Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
I'm not surprised that our winner in the Battle of the Bands for Killing Me Softly is Roberta Flack with twenty-two votes, including my own. It wasn't a shutout, though. The Fugees have seven votes.
I think I should have chosen someone else to battle the Fugees. Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly is the definitive version, although she didn't write it and wasn't the first to record it.
Charles Fox wrote the music. Norman Gimbel wrote the lyrics. Lori Lieberman collaborated with them and was the first to record the song.
All knowing Wikipedia states: "According to Lori Lieberman, the artist who performed the original recording in 1972, the song was born of a poem she wrote after experiencing a strong reaction to the song Empty Chairs, written, composed, and recorded by Don McLean. She then related this information to Gimbel, who took her feelings and put them into words. Then, Gimbel passed the words on to Fox, who set them to music."
It's only fair that we give Lori Lieberman a listen:
Yeah. It would have been a tighter contest, I think, if it had been Lori Lieberman v. the Fugees. But who knows? A lot of people found the Fugees annoying.
Now, let's listen to Don McLean and the song that inspired Lieberman:
The tune and even the lyrics remind me of Vincent, a song I love. Is Don McLean one of those people who writes different versions of the same song over and over?
On what I hope you'll think is a sweeter note, please sing us out, Roberta Flack, with my favorite song among your many hits, another song you didn't write, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face:
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
My motto as an editor: Authors are the authority on their work. I'm a full-service editor. For a reasonable fee, I'm your writing coach from the first suggested revision to the correction of the final typo.
JANIE ~
ReplyDeleteThis was an exceptional follow-up BOTB post. Filling in all the spaces and bringing this Battle to its conclusion.
That Lori Lieberman had a nice, soft personality. I think you could have put her up against Roberta and had a decent Battle - certainly closer than matching her with the chattering Fugees.
It was nice to see Mike Douglas again, too. I used to watch him ALL THE TIME.
You're right, 'EMPTY CHAIRS' is really just 'VINCENT' with different words. The melody is nearly exact. Well, Don got way away from that melody with 'AMERICAN PIE' though.
And I'm with you: I dig 'KILLING ME SOFTLY...' a great deal, but 'FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE' is my favorite of Roberta's hits. I have adored that song from the first time ever I heard it played.
You'll get the feel for BOTB more and more as you go along. It's always dangerous to use a really well known big hit original against a cover. Usually cover vs. cover gives a closer voting result.
Occasionally though, I will flirt with disaster (daring the dreaded shutout) by putting an original hit against a cover. But in those cases, I know I've found a really good cover, and most often it will come at the song from a very different angle, differentiating itself from the hit. Example: Maybe the hit is a straightforward Rocker, but my cover is a high-energy Reggae take on it. Or maybe the hit is an American Standard, but I've got an upbeat Jazz/Rock fusion cover to challenge it with.
In other words, a cover that is even remotely similar to a big hit original is not likely to give it much competition. But if you find something that's damned good and almost in another genre, really, then you might wind up with interesting results and a real Battle on your hands.
I've done 49 Battles now, so I've figured out a few things via trial and error.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
I think everyone watched Mike Douglas. I believe his show was on right after I got home from school. One year for The Hurricane's birthday I sent her a YouTube video of the Mike Douglas show with Yoko Ono calling people to say, This is Yoko Ono. I love you.
DeleteThe Hurricane thought it was hilarious. I think everyone in the world was on Mike Douglas. I miss those days with his show, like I miss Ed Sullivan on Sunday nights.
I like Lori the best. I will vote for her since I neglected to vote the first time around.
ReplyDeleteLori said to thank you. She finds comfort in your vote.
DeleteHi, dear Janie Junebug! I was on the losing side this time but I'm sure that someday my tears will dry and I will be able put this terrible setback behind me and move on with my life.
ReplyDeleteI think it would have been a much closer contest if you had Roberta Flack battling Lori Lieberman. I thoroughly enjoyed Lori's performance on Mike Douglas and would have voted for her in your BOTB. I would also have voted for Sid Vicious in a battle against Roberta Flack. I have nothing against Roberta Flack personally. As I mentioned before, Roberta recordings were favorites of Mrs. Shady #1 and they bring back painful memories. "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is even harder for me to hear than "Killing Me Softly." WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
You have a new and improved Mrs. Shady. No need to cry. There, there, son. Pretend we're on Father Knows Best or The Donna Reed Show, and I'm the dad who helps you deal with your sorrow. I replaced X with Willy Dunne Wooters. We're not married, but the Wooters man is a good deal. He loves me, has his own apartment with a nice pool, and doesn't expect me to cook or do his laundry. When I insist on cooking, he looks as if it's Christmas and he's received the best gift ever.
