Sorry the 2nd post is later this week; I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday. :)
Something a bit different today! In the music world songs often get "recycled" or certain music inspires new songs. I think it's cool how music is interpreted in a new way. Here are a few songs I like that are covers, or sampled older songs. In most cases I hadn't heard the original before the newer one, so it was good to discover something new. :)
Note: I've listed the original songs first, apart from Sugababes' single, which sampled more than one.
Summer Madness by Kool & The Gang
The instrumental Summer Madness by American soul/jazz/disco band Kool & the Gang is a very popular song for sampling! It was on their 1974 album Light of Worlds and released in 1975 as a B-side to the single Spirit of the Boogie. It's been called one of the most sampled R'n'B compositions of all time and according to Wikipedia, it was estimated to have been sampled 145 times as of 2018!
Summer Madness has also been featured in several films and in the PS2 game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (where I first heard it). It's good for listening to on the radio while driving along! Below are a few songs I like that sampled it.
DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince- Summertime
Back in 1991, DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jeffrey Allen Townes) and the Fresh Prince aka Will Smith sampled Summer Madness for their hit single Summertime. It was released in May and will remind many people of summers in their childhood and teen years!
This was No. 2 in my Top 10 Summer Songs post from 2016: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/08/top-10-summer-songs.html
And here's a direct link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr0tTbTbmVA
Aaliyah feat. Treach- A Girl Like You
Aaliyah ( full name Aaliyah Houghton), who sadly died in 2001) used Summer Madness as a background for her song A Girl Like You. It features rapper Treach and appeared on Aaliyah's 1996 album One in A Million.
The song starts about 30 seconds in.
Tinashe- Wrong
American singer Tinashe also sampled the track for Wrong (produced by Canadian record producer and DJ Ryan Hemsworth), which is on her 2015 mixtape Amethyst. I featured it in my recent More Chillout Songs post: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/06/more-chillout-songs.html
Or listen to the audio directly here rather than scrolling down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b30Cnycixs8
Mila J- Kickin' Back
American singer and rapper Mila J sampled the song for her single Kickin' Back, released in July 2016. It's from her EP 213. I featured it as Weekly Music Video in 2016: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/07/weekly-music-video_13.html
Jhené Aiko- Summer 2020
Last summer Mila J's sister Jhené Aiko also used the instrumental for her July single Summer 2020 (one of my fave songs of last year!). It was a Weekly Music Video and I also included it in the More Chillout Songs post. Watch the video here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/07/weekly-music-video_22.html
What You Won't Do For Love by Bobby Caldwell
What You Won't Do for Love was a hit for American singer Bobby Caldwell back in September 1978. It was the lead single from his self-titled debut album. Check out some songs inspired by it.
2Pac feat. Eric Williams- Do For Love
The late rapper Tupac Shakur aka 2Pac (who was sadly murdered in a shooting in 1996) used the song for his own version, which was originally titled Sucka 4 Love. It was released as Do 4 Love after his death, in February 1998 with an animated video. It features Eric Williams of the group Blackstreet.
I really liked this song (still do!). I had it on CD.
Jessie Ware- What You Won't Do for Love
British singer Jessie Ware covered this in 2013. It's on her album Devotion- The Gold Edition (the deluxe version of 2012's Devotion). Jessie and Bobby later collaborated on the 2015 song Break Away with Jack Splash.
This is a nice, chilled version with Jessie's own spin.
Tatyana Ali feat. Will Smith- Boy You Knock Me Out (Summer Madness/What You Won't Do For Love)
Actress Tatyana Ali (best known for playing Will Smith's younger cousin Ashley in the 90s TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) launched her music career in 1998 with the album Kiss The Sky. Boy You Knock Me Out was the 2nd single from the album, released in March 1999. It was a Top 10 song on the Billboard 100 chart and also a hit single here in the UK.
Boy You Knock Me Out samples both Summer Madness and Bobby Caldwell's What You Won't Do For Love
(see above). In the case of What You Won't Do For Love, the hook rift is used.
I recognised the sample from that song but didn't realise that it also
samples Summer Madness! Now listening to it, I can hear both of them. Will also
references his own song Summertime in the rap - "Here it is, a groove
slightly transformed again, but with a Tatyana Ali spin".
The album version of BYKMO doesn't feature Will, but the single version does. That version later appeared on the European reissue of Kiss The Sky. This song gives me real nostalgic vibes!
Update 19/11/21: I realised I hadn't posted the video here! I normally double check my posts later. Never mind, here it is. :)
Sugababes- Freak Like Me (Adina Howard cover/Are 'Friends Electric'? sample)
In April 2002 British girl group Sugababes released Freak Like Me, one of their most popular singles. A classic song, from my favourite Sugababes era! It was produced by Richard X and is a cover of American singer Adina Howard's Freak Like Me. It also samples the song Are Friends Electric? by British group Tubeway Army, led by Gary Numan. The mashup makes for an interesting song and I think it works well!
I featured it in my 4 Incarnations of Sugababes post (2001-2005): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2015/02/4-incarnations-of-sugababes.html
Or watch the video directly here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGSajAGg9h4&t=10s
Freak Like Me by Adina Howard
Freak Like Me was Adina's debut single back in January 1995, the first from her debut album Do You Wanna Ride? It's one of her most successful singles. In turn Freak Like Me samples earlier songs- the drum beat from Sly & The Family Stone's Sing a Simple Song and Bootsy's Rubber Band's I'd Rather Be With You.
This has a more sexually explicit vibe than the cover! I hadn't heard it prior to learning it inspired the Sugababes one.
Are 'Friends' Electric? by Tubeway Army and Gary Numan
Are 'Friends' Electric? was released as a single in May 1979 by punk band Tubeway Army and was No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. It was the last single the band released before they split. Lead singer Gary went on to pursue a solo career, but the other band members were his backing singers.
Bit of an unusual song! It's about a robot prostitute!! This was actually two songs combined. I hadn't heard of this either, before reading that it was sampled for Sugababes' Freak Like Me.
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