All
Summer Long
Peace,
love and good times. These three things completely embody Kid Rock’s lifestyle
and his hit single “All summer Long”, produced by Mike Clark. The song is a
single from his 2007 album Rock n Roll
Jesus. “All Summer Long” saw great success in the U.S and overseas where it
reached #4 on Billboard’s U.S Hot Country Songs, and it hit #1 in six other
countries. The song is a sampling of two different tracks, Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". It is considered more
of a mash up of these songs because of its close resemblance to the original
tracks. If you listen to "Werewolves of London" you will hear
the exact same piano chords as in Kid’s song. Also, “All Summer Long” takes the
exact guitar riffs from "Sweet Home Alabama". Even though Kid is
directly taking the chords from these songs, it is not stealing. On the track
Warren Zevon and Gary Rossington (founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd) are listed
as two of the writers, and Billy Powell (piano player from Lynyrd Skynyrd) is
featured on the song. Also, Kid is close friends with the members of Lynyrd
Skynyrd as he has toured with them and he inducted them into the Rock n Roll Hall
of Fame. The lyrics are the only part of this song that are original. Kid
reminisces about his misspent days as a young man singing, “While we were
trying different things/And we were smoking funny things/Making love out by the
lake to our favorite song”. Can feel the warm summer air with that cooling
breeze on your face?
Sweet
Home Alabama and Werewolves in London
Lynyrd
Skynyrd’s most famous song, “Sweet Home Alabama”, was released in 1974 and was
produced by Al Kooper. “Sweet Home Alabama” is known for its iconic country
sounding guitar riff that everyone can recognize. The songs success is still
evident today as it is the epitome of country rock. Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote the
song as an answer to two other songs, "Southern Man"
and "Alabama" by Neil Young,
which dealt with themes of racism and slavery in the American South, and caused a lot of
controversy. One example of Skynyrd’s controversial lyrics is “Now Watergate
does not bother me,
does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth.” When Warren Zevon released his song “Werewolves in London” some people questioned the authenticity of the song as the chord progression bears a close resemblance to Skynyrd’s song. Even though the songs are similar no legal action was taken against Zevon. Warren Zevon is a one-hit-wonder as “Werewolves in London” was his only notable song. The track’s catchy piano and odd lyrics caught the attention of the U.S. and he even howls on the track multiple times. The track reach #21 on the American Top 40 charts. The impact that these songs had on music can still be heard today through Kid Rock’s song “All Summer Long”. So let me ask you if you sampled someone’s music and didn't give credit to the original artist would your conscious bother you.
does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth.” When Warren Zevon released his song “Werewolves in London” some people questioned the authenticity of the song as the chord progression bears a close resemblance to Skynyrd’s song. Even though the songs are similar no legal action was taken against Zevon. Warren Zevon is a one-hit-wonder as “Werewolves in London” was his only notable song. The track’s catchy piano and odd lyrics caught the attention of the U.S. and he even howls on the track multiple times. The track reach #21 on the American Top 40 charts. The impact that these songs had on music can still be heard today through Kid Rock’s song “All Summer Long”. So let me ask you if you sampled someone’s music and didn't give credit to the original artist would your conscious bother you.
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