Hey Look, Ma, I Made It!
Background: Every year for my friend’s Super Bowl party, he makes a soundtrack, made up of songs that have defined the last year for him and for society as a whole. On this year’s mix, he included “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, because it appeared in one of my blogs. I hated to break it to him that the song I discussed was “Sylvia’s Mother” and not the former song. But this blog will rectify that error, and discuss other tunes about having made it in the industry!
“The Cover of the Rolling Stone” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
Lyrically: I have talked in previous blogs about story songs and example songs, but a side branch of example songs are “list songs.” Dan Wilson’s “A Song Can Be About Anything” does this to great effect, when he talks about small things that a song can be about, such as “The second grade or the TV news” before ultimately concluding that a song could also be about “How you used to love me but you don’t even know me anymore.” What makes that particular song work so well is the gut punch final line. What makes “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” so effective is the exact opposite. It lists off all these wild things that you get to do as a rockstar, such as having golden fingers and your “gray haired daddy driving (your) limousine.” Cocaine Katy sounds pretty darn cool, but sequentially, she’s nowhere near as awesome as getting on the cover of The Rolling Stone. All of it is obviously massively cool, but there’s something so charming about that being all the narrator wants that works so well for the song. Fun fact: this tune, like all the ones on the album, was written by Shel Silverstein.
Melodically: The verses use A, E, E7, and A, followed by D, E, and A. With the song written in A major, this is a I, V, V7, I, IV, V, I progression. This forms an authentic cadence, and given that the tune is a list song, it makes sense to have that resolve when it comes to the part about the cover of the magazine. It conveys that those other things are nice, but I won’t be happy until I’m on that cover. The chorus uses more or less the same progression, except it throws in a D (the IV chord) before the final A. The outro uses D, E, A, and E, D, A (a IV, V, I, V, IV, I pattern, forming a plagal cadence.) Instrumentally, the song uses acoustic, steel guitar, and electric guitar, as well bass guitar, and piano.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, verse, chorus, outro format. In our subjunctive blog, we talked about “If I Had a Million Dollars” by the Barenaked Ladies, and that was my first comparative thought, in terms of appreciating the small perks of fame. But if you listen closely, there are little vocal asides in the background of the recording that are also similar to that of the Barenaked Ladies song. Its loose, almost jugband feel shows that although their end goal is to be on the cover, they don’t take themselves too seriously, and this is evident throughout.
You can listen to “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” below. Fun closing note: not only did the band actually get on the cover after they hit it big, the house band for the Muppet Show is called Dr. Teeth and Electric Mayhem, which was named after Dr. Hook and Electric Medicine. No offense to Cocaine Katy and all her hard work, but that sounds like a much better legacy!
2. “Baby Girl” by Sugarland
Lyrically: “Baby Girl” is one of the first country songs I remember hearing after I started getting into the genre around 2005, and it’s always been one of my favorites. It weaves the tale of a woman who leaves home to chase her dreams, and is reporting back to her parents about how she’s doing. In the first few verses, she talks about her struggles. She says the town is “Filled with hopes and dreams” but ultimately concludes that to get there, “It’s 2,000 miles and one left turn,” which is one of my absolute favorite visuals. In the second verse, she says, “Everybody’s your friend, you can never be sure: they’ll promise fancy cars and diamond rings.” The first two choruses see her asking her mom and dad to “please send money” adding, “I’m so broke that it ain’t funny,” but assuring them she’s playing at a local bar and still doing alright with herself, signing off with, “Love, your baby girl.” The bridge, as it’s designed to do, takes the narrative to a different place, saying, “I’m on my way,” and that it’s “worth all the dues I pay, so I can write to you and say ‘Dear mom and dad, I’ll send money, I’m so rich that it ain’t funny.” She then adds that she’s “Stayin’ here at the Ritz tonight,” and adding, “What do you know, we made our dreams come true,” but then tells them to “Remember me in ribbons and curls, I still love you more than anything in the world, love, your baby girl.” It’s not necessarily the most shocking trajectory for the story, but it’s a very sweet story, paired with some very memorable lines.
