Hit Songs where the Original Performance was Filmed

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Alert, Apr 22, 2014.

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  1. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Todd Rundgren's Second Wind album was recorded in front of an audience and filmed, though I don't know if anything on it counts as a hit.
    I know Joe Jackson also recorded an album in front of an audience, but don't know it it was filmed or was a hit.
     
  2. Alert

    Alert Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Great River, NY
    I thought of "Who Are You" when putting together my original list. I looked it up on Wikipedia and here's what it said:

    "A promotional video was filmed on 9 May 1978 for The Kids Are Alright documentary; originally, the intent was to have The Who simply mime to the single version's backing track with Roger Daltrey adding live vocals, but the decision was made to also re-record the guitars, backing vocals, drums, and piano. Only John Entwistle's bass and the synthesizer backing remained intact from the original version."

    This makes that video far more interesting but, unfortunately, it does not qualify as a filmed recording of the hit song (though original elements are present).
     
  3. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Alright, I figured that there would be rules, so how about this one? ...

     
  4. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    Elvis, "Always On My Mind"
     
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  5. I'm fairly sure that Radiohead's My Irong Lung is a live recording from their 1994 show at the London Astoria (which was filmed for a video release, with many tracks appearing months before they were issued in studio form on The Bends), though I also think some - if not all - of Thom Yorke's lead vocal was overdubbed later... does this count?
     
  6. Alert

    Alert Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Great River, NY
    Another one that meets the criteria:

    "A Boy Named Sue" Johnny Cash, reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (1969).

    Included on the "Johnny Cash at San Quentin" album, this performance was also filmed:


    This was the first time Cash performed this song. In the film you can see him reading the lyrics from a music stand.
     
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  7. Bob F

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
    From daughter Nancy's TV special, Movin' with Nancy. BTW, the video shows a different take than that released on the Reprise soundtrack album. (Recording conducted by Billy Strange; produced by Lee Hazlewood.) According to Nancy, the filming and recording were done simultaneously.
     
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  8. Alert

    Alert Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Great River, NY
    I checked that out -- it's pretty good! Too bad it has the all-too-common problem of narration and talking heads stepping all over the original footage.

    I assume this is what you're referring to:

     
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  9. markbrow

    markbrow Forum President

    Location:
    Denver
    You sure that's not a lipsync for the camera? Hard to tell. Regardless, the Raspberries should have been playing stadiums. Great, great songs.
     
  10. intv7

    intv7 Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston, MA, USA
    Yes! The Freddie Mercury documentary which came out about a year (?) later has got a clip of "My Melancholy Blues". Would love to see more of this footage.
     
  11. markbrow

    markbrow Forum President

    Location:
    Denver
    Should have thought of that right away. I believe a couple of the performances in "Rust Never Sleeps" (the film) made it to "Rust Never Sleeps" (the album).
     
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  12. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Yeah Bob, but there is no way that she walked into that session in the middle of a take, sat down and then waved to him (and he back to her with his tie). That had to be done either pre or post of a real take. Also, there was some staging at the beginning of the song, as whoever is running the tape recorder (Ampex, I believe, as that is the same machine that we had at the first radio station that I worked at, way back when), as they don't push the red "record" button. Naturally, it small potatoes to the average viewer, but I know that some staging was done to get that final video of her great special, which I have on DVD!
     
  13. Bob F

    Bob F Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts USA
    I think she's talking about Frank's singing, Chris. That wasn't staged. What you see on the DVD is an actual take, just not the one that was ultimately released. Obviously, the piece is heavily edited, but I think there is no question but that she was there in the studio during the playback, and she's wearing the same outfit in all the cut-aways. Knowing that the cameras were rolling, it's very plausible that Frank really did wave his tie at her during a take.

    BTW, that piece of film at the start (where the red "record" button is not pushed) is identical to the one at the start of playback (at about 3:05).
     
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  14. Big Pasi

    Big Pasi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vaasa, Finland
    Well it wasn't a hit, but...

    Paul McCartney: Freedom

    Haven't checked out how much it was altered in the studio.
     
  15. PC31

    PC31 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ottawa, CAN
    Don't know how much of this is on tape but here it goes:
     
  16. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    By that same token
     
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  17. mesaboogie

    mesaboogie Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Nirvana's cover of the Man Who Sold The World or All Apologies. Is that considered a hit?
     
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  18. nicotinecaffeine

    nicotinecaffeine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    Man Who Sold The World I wouldn't consider a hit, but a very definite rock radio staple.

    All Apologies Unplugged is definitely not a hit or staple, but it's In Utero version is definitely widely played still to this day. It might have seen possibly a little chart warming in late spring/summer 1994, but nothing that made any kind of notable mark.
     
  19. tim_neely

    tim_neely Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Central VA
    "Sunday Morning Coming Down" by Johnny Cash - his #1 country hit version was filmed, so to speak, as it was part of his television show that aired February 25, 1970.

    "War" by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - the video is from the same performance (September 30, 1985) that was used on the 5-LP live box and the 45.

    "My Way" by Elvis Presley - his posthumous top-40 version from 1977 was the version that was filmed (Rapid City, S.D., June 21, 1977) and aired on the TV show Elvis In Concert.
     
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  20. billygtexas

    billygtexas Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kilgore Texas, USA
    And that reminds me of another video filmed at Le Studio, though this one looks like a total lip-synch.
     
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2014
  21. graystoke

    graystoke Forum Resident

    The live vocal on the video is unique to the clip. He sang live to a prerecorded backing track for the video shoot in February/March 75. The track had been recorded back in October 74 and John remixed it in February 75 for the single release.
     
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  22. brunofaetten

    brunofaetten Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norway
    U2 - Angel Of Harlem? The sessions were filmed for Rattle & Hum, and there's a performance clip in the movie. How much of the finished track appears in the clip I don't know, but it doesn't seem unreasonable to suppose that those takes were filmed, too.
     
  23. Alert

    Alert Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Great River, NY
    When putting together my original list I, too, thought "Let It Be" might provide a few perfect examples. However, the facts prove otherwise and none of them make the list. Here's why:

    The Beatles had three hits from the Let It Be album, all reaching number 1 on the charts. All three songs were filmed during recording. You would think all three songs would meet the criteria of "hit songs where the original performance was filmed." However, in all three instances the filmed versions are different from their released recordings:

    "Get Back" was famously performed -- and filmed -- on the rooftop on January, 30, 1969, but the version that topped the charts was recorded on January 27 (take 11). I'm not sure how much footage of this particular take exists. Apple released a new video for this song synchronizing scenes shot from many different days the Beatles worked on this song during January 1969. Is any footage from the actual take seen in that video?

    "Let It Be" The Beatles were filmed performing this song on January 31, 1969 (take 27-B) and it is this performance that is seen in the movie "Let It Be." Yet the version heard on the record is a different performance from the same day (take 27-A). I assume that this performance was filmed and exists.

    "The Long and Winding Road" Again, the version released on the record (January 26) is a different performance than the filmed performance included in the "Let It Be" movie (January 31).
     
  24. supermd

    supermd Senior Member

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    When I watched the S/T Metallica episode of Classic Albums, I thought they had footage of them recording the actual final performance of "Enter Sandman."
     
  25. JAuz

    JAuz Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    Would Whitney Houston's 1991 Super Bowl performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" count?

    It did very well as a single, but I know there are doubts as to whether it was sung live on TV or if she lip-synced to a recording from a few days earlier.
     
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