Know your roots.
September 13, 2010 8:28 AM Subscribe
What songs from the "classic rock" (late 60's to early 80's) era are directly inspired by or are re-treatments of songs from the "oldies" (50's to mid 60's) era? Specific examples if you could. Some examples of mine inside.
For instance, the rolling triplet piano feel of The Beatles' "Oh, Darling" is inspired by songs like "Blueberry Hill."
Zepplin's "D'yer Mak'er" has a 50's I-vi-IV-V chord progression straight out of every Doo-Wop song ever.
Got any more for me? Thanks in advance!
For instance, the rolling triplet piano feel of The Beatles' "Oh, Darling" is inspired by songs like "Blueberry Hill."
Zepplin's "D'yer Mak'er" has a 50's I-vi-IV-V chord progression straight out of every Doo-Wop song ever.
Got any more for me? Thanks in advance!
A whole lot of Beatles stuff arguably meets these criteria, but I'd point specifically to the section of "Happiness is a Warm Gun" that begins about 1:35 into the song with the aforementioned doo-wop progression. "Don't Let Me Down," released in 1969, also feels like an early RnB throwback.
posted by JohnMarston at 8:44 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by JohnMarston at 8:44 AM on September 13, 2010
Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" emerged from a jam on Little Richard's "Keep a Knockin'". Jimmy Page said:
The riff and the sequence was really immediate to those 12-bar patterns you had in those old rock songs...
posted by Joe Beese at 8:44 AM on September 13, 2010
The riff and the sequence was really immediate to those 12-bar patterns you had in those old rock songs...
posted by Joe Beese at 8:44 AM on September 13, 2010
Response by poster: John Cohen: do know where to find that thread? I looked but no luck. Thanks!
posted by sourwookie at 8:49 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by sourwookie at 8:49 AM on September 13, 2010
I think you'll find a lot of Zeppelin songs do this ... "Hot Dog" comes to mind, a rockabilly riff thing with Elvis-ish vocals.
posted by jbickers at 8:55 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by jbickers at 8:55 AM on September 13, 2010
Progressions alone can be tricky. The same descending four-chord structure appears in everything from Del Shannon's "Runaway" to Zager and Evans' "In the Year 2525" to Eurthymics' "Sweet Dreams." It doesn't mean the songs are inspiring each other.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:05 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:05 AM on September 13, 2010
I'm not sure I understand the question. The way I read it, pretty much every non-avant-garde song since the first one ever written qualifies since everyone is influenced by music they've heard.
Are you asking about intentional throwbacks, like Mayer Hawthorne doing 60's soul? Or more like direct lineages, like Jerry Lee Lewis -> Lee Michaels?
posted by cmoj at 9:06 AM on September 13, 2010
Are you asking about intentional throwbacks, like Mayer Hawthorne doing 60's soul? Or more like direct lineages, like Jerry Lee Lewis -> Lee Michaels?
posted by cmoj at 9:06 AM on September 13, 2010
I'm not really a fan, but my housemate's always going on about Neil Young's weird rockabilly album and how it got him both dropped from and sued by his record label.
posted by Ted Maul at 9:10 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by Ted Maul at 9:10 AM on September 13, 2010
The I vi IV V progression mentioned in the question is a widely-recognized cliche of 50s pop/doo-wop music. Of course not every example of those four chords in that order is a reference to that musical genre/era -- a lot of the sound is dependent on rhythm and arrangement. But there are also many examples that are obvious throwbacks, and those would be what this question is looking for.
And if you don't understand the question, it might be more helpful to not answer.
posted by JohnMarston at 9:13 AM on September 13, 2010
And if you don't understand the question, it might be more helpful to not answer.
posted by JohnMarston at 9:13 AM on September 13, 2010
I think Billy Joel did a bit of this in the late 70's/early 80's with Only the Good Die Young and the Longest Time being (I think) the strongest examples.
posted by smirkette at 9:14 AM on September 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by smirkette at 9:14 AM on September 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
Ted Maul: "I'm not really a fan, but my housemate's always going on about Neil Young's weird rockabilly album and how it got him both dropped from and sued by his record label."
I saw the tour for this album. Played with Elvis Costello. Wasn't very Neil like, but it was damn good rock. Pissed off the folks who came expecting vintage Neil.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:14 AM on September 13, 2010
I saw the tour for this album. Played with Elvis Costello. Wasn't very Neil like, but it was damn good rock. Pissed off the folks who came expecting vintage Neil.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:14 AM on September 13, 2010
Van Halen's Oh Pretty Woman, Gloria by The Doors.
posted by magnoliasouth at 9:18 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by magnoliasouth at 9:18 AM on September 13, 2010
Oh and if you were wondering about the before stuff...
