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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
