#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.

#1008. Lineage of Song: “Kiss Me”

 

Sixpence None the Richer

Lisa, “Moonlit Floor”

Hey! We’ve now reached K-pop!

#1007. Lineage of Song: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana

Patti Smith

In the style of Frank Sinatra

Don’t normally include parodies, but kind of felt I needed to, this time. Also worth noting that “Diamond” Dallas Page used an homage that was so close to “Teen Spirit” as his entrance music in WCW eventually he wasn’t allowed to use it anymore. WWE still used a version, though.

#1006. Lineage of Song: “Blackbird”

 

Beatles

Beyoncé 

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album received a ton of attention, especially when a country awards show opted not to spotlight it. But it’s slightly more a conversation about race than it is a country album. “Blackbird” was the Beatles’ song about the Civil Rights movement, so it was only appropriate she include it in the album.

#1005. Lineage of Song: “Tomorrow is a Long Time”

 

Elvis Presley 

Bob Dylan

Surely one of the bigger surprises, Bob Dylan writes it, Elvis covers it.

#1004. Lineage of Song: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"

 

Nina Simone

The Animals

Elvis Costello

I’m such a nerd for the Animals. I think they deserve greater recognition for their contributions to music, between this and their masterful “House of the Rising Sun.” They may not have introduced songs, but their ability to interpret is genius-level.

#1003. Lineage of Song: “Hard Times Come Again No More”

The Longest Johns

Johnny Cash

Bob Dylan

Mavis Staples

Bruce Springsteen 

 

Joan Baez & Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris

Stephen Foster remains one of the most famous names in American music. Here’s one of his less well-known songs covered extensively, proving how deep his legacy goes.

#1002. Lineage of Song: “Smooth Criminal”

 

Michael Jackson

Alien Ant Farm

Here’s yet another I can’t believe I’m just now reaching, because I’ve always liked the Alien Ant Farm version, and my appreciation for the Jackson original has also increased over the years, to the point where it’s essentially my favorite of his songs.

On a different note, I’ve mentioned before how I plan these well in advance. This one comes from a block from nearly a year ago. As I write this I seem to really be reaching the end of the Lineage, which might conclude in just under thirty weeks. But we’ll see!

#1001. Lineage of Song: “Nothing Compares 2 U”

 

Prince

Sinead O’Connor

Here’s another I kind of can’t believe took so long to reach. By the time O’Connor did her version, not only did it define her popular career, but it really felt as if it was her song. But the spelling kind of is a dead giveaway that its origins are pure Prince. Prince’s career is peculiar in a lot of ways. He hit big in the ‘80s. But by the time he was fighting with his record label and changing his name to a symbol…He was a living legend people talked about as being hyper talented more than his output, or success, suggested. Then he was kind of the Super Bowl act that defined what those are apparently supposed to be, nostalgia shows where the performer(s) is a legend that can still perform at their peak. He became a throwback to all those careers Blues Brothers had to fight to include.

#1000. Lineage of Song: “Peggy Gordon”

Sinead O’Connor

 

Schooner Fare

From The Proposition

Here’s the big thousandth post! When I started this blog back in 2002, I certainly wasn’t thinking about what I’d be doing twenty-odd years later. The blog was an extension of what I was doing online, then, being a part of a message board community and trying to expand that experience. I’d already tried a couple different approaches, and by that record it would’ve looked to any observer that Scouring Monk was destined for the same fate. But it expanded! For a time I operated a whole network of blogs, and Monk was the central hub…No one was ever as interested in all of it the way I was, but it didn’t matter.

And anyway, “Peggy Gordon” is a great way to celebrate. It’s a song I first heard from Schooner Fare growing up, and then later in the film The Proposition in much different context, and that was a touchstone moment in realizing even beloved songs can have a life far beyond what I’d first known. But that’s life, right?

#999. Lineage of Song: “Captain Kidd”

 

Great Big Sea

I really did toss a bunch of GBS here in the countdown to the thousandth post, which is also the secret origin of my return to Scouring Monk, which I had all but abandoned, letting it lie fallow for a year, and then deciding to jumpstart it, and then realizing a regular gig could be had out of “Lineage of Song.” Not exactly the post-A to Z heyday, but that’s okay. 

Anyway, “Captain Kidd” is one of those sea shanties that makes its lineage pretty clear. Sue me for enjoying the ability to find pleasure in links to the past.

#998. Lineage of Song: “The River Driver”

 

Great Big Sea

One of my very favorite GBS songs.

#997. Lineage of Song: “John Barbour”

 

Great Big Sea

One of my very favorites from GBS, the best track, ironically, from the Something Beautiful album, the one marking the departure of Darrell Power from the band for having drifted too far away from its folk origins.

#996. Lineage of Song: “Scolding Wife”

Great Big Sea

Irish Roots

Here’s Newfoundland’s Great Big Sea again. They introduced me to a lot of traditional songs. Sometimes I think I’d like nothing more than to just sit back as the folds of history embrace me in their lyrics.