#1015. Lineage of Song: “Shallow”

 

Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

Vitamin String Quartet

It’s kind of crazy, since I wasn’t as wild about the movie itself, but A Star Is Born Iteration #4 (people are fairly crazy concerning movie remakes, which is strange since we wouldn’t have what’re widely considered the best versions of The Maltese Falcon and The Ten Commandments without them) produced one of my all-time favorite songs in “Shallow.” I’m of the opinion Lady Gaga is best when she gets out of her own way (admittedly there’re a lot of pop stars whose careers were defined by chips on their shoulders), which thankfully she’s able to do now and then. Hilariously when I watched the movie the first time I thought she overdid it, but “Shallow” works so well because it’s a complete composition. Gaga and Bradley Cooper connected brilliantly; it got to the point where people honestly thought they were in love. So I don’t mind putting a spotlight on it here, with a string version.

#1014. Lineage of Song: “When You Wish Upon a Star”

Dion and the Belmonts

Sara Bareilles

Beach Boys, “Surfer Girl”

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, John Williams

Earth Wind & Fire, “Shining Star”

Here’s a fun one. “When You Wish Upon a Star” debuted in Pinocchio, sung by Jiminy Cricket, and just by Disney standards became iconic as part of its studio signature. The Dion and the Belmonts version inspired the Beach Boys song “Surfer Girl,” and in general is incorporated into the lyrics of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Shining Star.” John Williams also covers it in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Its legacy is well-assured.

#1013. Lineage of Song: “Rockin’ Robin”

Michael Jackson

 

Bobby Day

Classic bit of music making and Michael Jackson lore. Still absolutely wild to think Jackson persevered his childhood roots to become one of the greatest artists ever. Still not surprising it took a huge psychological toll on him. Still disappointing that the culture at large couldn’t understand that. My X feed is still full of a more recent parallel in Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu, whose early training in figure skating eventually became a personal comeback that bursts with inner passion.

Watching these videos back, I can hear Buddy Holly in Bobby Day’s voice, and the emerging maturity in Michael Jackson’s, everything he eventually suppressed, even his face. By the end of the ‘70s he was already pursuing his separate path, highly visible in The Wiz, in which he’s definitively broken free of the Jackson 5 image and become more flamboyant, on the cusp of his ‘80s peak. How all of this developed into the man as he was by the ‘90s…it’s all right there in the open, even more so than Miley Cyrus, whose own transformation from child star to rebellious and highly sexualized performer feels far more crassly tragic, yet she’s given a free pass somehow…

#1012. Lineage of Song: “The Man Who Sold the World”

 

David Bowie

Nirvana

I’m actually not much of a Bowie fan. I appreciate how large he looms for a lot of other people. The same, kind of, for Kurt Cobain. The rock industry put so much into Nirvana, once Cobain was dead, it had to postulate the myth that rock itself was dead. Which eventually, although it took longer than popular perception suggests, turned out to be true. So to see them echoing each other is kind of poetic.

#1011. Lineage of Song: “O Sole Mio”

“O Sole Mio,” Pavarotti & Bryan Adams

Elvis, “It’s Now or Never”

Sometimes it really is about the tune. Some pop songs try to slip these under the radar and it causes lawsuits, and then sometimes you really can’t because, well, the lineage is really pretty rather old.
 

#1010. Lineage of Song: “Jolene”

 

Dolly Parton

Beyoncé 

Once I heard the complete album I had more to pull from.

#1009. Lineage of Song: “When a Man Loves a Woman”

 

Percy Sledge

Michael Bolton

Gosh, the longer I work on this project the more astonished I am that I keep overlooking obvious picks. I started this circa February 2024. As I write this one ahead of time, it’s February 2025. And it’ll be posted about a year from now.

Michael Bolton, for me, is more the Mike Bolton character from Office Space. It’s not that I didn’t know Michael Bolton before. I just love Office Space.