First up, a song performed by Krokus as well as Butthole Surfers in the eighties. Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO) in the nineties and today by Lenny Kravitz, who played his version live joined by the original members of the band who sang it first. The lyrics were misinterpreted as an anti-war political statement. In 1970 it skyrockets to the top of American Charts knocking out The Jackson 5 and The Beatles. Truth is, it came from a stream of consciousness during a show at a curling rink in Canada. Imagine the lead singer is late to the stage, hears this continuous guitar riff summoning him back and, on the spot, makes up rhymes such as “colored lights can hypnotize, sparkle someone else’s eyes.” During tours of the United States, Burton Cummings noticed American girls seemed to be growing up faster, wearing more makeup and dressing somewhat sensuously at a younger age than the woman of Canada. He was thinking Canadian woman I prefer you, what he wrote was American Woman Stay Away From me….
Burton Cummings wrote it on the spot, Randy Bachman produced the riff, and the rest is Guess Who.
Next, a seductive track thought to be about unrequited love but was inspired by a phone call from a woman seeking a casual affair and according to the writer, “what happens when you have strong attraction to people that aren’t necessarily good for you.” It won MTV’s VMA for Best Male Video. Released in 1989, became a hit in 1991, only got to number 10, yet good enough to be covered by many including 3Days Grace…
Chris Isaak wrote Wicked Games and picked up steam in 1991 when the classic was featured in the movie Wild at Heart.
We have another Canadian band stepping up with a groove which played well on Album Oriented Stations up north. The two founding members wrote many songs together often and every time they jammed the bassist kept playing the same riff, when his music partner told him to knock it off. One thing led to another, they added guitar, drums and lyrics. End-result middle of the charts in the U.S. however, turned out to be their first video in America. Red suit, headbands and misinterpreted lyrics. The song didn’t chart as well as their other releases but was popular enough to be noticed by Seattle’s Candlebox.
Mike Reno, Paul Dean and Loverboy…”Working for the Weekend…When It’s Over…Lovin’ Every Minute of it. Kid is Hot Tonite” among the many songs they released in the 80’s.
If you’d like me to look into your ‘classic cover’ drop me a line below or music@bassbeat.net. Listen to my podccast ‘Every Now & Then’ here and now….
A “classic” song or album is the long term recognition identified by generations of fans.
Credits:
CBC-Canadian Broadcasting Association
Cantonrep.com-Canton Repository
Smooth Radio
Wikipedia
YouTube
Discover more from Now and Then Rocks~
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
