Snapshots #436: Songs that share a title with an Elvis hit

They sound like an Elvis song... until you listen to them, and then they don't sound anything like an Elvis song!

15. Samuel, Gordon, Kate.

Three famous Jacksons.

The Jacksons - This Place Hotel (a.k.a. Heartbreak Hotel)

Michael Jackson wrote this song in 1980. When the record company told him to change the title, he claimed never to have heard the Elvis song. The Jacksons still sing “Heartbreak Hotel” all the way through. Bearing in mind that you can’t copyright a title, they should have left it as it was.

Elvis Presley – Heartbreak Hotel

14. Goes with Harvey and Ziggy’s son.

PJ Harvey and David “Ziggy Stardust” Bowie’s son, Duncan.

PJ & Duncan - Stuck On U

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley – Stuck On You

13. My hearing’s getting worse – I think he’s on Prime.

John Prine – Way Down

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley – Way Down

12. Sportsman Vivian comes a cropper.

“Sportsman Vivian” was an anagram.

Transvision Vamp – Baby I Don’t Care

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley – Baby I Don’t Care

11. Seveny dwarves not pictured.

Snowy White - Burning Love

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley - Burning Love

10. I bet they all feel The Mark of a Man these days.

The Mark of a Man was the tagline for Old Spice. They’re ALL Old Spice these days!

Spice Girls - Too Much

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley – Too Much

9. Quattro di Corleone.

Gang Of Four – Paralysed

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley - Paralysed

8. Sultans Wipe Shakespeare’s… erm, you can guess the rest.

Sultans of SWING, Wipe OUT, Shakespeare’s SISTER.

Swing Out Sister – Surrender

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley - Surrender

7. Moolah, Scratch, Wonga.

Bread – The Guitar Man

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley - Guitar Man

6. Interior: nine pm… it’s all confused.

“Interior: nine pm” was an anagram.

Minnie Riperton - Loving You

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley – Loving You

5. ¾ ft + 88/44 lines.

Three quarters of a foot is nine inches. The Nails sang 88 Lines About 44 Women.

Nine Inch Nails – Hurt

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley - Hurt

4. Robert, a Citizen, on his way to the Palace.

Robert Lindsay was Citizen Smith. He never got into Buckingham Palace.

Lindsey Buckingham - Trouble

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley - Trouble

3. He’s Wilder about a hussy.

Gene Wilder loves a Jezebel.

Gene Loves Jezebel – Suspicion

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley - Suspicion

2. Concentrate.

I’m sure these guys were Not From Concentrate.

Orange Juice – Rip It Up

Not to be confused with…

Elvis Presley – Rip It Up

1. Lana and Kathleen join a creepy family.

Lana & Kathleen Turner with the Addams Family.

Elvis Presley - It's Only Love 

Bryan Adams & Tina Turner – It’s Only Love

Put on your Blue Suede Shoes and prepare to get All Shook Up again next Saturday...

Randy Tuesdays #8: The Most Insane Thing You'll See Today

OK, confession time. When I started this feature, I had EIGHT definite Randies... and a whole load of potentials. Posts #1 - 7 and #10 were the ones I was certain I HAD to feature. The others... I'm still not sure who the other two should be.

So this morning I sat down and went through the list of remaining Randies and having listened to music featuring all of them, this is the Randy I chose...

8. Randy Jackson

Mainly because of the video to today's featured song, which I'd never seen before, but it is utterly, utterly insane. If you think Michael only developed his messiah complex around the time of Earth Song, think again. The video to Can You Feel It? must make Jarvis Cocker's backside twist every time it gets played on youtube. That said, being someone who likes utter, utter insanity (I'm a Jim Steinman fan, after all) I found it very entertaining. And Can You Feel It? is a great song, so why not? Your mileage may vary.

Steven Randall was the youngest boy in the Jackson clan. That's him stood behind Janet (his only younger sibling) in the photo above. He wasn't in the Jackson 5, but replaced Jermaine when the band moved from Motown to Sony and Jermaine chose to stay behind. At 16, he co-wrote Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) with Michael, the band's biggest international hit... which surprised me, because Show You The Way To Go, Blame It On The Boogie, and the song below are all a lot bigger in my mind.

Randy could apparently play more instruments than any of the other Jackson boys, presumably because by the time he came around, Mummy & Daddy Jackson knew they were onto a good thing with those darn kids, so Randy was taught piano, guitar, bass and congas while still in the womb.

After the Jacksons finally called it a day in the early 90s, Randy formed another short-lived band that I won't name here because it features some very bad pluralised spelling.

I'll shut up now and cut to the crazy shit:



Yes, that does look like Russell Brand. Scary, isn't it?

All of which leaves me with one Randy left to fill. Remember, #10 is already set in stone. He's not that big a name, but those regularly confounded by what I laughingly call my "taste" in music will probably be able to work out his identity. Therefore, your suggestions / recommendations for Randy #9 will now be gratefully received. I'll try and count down the runners up next Tuesday.

