10 Cut & Paste Classics
How much does the average fan know about where a song comes from? That lovely feeling when you think an artist has produced an absolute classic of a song...is quickly diluted when your friend tells you that “they’ve ripped that off [insert artist here]”...probably at this point your friend has also hummed the riff or hook to you too.
With that thought in mind, here are some absolute classic songs along with their sample origins...do you know them all?
NWA – Express Yourself
An easy one to start with...and probably the first Hip Hop song that I truly enjoyed. I’m not a big one for making lists of different genres but I’d like to put this in an Indie disco bracket on a Venn diagram. Spent many a time on indie dancefloors when songs like this were dropped in between indie anthems. Dr Dre is left to his own devices on this one to rap over the top of Charles Wright and The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band’s song “Express Yourself” released in 1971.
They also added in a sample of an earlier NWA song “Dopeman” (1988) before referencing it in the lyrics “Some say no to drugs and take a stand/ But after the show they go looking for the Dopeman”. It can be found at 1:48 below.
It was meant as a song surrounding the concept of free expression and to hit out at the restraints put on Hip Hop artists by radio stations. They hated the fact that other artists would not swear on releases just so that they would get their music played on the radio. The funny thing is that “Express Yourself” didn’t contain any swear words either...it made it to number 2 in the US Hip Hop charts and even up to number 26 in the UK.
Deee-lite – Groove Is In The Heart
If there is one song that will get me running...pint in hand onto a dancefloor...it is this Hip Hop/Dance crossover!!! I would like to say that it is a guilty pleasure but I don’t think I can as the dancefloor used to be crammed when it came on...certainly never any room to bust a move like in the video. Deee-lite were made up of DJ Dmitry Brill, Singer Lady Miss Kier and Techo producer Towa Tei. For “Groove Is In The Heart” they added legendary bass player Bootsy Collins (of Parliament-Funkadelic fame) and rapper Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) to the mix.
The unforgettable hook that they used throughout was Herbie Hancock’s “Bring Down The Birds” (1966).
They then layered the beat from Vernon Burch’s “Get Up” (1979) along with pinching the sliding whistle for the breakdown...heard at 2:46.
If you are a lover of The Mighty Boosh then you’ll also hear this sample on their “Funk” song.
Beats from Billy Preston’s “Uptight” (1966) were also used on the breakdown half way through. Can be found at 0:05.
You would think with three samples that would be enough...well you’d be wrong. They used a sample of Bel-Shar-Zaar and The Grecian Knights “Introduction” (1969) quite aptly for the opening few seconds...obviously without the belly dancing.
This song was a massive dance sensation and when it was released in 1990 it made number 2 in the UK charts and was named as the best song of the year in an NME poll.
The Prodigy – Out Of Space
Oh, how I loved The Prodigy. Although I do like the odd song from them recently, nothing comes close to their The Prodigy Experience, Music For The Jilted Generation and Fat Of The Land. At the time that “Out Of Space” was released I was 17. By this time I was spending my weekends alternating between time spent at The Arena dancing to Indie and in a place called Blaises dancing (when I could keep up) to Hardcore like a local pirate radio station used to play...Smokey Joe was his name...I wonder where he is now? When The Prodigy appeared it was great for me that they were getting some commercial credit from a sound that I was vaguely a part of.
The main hook for the song is from Max Romeo’s “Chase The Devil” (1976) which was a classic reggae track that was mixed by Lee “Scratch” Perry.
With this being the world of techo/hardcore it was all about the samples. Many producers pinched from those around them...and that’s what happened with Liam’s use of fellow artists Shades Of Rhythm’s “Homicide” (1991)...you can hear it 0:15 in.
The beats were lifted from The Shamen’s “Hyperreal Selector” (1990)...
...from Bobby Byrd’s “Hot Pants (Bonus Beats)” (1972)...
...and finally from Bob James’s “Take Me To The Mardi Gras” (1975).
There were vocals sampled from Ultramagnetic MC’s “Critical Beatdown” (1988) with the unforgettable “I’ll take your brain to another dimension/ hold it, pay close attention”. This can be found at around 0:33.
In the UK it reached number 5 in the charts in 1992.
Iggy Pop – Lust For Life
“Lust For Life” was a song that was co-written by Iggy Pop and David Bowie. Pop wrote the lyrics to go with Bowie’s music. According to The Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek, the song is about their heroin dealer Gypsy Johnny. There is a story that the rhythm section was a rendition of the Armed Forces Network call signal that they both heard on the TV while they were waiting for Starsky and Hutch to come on. The rhythm is actually taken from a combination of The Supremes “You Can’t Hurry Love” (1966)...
...Martha and the Vandellas “I’m Ready For Love” (1966)...
...and maybe The Doors “Touch Me” (1969).
It still seems to be quite a popular sample though with bands like Jet being the latest to use it on “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?”. Iggy Pop’s version reached number 3 in the UK charts on its release in 1977.
The Smiths – How Soon Is Now?
