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Cover Art: I Got You Babe
January 6, 2011
I apologize in advance to my fan(s) who rightly expect(s) a design post from me, but I'm a bit obsessed this week about a couple of early 1980's cover versions of the 1964 Sonny and Cher mega-hit "I Got You Babe." Covering this song was something of a cottage industry in the early 1980's, with versions by UB40 with Chrissy Hynde, and by R.E.M. My Facebook and terra firma friend Jayne Michaels, of 2Michaels Design fame, uploaded a live performance from 1980 by David Bowie and Marianne Faithfull. I watched it, and agreed that it rocked, but I countered with a Youtube video of the version recorded in 1982 by Joey Ramone and Holly Beth Vincent, of Holly and the Italians, that I remembered from my college days, and that frankly kicks a$%.
So, the question I put to you is: Bowie/Faithfull or Joey/Holly? Visually, both videos are a treat. Bowie and Faithfull were cultural icons and fashion leaders from back in the 1960's, both are beautiful here, though Marianne looks a bit like the flying nun on heroin and Bowie looks a bit like Marianne Faithfull in a better dress. Holly Vincent was a punk phenom just hitting her mark in 1982 and Joey was Joey. The Holly/Joey video shows a succession of still images that present an edgier chic than Bowie/Faithfull, but one that in 1982 was probably more culturally or counter-culturally of-the-moment.
The early 1980's was a good time for all four performers. Bowie released Scary Monsters in 1980; Let's Dance would come out in '83. Faithfull recorded her comeback album, Broken English, in 1979. The Ramones were in full stride, and Holly's debut album, The Right to be Italian, came out in 1982. All four either lived or hung out in New York, and likely crossed paths regularly at CBGBs (Holly opened for Blondie and the Ramones) and in any number of bedrooms.
Sonny and Cher may not have travelled the same paths, but I Got You Babe is a pretty darn good power pop song. Bowie and Faithfull take it in a down-tempo direction, Joey and Holly in a more up-tempo direction. Befitting their temperaments and experience, Bowie and Faithfull sing somewhat elegiacally and ironically, while Joey and Holly go private parts to the wall. So, again, Bowie/Faithfull or Joey/Holly? My pick? Can you say 1-2-3-4?
Posted by Larry Weinberg on January 6, 2011 |
Comments (27)
January 23, 2013
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babeputinesca commented:
don't like Bowie or Marianne period. want to hear Baynor,Pelosi version before deciding.
January 22, 2013
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeAnybirdbird commented:
I really wish there were more arctiles like this on the web.
April 22, 2012
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeMiguel commented:
A rolling stone is worth two in the bush, thakns to this article.
April 20, 2012
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeIvan commented:
So that's the case? Quite a rveaeltion that is.
January 9, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babeyo ko ki mo no commented:
Would anyone like to hear my version?
It is unreleasd, recorded years ago with YouTu and Sunny. We were going to call our new supergroup either Bow-no, Bow-no & Oh-no, or Bonobo. Couldn't decide which. Lots of argue.
Then he hit tree. So so sad.
January 9, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babebob mackieeeeeee commented:
OMG !!! omg !! oh my g......
Cher, darling, have you seen this?
January 9, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babegood golly miss holly commented:
Joey and I couldn't afford clothes. Why are you people listening to clothes?
January 9, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeAl Gor Rhythm Nation commented:
Ah even told her 3 times.
January 9, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeAl Gor Rhythm Nation commented:
Ah told Tipper 2 bann that Bowie/Faithful wreckord yeeeeears ago.
January 9, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeAl Gor Rhythm Nation commented:
Ah told Tipper 2 bann that Bowie/Faithful wreckord yeeeeears ago.
January 9, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeSpeaker John Baynor commented:
Design Outsider - Amazing you mentioned it. I was going to sing and perform that Ramones classic the minute Permasmile Nancy finally handed me my new oversized gavel, after she hogged the podium for what seemed like an hour, hands trembling. That graceless android just won't quit. But, overwhelmed by the, the, sniff, sniff, emo----- sniff,---- emotion of the situation, I started tearing up and thought better of it. After reading all these responses, I've spoken to Nancy with the Laughing Face, and in the spirit of taking the song to a new place/level, and in a bipartisan and blatant disregard of the wishes of the American public, she and I have agreed to perform a duet of both the Sonny and Cher classic and also the Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Loving Feeling". Since he won't play me at golf, I challenge our President to match my beautiful resonant baritone. I'm also going to subpoena Marianne Faithful to sing "As Tears Go By" with me. I'll do anything, anything, to never mop a stinking cigarette-strewn bar floor again once this Speaker gig is up.
January 9, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabePaulette P. commented:
Bowie/Faithfull.
Together they stylistically create a much moodier arrangement. I love the persona-creating outfits, the glam rock aesthetics. Let's Dance!
