On 6 Jul, 23:09, sigidu...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> Little known fact: this could have happened. =A0Sort of.
>
> Bowie and Paul Anka were both interested in a French song called
> "Comme d'Habitude", and both wrote songs based on it. =A0But Anka
> acquired the rights, so Bowie's version disappeared. =A0Anka's version
> was "My Way", which he wrote for Frank Sinatra.
>
> Okay, so the title is a bit of a tease, because Anka knew Sinatra and
> wrote the song just for him. =A0Bowie had never met Sinatra at that
> point (and they probably wouldn't have liked each other much). =A0So,
> Bowie wouldn't write a "My Way". =A0OTL the song he wrote was the
> instantly forgettable "Even a Fool Learns to Love". =A0Very likely, if
> he gained the rights, he'd write that... and it would immediately
> disappear.
>
> But! =A0Two knock-ons. =A0One, Bowie never writes "Life on Mars". =A0LoM
=
was
> his /second/ take at writing a song based on "Comme d'Habitude", and
> it uses the same chord structure as "My Way". =A0You can sing the two in
> harmony, as seen in this remarkable video:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DUxCj2MO02AE
>
> -- starting around 1:45 but, hell, view the whole thing.
>
Just a side-note - another of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain's
pieces is "Leaning on a Lampost" in the version "first performed in
the Soviet Union". ObWI George Formby became a popular artist in the
SU ? Is this more unlikely than Norman Wisdom's popularity in
comunist Albania ?
> Bowie -- who was miffed at missing out on the fortune that Anka had
> made by buying the rights -- dedicated "Life on Mars" 'to Frankie'.
>
> I don't think removing this song will have a /huge/ knock-on effect on
> Bowie's career, but it might have some. =A0IMS it came near the
> beginning of his early-70s explosion of hits, when his career -- which
> up until then had seemed stalled as the one-hit-wonder kid who did
> "Space Oddity" (you know, the 'Major Tom' song) -- suddenly went
> straight to the stratosphere, with something like five #1 hits in less
> than two years. =A0I think taking one of his early hits out (second?
> third?) there'd be be some difference, though it would need a better
> Bowieologist than me to say just what.
>
> Oh, and we'd lose the song itself. =A0Which would suck, because it's an
> awesome song.
>
Another cultural knock-on in the UK is that the TV Series "Life On
Mars" would have to seek other inspiration for its name - the song was
used very effectively in the first episode in the scene where Sam
first finds himself in 1973. The series itself might still exist, but
it's hard to say whether it would be as popular with a different
title.
Cheers,
Nigel.
|
