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Archive for the ‘Elvis Lyrics’ Category

Actually, he’s much more than just the Piano Man! So I mean no disrespect to Billy Joel when I say he isn’t the Piano Man, because he certainly is the original. I just wanted to draw attention to several aspects and talents of Billy Joel, besides just being known as The Piano Man. Of course it is due to Billy Joel’s enormous piano talent and his signature song “Piano Man” the reason he is called the piano man. With a musical career spanning over five decades, Billy Joel has established himself among the great musicians and pianists in history.

Billy Joel has enjoyed a semi-retirement since 1993, but to this day, he continues to tour and perform in front of sold out crowds full of fans of all ages. I guess a true musician and performer never really gets the need to perform out of their system, and rightfully so. I hope Billy Joel continues performing and writing lyrics forever. As I said already, other than being the original piano man, Billy Joel is a singer and very talented songwriter, in fact, he was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame in 1992 for the song lyrics he has written, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1999 for his legendary performances.

Billy Joel was born in Bronx, New York in 1949, and by the young age of 14 he joined his first band, so he started his musical career at a young age. Billy Joel’s song lyrics cover topics ranging from The Cold War to subjects that touch the heart of blue-collar America in songs like “Allentown.” Sure, the music in Billy Joel’s songs is fantastic, but it’s the lyrics that really make Billy Joel’s songs even more memorable and able to stir a persons emotions. Billy Joel gets the inspiration for his lyrics from his own life experiences. He was married to supermodel and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Christie Brinkley, who portrayed the romantic interest” in Billy Joel’s music video for “Uptown Girl”, a very popular hit song from his 1983 album titled An Innocent Man. Christie was also the inspiration behind the lyrics to the song when after meeting her for the first time he wondered to himself how he could get her to date a guy like him.

Billy Joel lyrics touch close to home for many American citizens, due to his references to particular geographical locations, mostly in the New York City and Long Island areas, close to where he calls home. The lyrics for “Piano Man” were written to describe a job he had playing piano in a bar in Los Angeles, California during the early 1970′s.

In January of 2007, news quickly spread around the world that Billy Joel had written lyrics for a new song, the first new lyrics Billy Joel had written in 14 years since his 5 time grammy nominated “River Of Dreams” was released in 1993. The new Billy Joel song is entitled “All My Life” and was released on February 20th 2007. Billy Joel also sang the National Anthem for the NFL Super Bowl XLI in February of 2007, which marked his second time singing the National Anthem in front of a Super Bowl crowd.

America loves Billy Joel for his lyrics, not just the fact he is the piano man. Billy Joel lyrics strike a sentimental chord in our hearts for many reasons. Billy Joel’s piano music, singing, and songwriting make him larger than life, but of course we will always love him as a piano man.

The music of The Beatles

The Beatles had a relatively short career by the standards of many of the bands of the era, many of which survive today. But in their decade of prominence their music followed an identifiable path that took in mainstream pop, psychedelia and some quite challenging arrangements. Analyzing sheet music of the Beatles reveals that even their early music, a blend of skiffle and rock ‘n’ roll, was far removed from the three-chord compositions of many of their contemporaries. Once notable feature of Beatles music is the ease with which it translates to different styles. Much of it retains its distinct feel regardless of whether it is being strummed on a guitar, played on a piano, automated on a sequencer or being performed by a complete orchestra. This is one measure of its quality.

Collaboration and mutual inspiration

Although Lennon and McCartney did indeed write and sing the lion’s share of Beatles music, all four members contributed to the writing. Some of the most iconic songs were by George Harrison, including Something, Here Comes the Sun and While my Guitar Gently Weeps; and Starr’s contribution in the form of Yellow Submarine and Octopus’s Garden (among others) should not be overlooked. Glancing through the credits of the entire Beatles collection, however, will show just how much cross-fertilization and collaboration occurred in the creative heart of the band. In fact, it can come as a surprise how few were purely McCartney and Lennon creations as a percentage of the entire body.

Cover versions

Because of the undisputable quality that binds together every note of the Beatles’ output, it comes as no surprise to see how often their songs have been covered by other artists. Whether it’s Bowie doing Across the Universe, The Carpenters’ Ticket to Ride, Oasis belting out I am the Walrus or Elvis Presley performing Yesterday, the songs’ power survives many vocal and instrumental styles. In fact, anyone with a modicum of talent can cover The Beatles and end up with at least a passable rendition, be they sitting by a roaring campfire with a guitar, tinkling the ivories at a cocktail party, warming up a rock band or singing in the shower.

Beatles lyrics

The melodies and backing music of The Beatles guarantees it a listen, and is part of the universal success of the band. The lyrics are often not given the attention they deserve, however. Whilst probably not being as notable as would be the case in a Bob Dylan or Billy Bragg composition, most Beatles lyrics show a certain depth that is appropriate for the medium they were intended for – namely pop music – but reading them in sheet music can be quite surprising. There’s plenty of dry humour, a sprinkling of wackiness, lots of heartfelt emotion and some psychedelic traces, especially in their later period. First and foremost The Beatles were a pop group extraordinaire, and their songs were intended to be sung, listened to and enjoyed, no doubt a throwback to their early days in Liverpool, but a successful formula none the less.

Popular Music Used In Commercials

Stop The Insanity-Hire Someone To Write A Jingle!