January 9, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeMaggie commented:
In response to naretev@aol.com's comment. I can't stand comments like that about Marianne Faithfull. Marianne might have been a drug addict, but she's gotten clean since then and is a respectable musician in her own right. Her voice is unique. She should be taken very seriously.
January 8, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeDesign Outsider commented:
John, with due respect, and with dry eyes, I have to go with the Faithful/Bowie version. The Ramones have my heart-- but even I recognize their range. Beat on the brat, but not on the babe.
January 7, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeNathaniel G commented:
I vote for Joey, for without him there is no Howard Stern.
I would like to dedicate this post to Randy Wagner, the late great lead guitarist of Aborted Baby Lucifer who passed away this week during one of our shows.
Our drummer Bobby Excitement and I got into a little bit too much sacramental wine before a show one evening. While we were preforming, I got tangled in my musical gear and fell into the baptismal font, splashing water towards Randy’s amplifier. Electricity flowed from the amplifier to Randy via the water during a solo, and he collapsed in a horrifyingly jittery and smokey way.
The fans loved it; and it was probably the best Christian Death Metal show EVER, hands down. Don’t be bummed out, this is truly the way Randy would have wanted to make the journey to the pearly gates. He’s probably up there right now giving the upside down anti-devil horn symbol with his hands upon all of us with Elvis and Mozart at his side.
January 7, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeSpeaker John Baynor commented:
The version by Joey and Holly brings tears to my eyes. It's genuine. Reminds me of sock hops and it sounds like the music I used to hear on the jukebox while I mopped the beer soaked floors, day after thankless day, in my father's bar in Cincinnati. Sniff, excuse me for a moment, kleenex please!.... Thank you Oprah. That's better. People that have worked their way up from nothing, like me, doing any shttty job that they'll give you, know exactly what I mean. At the end of the day all you've really got is your Holly. Now maybe it went somewhere, probably back to my father's father's cabaret/dive bar in 1920s Berlin, but that sleeveless thing Bowie is wearing does nothing for me. Reminds me of the First Lady, but without the scowl, in some equally ridiculous designer "creation". And who in their right mind would want to come home, after a day of digging ditches, to a drugged out version of the Flying Nun with a voice like a carton of Lucky Strikes? Give me permasmile Nancy instead, if you must. Sometimes we go backwards while dreaming we're going forwards.
January 7, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babenaretev@aol.com commented:
Marianne Faithfull sounds horrible! I'm surprised she remembered the lyrics. I've never understood why she's taken so seriously. She was a drug addict with a lousy voice. David Bowie, on the other hand is mesmerizing. I'm sure he was high on drugs but he still sounds great. A genius
January 7, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babejayne commented:
I neglected to mention that the star in the video is bowie - his voice, his looks, his costume, his humor, his magnetism - he was truly remarkable and yes, authentic.
like nambawan's insightful comment, joey/holly did not transcend the original song, they merely conformed to the standard.
January 7, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babefred BERNSTEIN commented:
i vote for the dream team of bowie and holly!
January 7, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You BabeLPW commented:
Thanks, Nambawan, for the music lesson--you are clearly right about the date of the Bowie performance, and Youtube clearly wrong. That changes the dynamic a bit. I'm a fan of Marianne Faithfull's earlier and later stuff, here she is totally if authentically zonked. I agree that Bowie/Faithfull take the song to a strange and new place, but I was fine with the original, and I'll stick with the raw--and authentic--energy of Joey and Holly.
January 7, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babejayne commented:
bravo nambawan!
January 6, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babenambawan commented:
The Bowie/Faithfull video dates from 1973, the heyday of Ziggy Stardust (you can occasionally see Mick Ronson, all in white,in the background). 1973, the last year the Spiders played as a band, is also the time when Marianne was pretty much non-stop blasted on heroin and everything else (quite evident in her presentation). The comparison is therefore, in terms of the timeline, a little bit of an apples and oranges one. Nevertheless, I vote for Bowie/Faithfull because they take the song to a new and very strange place. The Joey/Holly version sticks much closer to the Sonny and Cher original and is therefore less interesting.
January 6, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babejeff commented:
joey/holly
January 6, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babeatwater commented:
poor cher, she lost what once made her so unique. she's now a casualty of the hollywood machine. I guess you can say that about david bowie too.. why do they wash away what makes them special??
January 6, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babenaretev@aol.com commented:
sonny and cher by far top the list. she's a freak now but in her day she was it!
January 6, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babenambatwo commented:
I prefer Cher, in her youth, uncovered.
January 6, 2011
In response to:
Cover Art: I Got You Babejayne commented:
bowie and faithfull look like creatures from another planet and therefore are standouts. faithfull's singing leaves much to be desired but there is a certain raw authenticity in her voice which is mesmerizing.. could be her drugged out state too -who knows?
in any event they are clearly superior!
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