#986. Lineage of Song: “One”

 

U2

Mary J. Blige

I used to have difficulty with this one mostly because Blige had U2 itself collaborating on her version. I guess I just wanted her to go at it on her own. But it’s still a great song, and I’m glad it happened.

#985. Lineage of Song: “Star-Spangled Banner”

 

Whitney Houston 

“To Anacreon in Heaven”

Jimi Hendrix

A fairly well-known song, right? I read a book that got into the history, and how there are people who insist it be a certain way (very fast, matter-of-fact), but it’s arguably the most interpreted song at least in American culture, the most versatile, and it famously began life as something else entirely…Easy to take for granted, and perhaps a sign of the times it really has been, recently, which would be a bizarre reality for a lot of people dating back the hundred years or so it’s been a bedrock of national lore (composed more than two hundred years ago, during the War of 1812 but didn’t become the anthem until 1931), down to the moment Jimi Hendrix performed his radical reinvention at Woodstock.

#984. Lineage of Song: “I’m a Believer”

 

The Monkees

Smash Mouth

Here’s one that’s surprisingly good twice. The Monkees were a TV creation that produced a few classic songs, one of which the seemingly one hit wonder Smash Mouth turned into a second hit for themselves in the early huge success for Shrek.

#983. Lineage of Song: “American Pie”

Madonna

Don McLean

Gosh, I guess I’m not really a fan of Madonna, but I still found it interesting for her to do a cover of “American Pie,” of all things, in one of her periodic drastic reinventions to find acceptance once the last thing was no longer working. Kind of a shame that eventually she just gave up, which is weird because there was about a quarter century where the act was endlessly successful. And now you never hear about her. Unlike Elvis, she did disappear into Europe.

#982. Lineage of Song: “Last Kiss”

 

Wayne Cochran

J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers

Pearl Jam

Here’s another one that bugs me. I love the Pearl Jam version. I see no reason for critics to clutch pearls over these things. 

#981. Lineage of Song: “All Summer Long”

 

“All Summer Long,” Kid Rock

“Sweet Home Alabama,” Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Werewolves of London,” Warren Zevon

Here’s yet another that I hesitated to include in the Lineage because it’s essentially a mash-up and I used to think it was just lazy nostalgia for an artist trying to extend a legacy that was over at that point. But the radio loved the result. And it keeps great music in the mix. In recent times, that’s kind of how this works.

#980. Lineage of Song “American Woman”

The Guess Who

Lenny Kravitz

Here’s one I always thought was ridiculous; ridiculous in how classic rock fans tried so hard to reject the Kravitz take, which is kind of how classic rock fans in general (the journalists especially), downplayed the achievements of the last several generations of rockstars and bands, which was probably the leading factor in rock’s current status as close to invisible in pop culture, which for years seemed utterly impossible. History doesn’t end just because you wish your favorites always maintain the status you assigned them when you were young. Music, as with everything, keeps moving forward. If your favorites remain good in new context, great! But don’t sit there denying good new things because you’re scared the good old things somehow can’t compete, because that’s the actual message you’re sending posterity.