In the past, I've written a couple of posts about songs that samples older tracks or were covers of previous songs. You can see them below:
Samples and Covers: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/08/samples-and-covers.html
More Samples and Covers: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/06/more-samples-and-covers.html
My last post was nearly two years ago, so I thought it was time for another one! This post mostly features sampled songs (however there is a bonus cover! :)
Note: As with the previous posts, I've listed the original song first.
Carly Simon- Why
American singer-songwriter Carly Simon released the single Why back in August 1982. It was written by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards (co-founders of the band CHIC).
Why is a pop/disco style song with reggae influences. It was from the soundtrack of the film Soup for One. Although the movie didn't do so well, the single was successful, reaching Top 10 in the UK Charts and doing well throughout Europe.
The song later appeared on several of Carly's compilation albums, including Clouds in my Coffee (1995), The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does it Better (1999) and Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits (2004).
Glamma Kid- Why
In November 1999, British dancehall artist Glamma Kid (real name Iyael Lyases Tafari Constable) released the single Why, which interpolated Carly's song. (When a song is interpolated, it means that the melody has been re-recorded instead of directly sampled.)
Why was the 4th single from Glamma Kid's debut album Kidology (his only album to date), released in 2000. It was a hit in the UK, reaching No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart. The song features Glamma's rap and vocals by singers Marcelle Duprey and Rita Campbell.
This came out when I was a teenager and I really liked it. I didn't know that it was inspired by Carly Simon's song at the time. I think that Glamma's version is more of a reggae song than the original. The music video has a supernatural theme!
Isley Brothers- Between the Sheets
American soul group The Isley Brothers released the single Between the Sheets in 1983. The group was originally a trio made-up of brothers O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald, who were later joined by their brother Vernon.
They started out performing gospel music. Vernon died a few years after they formed, and the brothers continued as a trio. They later added two more members- younger brothers Ernie and Marvin and brother in law Chris Jasper. Some of the group's hits include Shout, Twist and Shout, It's Your Thing and Between the Sheets.
The Isley Brothers are currently still performing as the duo of Ronald and Ernie. Their most recent album is Make Me Say It Again, Girl, their 32nd (!!) studio album, which was released in 2022.
Between the Sheets was the title track from the brothers' 22nd album, which came out in April 1983. It was the first single, released in March 1983. The second single was Choosey Lover, which was later covered by the late Aaliyah.
Between the Sheets was composed as a response to the 1982 hit single Sexual Healing by the late Marvin Gaye. It's a sensual R'n'B song that's also classed as quiet storm (a sub-genre of R'n'B). It appeared in the video game GTA: San Andreas and I think that's actually where I first heard it!
This is the official audio.
Note: I may feature both versions of Chosey Lover in the future, but you can find more music by Aaliyah in my More Samples and Covers post (her song One in A Million was later covered by Normani and Cardi B, for their single Wild Side).
Gwen Stefani- Luxurious
American singer Gwen Stefani (member of band No Doubt turned solo singer) sampled Between the Sheets for her song Luxurious, from her debut album Love.Angel.Music.Baby (released in November 2004).
Luxurious was the 5th single from the album and came out in October 2005. (Seems strange that it's now nearly 20 years old!) It's an R'n'B ballad, and was written by Gwen and her No Doubt bandmate (and ex-boyfriend) Tony Kanal. It's about wanting to be rich and "luxurious" in your relationship.
The track features spoken vocals in French from Gwen's then husband, British musician Gavin Rossdale (lead singer of the rock band BUSH).
The single wasn't as successful as previous ones, such as What You Waiting For? Rich Girl (which was inspired by If I Were a Rich Man from the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof) and Hollaback Girl but it's still one of my favourites from Love.Angel.Music.Baby. :)
A remix featuring American rapper Slim Thug was also released as a single. I think only a music video for the remix was made.
This is the audio.
And this is the music video for the remix. In addition to Gwen and Slim Thug, it features the Harajuku Girls, 4 Japanese and Japanese American dancers who were Gwen's back-up dancers and also accompanied her at public events during the Love.Angel.Music.Baby era. They each had stage names based on the album- "Love", "Angel", "Music" and Baby".
Crystal Waters- Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)
American singer Crystal Waters released the single Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) aka Gypsy Woman (La da dee da da) in April 1991. It was the lead single from her debut album Surprise.
Gypsy Woman got to No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was a hit abroad, becoming No. 1 on the Eurochart Hot 100 and in several countries including Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. It also reached the Top 10 here in the UK and other countries such as Ireland and Germany.
