Rebirth: Year-end 2009 Same Song Titles

This article is a tweaked version "Year-end Fun-AT-tix and More Same Song Titles" that Blogger pulled in May because of some citation links that had been ok in late 2009. In reviewing my copy of my article, I could see Blogger's reasoning. I decided to improve the article by revising the citations, but also inserted YouTube hyperlinks to artists' videos.

Fun-AT-tix was my wordplay on phonetics, but I also used the base syllable "phon-" to talk about homophones. (I wrote about homophones in a previous article.). I wanted to use "fun@tix", but I have a feeling that Blogger/Blogspot might have an issue with the "@" sign in the article title.

Holiday Songs of Same Titles, Different Songs

The first part of this article is about homophones in year-end holiday songs and/or their lyrics. (Well, the words completely or closely approach homophones anyway.) I think a lot of songs are probably so popular and ingrained in many of us that we don't consider the possibilities of different spellings of words. I've listed some songs below for rumination.

Note: People who are poor spellers or ESLers might consider NOT looking to this article as a learning tool for correct spelling. :-)

• Santa Claws Is Cumin to Town (Sandy Claws has been done to death.)
• Gin Gull Bells
• Sy Lent Knight
• O Holey Knight (also spellable as O Wholly Knight)
• O Little Town of Beth La Hem
• A Way in a Manger
• Hark the Harold Angels Sing (The actual title makes me think of Shelly Fabares' Johnny Angel from 1962.)
• Rudolph the Red Knows Rain, Dear
• Angels We Have Herd on High
• Joy to the Whirled

One holiday song that has long mystified me for title strangeness has been Angels We Have Heard on High. The title appears ONCE in the entire song, yet "Gloria" is sung repeatedly, extendedly (glo, o-o-o-o-o, o-o-o-o-o, o-o-o-o-o, ree-yuh) and often. In talking about "Gloria", I'm now revisiting songs with same titles but are different songs--"Same Song Titles, Different Songs", an October 2009 article. In keeping with the holiday theme for now, the following songs fulfill both holiday and non-holiday categories:

Gloria

Gloria by Van Morrison/Them (1963) is actually titled rationally; there is no doubt who or what the main thought is—"Glo-ree-a. G-L-O-R-I-A, …" and on and on and on. Laura Brannigan's version (1982) has "Gloria" throughout the song, also leaving no doubt as to the topic name. As for Angels We Have Heard on High, "Gloria" gets a lot more air time than the actual song title's words. I say rename the song to Gloria and really confuse people!

Joy to the World

Joy to the World by Three Dog Night (1971) dominated the rock and roll airwaves and took over JTTW consciousness for awhile. In one Christmas special I saw many years ago, a group of elderly people were introduced to sing Joy to the World. Instead of the religious version, they launched into "JER-I-MY-AH WAS A BULL-FROG, WAS A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE, …", etc. Wish I could remember what the show was or could easily find it on YouTube. Hilarious and entertaining!

Auld Lang Syne/Same Old Lang Syne

Same Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg (1980) is a bittersweet song that actually contains a pastiche of Auld Lang Syne as delivered by most bands on New Year's Day (popularized by Guy Lombardo).

Non-holiday Songs of Same Titles, Different Songs

Candy Man/Candyman

For people who hear the song and pay less attention to whether it is one word or two, aurally, it's three sound memes—can-dee-man. The notable versions are from Roy Orbison (1961), Sammy Davis, Jr. (1972, song used in original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory), Christina Aguilera (2007), and Aqua (1997, song AKA Lollipop, not to be confused with the Chordettes' Lollipop from 1958 or Millie Small's My Boy Lollipop from 1964).

Cherish

Both the Association's version (1966) and Kool and the Gang's version (1985) are slow, with love and devotion lyrics. The Association version indicates a silent sufferer, however, contrasted to KATG's version of public pronouncements.

Sunny

Neil Sedaka (1965) and Bobby Hebb (1966) both sing of rain and pain, then of love. Two very different styles for similar themes, Neil's is very melodic and Bobby's has jazzy arrangements.

Color My World

Two songs with the same song title could hardly be more different from each other. Petula Clark's peppy, horns-laden version from 1967 contrasts with Chicago's slow, flutey version from 1970.

Fever

Peggy Lee (1958) might have the best-known version, also popularized by the McCoys (1966) and Rita Coolidge (1973). More recently, Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert separately recorded and released Lady Gaga's version.

