Sunday, April 17, 2016
You Don't Own Me! Grace and Leslie Gore
Almost 70 years ago to the day, Lesley Sue Goldstein was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. When she was just a junior in High School, using the stage name of Leslie Gore, she reached the top spot of the music charts with her first song, "It's My Party." After a few more hits, Leslie Gore was offered a proto-femenist song called, "You Don't Own Me." Leslie recorded the song when she was 17. In February 1964, the song shot to the top of the pops, stalling at number 2, being blocked from the #1 spot by The Beatles song, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."
"Don't tell me what to do! Don't tell me what to say! And please, when I go out with you, don't put me on display!"
"'Cause you don't own me; don't try to change me in any way! You don't own me; don't tie me down 'cause I'd never stay!"
"I'm young, and I love to be young; I'm free and I love to be free! To live my life the way that I want; to say and do whatever I please!"
The music is in 3/4 time, a waltz basically. Instrumentation is strings with bass and drums, with lots of reverb. Leslie Gore's vocals float above the music. She has a wistful singing style in parts of this song, but she sounds strong, determined and self confident in other parts.
The producer of this record was none other than the well known music man, Quincy Jones! Quincy Jones is known for having worked with many famous musical names, from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson. Quincy Jones must have had this song in his mind for many many years, because last year, he worked with another young female singer to remake it! But first, here is the original song, You Don't Own Me, by Leslie Gore.
If you were not familiar with the original version, having only heard the new remake that is out today, you may be surprised to hear how closely the remake tracks the original. One possible reason for that is... Both songs were recorded and produced under the musical supervision of Quincy Jones! Leslie Gore passed away last year, and when Quincy Jones heard Australian singer Grace's voice, he felt that she should record a new version of "You Don't Own Me" as a tribute to Leslie Gore.
Grace Sewell is a young Australian singer who grew up listening to music from the 1960s. In 2015, at the age of 17, she began to record tracks with Quincy Jones. One was this remake of "You Don't Own Me," and it was released in March and the video came out in June. The song immediately shot to the top of the Australian charts. But it only began to hit in America after Grace began to promote her upcoming EP in early 2016, including an appearance in January 2016 on Live with Kelly and Michael, where she sang You Don't Own Me, almost identical to the original, without the rap parts in the radio version.
Currently, the official video for the Grace cover of You Don't Own Me has 30 MILLION views! The song is in the top 30 on the American charts, surely destined to become a major hit, and a great debut for Grace! Here now, is the new cover of You Don't Own Me, originally by Leslie Gore, now by Grace, featuring G-Eazy.
Labels: 1960s, Grace, Grace Sewell, Leslie Gore, music, music video, oldies, pop, Quincy Jones, rap, remake, You Don't Own Me
posted by KennyCrane at
4/17/2016 06:16:00 AM
1 Comments
Thursday, January 22, 2015
What I Like About You - Then and Now
One of the coolest dance tunes of the 80s is back on the radio! "What I Like About You" was originally recorded by The Romantics, and has been recently covered by Five Seconds Of Summer. Here are both videos along with some trivia about the song!
The Romantics are a Rock / New Wave band from Detroit. They called themselves The Romantics because they started the band on Valentine's Day. Although this song became a staple of dance clubs in the 80's, it was recorded as a single in 1979. The lead singer of this song is the band's drummer, which is quite rare. Although the song is strongly guitar driven with massive power chords, the middle break features a harmonica, much like early Beatles songs like Love Me Do. Although some think the lyrics are "Keep on whispering in my ear" the actual lyrics are "Phone whispering in my ear". Before that, the words are, "Tell me I'm the only one, wanna come over tonight." She is not with him at the time, she is telling him this on the phone, apparently in a whisper. Further evidence appears in a very similar sounding song from the same album - The Romantics self titled first album. This other song is titled, "When I Look In Your Eyes" (video here) in which we find the lyrics, "When I get you alone, its so much different from the telephone" at the 1:34 mark.
Here is the official video for What I Like About You, on TheRomanticsVEVO channel. Get up and dance!
What I Like About You was huge at Rock Dance Clubs but never a big radio hit when it came out in the US. However, it went to #2 on the charts in Australia. Now, the Australian band Five Seconds Of Summer has covered the song What I Like About You, and it is a fairly big hit on the radio. The band, also known as 5SOS, is in competition with One Direction for young fans, especially girls, but they rock a bit harder than One Direction. 5SOS sing the lyric "Keep on whispering in my ear" which is incorrect as stated above. But it is not uncommon to change some lyrics when covering a song.
