1693.
One of my favorite bits of trivia is knowing that two of the most enduring, pioneering power ballads of the Rock 'n' Roll era, Eric Carmen's All By Myself and Never Gonna Fall In Love Again (both off his eponymous 1976) were built around bona fide classical pieces – Rachmaninoff, to be exact.
All By Myself was essentially a variation on Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18, and Never Gonna Fall In Love Again was built on his Second Symphony.
Ironic point? Carmen believed that these pieces were in the public domain. As it happened, they weren't, and this was only found out after All By Myself was released, and he had to negotiate with the Rachmaninoff estate afterwards. I know not what the terms of the settlement were, but the song was indeed released and stayed on the market, so obviously there was a win for both sides there.
Still, I think it's pretty cool that so-called "modern music" doesn't mind standing on the shoulders of the giants that came before to create something new, enduring, and memorable.
Tags: eric carmen, all by myself, never gonna fall in love again, rock and roll, trivia. rachmaninoff
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2 comments:
I didn't "discover" Carmen until the early 80s, but his rhyming line with Hungry Eyes:
Ive got hungry eyes
I feel the magic between you and i
is such a profound misuse of 'i' when it should be 'me' that I can't think straight when I hear it and it inevitably gets stuck in my head. Like it is now. Thanks a lot.
Oops. Sorry about that. Seriously!
I'd try the "well, it's poetic license" tactic, but I suspect that wouldn't go very far with you.
I guess I'd better shelve that plan to write about Morris Albert and Terry Jacks then. I've caused enough damage for one day here.
B-)
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