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"Rebirth: Year-end 2009 Same Song Titles"
"Same Song Titles, Different Songs"

Same Song Titles, Different Songs

[This article originally posted to http://thewritejob.blogspot.com/2009/10/same-song-titles-different-songs.html
on October 10, 2009]

Over time, there have been well-known pop/rock songs with identical song titles but very different tunes and lyrics. I've created the following paragraph that has such song titles. If you know more than one version of each song (bolded), which version do you think of first?

Sherry and I talked on the phone today. She told me her best long jump the other day was her personal best. Within minutes of that jump, though, she had started to hurt like crazy and began crying from the pain. She then experienced an out-of-the-body sensation—viewing herself climbing a stairway to heaven. She wondered, "What's going on?" Fortunately, she recovered by the evening. During the conversation, she also mentioned her roommate Sara decided to act more like a lady and less of a tomboy, hoping to find somebody to love who might be more inclined to love her back.

"Sherry" by the Four Seasons (1963) is undergoing a revival from the current Broadway play Jersey Boys. The version by Steve Perry/Journey (1984) is actually named "Oh Sherrie", but on the radio, "Sherry" and "Sherrie" sound the same. Interestingly enough, it was difficult to find Steve's actual song's name on the web—both "Sherry" and "Sherrie" spellings appeared. The background for the song origin is at http://steveperryfanclub.homestead.com/DickClarkInterview.html.

The Pointer Sisters and Van Halen's "Jump" came out in 1984. Both songs received tremendous airplay for both radio and music videos. The Pointer Sisters' song name is "Jump (for My Love)"; however, I don't recall the entire title referenced on radio. In addition, the song as sung emphasized "jump", helping to reinforce just one word as the song title.

"Today" by the New Christy Minstrels (1960) and by the Jefferson Airplane (1966, from the Surrealistic Pillow album) sound totally different from each other yet appeal to the listener with similar sentiments of love. (Both versions are available to listen to at www.imeem.com; however, the New Christy Minstrels version requires registration—a reasonably painless process.)

Patsy Cline's "Crazy" has been well-known since 1961; maybe additionally helpful for its popularity was that Willie Nelson wrote it. Another version has been making the rounds recently, particularly in the youtube circuit—Gnarls Barkley (2006). Do a youtube search for "crazy gnarls barkley" and see video links. If you want to drive yourself more crazy, do the same search using patsy cline, then willie nelson.

"Crying" and "Cryin" sound so similar when spoken that it helps to clarify which song is which. Roy Orbison released "Crying" in 1961, and Steve Tyler/Aerosmith released "Cryin" in 1993. "Cryin" has received a recent revival on this season's American Idol. (Strangely enough, "Cryin" also appears as "Cryin'" and "Crying" in web searches.)

The Parade Magazine Personality Parade for Sunday, October 4, 2009 mentioned "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin (1971) and the O'Jays (1975)—two distinctly different songs. The title reminded me there was yet another song titled "Stairway to Heaven"; it doesn't sound like either Led Zeppelin's or O'Jays' version. Preceding the both of them, Neil Sedaka's bouncy version came out in 1960.

"What's Going On" seems to be a song in its own category of identical song/different song. "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye (1971) is well-known and has been around a long time. Another song has the words "what's going on" throughout, but is titled "What's Up", by the 4 Non Blondes (1993).

Four songs that name Sara—three of which are identical titles—are noteworthy: "Sara" by Fleetwood Mac (1975), "Sara" by Bob Dylan (1975), "Sara Smile" by Hall and Oates (1975), and "Sara" by the Jefferson Starship (1985). Of interest is that three of these songs came out in 1975, and none of four songs are spelled "Sarah".

Three different songs titled "Lady" have been hits—by Styx (1973, 1975), Kenny Rogers (1980), and Lionel Richie/Commodores (1981).

This year, "Somebody to Love" recently bubbled to the surface on TV. In the spring on American Idol, there was a mention of Queen (1976) and Jefferson Starship (1966) versions. In September, the TV show Glee broadcast the ensemble singing the Queen version.

Note: I have accompanied each song title with its release year in parentheses as spotted in google search summary results and/or web pages. Another source has been http://swisscharts.com.

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"Rebirth: Year-end 2009 Same Song Titles"
"Same Song Titles, Different Songs"