I never used to like The Smiths...mainly because I couldn’t stand Morrissey...much preferred Morrissey The Consumer Monkey...but that’s just me.
Anyway, back to the music...I didn’t like anything that they released...apart from “How Soon Is Now?” which I loved. I do like a lot more of their music now but I put that down to growing up a bit, giving things a chance a bit more...oh yeah...and because a girl likes them...it’s always a girl that transforms an ingrained hatred of a band...a very special girl though. There are lots of inspirational songs that lead to the arrangement of the final track. Hamilton Bohannon’s “Disco Stomp” (1975) was one...
..and Can’s “I Want More” (1976) had the distinctive opening reverb sound that every indie kid loved to hear with beer in their bellies and fire in their hearts.
The basic sound of it being more like Bo Diddley’s “Mona” (1957)
and even more if you add in the cover of “Mona” by The Rolling Stones (1964)...see what you think.
The sample story doesn’t finish there though...Johnny Marr used New York rapper Lovebug Starski’s “You Gotta Believe” (1983) riff on the second lead guitar part...found at 0:43 below.
This was used as Marr was sick of the band being named as purely 60s revivalists by sections of the media. When it was released in 1985 it made it number 26 in the UK charts...following re-release on CD single in 1992 it moved up to number 16. It has been included in many best songs ever polls...from NME to Rolling Stone and from VH1 to Q Magazine.
The Charlatans – The Only One I Know
The song that started off my love affair with The Charlatans many moons ago. When I was researching this blog I was surprised to find this one in there for using somebody else’s riff to work off...but as I have never overly listened to that much by The Byrds then that’s why it probably surprised me so much. The song in question is called “Everybody’s Been Burned” (1967) and as you can hear it is quite a important part of “The Only One I Know”. Using the lyrics “Everybody has been burned before/ Everybody knows the pain”.
Then with the addition of the organ and beats from Deep Purple’s classic “Hush” (1968) and the song is done.
It reached the heady heights of number 9 in the UK chart on its release in 1990. This catapulted their floppy hair onto Top Of The Pops for the first time...great days.
Nirvana – Come As You Are
If the last song was a bit of a shock then this one is like a musical explosion. “Come As You Are” was the second single released from the absolutely brilliant grunge album Nevermind. The similarities between the song and Killing Joke’s “Eighties” (1984) is quite spectacular. Even lead singer Kurt Cobain had concerns about releasing it as a single until the record label opened his eyes to the commercial opportunities for it. This caused a bit of upset from Killing Joke but no law suits were forwarded...or if they were they were either thrown out of court or that they dropped it following Cobain’s death.
The song made it to number 9 on its release in 1992.
Beck – Loser
One of my favourite songs of all time...so many different amazing memories attached to this song. I wasn’t surprised that Beck would be in this list as his music is a lovely mix of indie, blues and folk with layered Hip Hop beats and pieces. The drum track is sampled from Johnny Jenkins cover of Dr John’s “I Walk On Gilded Splinters” (1970).
The rest of the song is made up of a bluesy slide guitar and sitar from producer Karl Stephenson. There are vocal samples from the 1994 film Kill The Moonlight where the line “I’m a driver/I’m a winner/Things are gonna change/I can feel it” that are used in the break. His chorus of “Soy un perdedor/I’m a loser baby/So why don’t you kill me” is a reference to trying to rap like Chuck D to his music producer and failing miserably. I like Beck...he’s one cool fella.
Elastica – Connection
This was another indie dancefloor filler of the mid 90s. Unfortunately for Elastica though, they lost all publishing royalties as well as having to pay an out-of-court settlement due to the similarities to Wire’s “Three Girl Rhumba” (1977).
Probably the weirdest sample so far is here too...and how they found it I really don’t know...but 5:39 into Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Gasang Der Jünglinge – Kontakte” (1956) you have the opening sound to the single.
It made it to number 17 in the UK chart in 1994
Beastie Boys – Sure Shot
This blog on samples couldn’t be completed without involving these guys. This was the song that got me into them...and I never looked back. The standout sample on this track has to be by the Jazz flautist Jeremy Steig. His flute riff from “Howlin’ For Judy”(1970) was the main sample that continued throughout.
The drums came from fellow rappers Run DMC’s “Rock The House” (1985).
The Beastie Boys were always know for adding vocal snippets in here and there and “Sure Shot” was no exception. They used a vocal sample from Jackie “Moms” Mabley (an American standup comedian) with the line “Ah Yes Indeed It’s fun times”(1969). They also used Spoonie Gee’s “Spoonin’ Rap” (1979) for the “You can’t/You won’t and you don’t stop”...you can find it around 3:33.
The final sample from this blog has to be this one. The opening to “Sure Shot” has the noise of a dog that was used in a pizza chain commercial in America called ‘Little Caesars’...the dog can be found at 0:18.
“Sure Shot” made it to number 27 in the UK charts in 1994.
If anyone can think of any other songs that have used samples that we don’t know about please let me know...but for now...as always...thanks for reading.
