Category: Twofer Tuesday

Music Blog, Twofer Tuesday

Twofer Tuesday 4.16

The Sicilian Storyteller

One of the biggest hits in 1970 for the Canadian group The Guess Who was a song that seemingly warned against getting involved with American women. However, songwriter Burton Cummings said that it was simply his way of saying he preferred Canadian girls. Whatever the meaning, Lenny Kravitz tapped into the song’s magnetism and added some guitar theatrics in his 1999 remake that has since become a cover version that stands alongside the original. The song was, of course, “American Woman”.

The single version by The Guess Who reached #1 and held on for three weeks on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM magazine singles chart. Kravitz covered the song for the soundtrack of “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”. When it was released as a single, it reached #49 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The Guess Who joined Kravitz and his band for a live performance of “American Woman” at the 1999 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto.

From 1970, here are The Guess Who with “American Woman”

And this is how it sounded when Lenny Kravitz released his version in 1999.

That’s today’s Twofer Tuesday! Thanks for stopping by.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.

Seventies, Twofer Tuesday

Twofer Tuesday 4.9

The Sicilian Storyteller

Kris Kristofferson is one of country music’s most covered songwriters and the most famous instance of the troubadour’s work translating beautifully to another performer is Janis Joplin’s iconic recording of “Me And Bobby McGee”, certainly the one we recall when thinking of her doing bluesy country rock. Her rendition is full of vocal improvisation and heartbreak 
. an embrace of blissed-out guitars, smokey twang and free spirits. Without a doubt, Janis Joplin was the most transcendent, mesmerizing, complex yet naĂŻve and unpretentious artist I’ve had the privilege of seeing in concert.

A posthumously released version of “Me And Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin topped the US singles chart in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released #1 single in US chart history after “Dock Of The Bay” by Otis Redding.  Billboard ranked Joplin’s version as the #1 song for 1971. In 2002, Janis Joplin’s “Me And Bobby McGee” was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.

Let’s listen to the original first. From 1970, this is “Me And Bobby McGee” by singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson.

And this is what the song sounded like when Janis Joplin recorded it.

That’s today’s Twofer Tuesday!

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.