Songs that reference (without directly sampling) other songs or famous bits of music

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

I heard Texas's Say What You Want on the radio for the first time in donkey's years the other day. I still can't help every time I hear Charlene sing "And when I get that feeling..." wanting to finish the line with "...I need sexual healing!"

Not sure if it was remotely intentional or just accidental when they wrote the song. Didn't do them any harm though!

RocknRollDave

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

I heard Texas's Say What You Want on the radio for the first time in donkey's years the other day. I still can't help every time I hear Charlene sing "And when I get that feeling..." wanting to finish the line with "...I need sexual healing!"

Not sure if it was remotely intentional or just accidental when they wrote the song. Didn't do them any harm though!

Oh, it’s blatant, if you ask me.

Reverend

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

I heard Texas's Say What You Want on the radio for the first time in donkey's years the other day. I still can't help every time I hear Charlene sing "And when I get that feeling..." wanting to finish the line with "...I need sexual healing!"

Not sure if it was remotely intentional or just accidental when they wrote the song. Didn't do them any harm though!

I seem to recall an interview with her talking about recording vocals lying on the floor to get a laidback vibe based on something she had heard about old soul singer doing that

barnstorm

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

I heard Texas's Say What You Want on the radio for the first time in donkey's years the other day. I still can't help every time I hear Charlene sing "And when I get that feeling..." wanting to finish the line with "...I need sexual healing!"

Not sure if it was remotely intentional or just accidental when they wrote the song. Didn't do them any harm though!

I know I said no samples… but I'm still amazed by the Humperdinck strings that RZA found for the Sharleen/Method Man version. Song doesn't work overall, but what a pull!

thing

hollywoodrox said:

Lots of classical ones 
  Gregg lake - I believe in Father Christmas  - Troika Prokofiev
  and is joybringer by manfred Mann , part of Holstz Planet Suite 

Mann had to get permission from Holstz's widow to use that. She must have been bloody old!!

Grangousier

Wireless by Cardiacs is very, very close to Läuft...Heißt Das Es Läuft Oder Es Kommt Bald...Läuft by Faust. Not really a cover, and they knew their audience too well to think that no one would notice. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgGVWwqtizs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhqTkiDpG5Y

DiscoStu

Fade To Grey by Visage sounds so much like Human League's 'Being Boiled'.

Philly_Q

thing said:

hollywoodrox said:

Lots of classical ones 
  Gregg lake - I believe in Father Christmas  - Troika Prokofiev
  and is joybringer by manfred Mann , part of Holstz Planet Suite 

Mann had to get permission from Holstz's widow to use that. She must have been bloody old!!

I was intrigued by that and had to look it up... Mrs Holst died in 1969 (aged 93) so Mann must have got permission from the Holsts' daughter, Imogen Holst, who (it turns out) was also a composer.  Apparently they wanted to do a full adaptation of The Planets Suite but that was refused. 

viz

Whiter Shade of Pale sounds like it's going to sound like bits of Bach but it isn't quite.

Jonathangus

The Wildhearts' 29 x The Pain is (lyrically) chock full of them (kinda the point of the song):



Sticking with the Wildhearts, My Baby is a Headfuck sneaks in a bit of Day Tripper:



Gary Moore throws in the Highway Chile riff in Livin' on Dreams:



And Seek and Destroy in Death to All But Metal from the mighty Steel Panther:

thing

Philly_Q said:

thing said:

hollywoodrox said:

Lots of classical ones 
  Gregg lake - I believe in Father Christmas  - Troika Prokofiev
  and is joybringer by manfred Mann , part of Holstz Planet Suite 

Mann had to get permission from Holstz's widow to use that. She must have been bloody old!!

I was intrigued by that and had to look it up... Mrs Holst died in 1969 (aged 93) so Mann must have got permission from the Holsts' daughter, Imogen Holst, who (it turns out) was also a composer.  Apparently they wanted to do a full adaptation of The Planets Suite but that was refused. 

Good bit of detective work there Phil, have a wis

joneve

Jonathangus said:

And Seek and Destroy in Death to All But Metal from the mighty Steel Panther:

To be fair, the whole of Feel the Steel is just a rip off of other 80's metal songs. 

Dopesick

The main riff to ‘Unas Slayer Of The Gods’ by Nile is from ‘Well Of Souls’ by Candlemass (and is noted in the booklet).

Bellycaster

The Lyrics "Echo Beach" were contained in the 1978 Ultravox Song "Hiroshima Mon Amour"

A song called Echo Beach was released in 1980 by Martha and the Muffins.

EricTheWeary

Bellycaster said:

The Lyrics "Echo Beach" were contained in the 1978 Ultravox Song "Hiroshima Mon Amour"

A song called Echo Beach was released in 1980 by Martha and the Muffins.

I think I’d assumed that Echo Beach was a real place but no it’s from the Ultravox song. That song is based on the 1959 film Hiroshima Mon Amour and I can’t see from Wikipedia wether Echo Beach is mentioned in that or the band’s own invention. The film also inspired the song Hiroshima Mon Amour by Alcatrazz in 1983, a young Yngwie Malmsteen doing the widdly bits. 

digitalkettle

digitalkettle said:

Self reference: Sting's "big enough umbrella" phrase, born on 'Every Little Thing...' turns up again on 'O My God' and again on 'Seven Days'!

More self reference: just heard 'Dreaming' by Blondie..."Fade away, radiate"

Grunfeld

Creed_Clicks said:

Right Said Fred "I'm too Sexy" has the Jimi Hendrix riff after the chorus

And again at 1:00

Cozy Powell, Dance With The Devil

hollywoodrox

Reverend said:

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

I heard Texas's Say What You Want on the radio for the first time in donkey's years the other day. I still can't help every time I hear Charlene sing "And when I get that feeling..." wanting to finish the line with "...I need sexual healing!"

Not sure if it was remotely intentional or just accidental when they wrote the song. Didn't do them any harm though!

I seem to recall an interview with her talking about recording vocals lying on the floor to get a laidback vibe based on something she had heard about old soul singer doing that

That Motown bass player recorded some of his lines laying down. The famous guy 

KevS

Parisienne Walkways..

Blue Bossa Joe Henderson..




Another Bossa... Smoke on the Water..

EricTheWeary

KevS said:

Parisienne Walkways..

Blue Bossa Joe Henderson..

There's a bit in Mr Crowley (Ozzy Osbourne) that supposedly borrows from Parisienne Walkways.