Check out the new pop rock version of The Romantics classic dance rock hit. Listen for the different lyric and the middle guitar break. Dance dance dance!
Still in the mood to DANCE? New Year's resolution says you will excersize more and get in shape? Check out dancer Heather Vaughn as she shows you how to dance, Gangnam style! Almost 60 thousand subscribers love JellyBeanNose as she calls herself on YouTube, and this video has over 600 thousand views!
Go To Our Article on JellyBeanNose, Hey Sexy Lady!
Labels: 5 Seconds Of Summer, 5SOS, 80s, dance, Five Seconds Of Summer, JellyBeanNose, New Wave, pop, Rock, The Romantics, What I Like About You
posted by KennyCrane at
1/22/2015 12:12:00 AM
0 Comments
Monday, September 01, 2014
Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass
Could this be the big summer song of 2014? I can't think of another huge hit this summer, other than "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift which I wrote about recently. It's very late in the summer, but Meghan Trainor is hitting BIG right now with her catchy throwback pop tune, "All About That Bass". Take Amy Winehouse's hit "Rehab", add some Robin Thicke "Blurred Lines" and a dash of Betty Everett's "Shoop Shoop Song" and stir in a healthy helping of Ringo Starr's "No-No Song" and you have a musical brew that could produce That Bass if shaken And stirred.
Aside from the musical nod to 60s girl groups, "All About That Bass" has a slight edge in the vein of Nicki Minaj's Anaconda which itself references "Baby Got Back". It's been one year since Miley Cyrus twerked at the MTV Video Music Awards, but apparently people are still obsessed with butts. Meghan Trainor is seemingly within a normal healthy weight range but she is not a size two and is fine with that. While standing up for girls and women who some might consider plus sized, she describes the advantages of having a bigger booty. However, she does mention "Skinny bitches" and perhaps thin people are equally capable of realizing their advantages and being happy with that. Whatever body size you are genetically predisposed to, it might be good to strive to be happy with yourself.
Ultimately, perhaps it is wise to consider that maybe Perfection Does Not Exist and rather than compare oneself to a perceived societal norm, energy is better spent on becoming comfortable in one's own skin and trying to be the best one can be - physically, mentally and spiritually. One way to be happy with your body is to move it! Why not get up and dance along to this video! The beat is there and you can copy some of the moves as you watch. After all, this is a summer hit, and summer is all about having fun, so stay calm and keep on dancing!
Labels: 1960s, 1970s, 60s, 70s, bass, booty, Meghan Trainor, MeghanTrainorVEVO, music, pop, summer song
posted by KennyCrane at
9/01/2014 01:05:00 AM
0 Comments
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Gangnam Style YouTube Videos
You've seen it on YouTube, you've seen it on the Evening News, now see it on YouTubeStars! Its time for some Gangnam Style videos! This K-Pop dance song from Korean pop star PSY is approaching 300 Million Views on YouTube. It reminds me of a generic LMFAO song, some kind of cross between Party Rock Anthem and I'm Sexy And I Know It. The video features lots of dancing with plenty of hip swirling and "Ride 'em Cowboy" motions. Random is the key word here; you never know what will appear in the next scene. There is a guy thrusting above a man on the floor in an elevator. There's PSY on the toilet. There's dancing in the streets, as expected, but also party bus action.
Here's the official Gangnam Style video, bt PSY. Watch it and learn the dance. You'll be a hit at the next wedding you attend. :P
A video like this was bound to spawn a thousand variations and parodies. There is this Western parody, where they are ready to whip some ass, Gangnam Style. There are several girls in bikinis dancing on the beach which probably accounts for more of the 3 Million views than the cheesy fight scenes. Erica Law is the girl in the white bikini.
Of course there is a sped up version of the Gangnam Style song! There always is. Someone, or typically several someones, do a chipmuck version of pop songs. This one is pretty cool, and the song actually rocks harder at a faster tempo. The dance moves are there from the original, as well as the funnier random scenes. Due to the rev up, the video clocks in under 2 minutes, which may be fine for those tired of the tune already! Pretty girls and goofy situations make for a nice parody with nearly a million views.
What are people saying about this video? Like any pop tune, the reaction is all over the place. Love, hate, amusement, SMH, and W/E. The Fine Brothers make a series of "Teens React" videos. Here is their take on Gangnam Style. This cross section of teens watch the video then answer questions posed to them by the behind-the-scenes narrator. Rapid but interesting analysis from the target demographic. Watch and see which people in this video you agree with.
Labels: dance, Gangnam Style, K-Pop, music, pop, PSY
posted by KennyCrane at
9/25/2012 04:54:00 AM
0 Comments
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