader of Creedence Clearwater

Revival. Creative differences

between Fogerty and his mates

took their toll, as did contract

hassles with their label Fantasy

Records. Fogerty departed and

CCR dissolved. In late 1984, as

a solo artist, Fogerty released

"The Old Man Down the Road,"

the first single from his come-

back album Centerfield.

 "Old Man" made the top 10, and the music video

is one of the most memorable of the 80s, edited

to make it appear a guitar cord is miles long.

"The Old Man Down the Road" - John Fogerty

(Feb. 1985, highest chart pos. #10 Hot 100,

#1 Top Rock Tracks)

 CREEDENCE 

 CLEARWATER 

 REVIVAL 

Film producer Saul Zaentz, winner of Best Picture Academy
Awards for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus and
The English Patient, was also owner of Fantasy Records.

Zaentz sued John Fogerty, claiming

the chorus of "The Old Man Down

The Road" sounded too similar to

CCR's "Run Through The Jungle,"

a song from the band's album

Cosmo's Factory released on

a single in the spring of 1970.

(To get out of his contract with

Fantasy, Fogerty had signed

away his rights to the music

he made with CCR.)

 Fogerty won the court battle when he brought his guitar

to the witness stand and pointed out differences

between the two recordings. Can you

detect those differences?

"Run Through the Jungle" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

(May 1970, highest chart pos. #4, B side of "Up Around the Bend")

 THE CORSAIRS 

 & LANDY McNEIL 

Early in 1962 a North Carolina doo-wop

group calling themselves The Corsairs

(featuring Jay "Bird" Uzzell) scored

a top 10 R&B hit with the single

"Smoky Places," a song penned

and produced by Abner Spector,

an A&R man for Chess Records

and founder of his own Tuff label.

Later that year The Corsairs made

the top 30 on the R&B chart with

"I'll Take You Home." In 1965,

the group, now recording as

The Corsairs & Landy McNeil,

waxed Spectorian (Phil, that is) with

this fab slab-- "On the Spanish Side."

"On the Spanish Side" - The Corsairs & Landy McNeil

(Feb. 1965, uncharted)

 BEN E. 

 KING 

To Shady's ears "On the Spanish Side"
sounds a lot like "Spanish Harlem,"
a song written by Jerry Leiber and
Phil Spector and recorded by former
Drifters lead singer Ben E. King.

Released in November 1960, King's
single went top 10 on the pop chart
and made Rolling Stone's list of
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"Spanish Harlem" - Ben E. King

(Mar. 1961, highest chart pos. #10)

 SISTER SLEDGE 

Disco was hot at Christmas 1978 when Philadelphia's sibling girl group

Sister Sledge released "He's the Greatest Dancer," a song composed

by Chic members Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

The single reached the top 10 in the spring of '79 and might have gone higher,

but its momentum stalled and it was overtaken by an even bigger Sister Sledge

hit, "We Are Family" which rocketed all the way to #2. From the group's hit

album We Are Family, produced by Edwards and Rodgers, here are the

discofied siblings performing "He's the Greatest Dancer."

"He's the Greatest Dancer" - Sister Sledge

(April/May 1979, highest chart pos. #9 Hot 100,

#1 R&B, from Jan. 1979 album We Are Family)

 PHYLLIS 

 ST. JAMES 

In 1984 Phyllis St. James, a Los Angeles singer and

songwriter, signed with Motown Records and recorded

the album Ain't No Turnin' Back. The album spawned

the club classic "Candlelight Afternoon," a boogie

number that samples "He's The Greatest Dancer."

"Candlelight Afternoon" - Phyllis St. James

(from 1984 album Ain't No Turnin' Back)

IS IT LIVE...

OR IS IT MEMOREX?

THE ORIGINAL...

A FLATTERING

IMITATION...

OR A BLATANT

RIP-OFF?

Stick around. I've got more cool copycats for your

listening  pressure  pleasure coming soon in vol. 4.

Have a Shady day!