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June 23, 2021 10:20 am  #1


Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

I was listening to a radio show not long ago, when an old interview with Al Stewart (“Year of The Cat,” “Time Passages” and others) was rerun. What was interesting to me wasn’t the rehash of his hits but one that wasn’t – he complained he was constantly being asked at concerts to sing “West End Girls,” which, of course, was a hit for the Pet Shop Boys. But even he had to admit the vocal on that record sounded a lot like him. In fact, it was nearly identical.
 
It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes artists either accidentally – or on purpose – wind up sounding so much like another star, it’s hard to tell the difference. My favorite example had to be Gene Pitney, who, in an interview a colleague did with him a few decades ago, said he was constantly being asked to sing “Black Is Black” during concert appearances. The problem: it was done by Los Bravos, but the vocal sounded exactly like the solo star.
 
Then there’s Joe Dowell, who managed to out Elvis Elvis when he did “Wooden Heart.” Not only does he do a dead-on impression of the King on that tune, but it went to #1 on Billboard in 1961. Presley’s version was relegated to the B-side of “Blue Christmas” in 1964.
 
In the late B.J. Thomas’ “Rock & Roll Lullaby,” the background vocal deliberately copies The Beach Boys. But they’re not actually on the record. (Some of them DID appear on Chicago’s later “Wishing You Were Here” but it’s hard to tell the difference in the background of either record.)
 
There are probably other examples of artists or groups who either deliberately or accidentally tried to sound like someone else. I’d be curious to know if anyone can recall others. 

 

June 23, 2021 10:46 am  #2


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Years ago I recall hearing that this would sometimes happen to Patti Page when she was performing, that she'd have audience members ask her to do a Peggy Lee song because they were getting the two singers mixed up. Better still, she would sometimes oblige if she could, and I think without even mentioning that the song in question had actually been a hit for Lee.

 

June 24, 2021 6:35 am  #3


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

I always thought:

Gallery ("It's So Nice To Be With You") sounded like Neil Diamond
Ides of March ("Vehicle") sounded like Blood Sweat and Tears
Billy Swan ("I Can Help") sounded like Ringo Starr
 

 

June 24, 2021 6:46 am  #4


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

In the "sounds like Elvis" category, Terry Stafford's "Suspicion" would be at the top, followed closely by Ral Donner's "You Don't Know What You Got Until You Lose it".

 

June 24, 2021 8:22 am  #5


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

I'd completely forgotten about Terry Stafford. That was as an obvious example of a case where a guy deliberately tried to sound like Elvis. It worked. The song was a big hit. I don't think he ever had another tune on the pop charts that ever even made the Top 20. 

One bizarre fact about that record - it made it to #6 on Billboard the week of April, 1964. The top five above him were all by the Beatles. That was that amazing week where the Fab Four did something that will likely never be repeated, taking the first five spots in a Billboard chart. And Terry Stafford's song was right behind them. 

     Thread Starter
 

June 24, 2021 8:50 am  #6


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

You're right about Stafford not ever making the top 20 again on Billboard, but he did get to #25 with this song -- which got to #17 here on CHUM. Not bad considering that I don't think his sound really fit with the way things were changing as a result of the British Invasion. 

 

June 24, 2021 9:19 am  #7


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Terry Stafford?  What about Ral Donner who like Stafford recorded an actual Elvis album cut called The Girl Of My Best Friend. Donner had a few other hits and even narrated a This Is Elvis documentary movie.  Of course he didn't plague the original.   Joe Barry had a hit called I'm A Fool To Care which was a Fats Domino soundalike that did as well as most Fats recordings of that year. I always thought that A Horse Witrh No Name sounded like Neil Young whose Heart Of Gold charted at the same time. Check out It May Be Winter Outside by Felice Taylor. Supremes soundalike.

 

June 24, 2021 10:29 am  #8


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

GrimsbyFan wrote:

In the "sounds like Elvis" category, Terry Stafford's "Suspicion" would be at the top, ,,,

Thanks, I’d been trying to remember his name since this thread started.
 
Some people used to confuse Jan & Dean songs with those of the Beach Boys although I’m not sure why.
 
Sometimes it was just similar sounds.  I remember an interview where as a joke they asked The Statler Brothers about their song “Elvira”.   In another joke interview Herb Alpert was asked about “The Fool On The Hill”.

 

 

June 24, 2021 2:28 pm  #9


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Marion Worth's Shake Me I Rattle sure sounded like Patti Page, as did Betty Johnson's Winter in Miami.  And Jamie by Eddie Holland sounded like Jackie Wilson.

