Pop/Rock Homages

[Whats on Second]

we all know ELP and The Nice made a career plundering the output of other composers, but any other examples of songs, tunes and poptastic hits that borrowed, either wholesale or parts, classical, opera, musical theatre and jazz riffs, melodies, refrains and toons ?

alice cooper did a version of the jet song from west side story on the school's out album.

[singlecoil]

The most obvious example is of course Lady Lynda by the Beach Boys, melody borrowed from "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J.S Bach

[conkerman]

Genesis, Horizons

heavily based on a Bach Cello concerto.

[Zumbruk]

[Zumbruk]

[Zumbruk]

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/pop-songs...

[Boringvolvodriver]

Zumbruk said:

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/pop-songs...

Well that included a couple that I was going to mention! The Eric Carmen one was the obvious one.

I will add Lovers Concerto by the Toys as something that Bach wrote.

Also Whiter Shade of Pale IIRC was not a direct copy of classical albeit incredibly similar to stuff that Bach wrote. There was a radio programme about it that I heard a while back.

[cherryowen]

I follow this guy for his insights into music theory, not because I play keys:-

[Zumbruk]

cherryowen said:

I follow this guy for his insights into music theory, not because I play keys:-

Excellent, thank you.

[Roofless Toothless]

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the most conspicuous of the culprits of 'borrowings' from out of copyright classical pieces in my book. Somebody has even made up a YouTube video of some of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eMf_smG4Uk

This actually leaves out what I think is the most outrageous, from Strauss's Four Last Songs. Go to 4:59".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs0vSC9DUhU

Jesus Christ Superstar anybody?

[Johnspex]

Roy Wood ( The Move , ELO, Wizzard) made a career out of this sort of thing.

[Halmyre]

Roofless Toothless said:

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the most conspicuous of the culprits of 'borrowings' from out of copyright classical pieces in my book. Somebody has even made up a YouTube video of some of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eMf_smG4Uk

This actually leaves out what I think is the most outrageous, from Strauss's Four Last Songs. Go to 4:59".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs0vSC9DUhU

Jesus Christ Superstar anybody?

Not just out of copyright stuff, he allegedly nicked a bit from Pink Floyd's Echoes for Phantom.

[MikeT66]

Sting used the theme of Prokofiev's 'Romance' from Lieutenant Kijé Suite for 'Russians'.

Recently re-done:

[Roofless Toothless]

Frank Zappa had a fetishistic attraction to the 1955 R&B hit Louie Louie, to the extent that he worked quotes of it into many of his songs. In fact, one of his earliest and most celebrated songs is Plastic People, which is an undisguised remodelling of the Richard Berry original.

https://youtu.be/B1i5Y9oHOFo

[singlecoil]

Jimi Hendrix's Third Stone from the Sun on the Are You Experienced LP grew out of his version of the Coronation Street theme by Eric Spears.

[Nickp82]

Muse have done very well doing sci-fi versions of Queen hits.