1. Who made the original recording of “Needles & Pins”?
2. Who wrote it?
3. Name a song written by Goffin & King that has been recorded by Amy Winehouse.
4. Gene Pitney had a hit with a song written by Jagger & Richard under a pseudonym. Name the pseudonym.
5. Who sang vocals in the background on that record?
6. At the time Carl Perkins released “Blue Suede Shoes”, there was a serious, but bizarre cover version. Who by?
7. Which recording artist was originally advertised by his record company as “The Screamin’ End”?
8. Which M-O-R recording artist was billed by his record company as “The Latest Rock ‘n’ Roll star, largely because they had no R & R singers on their roster?
9. Which act did Decca take on when they rejected The Beatles?
10. And which act did EMI reject when they signed The Beatles?
Day: November 4, 2010
Speaking melodies
I’ve been thinking lately about songs in which the melody says something that words don’t or can’t. In Dear Old Southland (here by Louis Armstrong), somewhere in the middle of a jaunty tune the song breaks into a melody reminiscent of Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, which seems to express conflicting sentiments about the American south. Blind Willie McTell plays a version of Amazing Grace that feels almost like a protest. In Mississippi John Hurt’s Talking Casey Jones, the guitar fills in the speaking parts. And then, of course, we have Jimi Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner.
Can you think of any songs where the melody seems to express some different meaning to the rest of the song, either as a subtle protest, or for some other reason?
Songs with false endings
I was listening to the new song from the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, and whilst i was enjoying its retro indie twee rockness and lyrics like “you were the miss in the mistake”, the false ending completely suckered me in!
I then began to wonder if there are any other songs with good false endings, false starts, or false bottoms, that you lovely ‘Spillers can bring to mind?
The 'Spill 