My Top Ten 'Who's To Blame?' Songs

When you look at the state of the world today, you have to ask yourself... who's to blame? Here are ten possible answers...


10. The Jacksons - Blame It On The Boogie

Let's start with the obvious one. If you can't blame it on the sunshine or the moonlight... maybe you should blame it on Jarvis Cocker for waggling his bottom in Earth Song. If he hadn't done that, perhaps Michael The Messiah might have saved us all...

9. Lambchop - Blame It On The Brunettes

Come on, Kurt... surely the blondes have more to be blamed for?

Research and radios
Divide my world at best
Peanut butter relationships
No kids no food no pets
Adequate understanding
Ample cigarettes
Blame it on the brunette 

8. Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - (Blame It) On The Pony Express

Kind of like blaming Postman Pat. Which, come to mention it, is not a bad idea since it does generally appear to be his fault. He's lucky that he lives in a village full of idiots who never fail to say, "don't worry, Pat won't let us down," no matter how many times he does just that.

I feel so sorry for Jess the cat.

7. Bon Jovi - Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll

I know, I know. It ain't cool, but I still love it.

I mean, come on...

It feels so good that it ought to be illegal
I got my vaccination from a pornograph needle
I'll never grow up and I'll never grow old
Blame it on the love of rock & roll!

No?

Suit yourself.

You don't know what you're missing. 

6. Idlewild - Blame It On Obvious Ways

Sometimes I forget just how good Idlewild were...

I'm forced into a sponsored silence
Where I'm only paid if I don't say
What I want to say

Been there, bought the T-shirt.

5. Lloyd Cole - Blame Mary Jane

 This is how innocent I was back in 1990. I honestly thought this song was about...

Rather than...

4. Cosmo Jarvis - Blame It On Me

Love Cosmo Jarvis. Very disappointed that he appears to have packed in the music biz in favour of acting. I'm sure he's very good in Lady Macbeth, but I'd rather hear a new record from him. I do blame him for that.

See also Blame It On Me by George Ezra which is pretty good too, but not Cosmo-level good.

3. Kris Kristofferson - Blame It On The Stones

Written just after Altamont, when the whole of America seemed intent on blaming it on The Stones...

Mister Marvin Middle Class is really in a stew
Wond'rin' what the younger generation's coming to
And the taste of his martini doesn't please his bitter tongue
Blame it on the Rolling Stones.

Mother tells the ladies at the bridge club every day
Of the rising price of tranquilizers she must pay
And she wonders why the children never seem to stay at home
Blame it on the Rolling Stones.

2. Elvis Costello - Blame It On Cain

Love the rawness of Elvis's debut album.

Once upon a time, I had a little money
Government burglars took it long
Before I could mail it to you,
Still, you are the only one
Now I can't let it slip away
So if the man with the ticker tape, he tries to take it
Well, this is what I'm gonna say...

1. Carter USM - I Blame The Government

I blame the government
For making me this way
Bitter and twisted and crap
Bored psychopathic
At the end of the day
I blame the government for that
Poor education, death on the roads
The writing thats not on the wall
The war in The Balkans
The war in The Falklands
Its not like The Waltons at all

 Well, quite.

If I had the wings of a sparrow
If I had the arse of a crow
I'd fly over Whitehall tomorrow
And... ...on the bastards below

Who do you blame it on?

Kenny Wednesday #2 - The Gambler

No, we're not back to Kenny Rogers. Not yet. (Although The Gambler is a great song.)

Instead, for the second Kenny Wednesday, I bring you... Kenny G!

(No, not that one. Yet.)

2. Kenny Gamble

This Kenny was one half of the legendary songwriting partnership Gamble & Huff. Kenny & Leon (Huff) also formed Motown rival Philadelphia International Records and pioneered the Philly sound. They're the men responsible for many, many classic soul standards, including If You Don't Know Me By Now, Backstabbers, Me & Mrs. Jones, Show You The Way To Go and When Will I See You Again?

But there are two Gamble & Huff compositions which stand out above all others to me, and I really couldn't choose between them... so I'm going to play you both...

The first one reminds me of being a teenager, when I was neck-deep in my first full-on Motown phase. It also reminds me of a teenage crush, unrequited love... you know the sort of thing. But this was the song which could turn that around. The rules were all right there in the lyrics, I just had to follow them one step at a time...

I'm gonna do all the things for you
A girl wants a man to do, oh baby
I'll sacrifice for you
I'll even do wrong for you, oh baby
Every minute, every hour
I'm gonna shower
You with love and affection
Look out it's comin' in your direction...

The restraining order still stands, thirty years later.

And then there's this, which I discovered quite a bit later. A charidee record, released in 1977 when the New York City dustbin men went on strike... it led on to a lot more socially-conscious work for Gamble & Huff, putting their money back into regenerating parts of Philadelphia to really clean up the ghettos Gamble grew up around...





That really is an All-Star line up: Teddy Pendergrass, Archie Bell, Billy Paul, The O'Jays, Dee Dee Sharp... and the peerless Lou Rawls doing that incredible spoken intro.