Love Hangover

[masterblaster]

Love Hangover was first released as a single by 5th Dimension which forced Motown to rush release the original version by Diana Ross. "Isn't She Lovely" was also released in the UK soon after Stevies album was released. Is there no protection in place to prevent other record companies from releasing a song not owned by them?

[reese]

If a publisher agrees to have a song recorded, I don't think there's anything a competing record company can do about it. On the contrary, multiple versions mean multiple royalties for the publisher.

LOVE HANGOVER is an interesting case, as the song was published by Jobete [[Motown's publishing company). The 5th Dimension had to have gotten permission to record the song. So there's no way Motown didn't know. I gather once it began making some noise, they figured they better rush out Diana's version.

[smark21]

Back in the tin pan alley heyday of the 30s 40s and into the 50s it was pretty common for there to be competing versions of the same song. I wonder if there have been any similar instances of this since Love Hangover in 1976? The only one I can think of was in the late 90s when there were competing versions of "How Can I Live Without You" by LeAnn Rimes and another country/pop singer.

[carole cucumber]

Another country/pop singer= Trisha Yearwood

[captainjames]

The only thing bad about Love Hangover was it killed " I thought It Took A Little Time".

[carole cucumber]

In 1977:Star Wars Theme- Meco vs. John Williams & the London Symphony OrchestraGonna Fly Now [[Theme From Rocky)- 4 versions; Highest to chart-Bill Conti-#1 Second highest- Maynard Ferguson -#28

[soulster]

The only thing bad about Love Hangover was it killed " I thought It Took A Little Time". That song didn't do well on the chart before Ross's "Love Hangover" was issued as a single.

[honest man]

Don't leave me this way Thelma ,Teddy and Bluenotes where also in competition at same time inUK if i remember right, cheers.

[soulster]

Don't leave me this way Thelma Not by Thelma Houston. Her record didn't even come out in the U.S. until the end of that year. Both versions of "Love Hangover" were releases in the spring od '76.

[honest man]

Don't leave me this way Thelma ,Teddy and Bluenotes where also in competition at same time inUK if i remember right, cheers. NOT A MENTION OF LOVE HANGOVER

[JohnnyB]

That song didn't do well on the chart before Ross's "Love Hangover" was issued as a single.

I think ITITALT was on its way to chart success, especially as the follow up to Do You Know Where You're Going To. It just wasn't given a chance. I believe it was at #47 after 3 weeks on the Hot 100 when Love Hangover was rush-released. Attention immediately turned to Hangover and Thought was forgotten.

[florence]

I think ITITALT was on its way to chart success, especially as the follow up to Do You Know Where You're Going To. It just wasn't given a chance. I believe it was at #47 after 3 weeks on the Hot 100 when Love Hangover was rush-released. Attention immediately turned to Hangover and Thought was forgotten.

Love Hangover unquestionably killed off ITITALT but it was hard to know exactly how it was performing.

Rather strangely it didn't even make Record World's Top 100.

[soulster]

Don't leave me this way Thelma ,Teddy and Bluenotes where also in competition at same time inUK if i remember right, cheers. NOT A MENTION OF LOVE HANGOVER But, this thread is about "Love Hangover".

[soulster]

Love Hangover unquestionably killed off ITITALT but it was hard to know exactly how it was performing.

Rather strangely it didn't even make Record World's Top 100. ITIRALT wasn't doing that well anyway. It was actually on its way out when her version of "Love Hangover" hit the charts. ITITALT was a bland ballad, and didn't quite fit in with what was happening on the charts at the time, anyway. It was the wrong pick for a single after the massive single like "Theme From Mahogany [[Do You Know Where You're Going To)".

[Jimi LaLumia]

once a commercial song has been released by the original writer/artist, copyright law states that ANYONE can release a 'cover' version as long as they credit the writers and pay them royalties,and you acquire a 'mechanical license' from the Harry Fox Agency, which allows you to cover the song legally [[like getting a license which lets you drive a car legally).. no one can say no once the original is out there.. which is why Berry Gordy reacted so quickly to THIS in 1964..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwhsp_QWX2I

[Jimi LaLumia]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=858Cu5TCiE4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ls-nDpb-0E [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=858Cu5TCiE4)

[roger]

Don't leave me this way Thelma ,Teddy and Bluenotes where also in competition at same time inUK if i remember right, cheers.

In the same era as "Love Hangover" [[early 1976) there were also two competing versions of "Lets Do The Latin Hustle" released in the U.K.

This one by THE M & O BAND which reached #16 ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGYE53kqMNY

And this one by EDDIE DRENNON which got to #20 ...

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

If I recall correctly Mr Drennon successfully sued the M&O mob for plagiarism .. :)

Roger

[soulster]

once a commercial song has been released by the original writer/artist, copyright law states that ANYONE can release a 'cover' version as long as they credit the writers and pay them royalties,and you acquire a 'mechanical license' from the Harry Fox Agency, which allows you to cover the song legally [[like getting a license which lets you drive a car legally).. no one can say no once the original is out there..