DeleteI like the song, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." It's been a while since I've heard it.
ReplyDeleteI have the Roberta Flack Greatest Hits CD. Not that I listen to it, but I like knowing it's in the cabinet if I want it.
Deletehahahahaha Oh My goodness your right !
ReplyDeletehere goes, I think Don McLean voice, guitar playing, slow beat and his phrasing (?) makes every song sound the same.
Just saying....
The Fugees just make my teeth itch.
cheers, parsnip
I've never heard that expression before. I like it. In high school I had a friend who said, I haven't laughed so hard since the hogs ate my brother. I've never forgotten her because of that.
DeleteIn Killing Me Softly, I think an important line is "and then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there." I think it's proof that Don McLean is totally unaware of the audience so he just sings the same song with different words. Maybe Don McLean is an alien.
First Time Ever I Saw Your face is another Roberta Flack masterpiece that will probably never be sung better.
ReplyDeleteEverything she does is the best. I want to be Roberta Flack.
DeleteHmm, if you and I get together in person, I'm not sure what we'll listen to. I don't like any music from the 70s. Except the Ramones. Do you like the Ramones?
ReplyDeleteI think my son has a Ramones t-shirt I can borrow. I can show you all my albums. We'll listen to The Carpenters and Bread and Three Dog Night. Then you can introduce me to the eighties because all I remember is changing diapers.
DeleteI am not surprised but I have to say I love Lori's voice! It is so strong, different yet controlled. I love it. Don McLean's voice is so closely related to Vincent that this song sounds so similar to Vincent. I always love The First Time I ever saw your face. It is a truly beautiful song
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful song. It's so romantic. I always thought Roberta Flack wrote Killing Me Softly and The First Time because she sings them so perfectly.
DeleteI'm not surprised Roberta Flack won this battle. Lori Liebermann has a beautiful voice and I would have voted for her. ☺ It's the rap in the other one, primarily, that turned me off.
ReplyDeleteYou have a point about Don McLean. I'm doing Vincent in a future BOTB.
The first time I heard Roberta's other song was in the movie "Play Misty for Me". It played during a great love scene between Donna Mills and Clint Eastwood. Do you know it?
The first time I was aware of Roberta Flack was when I saw Play Misty For Me. My older sister and her boyfriend took me to the drive in. I remember the love scene between Clint Eastwood and Donna Mills very well.
DeleteIt just occurred to me that you can have a battle with Don McLean v. Don McLean.
DeleteI prefer Roberta Flack. Whenever the Fugee's version plays on the radio station, mom says it sounds like she's going to a funeral.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it sounds funereal--just kind of odd.
DeleteOh, I still like the Fugees, no matter what the count was...it will console them in their hour of need. I'm nice like that.
ReplyDeleteYou are, darling. You are sweet and generous, and the Fugees love you. They are going to re-unite to do a show especially for you.
DeleteYay Roberta on all counts!
ReplyDeleteI want to be fishducky and hear Roberta in person.
DeleteEven if I didn't like the Fugees, it was a great battle. And cheers to Roberta playing us out...
ReplyDeleteRoberta Flack: living proof that you don't need to have written a song to make it your own.
True, Beer Boys. Many artists have been criticized for not writing their own tunes.
DeleteHoly Cow! I forgot that Lori Lieberman did this song originally and it's her track that I loved the best. Geez, I can't believe that I forgot this! Anyhoo, thanks for sharing the results. It's no surprise that Roberta won, though. ;) Nice battle, Janie!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great battle and I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, had you used Lori Lieberman, I would have given her my vote.
When I was a singer in a life long, long ago, I sang "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" a lot of times. It was one of three or four songs requested of me by the audience. Frankly, I really tired of it. But listening to it now thrilled me, brought on goose bumps and lots and lots of fond memories. Thank you!
ReplyDelete