fbpx
Wikipedia

It's the Same Old Song

April 18, 2024

"It's the Same Old Song" was recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label.[2] It was released in 1965 as the second single from their second album. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song is today one of The Tops' signatures, and was reportedly created—from initial concept to commercial release—in 24 hours. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard R&B chart.[3] It also reached #34 in the UK.[4]

"It's the Same Old Song"
Single by Four Tops
from the album Four Tops' Second Album
B-side"Baby I Need Your Lovin'" (Netherlands); "Your Love Is Amazing" (selected countries, namely in the West German, American and Australian markets); "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" (on one copy in the UK)[1]
ReleasedJuly 9, 1965
RecordedHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); July 8, 1965
GenreSoul, pop
Length2:46
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)Brian Holland
Lamont Dozier
Four Tops singles chronology
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"
(1965) 		"It's the Same Old Song"
(1965) 		"Something About You"
(1965)

Writing and recording edit

With the recent release of a previously unreleased version of "It's the Same Old Song" recorded by the Supremes, the truth of the events as to how the song came together for the Four Tops is put into question. Holland-Dozier-Holland originally wrote and cut a track of "It's the Same Old Song" for the Supremes in May 1965 before the Four Tops' version in July of that year. This first rendition would remain unreleased until 2017. A second version was cut in a very similar style to the Four Tops' styling and would be released in 1967 on The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland.

After "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" hit #1 in June 1965, the Four Tops' former label, Columbia Records, wanting to cash in on the group's success, re-released the Tops' 1960 Columbia single "Ain't That Love". Berry Gordy ordered that a new Four Tops single had to be released within a day's time.[5]

At 3:00 PM that afternoon, the Holland brothers and Lamont Dozier wrote "It's the Same Old Song". Four Tops tenor Abdul "Duke" Fakir recalled:

(Songwriter), Lamont Dozier and I were both a little tipsy and he was changing the channels on the radio. He said, 'It sounds like the same old song.' And then he said, "Wait a minute." So he took "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" and reversed it using the same chord changes. The next day, we went to the studio and recorded it, and then they put it on acetate, shipped it out to disc jockeys across the country."[6]

The engineering team worked around the clock perfecting the single's mix and making hand-cut vinyl records so that Berry Gordy's sister Esther in the Artist Development department could critique them and select the best ones for single release. By 3 P.M. the next day, 1500 copies of "It's the Same Old Song" had been delivered to radio DJs across the country, and the song eventually made it to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two on the R&B chart.

"It's the Same Old Song" is very similar in melody and chord progressions to "I Can't Help Myself", which in turn is even more similar in melody and chord progressions to "Where Did Our Love Go" by the Supremes, who covered "It's the Same Old Song" in 1967. Critic Maury Dean disputes that there is much in common with "I Can't Help Myself", saying that it is "a dynamic NEW treatment, with just a hint of Benny Benjamin's thundering drums echoing" "I Can't Help Myself".[7]

Allmusic critic Ron Wynn calls "It's the Same Old Song" "a tidy little number" with "one of the greatest lyrical hooks -- and titles -- ever."[8] Fellow critic Steve Leggett calls it "wise beyond its era."[9]Billboard claimed that the "pulsating Detroit sound proves a winner once again in this swinger."[10]Cash Box described it as a "potent pop-blueser with a rhythmic fruggin’ beat" that was an "excellent follow-up" to "I Can't Help Myself."[11]Record World called it a "sure-to-be-a-smash followup to their recent charttopper."[12]

Pop music writers and bloggers have noted the similarity of the song's main instrumental riff with the marimba riff in the Rolling Stones song "Under My Thumb" which was first released almost a year later, on April 15, 1966, as part of their album Aftermath.[13][14]

