Wow, that Sikie cover is just unbearable. I shut it off halfway through.
Love the Elton and EW&F covers.
My DJ partner and I used to play the Beatles' version of "I Saw Her Standing There" and then follow it with Tiffany's version, just to show people what a dogshit version she did. It worked. Eventually people stopped dancing to it and we stopped playing it.
And WTF is up with that Stars on 45 video? I have that full-length Beatles track, if you're interested...
jasonhare
· 2 months ago
Oh, no thank you. I have all the albums, which adds up to about 35 songs -- 34.5 more than I really need to hear.
trrish
· 2 months ago
oh man, Jason, this was a lot of fun. I couldn't make it through Sergio for some reason...MAN, Earth, Wind & Fire still sound so good.
My true confession is that I do own the "Stars on 45" thing and downloaded it less than a year ago to show a friend of mine that it really did exist. Here's the confession: sometimes, I listen to it. ! What always interested me about it was, if I ignored the damn disco beat, I thought they did a pretty good job covering the originals. At the time it came out, tribute bands weren't really a thing yet.
DwDunphy
· 2 months ago
You're going to want to hit the site up frequently today. I don't want to give up the forthcoming surprises, but let's just say it wouldn't be right to end Beatles Week without a bang.
Seriously. No joke. You will want to make room on your hard drive.
trrish
· 2 months ago
you weren't kidding. Great 'bang'!
jasonhare
· 2 months ago
Glad you liked, Trrish!
JonCummings
· 2 months ago
I have no magic facts that I can pull out of my ass today, unfortunately. I will, however, come to the defense of Silkie. I really like their cover -- it's sort of a sub-Fairport Convention deal (if only the female singer was more like Sandy Denny). It's hardly worse than "Goodbye" -- though I really liked the other video you linked to there. The song's better without all the gloss Macca put onto Hopkins' single.
I have to say, I laughed my ass off when I went from that Rick Astley video to THIS one from the same show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOKP5IcPcLU). At the 1:04 mark, Samantha Fox comes onstage to join Tiffany and Debbie(orah), and then Rick's three female backing vocalists come to the front of the stage to join them. So here are these six women slithering around behind Rick Astley, and all I could think was that the three backup singers wearing teddies are the only women onstage who (presumably) HAVEN'T posed nude for Playboy.
DwDunphy
· 2 months ago
Yeah, it's amazing what all that exposure did for revitalizing their careers, didn't it?
I feel bad about Debbie Deborah Dee-Dee though. I remember, about three years ago, driving to Vintage Vinyl in Middlesex County, passing through Amboy. There was a seedy gentlemen's entertainment club there that had musical guests every once in a while (sucks for them...) Yes, advertised on their roadside, buckshot marquee, that Debbie Gibson performed there and even though I never really want to hear any of her hits ever again, in that moment my heart sank for Debbie.
I think I wound up buying some metal CD at Vintage Vinyl, in case no one cared.
jamesballenger
· 2 months ago
I love the Stevie, EW&F and Elton covers, I generally make a playlist of Beatles songs and those 3 along with Daytripper by Otis Redding just go so well together. I have to admit that I adored Tiffany at this time (hey she was cute) but I never really liked her cover over the original. Now, it's virtual nails on a chalkboard. Back to the EW&F cover my old room mate did not realize it was a cover for the longest time; he and I grew up on their version and he never noticed the similarities to the original. Great post.
DwDunphy
· 2 months ago
Yeah, Tiffany was awesome with the sound turned down.
TuffGong
· 2 months ago
"I am appalled to think that there might have been kids who eventually heard the original and thought, “Oh, it’s that song by Tiffany — but they switched the words!”"
This reminds me of something I encountered a few years ago. I was at a rodeo (don't ask) and they had some aspiring country singer come out to sing a few songs. She started singing the Berlin song "Take My Breath Away", and this young girl, probably 10 years old, turns to her friend and says "She's singing that Jessica Simpson song!"
rob
· 2 months ago
My apologies: I read the Friday playlist before going to Chartburn. I will grouse about the lack of EWF no more. Thank you, Jason!
jasonhare
· 2 months ago
Not only that, but this is CHART ATTACK!, not Chartburn! Shame on you twice!
just_kap
· 2 months ago
Wow - Tiffany brought on the flashbacks! Ha! I think I wanted to BE her at one point.
Fun list, Mr. Hare! You're a funny guy.
Sharon
· 2 months ago
You wanted to sing at the malls? with your mom hanging around? awesome.
just_kap
· 2 months ago
Well, since I was about 10 years old, yeah, I guess I did.
Oldetymer
· 2 months ago
Just an idea, but Jason maybe you should consider using the "Chartburn" moniker, as in, after listening to some of the songs on this list i got "Chartburn". Just joking, love your work!
Great post, and thanks for the flashbacks...here's my take. The Richie Havens, Stevie Wonder, and EWF way overshadowed everything on here, Wonder especially.
The Tiffany version just gives me the douche chills.
