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Topic: Werewolves of London vs Sweet Home Alabama |
Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 12 Jan 2019 5:43 am |
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Listening to the radio in the car yesterday (wow!) I came upon some song that isn't Sweet Home Alabama but unashamedly uses it as a hook, using the same chords.
At first I thought I was hearing Werewolves of London except for the howls. 'Werewolves' in the same key as Sweet Home Alabama and uses the same chords and start on D.
Which key is it in? What's the difference? And what is 'Werewolves' really all about?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDpYBT0XyvA |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 12 Jan 2019 7:05 am
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In the comments: it was in the soundtrack for "The Colour Of Money"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLLBAB4yXGo
Also: inspired by Phil Everly. The Everlys were big in England and Warren Zevon was their arranger.
Kid Rock was also mentioned with stealing the song structure.
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube.
Last edited by Joachim Kettner on 12 Jan 2019 10:10 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Brian Hollands
From:
Geneva, FL USA
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Don R Brown
From:
Rochester, New York, USA
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Posted 12 Jan 2019 7:36 am
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Come on now, be honest! When you're in the car all by yourself and "Werewolves" comes on, you howl right along! I KNOW you do! We ALL do! 
Ah-WOOOOO!
_________________
Many play better than I do. Nobody has more fun. |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 12 Jan 2019 8:40 am
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What I'm sayin! Who cares what key the howling is?
That's actually very interesting about Zevon and the Everylys. I'd just been thinking about them viz the loss of melody.
I suppose the video helps explain the song but I'd bet that the film was cut to fit the audio. Just saying.
Last edited by Charlie McDonald on 12 Jan 2019 8:46 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 12 Jan 2019 8:44 am
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| There is a great bit on the old Larry Sanders show. Warren Zevon is the musical guest and there is a running gag about Larry wanting him to play Werewolfs of London and Zevon refusing since he hates the song. It ends with him playing the song. |
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Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 17 Jan 2019 4:38 pm
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Love Werewolves of London! First line in the song “I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his handâ€
Great lyrics👠|
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Les Cargill
From:
Oklahoma City, Ok, USA
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Posted 25 Jan 2019 3:15 pm
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| Now you know how Kid Rock's "Sweet Home Alabama All Night Long" came to be... |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 25 Jan 2019 4:15 pm
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| Les, that may explain 'the other song' I heard on the radio. Thank you, I think.... |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 26 Jan 2019 3:07 pm “All Summer Long†by Kid Rock
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From https://www.songfacts.com/facts/kid-rock/all-summer-long —-
Kid Rock explained to MTV News why the song has been such a success. He said: "I knew the track was solid - it's got two of the best songs of all time mashed up together ['Sweet Home Alabama' and 'Werewolves of London'], it's got great melodies, so really, my work was done. I knew people would hear it and know I wrote it. They'd know it was real, and there'd be that connection. And that's what's missing in music today. I think people don't believe half the s--t they hear some rapper or some pop girl singing about... but with me, they do. And that's why people have reacted the way they have to the song."
Is it just me, or do the contradictions in that statement just scream off the page?
At any rate, apparently he paid royalty fees to the copyright holders, at least.
https://www.quora.com/How-did-Kid-Rock-get-away-with-stealing-the-opening-bars-of-Warren-Zevons-“Werewolves-of-London-to-use-in-his-song-All-Summer-Long
And just for the record, raise your hand if you have ever been in a band that did those two songs as a medley. Mine’s up.
Maybe Mr. Rock wanted to cover both songs but put his own sig on the lyrics and collect some partial copyright just in case a miracle happened and it became a hit. |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 27 Jan 2019 3:51 am Re: “All Summer Long†by Kid Rock
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| Fred Treece wrote: |
| Is it just me, or do the contradictions in that statement just scream off the page? |
It's not just you.
| Kid Rock wrote: |
| I knew the track was solid - it's got two of the best songs of all time mashed up together... it's got great melodies, so really, my work was done. I knew people would hear it and know I wrote it. They'd know it was real, and there'd be that connection. And that's what's missing in music today... bla bla bla |
I had no idea I was listening to great songwriting! |
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 27 Jan 2019 11:12 am
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| Mark van Allen wrote: |
| “Can’t You See†uses the same D mixolydian progression. (Opens can of worms) |
Chord progressions must be one of the last things the Plagiarism Cops consider when deciding on copyright infringement. Otherwise there would be what, maybe 5 songs? And they would all be Steely Dan.
Seriously, there must be hundreds of things you can do to the same chord progression to create an original song. But when you have no creativity, you are stuck “mashing two of the best songs of all time†together. |
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Bill Sinclair
From:
Waynesboro, PA, USA
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Posted 27 Jan 2019 11:26 am
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| Another contemporary song of those two that would have worked in a mashup is Steve Miller's "Take the Money and Run". I remember hearing it on the radio and thinking "Wait a minute, isn't that Lynard Skynard?" |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 27 Jan 2019 11:51 am
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| Mark van Allen wrote: |
| “Can’t You See†uses the same D mixolydian progression. (Opens can of worms) |
Funny, I just realized I had the same quandary there. However, it didn't seem to matter. I assumed that the composer probably didn't know either.
I mean, "... what that woman..." trumps the chord issue. And it wasn't a mashup, so that helped. |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 28 Jan 2019 4:12 am
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| Mark van Allen wrote: |
| “Can’t You See†uses the same D mixolydian progression. (Opens can of worms) |
Not quite. The Can't you See verse ends on the D [D C G D] where the SHA stays in G on the last bar: [D, C, G G.]
Also like Can't you See is BTO Takin' Care of Business same pattern as Can't you See. 1 b7 4 1.
Without getting into the key sig. debate again, it's not the same feel.
....but yeah, can of worms. |
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Jamie Mitchell
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 5 Mar 2019 9:53 pm
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| Les Cargill wrote: |
| Now you know how Kid Rock's "Sweet Home Alabama All Night Long" came to be... |
you’re familiar w/ Zevon’s Play It All Night Long? |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 6 Mar 2019 4:44 am
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When Ed King played Sweet Home his solo in G, Al Kooper told him he was playing in the wrong key. I disagree with Al.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 6 Mar 2019 6:30 am
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We could argue what the chords in the little turnaround after "governor" ("Boo boo boo") do to the mode. I hear them as F Em D, as if it walks down from G to D.
F natural doesn't occur in either key. Might be a clue. Might not. I don't think modal thinking had anything to do with it. Just some chords.
Boy am I sorry I brought it up again. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 6 Mar 2019 6:45 am
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You shouldn’t be sorry you brought it up. I think it’s a perfect example of playing what you hear and using your own judgment rather than relying on what someone says the key is. Music is way more complex than that. We can get into the real nuances like how to use G minor pentatonic over it, etc. It goes beyond logic and into intuition.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Brian Hollands
From:
Geneva, FL USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2019 7:30 am
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Yeah, and if you think this is bad go read the 30+ pages of the "What key is Hey Joe In" thread over on the gear page.
Yikes...
_________________
'81 Sho-bud LDG, 2 EMCI's |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 6 Mar 2019 10:53 am
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| The moon maiden had the radio on in the car and I heard another one. I had to think that the original is better, and now I see there's no original. Moot. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 7 Mar 2019 8:03 am
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| Len Amaral wrote: |
Love Werewolves of London! First line in the song “I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his handâ€
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Well, if you could tell it was a Chinese menu, that's probably an indication that you're far too close to the werewolf!  |
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