Segarini: The Song is the Star

What determines a career in the music business? Is it based on the longevity of the music or of the artist? Can you say that Morris Albert had/has a career in the music business based on the one massive hit he generated back in 1973?

” Feelings”, a song that was ubiquitous on the radio for the better part of a decade and covered by artists ranging from Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley, all the way up to and including The Offspring, who replaced the word ‘love’ with ‘hate’ in their version which was included on their ‘Americana’ release and sold over 13 million copies in 1998. “Feelings” certainly qualifies as a song with a career, and Morris Albert is living in Italy and still performing to this day. Try as I might, I cannot (for the life of me) figure out why this song was ever a hit in the first place, but there ya go.

I think my musical background has a lot to do with what I consider to be good when it comes to a song. You can blame Glenn Miller, Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn, JohnnyMercer, and George and Ira Gershwin for my early education in what constitutes a fine piece of music. Moving into the rock and roll era, I came to admire Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman, Gerry Goffin and Carol King, Leiber and Stoller, Sam Cooke, Dave Bartholomew and Boudleaux and Felice Bryant. After that, it was the usual influences most people will cite when asked about their idea of who wrote great songs. The Lennon/McCartney (and sometimes Harrison) franchise will almost always be name-checked, as well as the Jagger/Richards and Waters/Gilmour teams of yore. For me, it was more Paul Simon, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Stevie Wonder and Don Henley and Glenn Frey that stayed with me over the years. The links above will take you to some fine examples of these writers’ well written and timeless songs.

So, does a song have to be good to be a hit? No, it doesn’t. There has always been proof of that. What I’m saying is this; the song, not the artist, is the star. They are two completely different things, like talent and popularity. What gives artists a career as opposed to ‘hits’ is the convergence of all these elements. Talent, plus great songs, plus popularity, equals career, as long as the timing and Public Whim are also onboard. This explains covers by otherwise independent artists, performers who can write their own material, yet opt to cover a ‘classic’ song instead of coughing up a new one. It is the rare well known artist who can record new material and have it played on the radio, or sell out a show based on their latest release alone. In the case of a song like “Feelings”, its ‘hit’ cachet obviously impressed a lot of artists, producers, and record labels even though it really isn’t a very strong example of good songwriting. It was however, extremely popular and well known.  A great song like Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday” can generate tons of cover versions over the years, even though the Beatle’s version remains definitive. According to Wikipedia: “Yesterday” is the most recorded song in the history of popular music; its entry in the Guinness Book of World Records suggests over 1,600 different cover versions to date, by an eclectic mix of artists including Marianne Faithful, Tose Proeski, The Mamas and the Pappas, Barry McGuire, The Seekers, Joan Baez, Donny Hathaway, Michael Bolton, Bob Dylan, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Matt Monroe, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Jan and Dean, The Sylvers, Wet Wet Wet, Placido Domingo, The Head Shop, Daffy Duck (Daffy Duck?), En Vogue, and Boyz ll Men. David Essex did a cover version of the song for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War ll.” If you ask me, Marvin Gaye just owns this song. Wikipedia continues: “After Muzak switched in the 1990s to programs based on commercial recordings, Muzak’s inventory grew to include about 500 “Yesterday” covers. At the 2006 Grammy Awards, McCartney performed the song live as a mash-up with Linkin Park and Jay-Z’s “Numb Encore”. It is Vladimir Putin’s favourite Beatles song. “Yesterday” also won the Ivor Novello Award for ‘Outstanding Song of 1965’, and came second for ‘Most Performed Work of the Year’, losing out to another McCartney composition, “Michelle”. The song has received its fair share of acclaim in recent times as well, ranking 13th on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 2004 list “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”,  and fourth on the magazine’s list “The Beatles 100 Greatest Songs” (compiled in 2010). In 1999, BMI placed “Yesterday” third on their list of songs of the 20th century most performed on American radio and television, with approximately seven million performances. “Yesterday” was surpassed only by The Association ‘s “Never My Love” and the Righteous Brothers’ ‘ “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”. “Yesterday” was voted Best Song of the 20th Century in a 1999 BBC Radio poll. “Yesterday”, however, has also been criticized for being mundane and mawkish; Bob Dylan had a marked dislike for the song, stating that “If you go into the Library of Congress, you can find a lot better than that. There are millions of songs like ‘Michelle’ and ‘Yesterday’ written in Tin Pan Alley Ironically, Dylan ultimately recorded his own version of “Yesterday” four years later, but it was never released.” And here I thought “White Christmas” was the most recorded popular song of all time.

Writing songs is like giving birth, with some deliveries being easier than others. At their best, they are personal, honest snippets of your life, your dreams, or your beliefs, nurtured internally for weeks or months or even years, or coughed up in a single moment of clarity, creative explosiveness, or inspired brilliance. At their worst, they are written to generate income, satisfy a demand, or please someone else’s idea of a ‘hit’ song. Sometimes it can be the difference between a finely crafted, hand hewn piece of art and a paint-by-numbers picture of a sad clown. The truth is, either process can result in a failure or a triumph. There is no way to tell how it will play out.

Regardless of the outcome, without the songs there would be no stars. No labels, no studios, no managers, no music radio, no nothing. Take away the songs and all you have are a whole pile of people out of work and not talented enough to play professional sports.

The artists who were lucky enough to become famous during the 50’s, 60s, and 70s and 80s are assured of being able to play to an audience until they decide to stop, but since the 90s, with very few exceptions, being famous no longer guarantees a career. The music industry has lost its cohesion. Instead of working in consort like radio, television, the labels, and the artists did in the past, the separate arms of show business have hunkered down, each protecting its territory, mindful of their share of the pot, and unwillingness or inability to embrace the audience on their terms and on their turf.

Will Ga Ga have the career of an Ella Fitzgerald or a Peggy Lee, Janis Joplin, or even a Wanda Jackson? Will Jay Z or Drake be well regarded and working when they’re in their 50s and 60s? Will any of their songs be covered, or remembered in 20 or 30 or 40 years other than by nostalgic, 60-something seniors? These questions will be answered in time, and I can’t even venture a guess as to what the answers will be. I do think the Bieber has a shot. I like his country single, and the kid definitely has talent. I’m actually pulling for him.

We will continue to have diverse artists in cowboy hats, space helmets, feathered green hair and no cone bras, as well as scruffy kids in t-shirts and jeans, nicely dressed men and women, and a few who may cover their faces in ink, play naked, or have an arm grafted onto their forehead.

In the meantime, songs will continue to be written both good and bad, to your liking or not, and they will become hits or misses depending on so many variables that no one has ever figured out exactly what makes a hit OR a miss. Artists will come and go, but no matter what, the songs will remain the stars, one way or another.

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT CONTINUES SOON!

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