Monday, November 15, 2010

Today In Oldies 11/16/2010

Golden Hits Radio and GHR-2's Everything Oldies........Oldies news first!

A Shot At The Title

All this week, Everything Oldies will play "What if?", as we spotlight songs with their original working titles.  Imagine what a different world we'd live in if the most covered song of all time were The Beatles' classic, "Scrambled Eggs".....which was the original working title of......"Yesterday".  Enjoy the stories behind the titles.....and why they changed.

  • America wanted to write a song that captured the feel of the hot, dry desert depicted in a Salvador Dali painting in a recording studio they were working in while in England.  Songwriter and band member Dewey Bunnell also wanted to wax nostalgic about his childhood rides through the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico while his father was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base.  While the original title, "Desert Song", certainly seems appropriate, it was changed to one we know and love by the time it was added to their debut album.

  • Sometimes a major music superstar can bring about a change in a song's title.  According to songwriter Sir Mack Rice, he changed the title of one of his songs based on the recommendation of Aretha Franklin.  In 1966, Wilson Pickett made Rice's song a classic, but not with its original title.  "Mustang Mama" had become..........

  • In 1988, Eric Carmen and songwriter Dean Pitchford (who had previously collaborated successfully on Mike Reno and Ann Wilson's "Almost Paradise" in 1984) were working on a song whose verses were heavy on music nostalgia, making references to several 60's classics.  The original chorus had different lyrics, and the song had a different working title.  They decided they really didn't want the song to be all nostalgia, so they changed the lyrics to the chorus and the title.  Suddenly, "Long Live Rock and Roll" became a Top 5 smash without all the nostalgia, under the name.........

Golden Hits Radio & GHR-2's Burning Question of the Day

Which act had the most Top 10 singles in the U.S. in the 80's?

Check back tomorrow @ Everything Oldies for the answer, and leave a comment here with your best guess!

Yesterday's Burning Question (and Answer) of the Day

While it sometimes doesn't hurt to "go with your gut" when recording a song, it always helps to get a second opinion on its hit potential.  Which superstar let the Ohio Players know they had a winner in "Fire"?

Answer: Stevie Wonder

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