Many years ago, in a far away place and time, companies wishing to promote their wares on television would hire songwriters to develop advertising jingles to promote whatever they were selling. But recently, in my mind, some companies have crossed the proverbial line, so to speak, by using classic Beatles’ music to pitch their products.

Am I the only one who is absolutely appalled by the superstore Target’s use of the great Beatles’ hit entitled “Hello Goodbye” (although in the commercial they have changed it to “Hello Good Buy,” how clever). Couldn’t the corporate big wigs just hire Barry Manilow (who wrote the classic McDonalds’ jingle: “You deserve a break today”) to write a sappy jingle?

However, sadly, this trend has been used over and over again in recent years and there does not seem to be an end of it. Moreover, if I hear the Badfinger song “Come And Get It” (in the advertisement for GMC automobiles), I’ll scream!

When Michael Jackson allowed Nike to abuse the legendary hit by the Beatles’ “Revolution,” it seemed that the floodgates were opened, and an advertisement bandwagon was born. But, I am not sure that these companies realize just how many people are offended by their blatant misuse of these classic rock and roll songs.

But, apparently, these starving songwriters (or whoever owns the rights to the music) are being very well compensated for the right to use these classic songs for advertisement purposes. In fact Randy Bachman, formally of the Canadian group the Guess Who and later Bachman-Turner Overdrive, turned down a lucrative offer from a bathroom tissue company to use his song “Takin’ Care Of Business” (how clever) for a television commercial. He did, however, allow the song to be used for an Office Depot commercial, calling the partnership “a perfect marriage.” Bachman also declared, “you make more in one year with that commercial than you do in your entire lifetime of your band in the 70′s with that song.” I guess I am naive, but when did it all become about the money, not the music?

Sadly, this trend is catching on like wildfire, as nowadays you can hear many rock legends allowing their classic music to be used for commercial purposes. Why we have Iggy Pop for Royal Caribbean, Bob Dylan promoting Victoria’s Secret products, Billy Preston teaming up with the Zombies for Fidelity Investments, Led Zeppelin pitching Cadillacs, Aerosmith for Buick, the O’Jays for Coors Beer, Deep Purple promoting Dodge, the Who allowing their music to be used in Cisco commercials, the flower power group the Association pitching Allstate Insurance, why we even have Helen Reddy’s classic anthem hit song “I Am Woman” being utilized in a Burger King commercial. The list goes on and on and when will the insanity end, and are these songs actually helping to sell the products they are endorsing?

It won’t be long before we hear he Donovan song “Mellow Yellow” actually promoting the soft drink called Mellow Yellow. Or, how about the R.E.M. song called “Orange Crush” being used for, you guessed it, the soft drink called Orange Crush. While we’re at it, how about beating down some more Beatles’ classic such as “Ticket To Ride” for the highest bidding airline company, “She Loves You,” for the latest stinky men’s cologne or the song “I Feel Fine,” for an allergy medication? How about the appropriate song “Leaving On A Jet Plane” for United Airlines or Blondie’s hit single “Call Me” for AT & T? We could be hearing the classic Hollies’ tune entitled “Bus Stop” (plug in any major city bus line here) or “Angel Of The Morning” by Marrilee Rush for some feminine product or even “Baby I Love You” by the Ronettes for a diaper commercial. I have a few for Viagra, how about the Three Dog Night ditty called “Easy To Be Hard” or Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and the Rolling Stones’ hit “Start Me Up?”

While we’re at it, how about the Rolling Stones’ hit “Tumbin’ Dice” (plug in any Indian Casino), the Police hit entitled “Every Breath You Take” for a cold remedy, the iconic Elvis hit “Hound Dog” being used for a dog food commercial? How about the Who’s classic song called “I Can See For Miles” for Lens Crafter, or the Mama’s and the Papa’s 60′s hit “California Dreamin’” for any airline company?

We can take it several steps further with “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” by the Bee Gees for a telephone company, the Bobby Fuller hit entitled “I Fought The Law,” (plug in any lawyer’s name) or Don Henley’s hit song called “Dirty Laundry” for Tide laundry soap? One could also make a case for the Chicago single called “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” being used in a Timex commercial or the Doors’ classic song “Light My Fire” being utilized by Kingsford Charcoal?

It’s just a matter of time before we hear the Tom Jones’ song “What’s New Pussycat” in a cat food commercial. Or how about the Raspberries hit “Go All The Way” used for a Trojan commercial? And don’t get me started on sleeping aids like “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics or “Last Night I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All” by the Fifth Dimension. How about the Eagles’ classic entitled “Take It To The Limit” being used to pitch a major credit card? And any local funeral home would be pleased to use the Queen ditty called “Another One Bites The Dust” or “When I Die” by Blood, Sweat & Tears and God forbid, “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” by Bob Dylan. And now that you got me started, how would the hit song by Olivia Newton-John called “Have You Ever Been Mellow” or the Elton John hit called, “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues”; or better yet, “Do You Feel Like We Do,” by Peter Frampton being used for the latest and greatest antidepressant to hit the market? One could use the Johnny Nash tune called “I Can See Clearly Now” for any eyeglass maker or “One Headlight,” by the Wallflowers in an Auto Zone commercial. And one more just for fun, the Neil Diamond classic “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” utilized for an FTD commercial?

The list seems endless and we may hear some of the aforementioned music paired up with their respective products. Some may seem downright silly, but after all, it is all about the money, not the music.