And fun fact - I was all proud when I got the CD single of the Stars of 45 12" Single, only to find that each song in the medley was it's own track on the cd, which made song shuffle ridiculous, and putting it on a mixCD for me impossible, as I couldnt turn off the "2 second between song" thing.
I went to Target today, the Beatles' CDs were basically wiped out, but i managed to get the last copy of Sgt Peppers. So Happy!
Cheers Ernie (twostepcub)
Ted
· 2 months ago
You know, I wonder with all the "Rickrolling" going on, if Rick is somehow getting a little money from that 'cause his suit is getting kind of tight.
And that Sergio cover is right out of my childhood. My parents were really into that kind of music, so I heard the original and Sergio versions growing up and, well, liked them both.
dslifton
· 2 months ago
Stars On 45 was the Girl Talk of its day.
beatles dork
· 2 months ago
"Okay, I’ll be stretching it a little: two of these songs were never recorded by the Beatles but were written by Paul and/or John."
Didn't George Harrison write "Here Comes the Sun" ?
jasonhare
· 2 months ago
He did! The two songs never recorded by the Beatles but written by Paul and/or John are "Goodbye" and "A World Without Love."
kingofgrief
· 2 months ago
Here's a peculiarity: the second Stars on 45 single in America (imaginatively titled "Medley II") contained another chunk of the album-side Beatles medley AND added "From Me to You". I never understood how that wound up on a single edit but not the master medley.
(And yes, I owned both singles on top of the album. I was a sucker for the medley craze at 11.)
Sharon
· 2 months ago
I was also a sucker for the medley craze. Not surprising. I also have it on my iPod, along with Hooked on Classics. And for the past few days, I have Stars on 45 running thru my head at the most bizarre times. So, thanks for that Jason. "Baby, you can drive my car..."
Pete
· 2 months ago
I had no idea there was a second 45 from the album medley put out... Is there a post of it anywhere that you know of? I'd be curious to hear it.
I'd also never heard the Stevie Wonder cover version before - it kicks serious ass!
All Comments
Love the Elton and EW&F covers.
My DJ partner and I used to play the Beatles' version of "I Saw Her Standing There" and then follow it with Tiffany's version, just to show people what a dogshit version she did. It worked. Eventually people stopped dancing to it and we stopped playing it.
And WTF is up with that Stars on 45 video? I have that full-length Beatles track, if you're interested...
My true confession is that I do own the "Stars on 45" thing and downloaded it less than a year ago to show a friend of mine that it really did exist. Here's the confession: sometimes, I listen to it. ! What always interested me about it was, if I ignored the damn disco beat, I thought they did a pretty good job covering the originals. At the time it came out, tribute bands weren't really a thing yet.
Seriously. No joke. You will want to make room on your hard drive.
I have to say, I laughed my ass off when I went from that Rick Astley video to THIS one from the same show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOKP5IcPcLU). At the 1:04 mark, Samantha Fox comes onstage to join Tiffany and Debbie(orah), and then Rick's three female backing vocalists come to the front of the stage to join them. So here are these six women slithering around behind Rick Astley, and all I could think was that the three backup singers wearing teddies are the only women onstage who (presumably) HAVEN'T posed nude for Playboy.
I feel bad about Debbie Deborah Dee-Dee though. I remember, about three years ago, driving to Vintage Vinyl in Middlesex County, passing through Amboy. There was a seedy gentlemen's entertainment club there that had musical guests every once in a while (sucks for them...) Yes, advertised on their roadside, buckshot marquee, that Debbie Gibson performed there and even though I never really want to hear any of her hits ever again, in that moment my heart sank for Debbie.
I think I wound up buying some metal CD at Vintage Vinyl, in case no one cared.
This reminds me of something I encountered a few years ago. I was at a rodeo (don't ask) and they had some aspiring country singer come out to sing a few songs. She started singing the Berlin song "Take My Breath Away", and this young girl, probably 10 years old, turns to her friend and says "She's singing that Jessica Simpson song!"
Fun list, Mr. Hare! You're a funny guy.
1) "Chartburn" is the name for our (mostly defunct) Billboard roundtable: http://popdose.com/category/music/chartburn/
2) Groan.
Thanks for reading!
Great post, and thanks for the flashbacks...here's my take. The Richie Havens, Stevie Wonder, and EWF way overshadowed everything on here, Wonder especially.
The Tiffany version just gives me the douche chills.
And fun fact - I was all proud when I got the CD single of the Stars of 45 12" Single, only to find that each song in the medley was it's own track on the cd, which made song shuffle ridiculous, and putting it on a mixCD for me impossible, as I couldnt turn off the "2 second between song" thing.
I went to Target today, the Beatles' CDs were basically wiped out, but i managed to get the last copy of Sgt Peppers. So Happy!
Cheers
Ernie (twostepcub)
And that Sergio cover is right out of my childhood. My parents were really into that kind of music, so I heard the original and Sergio versions growing up and, well, liked them both.
Didn't George Harrison write "Here Comes the Sun" ?
(And yes, I owned both singles on top of the album. I was a sucker for the medley craze at 11.)
I'd also never heard the Stevie Wonder cover version before - it kicks serious ass!