My Role as a Social Media Influencer - I Take it Seriously..... So Should You.

SCROLL DOWN 

OMG! For a split second, you took me seriously,

dear friend. You shoulda seen the look on your face!

I hope you never make that mistake again. You should

know by now that the only thing I want to influence

you to buy is my brand of humor, and the only thing

I want to influence you to do is to sing, dance,

laugh and have fun. With that in mind, I'll

reveal the actual title of today's post: 

Let's All Play -

Name That Sample!

I can't tell you how many times per day,

(maybe 10 or more, maybe even a hundred!)

people come up to me on the street and

ask the following question:

"WHAT IS SAMPLING?"

Actually the number of times is zero. It's never
happened... but I'm gonna tell you anyway.

Sampling is the process of taking a portion of one sound recording
and making it part of another sound recording. Hip hop was the
first pop music genre based on the art of sampling. The craze
started in the 70s with deejays playing vinyl records on twin
turntables and, using a mixer, creatively combining them
to make new dance sounds. In today's post I bring you
five 21st century recordings that sample five hits of
the 20th century. Please listen to all five songs and
see if you can Name That Sample - name the old
recording sampled in the more recent recording.

SONG #1:

THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS

ft. will.i.am

The Pussycat Dolls were a Los Angeles based girl group and dance troupe
that specialized in R&B, pop, hip hop and dance music. will.i.am is a

hip hop artist and producer also from LA. In 2006 the two acts
came together on the international hit single "Beep."

"Beep" - The Pussycat Dolls ft. will.i.am

(Feb. 2006, highest chart pos. #13 Hot 100/#2 UK,

#1 Australia & New Zealand, from Sept. 2005 album PCD)

SONG #2:

RIHANNA

Rihanna is a R&B and dance-pop singer from Barbados now

based in New York. In 2006 Rihanna topped the U.S. pop, dance

and top 40 charts with her international hit single "SOS."

"SOS" - Rihanna

(Feb. 2006, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100,
#1 U.S. Dance Club Songs, #1 U.S. Mainstream Top 40,

#2 UK/#1 Australia, from Apr. 2006 album A Girl like Me)

SONG #3:

JOJO

She hails from Foxborough, Mass. Her real name is Joanna Noëlle
Blagden Levesque. Wisely the young pop/R&B singer chose "JoJo"
as her stage name. In 2007 JoJo reached the top 40 on the U.S.
Pop Songs chart and brushed the UK top 20 with "Anything."

"Anything" - JoJo

(May 2007, highest chart pos. #38 U.S. Pop Songs,
#21 UK, #18 Ireland, from Oct. 2006 album The High Road)

START PLAYING VIDEO
AT 1:45 MARK!

SONG #4:

MISSY ELLIOT

Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot is a hip hop/R&B singer

from Portsmouth, Virginia. In 2006 Missy went

top 50 U.S., top 40 UK, top 25 in Australia

with the funky number "We Run This."

"We Run This" - Missy Elliot

(Feb. 2006, highest chart pos. #48 Hot 100, #38 UK,
#23 Australia, from July 2005 album The Cookbook,
Sept. 2006 album Respect M.E. & OST of 2006 movie Stick It)

START PLAYING VIDEO
AT 1:10 MARK!

SONG #5:

MADONNA

In 2005/2006 Madonna, The Queen of Pop, topped charts

worldwide with the album Confessions on a Dance Floor,

a set of songs influenced by 1970s and 80s disco.

"Hung Up," the lead single from the album,

was also an international hit.

"Hung Up" - Madonna

("LaRCS" - "Live and Record Combined Stereo") 

(Oct. 2005, highest chart pos. #1 U.S. Dance Club Songs,
#1 UK, #1 in 18 other countries, from Nov. 2005

album Confessions On a Dance Floor)

How many samples were

you able to name?

(SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE ANSWERS)

ANSWERS

SONG #1:

"Beep" by The Pussycat Dolls ft. will.i.am samples "Evil Woman,"
the 1975 hit by the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).

START PLAYING VIDEO AT 2:40

MARK TO HEAR THE SAMPLE!

SONG #2:

"SOS" by Rihanna samples "Tainted Love," the

1981/82 hit by the English synthpop duo Soft Cell.

SONG #3

"Anything" by JoJo samples "Africa,"

the 1982 hit by the American rock band Toto.

SONG #4

"We Run This" by Missy Elliot samples "Apache,"
the 1982 hit by The Sugarhill Gang

SONG #5

"Hung Up" by Madonna samples "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

(A Man After Midnight)," the 1979 hit by the

Swedish pop supergroup ABBA.

