Here’s a song I might have known was a cover if I were a little older, or a little more up on the 1960s Dutch rock scene.
In 1969, psychedelic rock band Shocking Blue released ‘Venus’ in the Netherlands and saw it reach #1 in nine countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. Lead singer Mariska Veres, often compared to Cher, delivers the track with an alluringly sultry nonchalance.
George Harrison’s 1987 single ‘Got My Mind Set On You’ holds a special position among post-Beatles solo work. It marked Harrison’s third #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist, giving him one more than both John Lennon and Ringo Starr (McCartney’s #1 hits were all recorded with Wings or as duets, complicating matters).
The song is also the last #1 hit by any member of The Beatles to date. Come on, Paul and Ringo… it’s not too late!
My daughters and I recently watched a YouTube video listing “songs you didn’t know are covers.” I immediately thought that would make a great theme for the blog.
While the video included some songs that everybody knows are covers (Jimi Hendrix’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’ and Nirvana’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World,’ for example), I did find myself quite surprised by much of the list.
I’ll share a selection of those over the next few weeks.
Today’s random weekend selection is a cut from Eminem’s 2002 album The Eminem Show, his fourth studio release and second straight to reach diamond status. This was Eminem’s biggest album, selling 27 million copies worldwide, and marks a time when he was basically the biggest name in the music industry.
‘Say What You Say’ is one of the less memorable tracks on The Eminem Show. A diss track about producer Jermaine Dupri on which Eminem splits verses with Dr. Dre, it has some clever lines but a forgettable chorus and little of the clever wordplay or heightened emotion that made Eminem a special talent.
Here’s a lovely track from Simon & Garfunkel’s 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, the duo’s third release and second to contain almost exclusively songs written by Paul Simon.
Today’s song, ‘Cloudy,’ was co-written by Simon and Bruce Woodley of the Australian folk quarter The Seekers. They recorded their own version of the track a year later. Woodley and Simon wrote three songs together, including ‘Red Rubber Ball,’ a #2 hit for American rock band The Cyrkle.
Meet Me In Montauk 