Pretty Woman was first done by Roy Orbison, who also co-wrote it.
Gloria was first done by a band called Them, but was remade into a Van Morrison song that made it popular.
posted by magnoliasouth at 9:21 AM on September 13, 2010
Pretty Woman was first done by Roy Orbison, who also co-wrote it.
Gloria was first done by a band called Them, but was remade into a Van Morrison song that made it popular.
posted by magnoliasouth at 9:21 AM on September 13, 2010
Mari Wilson - her biggest hit "Just What I Always Wanted" sounds like 1966 and 1982 making sweet love in the back seat of a DeLorean. The album Showpeople is completely brilliant. Tracey Ullman's handful of early '80s hits have some of that flavor as well. (Miss you, Kirsty.) If these aren't 'classic rock' enough go directly to Cruising With Ruben & The Jets by Frank Zappa.
I also really enjoy that crazy-ass 'Neil Young & The Shocking Pinks' record. Check it out.
posted by mintcake! at 9:32 AM on September 13, 2010
I also really enjoy that crazy-ass 'Neil Young & The Shocking Pinks' record. Check it out.
posted by mintcake! at 9:32 AM on September 13, 2010
Everything Huey Lewis & the News did?
posted by AugieAugustus at 9:35 AM on September 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by AugieAugustus at 9:35 AM on September 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
Heartache Avenue by the Maisonettes - it's 1960s soul with 1980s synths. Very like mintcake!#s examples.
The Smiths were heavily influenced by Johnny Ray, but it's hard to pick up on that in their songs.
There's also the rockabilly revival stuff - Stray Cats, Billy Idol etc.
posted by mippy at 9:39 AM on September 13, 2010
The Smiths were heavily influenced by Johnny Ray, but it's hard to pick up on that in their songs.
There's also the rockabilly revival stuff - Stray Cats, Billy Idol etc.
posted by mippy at 9:39 AM on September 13, 2010
http://ask.metafilter.com/164707/Songs-that-channel-other-artists
posted by John Cohen at 9:40 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by John Cohen at 9:40 AM on September 13, 2010
I wouldn't call the Smiths classic rock, though since mippy mentioned them, I'll add that the Smiths' "Rusholme Ruffians" was directly inspired (musically, at least) by Elvis's "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame".
posted by lisa g at 9:47 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by lisa g at 9:47 AM on September 13, 2010
There's also the rockabilly revival stuff
That's a good point. I remember thinking The Rockats were pretty good.
posted by mintcake! at 9:48 AM on September 13, 2010
That's a good point. I remember thinking The Rockats were pretty good.
posted by mintcake! at 9:48 AM on September 13, 2010
The Smiths are played on classic rock stations now; they've become part of the canon. I'm only a few months older than their first single. But possibly at the top end of what the OP is looking for.
Rusholme Ruffians is also influenced by a Victoria Wood song, who herself is heavily influenced by music hall.
posted by mippy at 10:05 AM on September 13, 2010
Rusholme Ruffians is also influenced by a Victoria Wood song, who herself is heavily influenced by music hall.
posted by mippy at 10:05 AM on September 13, 2010
@magnoliasouth - Van Morrison was the singer in Them - the classic version of "Gloria" commonly attributed to Van is indeed the Them version of it.
As far as other suggestions go, covers - intentional or otherwise - are numerous. Black Crowes' "Hard to Handle" and George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" are two that come to mind right away.
posted by caminovereda at 10:16 AM on September 13, 2010
As far as other suggestions go, covers - intentional or otherwise - are numerous. Black Crowes' "Hard to Handle" and George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" are two that come to mind right away.
posted by caminovereda at 10:16 AM on September 13, 2010
Jackson Browne's The Loadout includes Stay by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs.
posted by Ideefixe at 10:35 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by Ideefixe at 10:35 AM on September 13, 2010
I read recently (can't recall where) that Paul McCartney wrote "Lady Madonna" directly inspired by Fats Domino songs like "Blueberry Hill" and "I'm Walking," down to imitating Fats's voice. A great deal of the music on the post-Pepper albums (not to mention the tunes on the solo albums of all four in the 1970s) is unconcealed homage to 1950s doo-wop and R&B, and probably music hall/skiffle/etc. too.
I had no idea that The Smiths were influenced by music hall and Johnny Ray, although obviously there is a lot of love for the 1950s in their sound and the album art and their allusions.
posted by blucevalo at 10:38 AM on September 13, 2010
I had no idea that The Smiths were influenced by music hall and Johnny Ray, although obviously there is a lot of love for the 1950s in their sound and the album art and their allusions.
posted by blucevalo at 10:38 AM on September 13, 2010
Best answer: Both Zepp and The Stones were famous/notorious for plundering Chicago and Memphis blues. American punk bands like The Ramones and The Cramps were also covering and building off of earlier work.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 10:53 AM on September 13, 2010
posted by KirkJobSluder at 10:53 AM on September 13, 2010
Shakin' Stevens built a whole career out of this.
