Why was this song a hit?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Manslick
  • Start date Start date
Manslick said:
... anything in the last 5 years come to mind? ...
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Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love"

Although No Doubt no doubt (for sure) has had some great hits, "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani was to me another one.

A sick test, to me, as to whether a song is "really a song" or just bullshit is if you could make a Muzak version of it. Picture a Muzak version of "Milkshake" by Kelis. :(

Here's a great song for weddings! :)
 
Yep it’s got all the ingredients plus a pinch of street crassosity.

I’d wonder what a mashup of this and Walking on the Sun would sound like.
 
gecko zzed said:
Interestingly, there are hundreds of songs released each year, all clamouring for attention and being pushed by their respective interests . . . yet there are only a few that have that certain quality that resonates with enough listeners to make them hits. We tend to link hit-making to the marketing machinery . . . but in the end, it is the listeners who decide what they're going to buy.
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Nobody knows why some songs hit and others don't. A certain something just grabs a number of people....who can tell ? Why do you like a certain sequence in one song but it does nothing for you in another ? I think marketing and payola are simply too simplistic as total explanations coz nobody forces anyone to go buy a recording (or illegally download it !). To answer the question directly, it was hit coz.......a load of people happened to like it and went out and bought it. The Hermits were rather hoping that would happen so they or Mickie Most obviously felt that it was likeable. Remember, the 'hit foresight' starts usually with the writer.......
A few years ago, I took some kids down to this beach and there was a monument there to old Henry. This 7 year old said to me as he walked past this plaque, "who was Henry Vill ?".
 
It was a proven melody that had stood the test of time - music hall provided a string of such hits with beat group revamps in the 60's.
Humourous lyrics, cute tags like: "2nd verse same as the 1st", the historical connection, the contoversy of the history, the serial marrying widow next door, the Pommy come cockney delivery and a band who had the media's attention for more than their 15 mins = a novelty hit. Leaning On The Lamp Post uses many some of the same recipe.
Their less derivatives hits Mrs Brown (You've Got A Lovely Daughter) & Sea Cruise use elements of the same without quite so much recycling.
Speaking of Recycling The Hoodoo Gurus use Mrs Brown as a bit of a template for My Girl - all the way down to walking the greyhound as a reference.
 
grimtraveller said:
Nobody knows why some songs hit and others don't. A certain something just grabs a number of people....who can tell ? Why do you like a certain sequence in one song but it does nothing for you in another ? I think marketing and payola are simply too simplistic as total explanations coz nobody forces anyone to go buy a recording (or illegally download it !). To answer the question directly, it was hit coz.......a load of people happened to like it and went out and bought it.
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yup, this ^^^

While somebody's marketing team is trying as hard as hell to push this song, someone else's is trying just as hard to push that one. In the end, it is the listener who makes the choice.
 
rayc said:
It was a proven melody that had stood the test of time - music hall provided a string of such hits with beat group revamps in the 60's.
Humourous lyrics, cute tags like: "2nd verse same as the 1st", the historical connection, the contoversy of the history, the serial marrying widow next door, the Pommy come cockney delivery and a band who had the media's attention for more than their 15 mins = a novelty hit. Leaning On The Lamp Post uses many some of the same recipe.
Their less derivatives hits Mrs Brown (You've Got A Lovely Daughter) & Sea Cruise use elements of the same without quite so much recycling.
Speaking of Recycling The Hoodoo Gurus use Mrs Brown as a bit of a template for My Girl - all the way down to walking the greyhound as a reference.
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Wow. Excellent. The song was a proven melody, a fact I did not know until I googled it.
 
Manslick said:
So did you break out your best Hermans?
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No, but 11 years later I'm still laughing at it. I should've told him "Henryville is the name of a village in France" or some ridiculous tale.

I do love "Something is happening" and "Something good" though. Great songs. I'm singing them now. :cool: :D
 
Manslick said:
Yeah I agree that the timing was probably the most important factor. Those days seem so innocent now.

I remember this song when it hit and to me it was the clever way they spun the six wives of Henry VIII into I’m Henry the 8th, the 8th husband of the widow next door who only married guys named Henry. That simple spin is genius as it turned out.

I think too the simplicity was a big part. Even though those days seem mild by comparison they were not and I think people then and now want to hear songs they don’t have to think about. But you can’t help but get the cleverness of Henry.

So moresound

Can you list a few?
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WELL THE NEWEST ONE THAT I CAN THINK OF IS
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>WAIT FOR IT.........................
SHIT EATING GRIN ----BY GREG_L :laughings::laughings::laughings:
NOT YET A #1 HIT BUT THAT SONG IS GOING TO BE WITH A BULLET!!!!!!!!
DAM IT NOW IT'S STUCK IN MY HEAD AGAIN
 
Henry the VIII was the first rock song I ever performed 'live! I did the '2nd verse same as the first' part for the son of a freind of my parents a couple years older than me. He had a cheap electric guitar and amp and played out the garage of his suburban house. Neighbor girls flocked to listen. I think we did 45 verses. :eek:
 
moresound said:
WELL THE NEWEST ONE THAT I CAN THINK OF IS
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>WAIT FOR IT.........................
SHIT EATING GRIN ----BY GREG_L :laughings::laughings::laughings:
NOT YET A #1 HIT BUT THAT SONG IS GOING TO BE WITH A BULLET!!!!!!!!
DAM IT NOW IT'S STUCK IN MY HEAD AGAIN
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Stranger things have happened.
 
mjbphotos said:
Henry the VIII was the first rock song I ever performed 'live! I did the '2nd verse same as the first' part for the son of a freind of my parents a couple years older than me. He had a cheap electric guitar and amp and played out the garage of his suburban house. Neighbor girls flocked to listen. I think we did 45 verses. :eek:
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45 verses! Have you checked the book of records?

Proves there's no such thing as too much of a good thing.
 
moresound said:
WELL THE NEWEST ONE THAT I CAN THINK OF IS
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>WAIT FOR IT.........................
SHIT EATING GRIN ----BY GREG_L :laughings::laughings::laughings:
NOT YET A #1 HIT BUT THAT SONG IS GOING TO BE WITH A BULLET!!!!!!!!
DAM IT NOW IT'S STUCK IN MY HEAD AGAIN
Click to expand...

:laughings: :laughings: :laughings: :laughings:
 
grimtraveller said:
No, but 11 years later I'm still laughing at it. I should've told him "Henryville is the name of a village in France" or some ridiculous tale.

I do love "Something is happening" and "Something good" though. Great songs. I'm singing them now. :cool: :D
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There is a Henryville up in Canada between New Hampshire and Montreal some relatives of mine live there.
 
Who I really feel sorry for is Willie or Sam! I'm sure that if she really got to know them that she may have chosen one of them over a Henry. :laughings:
 
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