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Last month, singer Ed Sheeran went on trial, accused of stealing parts of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in one of his songs. He was found not guilty of the charge and was relieved to go home, the incident all but forgotten.
But as we know, sometimes there does seem to be either conscious or unconscious "borrowing" of certain notes and melodies in songs and this week I came across a tune I hadn't heard that often. It was a record played on an oldies show by a Los Angeles band called The Parade. They had a Top 20 hit on Billboard in 1967 with a song called "Sunshine Girl."
But the tune in question was one that instantly caught my attention because of its name - "The Radio Song." If this thing was a hit, it was in the minor reaches of the Top 40, hitting only #127 on Billboard.
It's an OK song, I guess, but as I listened to it, I couldn't help but get the feeling I'd heard it before somewhere else, and the chorus sounded suspiciously like another bit of music. I just couldn't quite put my finger on which one.
At first I thought it was "I Got Rhythm." But that didn't seem quite right. How about "I Can Hear Music" by the Beach Boys? There are flashes of that in there, but that's not the right one, either, although it was originally released by The Ronettes in 1966, so it fits the time frame.
Finally, after about three listens, it hit me. And it's so obvious to me now, I can't understand how I didn't hear it right away. I won't post my guess until later, so as not to prejudice you. But if you're interested, play the tune below and see if you can figure out what it sounds like to you.
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Similar to parts of “I’ve Got Rythm “ , a Gershwin tune covered by The Happenings in the later 1960’s (?).
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I heard that, too, but my impression after a few listens was the part where they say "I hear music" in the chorus that it sounds almost exactly like "When Will I Be Loved" by the Everly Brothers (and later by Linda Ronstadt.)
Maybe it's just me, but once that comparison was in my head, I couldn't hear it any other way. (Although as some here will tell you, there's not much else in my head to begin with, so there's that!)
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Sounds like "This Door Swings Both Ways" by Herman's Hermits (1966).
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Am a fan of Sunshine Girl by the Parade. Their leader Jerry Riopelle had a solo career and wrote songs for a few big artists in the 70's. In the Radio Song I hear "I can Hear Music." They must have heard the Ronettes version as the Beach Boys version had not been released yet. Jerry Riopelle was a session musician for Phil Spector but Spector did not produce the Ronettes version of "Music." The BB's version however gave the song a "wall of sound" which was produced by Carl and not Brian Wilson.
One song where I do hear the BB's version of "I can Hear Music" is at the end of American Music by The Violent Femmes:
Last edited by Fitz (May 14, 2023 10:47 pm)
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RadioActive wrote:
I heard that, too, but my impression after a few listens was the part where they say "I hear music" in the chorus that it sounds almost exactly like "When Will I Be Loved" by the Everly Brothers (and later by Linda Ronstadt.)
Maybe it's just me, but once that comparison was in my head, I couldn't hear it any other way. (Although as some here will tell you, there's not much else in my head to begin with, so there's that!)
It reminded me more of "I Can Hear Music" ... I could also see why you thought of "When Will I Be Loved", but I'm not sure I could have come up with that if I hadn't seen your comment. Interesting song.
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There's not much similarity, beyond the song title, but what a great excuse to post this incredible partnership between Wolfman jack and Joe Walsh.
P.S. Who knew that Joe Walsh could play drums?