Gypsy Woman is a dance (specifically house) song and has been named one of the best dance songs of all time. The inspiration behind it was a homeless woman who Crystal saw outside a hotel in Washington D.C.
The track has often been sampled and there have been a couple of covers- Japanese singer Rumi Shishido's Japanese language version Otokonoko ga Naichau Nantee (La Da Dee), which was released in October 1991 and Es Indigente by Peruvian singer La Tigresa del Oriente (a mix of Spanish and English lyrics),which came out last November.
T.I- Why You Wanna
In April 2006 American rapper T.I. (real name Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) sampled Gypsy Woman on his single Why You Wanna. It was from his 4th studio album King. (the 2nd single to be released) which came out the month before.
The song samples a slowed down keyboard chord of Gypsy Woman. In addition, it interpolates the vocals of American rapper Q-tip from both his 1997 single Got 'Til It's Gone with Janet Jackson and Joni Mitchell (which itself samples Joni's 1970 single Big Yellow Taxi), and Find a Way with his group A Tribe Called Quest.
I used to really like this song and bought it on iTunes. I still like it now.
Nick Brewer feat. Bibi Bourelly
Then in July 2015, British rapper Nick Brewer sampled the song for his single Talk to Me featuring German singer Bibi Bourelly. It's a grime/rap and dance track and was co-written by Nick and Bibi.
Talk To Me was quite popular and got to No. 19 in the UK Single Charts. I liked it at the time and featured it in a New Music/Videos post in August 2015. After that I forgot what it was called, but eventually found it again last year (and remembered that I'd shared it on the blog)!
Katy Perry feat. Doechii- I'M HIS, HE'S MINE
And then more recently, American singer Katy Perry also sampled Gypsy Woman for her single I'M HIS, HE'S MINE featuring American rapper Doechii. It was the 3rd single from Katy's 7th studio album 143 and was released last September.
I featured the video in my New Music Releases last October. See it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/10/new-music-releases.html
Montell Jordan- This Is How We Do It
And finally, here is a cover! This Is How We Do It was the debut single by American singer Montell Jordan, released in February 1995. It was the lead single from his debut album, also called This Is How We Do It, which came out in April 1995.
The single was the first release on the American record label Def Jam and is considered Montell's signature song. As with some of the other songs featured here, it also samples another track- it contains a drumbeat sample of Children's Story by British/American rapper Slick Rick (which itself took inspiration from Nautilus by American musician and record producer Bob James).
This Is How We Do It is a tribute to Soul Central Los Angeles' party culture and is a hip hop, new jack swing and R'n'B song. It was very popular upon release, reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and staying there for 7 weeks.
Mis-Teeq- This Is How We Do It
British girl group Mis-Teeq covered the song in 2002. The group debuted as a 4-piece, made-up of singers Sabrina Washington, Su-Elise Nash, Zena McNally and MC/singer Alesha Dixon. Zena left in early 2001 and was only featured on their debut single Why? (which came out in September 2000) and the girls continued as a trio.
Mis-Teeq were together for 6 years (from 1999-2005) and released two studio albums- Lickin' On Both Sides (2001) and Eye Candy (2003)- plus two compilation albums. One of their most well-known singles is Scandalous (released in 2003) which was a hit internationally, particularly in the US. Their other hits include All I Want, One Night Stand and Can't Get It Back.
Since the Mis-Teeq ladies went their separate ways, Alesha is the member who has become most well-known outside of the group, releasing solo music and being a judge on reality show Britain's Got Talent. Sabrina has also released solo music.
Mis-Teeq released This Is How We Do It as a double A-side along with Roll On in June 2002. It got to No. 7 in the UK Singles Charts. There is also a remix by music producer Rishi Rish, which appears on the special edition of the group's debut album Lickin' On Both Sides.
For the Mis-Teeq version, some of the lyrics were changed, such as " South Central does it like nobody does it", becoming "The UK does it like nobody does it" and "YNV, SCC/This is how we do it (All my homies)" becoming "L-O-N-D-ON/This is we do it (All my homies)" etc.
This is the official music video for Roll On / This Is How We Do It. (This Is How We Do It starts about 2.28 minutes in.) It has real summer vibes (a good fit for the upcoming summer)!
And here is the Rishi Rich Mayfair Edit (full song):
Hope you enjoyed the post! :) What are your fave covers and/or sampled songs?
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