I was watching a YouTube clip of some old TV show host interviewing the late actor Peter Sellers. The host brought up that Sellers started out as a drummer in a band, and asked why he didn’t stick with music as a career. Sellers’ answer was that life on the road as a musician wasn’t that glamorous. He proceeded to tell a story about how musicians often get asked to play the strangest requests.
Apparently there was a piano player at a party who was asked to play a request. “Can you play, ‘That’s What You Are’?” The piano player was stumped, having never heard of the song, but offered to go through his books there and see if he could find it. A little later, the guy came back and asked if he was ever going to play “That’s What You Are.” The piano player said, “I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard that song, and it’s not in any of my books, so I can’t play it.” And the guy was kind of ticked off — “Well I never thought I’d see the day in this country that a guy hadn’t heard the song ‘That’s What You Are,'” and all that. So finally the piano player said, “Well, maybe if you would sing a few bars, I’ll see if I can pick it up.” “Okay,” the guy said. It goes like this: “Unforgettable, that’s what you are…..”
It reminded me of people who would come up and ask me if I could play “The Sting.” And by that, of course, they meant “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin, which was played by Marvin Hamlisch in the movie called “The Sting” starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. I always want to say, “No, I’m sorry sir, I don’t know any song called ‘The Sting.’ Do you mean, ‘I Got Stung’ by Mr. Elvis Presley?”
And it also reminded me of back when I used to play keyboards with JammSammich back in the late ’90s. We were playing ’70s funk, soul and disco, and would dress the part with retro clothing and even the occasional afro wig. After a full set and a half of playing stuff by bands like The Commodores, KC & the Sunshine Band, and Kool & the Gang, we’d inevitably have someone come up and ask if we could play “Sweet Home Alabama.” Uh, no.
Let’s sing, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”…
Or “I’m Proud to be an American.”
And what, may I ask, is wrong with “Sweet Home Alabama?” I think you are bigoted against Southerners …
😉
How can someone be bigoted against racist rednecks? One can only have pity on them.
Alabama… now there is a state with a long proud history… of what?
three words, kcdad …
WAR DAMN EAGLES
Reminds me of a place I visited in San Diego called the Shout House. They have dueling piano’s were you request songs. They wouldn’t play sweet home Alabama either.
Whereas the dueling pianos bar I went to in law school ALWAYS played Sweet Home Alabama and all the Alabama and Auburn grads, very drunk, competed to have their refrain shouts be louder.
And those same people would have rioted if the dueling pianos guys played Neil Young’s “Southern Man” which inspired Lynyrd Skynyrd to write “Sweet Home Alabama” as a response.
Go South and request some Randy Newman… good luck with that.
FREEBIRD!!!
’nuff said.
It’s a curse sometimes being a musician or into music more than the average bear. I find myself often reprimanded for my extensive knowledge of who played guitar or sang backups on what songs. Not to mention, I always get asked to play songs live that I have never heard or are improperly labeled. Also, gotta love those folks who love their music, but don’t take the time to find out who really played the track, wrote the song, or even its real title.
I remember looking up “My Own Worst Enemy” on Napster back when it was still illegal to use the program, and seeing over 1000 versions all belonging to a band called “Green Day.” I wanted to slap someone.
(For those who don’t know, “Lit” is the band that performed “Enemy.”)
Michael-
As a musician I feel sick when I make the mistake of associating a song with the wrong artist. It’s like a personal failure to not know those things.
For many years I thought the song “Dream On” was Led Zeppelin rather than Aerosmith.
And when “My Own Worst Enemy” was pretty new, I thought it was Blink 182.
“WAR DAMN EAGLES
Left by Eyebrows McGee on August 11th, 2008”
Is that the school of Coach Tie Dye?