Until 2014, I was confident most of the nerdy musical ephemera residing in my addled brain for the previous sixty-five years would languish unused until my demise. But that year, as I began getting paid to deliver courses featuring some of this useless information, it began making a sort of perverse sense to pay more attention to - and perhaps even start collecting - this stuff. In addition, the inception of my blog, occurring three years before the useless began becoming useful, gave me another outlet for any musical flotsam I couldn't somehow jam into one of my courses.
All of which brings me to today's scholarly musical question. What single song title that has been used at least four times has the best group of unique songs associated with it? Before answering, please consider:
1.) The song title must be exactly the same. For example, do not include I'm On Fire - or anything like that - if you decide Fire is your nomination. Yes, there are at least five songs, although the five I've collected are not all great, using just that one word as their title. Your nomination must have four great songs using the exact same word(s). This also includes anything in parenthesis - it must be a complete match.
2.) Using Google is cheating.
3.) I plan to construct a future iteration of Mt. Rushmore with sixteen songs (4 X 4) using just four song titles. Because at present I have just eight (2 X 4) of my sixteen ready - Fire is not among them - there is an honorarium awaiting any reader who supplies me with another title, i.e. four great songs using the exact same word(s). If any single reader supplies me with two titles (i.e. eight songs) that I subsequently decide to put on my monument, I'm buying dinner, in addition to the honorarium.
OK, get to work. Consider this nerdy assignment consulting research for one of my future courses.
Reflections From The Bell Curve: Making Use Of The Useless
Pat, As you already know, I am a music nerd and I have collected a large digital music collection on my computer and I love a musical challenge (remember your previous challenge of solo artists that were never part of a band). Searching my collection, I was able to find 233 song names that have more than four unique versions by different artists.
ReplyDeleteThe one with the most different versions is:
"Home" - Alan Jackson, Bearnaked Ladies, Blake Shelton, Breaking Benjamin, Brian McKnight, Cat Stevens, Daughtry, Depeche Mode, Dierks Bentley, Dream Theater, Ellie Goulding, Foo Fighters, Goo Goo Dolls, Iggy Pop, Jethro Tull, Joe Walsh, Katherine McPhee, LCD Soundsystem, Lady Antebellum, Lene Lovich, Michael Buble, Nine Inch Nails, Phillips Phillips, Public Image Ltd, Roger Waters, Sarah McLachlan, She & Him, Sheryl Crow, Smash Mouth, Spearhead, Staind, Three Days Grace, Trisha Yearwood, Vanessa Carlton
Some of the other ones that I found are:
"America" - Europe, Jewel, Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, Tori Amos, Waylon Jennings. "West Side Story", Yes
"Better Days" - Badfinger, Bruce Springsteen, Faith Hill, Goo Goo Dolls, Graham Nash, Janet Jackson, The Psychedelic Furs, Rufus
"Hello" - Adele, Courtney Love, Evanescence, Karmin, Erykah Badu, Lionel Richie, Oasis, Sugarland
"Dancing in the Dark" - Bing Crosby, Bruce Springsteen, Imagine Dragons, Kim Wilde
I'll share with you the full list the next time that I see you. (Should be soon.)
--Chris
Chris; 233? Just from your collection? Truly amazing! Leave it to you to come up with this. Of the five song titles you've listed (from your list of 233), I did not have any of these five on my own nerdy (directly out of my head) list. So, if one or two of end up on my Mt. Rushmore, I might owe you an honorarium and, possibly, a dinner as well. You are truly the most nerdy non-musician music lover I have ever known. I love that about you.
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