 

June 24, 2021 6:33 pm  #10


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

A song that comes to mind is Make Believe by Wind, a band that was fronted by Tony Orlando pre-Dawn. Tony sounds like Tony until the last 30 seconds when he suddenly morphs into Frankie Valli.



 

 

June 24, 2021 6:41 pm  #11


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

aflem wrote:

In the late B.J. Thomas’ “Rock & Roll Lullaby,” the background vocal deliberately copies The Beach Boys. But they’re not actually on the record. (Some of them DID appear on Chicago’s later “Wishing You Were Here” but it’s hard to tell the difference in the background of either record.) 

 
I always heard that several of the Beach Boys were on that record.


Tom Diehl
 

June 24, 2021 7:52 pm  #12


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

According to the info about Rock And Roll Lullaby on Wikipedia at http://tinyurl.com/kf96cvkt:
"At around three minutes, Thomas sings his final vocals and this is where a Beach Boys sound, provided by Dave Somerville and three members of the Ron Hicklin Singers (Tom Bahler, Gene Morford, and Hicklin himself), begins and carries the track to over 4 minutes."

Somerville was the former lead singer of The Diamonds, and the personnel listed on Wikipedia also include additional backing vocals by The Blossoms, guitar by Duane Eddy, and piano by Barry Mann. So it certainly had an impressive enough lineup even without the Beach Boys.

 

June 24, 2021 11:14 pm  #13


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

1966 and the group Los Bravos with their effort Black is Black

Still sounds like Gene Pitney to this day

 

June 25, 2021 5:48 pm  #14


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Regarding Terry Stafford, while he only had 2 in the Hot 100, he did chart 3 times on the Country Music Top 40 in '73-'74 and also had some success as a songwriter, most notably "Big In Vegas" by Buck Owens.  Terry dropped by my radio station one Saturday afternoon in 1975 and spent about an hour visiting.  Nice guy.

 

June 27, 2021 3:47 am  #15


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Fool To  Care by Joe Barry sounded so much like Fats Domino he asked his manager when he recorded it.
Joe Henderson sounded like Brook Benton on Snap Your Fingers.
    Barry Young sounded so much like Dean Martin one One Has My Name, a story went around that  Dean had his career scuttled. 

 

July 1, 2021 3:36 pm  #16


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Terry Stafford also wrote Amarillo By Morning

 

July 1, 2021 6:04 pm  #17


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Scotty wrote:

Barry Young sounded so much like Dean Martin one One Has My Name, a story went around that  Dean had his career scuttled. 

 
That would only work if Dean was able to cause a brain abscess due to a botched surgery... I mean, stranger things have happened...


Tom Diehl
 

July 2, 2021 7:53 am  #18


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Although Young died only about a year after One Has My Name came out, he did release some additional singles before he died that didn't go anywhere. So I can see how that could have been enough to lead to a rumour of this nature.

 

July 2, 2021 9:21 am  #19


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

It May Be Winter Outside by Felice Taylor sounds like the Supremes but it did not sell enough to scuttle the Supremes. On Make Believe by Wind, the vocals are Tony Orlando with some other guy doing the falsetto.  Tony hates the record as he is outshined. 

 

July 2, 2021 12:30 pm  #20


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

I didn't know that it was another singer doing the falsetto part on Make Believe. I did a search and found the following interview with Orlando, where he says that the recording was supposed to be a demo for Frankie Valli and that it was Kenny Laguna who did the falsetto parts. I like the fact that it took two singers to produce a Valli-style vocal.
https://www.goldminemag.com/columns/fabulous-flip-sides-of-tony-orlando-and-dawn
 

 

July 3, 2021 9:20 am  #21


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Laguna overshadowed Orlando which did not sit well with Tony.  At the end Laguna copies the falsetto from Save It For Me.

 

July 3, 2021 11:17 am  #22


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Out of curiosity I looked up Laguna on Wikipedia, and I found it interesting to read about all that he's been involved with over the years. Here's the page in case anyone else is interested. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Laguna

 

July 3, 2021 9:30 pm  #23


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

I can't resist pointing out the oddity that "Orlando" is in Florida, and "Laguna" is in California! What a bizarre coincidence!

     Thread Starter
 

July 4, 2021 12:56 pm  #24


Re: Sound-A-Like Artists Sometimes Plague The Originals

Another coincidence is that Kenny Laguna is mentioned prominently in the article I just posted about Wanda Jackson's new album with Joan Jett. And to give equal time to Tony Orlando, here's something that might be of interest about what he's doing these days. 
https://wabcradio.com/show/saturday-nights-with-tony-orlando/

 

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