Personnel edit

Charts edit

Cover versions edit

  • Dutch band the Motions had a Dutch top 10 hit with a slightly different arrangement, in 1966.
  • In 1967, Australian singer Ray Brown (following his split with the Whispers), took his recording into the Australian top 10.[citation needed]
  • In 1967 Siw Malmkvist recorded it in Swedish, "Samma gamla sång".
  • In 1971, Claude François covered it in French, "C'est la meme chanson".
  • In 1971, Jonathan King engaged a completely different arrangement under the name The Weathermen and this version reached the UK top 20 selling over 250,000 copies.[citation needed]
  • In 1975, the Armada Orchestra included an instrumental version on their debut self-titled LP.
  • Lamont Dozier, who co-wrote the song, recorded it himself for his 1976 album Right There.
  • Dutch band Pussycat's cover (with the song title shortened to "Same old song") was a Dutch top 10 hit in 1978.
  • In 1978, KC and the Sunshine Band did a disco-based cover. Anticipated to be a big hit as the lead off single from the band's Who Do Ya Love album, and on the heels of a succession of hits by the band, the record was a relative flop. It peaked at #35 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart,[20] and at #41 on both Record World's[21] and Cashbox's top singles charts.[22] Bandleader Harry Wayne "KC" Casey cited lack of airplay, especially from R&B outlets, as the source of the record's chart failure. He stated, "[T]he record never got played and… our records go R&B first and then crossover to pop. But this one didn't get the R&B support; it didn't get the airplay.”[23] On May 29, 1978, KC and the Sunshine Band performed this song on the TV special Happy Birthday, Bob, celebrating the 75th birthday of comedian Bob Hope; it was broadcast from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.[24][25]
  • In 1995, the Pietasters included it on their second album, Oolooloo.
  • In 2016, CID & Kaskade released their single "Sweet Memories", which features a repeated vocal sample from "It's the Same Old Song".

Uses edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ "It's the Same Old Song The Four Tops - 45cat Search". Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  2. ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 25 - The Soul Reformation: Phase two, the Motown story. [Part 4]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  3. ^ "Four Tops Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  4. ^ "Four Tops charts". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  5. ^ Bronson, F. (1997). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books. p. 209. ISBN 0823076415.
  6. ^ "The Four Tops". ClassicBands.com. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  7. ^ Dean, M. (2003). Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 164. ISBN 0875862071.
  8. ^ Wynn, R. "Second Album". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  9. ^ Leggett, S. "The Definitive Collection". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  10. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. July 17, 1965. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  11. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 17, 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  12. ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. July 17, 1965. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  13. ^ Konnikova, Maria (2009-07-30). "Copy Shop". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  14. ^ "Oldie of the week – Under my thumb, or It's the same old song (Stones or The Four Tops?) – FOO Law and Economics". Foolawecon.wordpress.com. 2009-11-07. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  15. ^ Flory, Andrew. I Hear a Symphony: Motown and crossover R&B, University of Michigan Press, 2017, USA, p56
  16. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  17. ^ . Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  18. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  19. ^ . Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  20. ^ "KC & the Sunshine Band - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  21. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2015). The Comparison Book. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Record Research Inc. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7.
  22. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 6/24/78". 98.130.35.56. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  23. ^ "SoulMusic.com". www.soulmusic.info. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  24. ^ Wynn, Bob (1978-05-29), Happy Birthday, Bob, Bob Hope, Lynn Anderson, Ann-Margret, retrieved 2017-10-21
  25. ^ DavEvans066 (2015-05-15), KC & The Sunshine Band – "It's The Same Old Song", retrieved 2017-10-21{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[dead link]
  26. ^ Beckett, david (March 27, 2013). "Blood Simple – Director's Cut (2013) DVD". Film 365.

References edit

  • Dennis, Robert (1998). Our Motown Recording Heritage, Part 3: Emergency Release. Recordingeq.com.