The Darts updated the classic Doo-Wop sound to the late 70s.
What about The Specials and The English Beat and the whole Ska revival?
Most mid-60s British Invasion type bands started off as Blues/early R&B/Rock'n'Roll cover bands - The Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, Spencer Davis Group, The Who. Is this what you mean?
posted by The Discredited Ape at 10:57 AM on September 13, 2010
The Darts updated the classic Doo-Wop sound to the late 70s.
What about The Specials and The English Beat and the whole Ska revival?
Most mid-60s British Invasion type bands started off as Blues/early R&B/Rock'n'Roll cover bands - The Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, Spencer Davis Group, The Who. Is this what you mean?
posted by The Discredited Ape at 10:57 AM on September 13, 2010
Queen's Bring Back That Leroy Brown, Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy and Killer Queen go further back, being early 70s pastiches of 20s-40s era big band vocal jazz.
But really, as cmoj says, this is such a broad question as to be almost pointless - you're (partially, given your limits) asking which late 60s rock songs are inspired by mid-60s (and earlier) songs? Pretty much all of them.
posted by The Discredited Ape at 11:19 AM on September 13, 2010
But really, as cmoj says, this is such a broad question as to be almost pointless - you're (partially, given your limits) asking which late 60s rock songs are inspired by mid-60s (and earlier) songs? Pretty much all of them.
posted by The Discredited Ape at 11:19 AM on September 13, 2010
Best answer: - "My Sweet Lord" got George Harrison sued because it was was too close to "He's So Fine".
- "Joe's Garage" by Zapa uses do-wop style vocals, they also make fun of heavy metal in "Why Does it Hurt When I Pee".
- "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John had doo-wop backing and falsetto "La La La" vocal over the chorus
- "Load Out/Stay" by Jackson Browne incorporates "Stay" and includes him singing it in falsetto.
-"Drive In Saturday" by David Bowie also has b acking doo-wop.
posted by doctor_negative at 11:32 AM on September 13, 2010
- "Joe's Garage" by Zapa uses do-wop style vocals, they also make fun of heavy metal in "Why Does it Hurt When I Pee".
- "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John had doo-wop backing and falsetto "La La La" vocal over the chorus
- "Load Out/Stay" by Jackson Browne incorporates "Stay" and includes him singing it in falsetto.
-"Drive In Saturday" by David Bowie also has b acking doo-wop.
posted by doctor_negative at 11:32 AM on September 13, 2010
U2, "Angel of Harlem" (1987).
John Mellencamp, "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60's Rock)" (1985).
posted by kirkaracha at 11:37 AM on September 13, 2010
John Mellencamp, "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60's Rock)" (1985).
posted by kirkaracha at 11:37 AM on September 13, 2010
Re: The Cramps. I have the first three volumes of Born Bad compilations on vinyl. They are truly fantastic in every sense of the word.
posted by ouke at 1:26 PM on September 13, 2010
posted by ouke at 1:26 PM on September 13, 2010
What about the Clash song Wrong 'Em Boyo off London Calling? It was based on Stagger Lee, a folk/blues murder ballad standard, which has been recorded by a multitude of artists.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:00 PM on September 13, 2010
posted by Mael Oui at 8:00 PM on September 13, 2010
Patti Smith - Gloria and My Generation
(sidenote: Them was actually fronted by Van Morrison.)
Lots of stuff by The Animals -- House of the Rising Sun, obviously, but most of their early stuff is in this exact same vein (heavily Ray Charles/John Lee Hooker/Bo Diddley/Chuck Berry-inspired or directly covered.) "Story of Bo Diddley" is so meta-Bo Diddley it almost hurts.
posted by Ouisch at 6:25 PM on September 15, 2010
(sidenote: Them was actually fronted by Van Morrison.)
Lots of stuff by The Animals -- House of the Rising Sun, obviously, but most of their early stuff is in this exact same vein (heavily Ray Charles/John Lee Hooker/Bo Diddley/Chuck Berry-inspired or directly covered.) "Story of Bo Diddley" is so meta-Bo Diddley it almost hurts.
posted by Ouisch at 6:25 PM on September 15, 2010
« Older Hosted Microsoft Windows Server 2003 in Brazil? | Counting Up to a set number with an Image?? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by John Cohen at 8:43 AM on September 13, 2010