JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Mentor Questions Forum Why don't great songs make it?

Joan Jett's version of "I Love Rock and Roll" is a cover. From Wikipedia: "I Love Rock 'n Roll" is a rock song written in 1975 by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of The Arrows, who recorded the first released version. The song was later made famous by the hit version recorded by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in 1981."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Rock_%27n%27_Roll

I believe one of the writers is a JPF member (I'm sorry, I don't remember which one.)

Fascinatin' Bit-O'-History there, Marc!

Another Similar Tale: "I've Never Been to Me"..released originally by Charlene (Duncan..now Oliver after a Divorce..& Re-Marriage) who was signed to Motown. Originally-Penned as a MALE Song, sung by a Beggar, Charlene's 1976 Gal-Sing-Version went Nowhere, chart-wise, when-released.

In 1982, Tampa DJ Scott Shannon, WRBQ FM, dusted-off a copy & began Airplaying it.

Listeners LOVED IT..and THIS TIME, Away-it-Went/Nationally/Label RE-Released the Song, (tho by-then Charlene'd moved to England and "was working for a sweet shop in Ilford".)

The song was one of "The Biggest Hits of the Year"/A Successful Album was spun off it..& it charted #75 on VH1's "One Hundred Greatest One-Hit Wonders", compiled in 2002.

Sometimes the Great Ones gotta "Age a Bit"....and you Never Know WHEN that "Great One" IS gonna BE considered a "Great One".

Just MIGHT take 7-or-8-Years..or..alas..Forever. Buy a few Rabbit's Feet/Avoid Steppin' on Cracks...& GOOD LUCK!

Best Wishes,
Stan

Yes, one of the writers IS a long time JPF member. = )

Brian

Wine has to age a bit before it reaches perfection, same with some songs I guess.

There are a lot of reasons.

One of the most successful Money makers in Nashville is a writer named Mark D. Sanders. Mark has had a very active career with several cuts over a 5 year period. Very well known in Nashville and very well respected. and of course, a GREAT writer. But he had been in Nashville for about 25 years before things really broke loose.

About three years ago he had an ENORMOUS song with artist Lee Anne Womack. It was one of the most played songs of the year, went on to do commercials, in videos, television, movies, was a huge wedding song. I believe a couple of pop versions as well and I think was featured as one of the American Idol songs.There are so many reality television shows out there and I watch none of them so I could be very wrong. Let's just say it was one of those songs you get sick of hearing because it is played continuously everywhere you go.

Mark was doing a lot of interviews and asked what he was "doing different now than just a few years before. Was he writing differently, better songs, what was the secret?"

He said "Not a thing. My friends just got into better positions to say 'yes.'" What he meant was that as you integrate into a community like Nashville (and LA and New York, Toronto,London, wherever their is an active music community) your friends, co-writers, artists, publishers, producers, label people, all advance too. They find jobs of power where they can listen to songs and call shots.

Those writers that were doing nothing a year ago, suddenly are producing five acts for some record label and are winning Grammys and Juno awards.

It leads to my comment that "The secrataries of today are tomorrow's label presidents. And the presidents of today are tomorrow's secrataries."

Everything is a constant state of flux. That is something no one can every understand. They think there is a constant cabal at the top that keeps everyone else out. Nonsense. This is a hyper competitive game with people being on top one moment and the answer to a trivia question the next.

It is incredibly hard, nearly impossible, to get anywhere in the first place and then even harder to stay up or repeat the performance. About 98% of people who ever have a top ten record will never have another one. Many never get another cut.

I have a lot of friends who have had number one songs and are completely out of the business because they could never follow it up. And many of them have incredible songs, great contacts and everything you can imagine.

So it is a lot of things. Great songs. Great attitudes, Great connections, a LOT of luck. Just every day upping the level of your odds.

Everyone that buys a lottery ticket has a chance to win. Just very few do.

Same with music.

MAB

Why don't great songs make it? That has always been a mystery to me. For over 25years I sold records and CDs for a living. Trying to judge what to buy became very difficult after the mid 1970s.Up until then songs were judged by the melody and if it was catchy enough to get to the ear's of radio producers and then the DJs.
With the advent of punk (this is in the UK, where I am based) it went crazy.Nobody seemed to want a good catchy song anymore and as for a good melody -forget it!
But even in the late 1960s the long established stars such as the Everly Bros who were still bringing out good records IE, Bowling Green, Love of the Common People could'nt get a look in because they were'nt in vogue any more. And I think this about summed it up. Good songs were lost as atists ceased to be popular.

Travis, it's no mystery why great songs don't make it. There are several reasons given above, the phenomenon is the same as that in which great food, wine, movies, etc. are not the most popular. It is fairly obvious. As I pointed out above, the most popular song among five people might not be the favorite song of any of those five, it's just the one song that all five share...even if they all only "kind of" like it. Also, each of those five may disagree as to which songs are "great."

My mantra has become this: these searches to find the magic key to the "music biz" are completely futile. You eat the elephant one bite at a time. First, start out by making or writing good music. Never mind a "great" song, first, find out what makes a song "good," then learn how to write one.