April 18, 2024
same, song, recorded, four, tops, motown, label, released, 1965, second, single, from, their, second, album, written, produced, motown, main, production, team, holland, dozier, holland, song, today, tops, signatures, reportedly, created, from, initial, concept. It s the Same Old Song was recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label 2 It was released in 1965 as the second single from their second album Written and produced by Motown s main production team Holland Dozier Holland the song is today one of The Tops signatures and was reportedly created from initial concept to commercial release in 24 hours It reached 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 2 on the Billboard R amp B chart 3 It also reached 34 in the UK 4 It s the Same Old Song Single by Four Topsfrom the album Four Tops Second AlbumB side Baby I Need Your Lovin Netherlands Your Love Is Amazing selected countries namely in the West German American and Australian markets I Can t Help Myself Sugar Pie Honey Bunch on one copy in the UK 1 ReleasedJuly 9 1965RecordedHitsville U S A Studio A July 8 1965GenreSoul popLength2 46LabelMotownSongwriter s Holland Dozier HollandProducer s Brian Holland Lamont DozierFour Tops singles chronology I Can t Help Myself Sugar Pie Honey Bunch 1965 It s the Same Old Song 1965 Something About You 1965 Contents 1 Writing and recording 2 Personnel 3 Charts 3 1 Weekly charts 3 2 Year end charts 4 Cover versions 5 Uses 6 Notes 6 1 ReferencesWriting and recording editWith the recent release of a previously unreleased version of It s the Same Old Song recorded by the Supremes the truth of the events as to how the song came together for the Four Tops is put into question Holland Dozier Holland originally wrote and cut a track of It s the Same Old Song for the Supremes in May 1965 before the Four Tops version in July of that year This first rendition would remain unreleased until 2017 A second version was cut in a very similar style to the Four Tops styling and would be released in 1967 on The Supremes Sing Holland Dozier Holland After I Can t Help Myself Sugar Pie Honey Bunch hit 1 in June 1965 the Four Tops former label Columbia Records wanting to cash in on the group s success re released the Tops 1960 Columbia single Ain t That Love Berry Gordy ordered that a new Four Tops single had to be released within a day s time 5 At 3 00 PM that afternoon the Holland brothers and Lamont Dozier wrote It s the Same Old Song Four Tops tenor Abdul Duke Fakir recalled Songwriter Lamont Dozier and I were both a little tipsy and he was changing the channels on the radio He said It sounds like the same old song And then he said Wait a minute So he took I Can t Help Myself Sugar Pie Honey Bunch and reversed it using the same chord changes The next day we went to the studio and recorded it and then they put it on acetate shipped it out to disc jockeys across the country 6 The engineering team worked around the clock perfecting the single s mix and making hand cut vinyl records so that Berry Gordy s sister Esther in the Artist Development department could critique them and select the best ones for single release By 3 P M the next day 1500 copies of It s the Same Old Song had been delivered to radio DJs across the country and the song eventually made it to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two on the R amp B chart It s the Same Old Song is very similar in melody and chord progressions to I Can t Help Myself which in turn is even more similar in melody and chord progressions to Where Did Our Love Go by the Supremes who covered It s the Same Old Song in 1967 Critic Maury Dean disputes that there is much in common with I Can t Help Myself saying that it is a dynamic NEW treatment with just a hint of Benny Benjamin s thundering drums echoing I Can t Help Myself 7 Allmusic critic Ron Wynn calls It s the Same Old Song a tidy little number with one of the greatest lyrical hooks and titles ever 8 Fellow critic Steve Leggett calls it wise beyond its era 9 Billboard claimed that the pulsating Detroit sound proves a winner once again in this swinger 10 Cash Box described it as a potent pop blueser with a rhythmic fruggin beat that was an excellent follow up to I Can t Help Myself 11 Record World called it a sure to be a smash followup to their recent charttopper 12 Pop music writers and bloggers have noted the similarity of the song s main instrumental riff with the marimba riff in the Rolling Stones song Under My Thumb which was first released almost a year later on April 15 1966 as part of their album Aftermath 13 14 Personnel editLead vocals by Levi Stubbs Background vocals by Abdul Duke Fakir Renaldo Obie Benson Lawrence Payton and The Andantes Jackie Hicks Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra strings Baritone saxophone by Mike Terry 15 Written by Brian Holland Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland Jr Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont DozierCharts editWeekly charts edit Chart 1965 PeakpositionUK Official Charts Company 34US Billboard Hot 100 16 5US Billboard R amp B 2US Cash Box Top 100 17 6 Year end charts edit Chart 1965 RankUS Billboard Hot 100 18 