Russell Fox devoted his Friday 70-80s music video post to Laura Branigan's "Gloria". It took me only a few seconds to realize that this wasn't a cover of Van Morrison and Them's "Gloria." which isn't all that surprising since it was a big, big hit-probably outselling the Them 45 and the Shadows of Knight cover.* I realized that I had heard the song before. Another generation would think of "Gloria" as yet another song by U2. And, what do you know there was a doo wop song "Gloria" a hit for the Cadillacs in 1954, though this "Gloria" was a 1948 hit for the Mills Brothers and recorded by several artists a few years earlier.
I wonder if there is another song title that has been given to so many different songs.
Vote for your favorite in the comments. (Mine would be for Van Morrison/Them.)
There's also a video of Van Morrison performing the song with blues great John Lee Hooker.
*The Shadows had slightly altered the song's lyrics, replacing Morrison's original "she comes to my room, then she made me feel alright" with "she called out my name, that made me feel alright" after influential Chicago station WLS had banned Them's original version. That gave the band a hit record
Friday, May 06, 2011
Gloria: 4 different songs, 4 rock eras
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1 comment:
For me and a few other people I know who are around my age, the only "Gloria" that mattered was Patti Smith's embellished cover of the Them song, which was actually much better than the original, at least to my ears. I was 14 or so when I first heard it, back in the mid '70s, and it was the first time that contemporary rock music actually started to sound exciting to me. For many people 10, 20 or more years older, it was probably the first time in a while... Or that song and a few others coming out were the first time in while... Patti's "Gloria" was one of the markers of the beginning of the punk movement in my hometown, New York City. For a short time thereafter, American and (then) British rock music actually did regain some momentum and significance, though to find the best stuff, you had to dig a little underground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxygqSTO1lQ
P.S. As you might know, Patti has always been a strong advocate for democratic-left politics too.
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