Apologies in advance for this post. It's basically a petty gripe that I feel compelled to share. Since most people who read this blog are interested in reading about Mindi Carpenter or her dear Aunt Karen, I figure it's somewhat safe to air my grievance here.
Yesterday, I was messing around on SingSnap and I decided to record an acoustic version of Stephen Bishop's "Separate Lives", a song I recently uploaded to the "community songbook". The community songbook, for your information, is a somewhat new feature on SingSnap that allows users to upload karaoke songs to the catalog, which other users are then free to record or listen to.
"Separate Lives", as many people know, was a huge hit in 1985 when it was featured in the movie, White Nights. The version that appeared in the film was a duet done by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin. What many people may not know is that the song was actually written by singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop, who has made a successful career out of writing songs used in films.
Anyway, I found my karaoke version of Bishop's version of "Separate Lives" several years ago. I decided to add it to the songbook. Every once in awhile it gets featured. Sometimes I record it, as I did yesterday.
Last night, as I was about to go to sleep, I got a comment from some guy...
Uh... thanks.
No, really. Thanks for listening. However, I wonder why this guy felt the need to tell me that this was originally a Phil Collins song, especially since he's wrong. While Bishop's version may not have been released on an album until well after 1985, the fact is, he is the original performer because he wrote the song. Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin recorded it and made it a huge hit; but it's Bishop's composition. And I figure Bishop must have sung it a few times before Collins and Martin took their crack at it.
So my response was this.
I know this sounds really anal retentive, but if you're going to leave me music trivia on my recordings, at least be right.
Stephen Bishop sings "Separate Lives".
The famous cover by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin.
I will admit that I don't like it when people try to school me about things I already know. I don't know where this hypersensitivity comes from. Maybe it's because I'm the youngest by many years in my family and people never take me seriously. Or maybe it's because I'm sick of mansplainers. Granted, this is a pretty minor thing to be mansplaining, but it's still annoying when some random guy pops by and tries to tell me my business.
I almost wonder if this man thinks I'm younger than I am. Does he not realize that 1985 was smack dab in the middle of my adolescence? Of course I've heard this song, especially when it was popular, played dozens of times on the radio. I've also seen the movie it comes from many times. But the fact remains that just because a song was made famous by a singer, that doesn't mean he or she was the original artist.
An excellent example of this phenomenon is the song "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". That song was written by Carole King, Gerry Goffin, and Jerry Wexler. However, it was Aretha Franklin who made it into a big hit. Many people think it's her song, but really, it's more Carole King's song. She wrote it and released her own version of it on 1971's Tapestry. Frankly, I'd rather listen to Carole than Aretha because I like to hear songwriters sing their own songs.
Another example is the song "I Will Always Love You", which was made into a huge hit by Whitney Houston. It was written by Dolly Parton, who also had a hit with it. It was also covered by other singers, notably Linda Ronstadt, before Whitney sang it. In fact, it was Ronstadt's version that captivated Kevin Costner enough to suggest it for the soundtrack for The Bodyguard. Houston's version was epic, but it's not actually her song. It's Dolly's song.
And finally, here's a lesser known example of this phenomenon. Back in 2007, I was a fan of the TV show Army Wives. Bill gave the DVD set of the first season for Christmas. I decided to watch an episode that included commentary by a couple of the actors on the show. Part of the soundtrack for the episode I watched included the song "Wounded Heart". "Wounded Heart" was a song recorded by Bonnie Raitt for her album Silver Lining. It was Raitt's version that was used on the show and one of the actor's referred to it as Raitt's song. However, that song was written by Jude Johnstone. I happen to own the album Johnstone did that includes it and her version was the first I ever heard. So I immediately knew the actor had erred in calling "Wounded Heart" Bonnie Raitt's song, although I think Bonnie did a great job with it.
Jude Johnstone's "Wounded Heart".
Bonnie Raitt's cover.
I'm sure some will point out to me that I should be glad anyone listens to my recordings, let alone comments on them. However, most people don't understand that I don't make recordings for the comments. I do them because music is in my blood and I have no other musical outlets. Sometimes comments are annoying, though. I should probably turn them off, but that may make me seem bitchier than I actually am. Most people are nice, anyway... even the ones who rubber stamp comments on recordings I know they didn't actually listen to. Maybe this gripe is just a product of my artistic temperament.
Extra credit for the curious. It's a little low for me, but I like this key.