How many sampled songs were you

able to name? Check below to

determine your sampling I.Q.:

ALL 5 RIGHT:

Samply sensational!

3 OR 4 RIGHT:

Samply sufficient!

1 OR 2 RIGHT:

Samply seek some support.

0 RIGHT:

Sample Simon says

put on the dunce cap

and start studying!

Have a samply Shady Day!

Shady Train - Episode 9: The Sound of Music is the 8th Wonder!

BOOTH ANNOUNCER:

Shady Train...

the hippest trip in America!

Brought to you in part by...

Johnson Products Company

...makers of

Ultra Sheen...

Afro Sheen...

and Ultra Sheen cosmetics.

Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen...

The largest selling products

in the "Natural" world.

And now the host of

Shady Train...

Don Cornelius!

Hi there, you're right on time.

Welcome aboard for another

raucous ride on the Shady Train.

You know the drill. Only the

cool kids get in and every

tune's a bad mamma jamma.

And joining us for the first time

is a funky band from California,

a group of young men who are

responsible for the smash

recording on the Mercury

label entitled "Ffun."

Formerly known as Project Soul,

they now call themselves--

Con Funk Shun!

"Ffun" - Con Funk Shun

(Dec. '77/Jan. '78, highest cht. pos. #23 Hot 100/#1 R&B)

Now meet the dynamic trio responsible for one of the

biggest breakthroughs ever in black music. They

ushered in the 80s by introducing the nation and

the world to the art of rapping. With a song called

"Rapper's Delight" they launched their own careers

and probably helped the careers of many others who

have since emulated their style. As they join us to do

their latest single on the Sugar Hill label entitled

"8th Wonder," get some hands together for--

The Sugarhill Gang!

"8th Wonder" - The Sugarhill Gang

(Jan./Feb. '81, highest chart pos. #15 R&B/#82 Hot 100)

And we are excited to welcome back aboard the big train

one of the greatest and most successful soul groups of all

time, and they're runnin' down a ditty we think is doggone

pretty. It's their latest single on the Philadelphia Inter-

national label entitled "Use Ta Be My Girl." A big

Shady Train welcome, gang, for our good friends--

the mighty O'Jays!

"Use Ta Be My Girl" - The O'Jays

(June/July 1978, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100/#1 R&B)

And let's welcome a delightful and talented young man

who visits us, believe it or not, from London, England,

and, believe it or not, is responsible for one of the

funkiest records we've heard in some time. It's

his latest single on the Mercury label entitled

"Mama Used To Say" and his name is-- Junior!

"Mama Used To Say" - Junior

(Mar./Apr. 1982, highest chart pos. #30 Hot 100,
#2 R&B/#7 UK, from Feb. 1982 album Ji)

START PLAYING VIDEO

AT 45 SEC. MARK!

And that's only half the trip. You hang onto

the spot you got for much more fun and

much more soul right after this

message from Ultra Sheen!

A guitarist in the original lineup of The Time, this

gentleman's name was called out by Morris Day

in the song "Jungle Love": "Hey Jesse! N-N-Now

Jerome!" Now a solo artist, he has a hit on his

hands with a little thing called "She (I Can't

Resist)." The Shady Train gang's lookin' fine

and layin' it on the line for-- Jesse Johnson!

"She (I Can't Resist)" - Jesse Johnson

(Feb. '87, highest chart pos. #28 R&B/#18 U.S. Club Play)

Shannon is this lady's middle name but, after watching her perform, you might think her middle name is "Excitement." She exploded onto the music scene last year with the chart-topping hit "Let The Music Play," a song that redefined dance music and some say marked the beginning of the dance-pop era. As she joins us courtesy of our friends on the hip hop program Graffiti Rock to do her latest single on the Mirage label, another biggin everybody's diggin' entitled "Give Me Tonight," a big welcome, gang, for-- Shannon!

"Give Me Tonight" - Shannon

(Mar./Apr./May 1984, highest chart pos. #1 Dance, #6 R&B,

#46 Hot 100, live perf. on June 29, 1984 ep. of Graffiti Rock)

And making their debut aboard the big train is another

great funk band, this one from Dayton, Ohio, a city

that in recent years has become a funk mecca.

As they join us to do "The Sound Of Music,"

the lead song from their new Capitol album

eel The Music, give it up please,

gang, for-- Dayton!

"The Sound of Music" - Dayton

(Apr. 1984, highest chart pos. #69 R&B)

That oughta hold you for a while. We hope you'll

come back and get into it with us again next time,

and you can bet your last money, it's all gonna

be a stone gas, honey. I'm Don Cornelius,

and as always in parting, we wish you

love... peace... and soul!