Figures....
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Carly Simon is classic rock?
- Thread starter vchimpanzee
- Start date
It was Reagan that tried to use Born in the USA. Springsteen objected.
Well, that's the point---approving of the usage. Different artists have different relationships with their songs. For someone like a Neil Sedaka, who never tried to do anything but write hits and make money, allowing Purina to use "Calendar Girl" (they did in 1978) was probably no big deal:
But Dylan, Tom Petty, The Beatles before Michael Jackson bought their catalog---they all said no because the songs they wrote meant something specific and they didn't want to see that bent in service of a product.
Paul Simon felt that way for a long time---but he allowed one of the most personal songs he wrote ("The Only Living Boy In New York") to be used to sell Honda Accords.
It just kills me that they can't listen to the lyrics and figure out what Springsteen is really saying there.
Of course, the LAST thing any politician should ever tell a crowd is "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and look who got away with that...
Yes, Reagan used it first. He had early Alzheimer's by then and probably had no idea who Springsteen was. Trump used it later. None of them grasp the meaning of the song...
I think I mentioned this on another thread here: what if this Kate Bush thing catches on? Could other classic artists realize their work could still bring in revenue for them personally as opposed to some corporation that purchases the rights to it?
Only the songwriters have a realistic shot at serious revenue. Record sales are virtually non existent. Dylan and others took the payout because they don't see things changing. Modern English had "I Melt With You" used in a Burger King commercial. That helped spike some sales. Sure, some songs can get a second life through movies or social media. Mostly one offs without big paydays...
Now, you know that isn't what I meant! Grace Slick was the Airplane's female lead before they were famous outside of the Bay Area and a strong reason for that success! In fact, it's debatable if they would even be that successful, let alone evolve to the Jefferson Starship and later Starship, without her. She brought "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit"(both written by her brother-in-law)with her, when she joined the group and there were no hit songs before that!
Signe Anderson was born in Seattle and raised in Portland after age three.
On January 28, 2016, Signe Anderson died as did Paul Kantner! This has be right up there in coincidental deaths with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both dying on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence!
Okay, thanks! I have no idea how these things work...
Speaking of politicians using classic rock songs, Hillary Clinton had a slip-up during her NY Senate campaign when she meant to play Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" at a campaign event, but someone cued up the wrong track on the CD and played "Captain Jack" instead.
Music choices are usually staffers and strategists---they're going for a message or energy level (see Kevtronic's post above). It's rarely the candidate or elected official.
Not to mention a million 4th of July parties and parades. Yeah he was singin' bout 'Murica!"
Scarily, it may be the line about "killing the yellow man" that appeals to the "patriots" just as much as the "Borrrrrn in the USA" refrain.
I remember classic hits WDRC-FM Hartford playing that song as part of its first hour of music after resuming normal programming after 9/11. The DJ actually apologized for playing it later in the hour! I wonder whose choice it was to include it in the first place, and who brought it to her (or a higher-up's) attention after it aired.
Don't forget Sean Hannity using Martina McBride's "Independence Day" as the theme song to his radio show, and Sarah Palin using it during her Vice Presidential campaign, as if it was a song about July 4th, instead of it actually being about a woman leaving an abusive relationship.
Not only leaving, but killing the guy by burning down the house. I always had trouble with that song for that reason, although it is perhaps her most popular. She's a female artist whose fans seem to be overwhelmingly female, and at the concert of hers I covered for my paper back in the day, it was the women who were cheering the loudest at the end of that song.
For those who don't know....here's the history and meaning.
www.npr.org
What Does 'Born In The U.S.A.' Really Mean?
It's not enough to say the Bruce Springsteen hit is misunderstood. Its contrasts — between grim verses and a joyous chorus, damning facts and fierce pride — are what give it its anthemic power.
www.npr.org
Another reality check from the era—-listening to an aircheck of China Smith on KMET in February, 1975 as he includes a track from the then-current Melissa Manchester LP.
One fluke re-chart isn't going to make that much difference,
I didn't have a local AOR growing up, unless a signal from WRIF drifted in from Detroit, or later, Dayton's WVUD. When I was in Dayton for broadcasting school, I listened extensively to WVUD (owned by the University of Dayton, with jocks who were attending UD but professional sales and management). In the summer of '75, I remember such non-top 40 songs as ELO (who still were finding their place in the U.S.)'s "Boy Blue", Merry Clayton (the female voice you hear in the Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter") with "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow", Cat Stevens, "Two Fine People, as well as the more rockier tunes. "Let's Get it On" by Marvin Gaye was in the gold library. I could hear other AORs like WOXR, Oxford, OH, with more of a folk-AOR approach. That summer, WTUE flipped from Top 40 to AOR, which within a couple of years knocked WVUD out of the format.
Progressive/AORs never were airchecked and preserved the way top 40 was. It's a shame because we've missed a lot of history.
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