100% correct.

[roger]

Back in the tin pan alley heyday of the 30s 40s and into the 50s it was pretty common for there to be competing versions of the same song. I wonder if there have been any similar instances of this since Love Hangover in 1976? The only one I can think of was in the late 90s when there were competing versions of "How Can I Live Without You" by LeAnn Rimes and another country/pop singer.

Indeed ..

In Britain we often had "local" singers doing their own versions of currently big U.S. hits [[especially if they were by acts who were unknown to the great mass of British music fans).

Unbelievably, this version of "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" by CILLA BLACK got to #2 in the U.K. .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0HaJcirCVI

Interestingly, some of the offshore "Pirate" radio stations plugged away at the version by THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS which eventually got to #1 and totally eclipsed the version by Miss Black. I don't think I've heard "our Cilla's" version played ANYWHERE in over 45 years .... :)

Roger

[thisoldheart]

i usually can't stand cilla black, but i liked her cover of the righteous brothers' mega-hit!

[jobeterob]

There was another version of Everybodys Got the Right to Love I think; a Canadian version.

[Sotosound]

In the same era as "Love Hangover" [[early 1976) there were also two competing versions of "Lets Do The Latin Hustle" released in the U.K.

This one by THE M & O BAND which reached #16 ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGYE53kqMNY

And this one by EDDIE DRENNON which got to #20 ...

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

If I recall correctly Mr Drennon successfully sued the M&O mob for plagiarism .. :)

Roger

M & O was Murfin and Owen and the story was that they took Eddie Drennon's version and added some overdubs to it. I've got both versions and just listened to them again. The overdubs are good, with extra percussion and beefed up backing vocals. I think that there's also an edit but the overall track is shorter than the original, with a rapid fade.

[Jimi LaLumia]

"M & O was Murfin and Owen and the story was that they took Eddie Drennon's version and added some overdubs to it. I've got both versions and just listened to them again. The overdubs are good, with extra percussion and beefed up backing vocals. I think that there's also an edit but the overall track is shorter than the original, with a rapid fade."
well, in this case, the above is not recording a 'cover' version, but they apparently took the actual sound recording and added to it.
Doing a 'cover' version is one thing; hi jacking the actual sound recording which belongs to the record label that released it is something else, and certainly subject to legal action, which is why the early rap records got in trouble with the "James Brown lifts" which they took and put onto their own recordings....they called it 'sampling', but the courts called it theft, which it is. Every second of an existing sound recording [[the master) belongs exclusively to the label that released it.

[johnny_raven]

There was another version of Everybodys Got the Right to Love I think; a Canadian version.

Yes, by Eric Mercury in 1969. The title of his version is "Everybody HAS The Right To Love"

[Jimi LaLumia]

I don't think that changing the title of an existing copyrighted song is legal either..it's misleading, I would think..

[reese]

I don't think that changing the title of an existing copyrighted song is legal either..it's misleading, I would think..

I believe it is legal if the publisher agrees. That's how Cissy Houston was able to change MIDNIGHT PLANE TO HOUSTON to MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA.

[Jimi LaLumia]

that was a complete approved re write including the lyrics..

[Jimi LaLumia]

this is the Jim Weatherly original..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3_JQr6RqWs

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323968704578652213791418962 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3_JQr6RqWs)

[Jimi LaLumia]

and on the Eric Mercury recording, the backup girls are still singing..
"Everybody's Got The Right To Love"..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx_db1Cx6zE

[smark21]

Well it seems that with the exception of How Do I Live [[thanks for refreshing my memory that Trisha Yearwood recorded the other version) competing singles of the same song seem to have become exceptionally rare after 1980 or so.

[marymary]

The most recent version of competing records I can think of is Don't Cha by the Pussycat Dolls...originally sung by Tori Alamaze. She asked to be let out of her contract right as the song hit the stores/radio/clubs. Cee-Lo Green [[writer/producer of the song) was then at liberty to shop the song around and recorded it with the Pussycat Dolls and released it maybe a month later. Their version of course became a huge hit [[one of if not the biggest selling girl group singles of all time) and stalled any progress the original was making. Of course in this case there wouldn't have been any "competition" between the singles without Ms Alamaze agreeing to be let out of her contract. Goes to show it takes rather extraordinary circumstances for something like this to happen nowadays. In general cover songs hitting the top of the charts is a very rare occurrence period, let alone any kind of competition.

eta: another variation of recent competition I can think of that's closer to the original example was between Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez around ~2001 [[Mariah's "Glitter" period). Mariah was going to release a single from the movie soundtrack sampling the song "Firecracker" by Yellow Magic Orchestra, but her ex-husband and head of her record company [[no conflict of interest there!) leaked it to Jennifer's team and they quickly wrote the song "I'm Real" around it. JLo's album was going to come out first so Mariah knew she was beat and had to switch her single's sample, but since the single was really written around the sample the re-mixed song suffered greatly. That's not the only case of her ideas getting stolen by JLo regarding that album either. Shady business!