Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth passed away in 1932, but his “Brejeiro” got a new lease on life when The Muppet Show debuted in 1976. I guess what this says about “Muppet Show Theme” composers Sam Pottle and Jim Henson is that they had good taste.
Bola Sete and His New Brazilian Trio – “Brejeiro” (1966) (excerpt)
“The Muppet Show Theme” (1976) (excerpt)
I guess a better title for this post would be David Rose does Marty Paich. Rose is the composer of the theme song for Little House on the Prairie, the long-running ’70s-’80s TV drama I remember being a steady depiction of heart-wrenching pioneer misfortune. Paich is the featured arranger of Gloria Lynne’s 1963 Gloria, Marty and Strings LP. Surely the image of the Ingalls family traveling on a hilltop to their “little house” had Rose thinking about Gloria and Marty’s “Folks Who Live on the Hill” to the extent that he nabbed and reworked that opening french horn intro – even building a whole theme song around it – as a knowing wink.
Gloria Lynne – “Folks Who Live on the Hill” (1963) (excerpt)
David Rose – “Little House on the Prairie Theme” (1974) (excerpt)
Although he never got in trouble for over-borrowing from Mott the Hoople (see previous post), Rod Stewart got busted pretty quick in 1978 for using Brazilian singer-songwriter Jorge Ben’s “Taj Mahal” refrain for his “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” (with the songwriting credited to Rod Stewart and Carmine Appice). Tempers cooled, though, when Stewart announced that all proceeds for his disco-era smash would ultimately go to UNICEF. In 1978 Stewart would get in trouble again when his “Forever Young” irritated Bob Dylan, whose own “Forever Young” was an obvious influence. So the two mammoths ended up splitting the royalties, which was no compensation for those of us who were irritated by the song in general.
Jorge Ben – “Taj Mahal” (1972 version)
Jorge Ben – “Taj Mahal” (1976 version)
Rod Stewart’s “Baby Jane,” a UK #1 and a US #14, lifted its central hook from Mott the Hoople’s “Wrong Side of the River.” I wonder if Mick Ralphs ever realized it or cared.
Mott the Hoople – “Wrong Side of the River” (1971) (excerpt)
Written by: Mick Ralphs
Rod Stewart – “Baby Jane” (1983) (excerpt)
Written by: Rod Stewart and Jay Davis
Say what you want about Deep Purple – they had solid source material. “Black Night” hit #2 in the UK in 1970 (and #66 in the US), while the Blues Magoos’ “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet” was a US Top 5 hit in 1966.
The Blues Magoos – “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet” (1966) (excerpt)
Deep Purple – “Black Night” (1970) (excerpt)
Update: And thanks to Brule who’s prompted a title change to this post and who’s confirmed that this riff’s roots go back at least as far as Ricky Nelson’s early sixties version of “Summertime.” We all know Ricky was top notch, but this just confirms it. And while we’re on it, James Burton’s guitar sounds to me like it also inspired Johnny Rivers’ hit version of “Memphis.”
Roberta Flack’s “The Closer I Get to You,” a duet with Donny Hathaway which came out in 1977, is one of the creamiest and most irresistible of all seventies soul ballads. But I think songwriters Reggie Lucas and James Mtume got some of their musical inspiration from a short scene in It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, which came out in 1974. See what you think.
Birdhouse lounge scene in It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974)
“The Closer I Get to You” (1977)
If you’re already familiar with this song either as a U.S. hit by Mac and Katie Sissoon (UK-based Trinidadians) in ’71 or the Euro smash by Middle of the Road that same year, you might especially enjoy this tender treatment by a Finnish now-you-see-’em-now-you-don’t outfit called Briard.
Briard – “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep”