You can write about it in a song and you can talk about it on YouTube. Brian Mazzaferri from the bandI Fight Dragons recalls his unending saga of writing what the record label calls a "hit song". As Brian says, he is not one to give up, so he's going to keep going back to the drawing board every time the label deems the new version of the song "not a hit". At the end of this ordeal, which besides being an exercise in frustration (although Brian seems to take this in stride), has yielded 18 songs with lots of co-writers.
Brian posted every version of the song that exists at SoundCloud.
Glue by Nina Nesbitt is a clever video. There couldn't have been much of a budget, but it conveys the song so well in it's simplicity. As she says on her website: Got bored made a video for myself. The song is catchy. It's a little bit of a bunch of music you've heard before, which is great. Who wants to reinvent the wheel anyway?
Nina is a seventeen year old Swedish/Scottish singer songwriter from Edinburgh. I don't think she has graced our shores yet.
Ellie Greenwich stands out as one of the greatest songwriters of all time. She died yesterday in Manhattan at the age of 68. Along with songwriting partners Jeff Barry (her husband at one time) and sometime collaborator, Phil Spector, she penned a string of hits that is staggering. She was also a stellar arranger and producer. Like Carole King, I think these women were unsung when it came to what they brought to the table, not only as songwriters, but as arrangers and producers. Early in her career she recorded a few of her songs under the band name The Raindrops. I think her song legacy and what she meant to other musicians will stand as a tribute to what she gave to this world.
"She was the greatest melody writer of all time," Brian Wilson told The LA Times on Wednesday.
"Those songs are part of the fabric of forever," said songwriter Diane Warren
“Ellie Greenwich was one of the most important people in my career.” Neil Diamond
Songwriting Credits: Why Do Lovers Break Each Other’s Hearts Today I Met the Boy I’m Gonna Marry Da Doo Ron Ron Then He Kissed Me Hanky Panky Leader of the Pack Chapel Of Love Be My Baby River Deep Mountain High Out In The Streets All Grown Up Baby I Love You Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Do Wah Diddy Gee Baby Gee Girls Can Tell Don't Ever Leave Me Heartbreaker Hold On Baby I Can Hear Music I Wanna Love Him So Bad Look Of Love Maybe I Know People Say Take Me Home Tonight The Sunshine After The Rain Wait 'Till My Bobby Gets Home Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love
Producer Credits: Cherry, Cherry Kentucky Woman Solitary Man
Vocal Arranger Chain of Fool Girls Just Want To Have Fun (contributes background vocals also) Evil Woman -yes the ELO song Baby I'm Gonna Make You Mine The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Background Vocals: Dreaming In the Flesh Man Overboard Atomic
This is just a partial list of her accomplishments. For full list, see her website.