83US Cash Box Top 100 19 61Cover versions editDutch band the Motions had a Dutch top 10 hit with a slightly different arrangement in 1966 In 1967 Australian singer Ray Brown following his split with the Whispers took his recording into the Australian top 10 citation needed In 1967 Siw Malmkvist recorded it in Swedish Samma gamla sang In 1971 Claude Francois covered it in French C est la meme chanson In 1971 Jonathan King engaged a completely different arrangement under the name The Weathermen and this version reached the UK top 20 selling over 250 000 copies citation needed In 1975 the Armada Orchestra included an instrumental version on their debut self titled LP Lamont Dozier who co wrote the song recorded it himself for his 1976 album Right There Dutch band Pussycat s cover with the song title shortened to Same old song was a Dutch top 10 hit in 1978 In 1978 KC and the Sunshine Band did a disco based cover Anticipated to be a big hit as the lead off single from the band s Who Do Ya Love album and on the heels of a succession of hits by the band the record was a relative flop It peaked at 35 on Billboard s Hot 100 chart 20 and at 41 on both Record World s 21 and Cashbox s top singles charts 22 Bandleader Harry Wayne KC Casey cited lack of airplay especially from R amp B outlets as the source of the record s chart failure He stated T he record never got played and our records go R amp B first and then crossover to pop But this one didn t get the R amp B support it didn t get the airplay 23 On May 29 1978 KC and the Sunshine Band performed this song on the TV special Happy Birthday Bob celebrating the 75th birthday of comedian Bob Hope it was broadcast from the Kennedy Center in Washington D C 24 25 In 1995 the Pietasters included it on their second album Oolooloo In 2016 CID amp Kaskade released their single Sweet Memories which features a repeated vocal sample from It s the Same Old Song Uses editThe group appeared in a Velveeta Shells amp Cheese commercial where they spoofed It s the Same Old Song with something called It s Not the Same Old Side This commercial features the group performing in outfits of blue and yellow to match the colors of the Velveeta Shells amp Cheese box The group also appeared in a promo for The Rosie O Donnell Show where they also spoofed It s the Same Old Song with a song called It s Not the Same Old Show It appears in the 1984 Coen Brothers film Blood Simple in both the 99 minute theatrical release and the 96 minute 2001 and 2008 DVD releases The song is not featured on the official soundtrack for the film and is not on the 1995 99 minute VHS release 26 Although the song does not appear in the 1983 film The Big Chill it is included on both the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and More Songs from the Big Chill Notes edit It s the Same Old Song The Four Tops 45cat Search Retrieved 3 October 2014 Gilliland John 1969 Show 25 The Soul Reformation Phase two the Motown story Part 4 audio Pop Chronicles University of North Texas Libraries Four Tops Awards Allmusic Retrieved 2014 03 15 Four Tops charts officialcharts com Retrieved 2014 03 16 Bronson F 1997 The Billboard Book of Number One Hits Billboard Books p 209 ISBN 0823076415 The Four Tops ClassicBands com Retrieved 3 October 2014 Dean M 2003 Rock n Roll Gold Rush Algora p 164 ISBN 0875862071 Wynn R Second Album Allmusic Retrieved 2014 03 15 Leggett S The Definitive Collection Allmusic Retrieved 2014 03 16 Spotlight Singles PDF Billboard July 17 1965 p 14 Retrieved 2021 03 11 CashBox Record Reviews PDF Cash Box July 17 1965 p 12 Retrieved 2022 01 12 Single Picks of the Week PDF Record World July 17 1965 p 1 Retrieved 2023 07 21 Konnikova Maria 2009 07 30 Copy Shop The New Yorker Retrieved 2016 09 29 Oldie of the week Under my thumb or It s the same old song Stones or The Four Tops FOO Law and Economics Foolawecon wordpress com 2009 11 07 Retrieved 2016 09 29 Flory Andrew I Hear a Symphony Motown and crossover R amp B University of Michigan Press 2017 USA p56 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Cash Box Top 100 Singles September 11 1965 Archived from the original on May 10 2015 Retrieved February 25 2017 Musicoutfitters com Cash Box Year End Charts Top 100 Pop Singles December 25 1965 Archived from the original on May 10 2017 Retrieved February 25 2017 KC amp the Sunshine Band Chart history Billboard Retrieved 2016 09 29 Whitburn Joel 2015 The Comparison Book Ann Arbor Michigan Record Research Inc p 276 ISBN 978 0 89820 213 7 Cash Box Top 100 6 24 78 98 130 35 56 Retrieved 2017 10 21 SoulMusic com www soulmusic info Retrieved 2017 10 21 Wynn Bob 1978 05 29 Happy Birthday Bob Bob Hope Lynn Anderson Ann Margret retrieved 2017 10 21 DavEvans066 2015 05 15 KC amp The Sunshine Band It s The Same Old Song retrieved 2017 10 21 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link dead link Beckett david March 27 2013 Blood Simple Director s Cut 2013 DVD Film 365 References edit Dennis Robert 1998 Our Motown Recording Heritage Part 3 Emergency Release Recordingeq com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title It 27s the Same Old Song amp oldid 1178642314, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.