Melodically: The song is written in Db major and uses a I, V, IV, V, I chord progression of Db, Ab, Gb, Ab for the intro, which gets played twice. The verses use Db, Ab, and Gb (the I, the V, and the IV), played three times, before ending with the aforementioned pattern of Db, Ab, and Gb. The chorus uses the same pattern of Db, Ab, Gb, and Ab played three times, before ending on Bbm, Ab, Gb, Ebm, Gb, Ab, Db, Ab, Gb, and Ab, which is a I, V, IV, V pattern, followed by a vi, V, IV, ii, IV, V, I, V, IV, V pattern Instrumentally, the song contains electric guitar, organ, drums, pedal and lap steel guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, and tambourine.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus format. You know I’m a sucker for a story song that uses all verses, given the amount of times I’ve referenced “Tangled Up in Blue,” but the better comparison structurally is the song “Everything You Want,” which we discussed in our Twist and Shout blog. Again, it’s not a particularly hard trajectory to guess, but the last chorus drives things home after the first two verses and choruses of struggle. This is set up by a great bridge that cuts off in the middle of a sentence to end the story on a high note.
You can listen to “Baby Girl” below.
3. “Celebrity” by Brad Paisley
Lyrically: Written at the height of the American Idol craze, “Celebrity” was Brad Paisley’s second hit single where he gave himself permission to be funny. (The first, as a reminder, was “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” which was held from his first record, out of fear that people would be turned off by a new artist being that cynical). He immediately prefaces that he’s going to be famous even though he’s not talented, saying, “Can’t wait to date a supermodel, can’t wait to sue my dad, can’t wait to wreck a Ferrari on my way to rehab.” He concludes in the chorus that “You can act just like a fool, people think you’re cool, just ‘cause you’re on TV,” and in the first chorus, says when people get his latte order wrong, he “can throw a major fit.” In the second chorus, he says he can “have marriages that barely last a month,” and also says in the second verse, “I’ll get community service no matter which law I break.” It’s such a fun song and showcases Brad’s sense of humor perfectly.
Melodically: The intro uses C, F, C, and G, played twice. Written in the key of C major, this is a I, IV, I, V progression. The verses use C, G, F, C, F, C, G, followed by G, F, C (played twice), before ending on C, F, C, G, and G, F, C. This is a I, V, IV, I, IV, I, V, IV, I, IV, I, V, IV, I progression. The chorus then uses C, F, G (played twice), Am, C/B, F, G, F, Em, Dm. This is played through twice, but a C is added as the last note, before using the intro as an instrumental interlude between verses. That is a I, IV, V, vi, I, IV, V, IV, iii, ii, I progression, followed by the I, IV, I, and V chords. The instrumentals between the bridge and the final chorus use C and G and C and F, respectively (the I, V, and IV chords). The bridge then uses Am, F, C, and G (a vi, IV, I, V pattern, played twice). Instrumentally, the song contains acoustic, electric, 12 string, steel, baritone, and bass guitar, as well as mandolin, drums, other percussion, and fiddle.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, solo, chorus format. Similar to the Dr. Hook song, this is an example song, but new details are added with each chorus, as well as each verse. The verses discuss all the perks that come with being a celebrity, while the bridge says, “Let’s hitch up the wagons and head out west.” There’s nothing else to say, we already know all the perks, so a third verse isn’t necessary and might be overkill.
“Celebrity” is embedded below. The music video is spectacular and includes some throwback early 2000s cameos, going very well with the tune itself!
4. “Life’s Been Good” by Joe Walsh
Lyrically: “Life’s Been Good” is a fun look at the perks of being a celebrity, but instead of just pining for it, it picks up with someone who’s already successful. One of my least favorite interactions at work is when I ask a coworker how they’re doing and their response is, “Can’t complain,” so every once in awhile, I’ll respond with, “I can’t complain, but sometimes I still do,” which is one of my favorite lines from this song. Other favorite lines include, the opening, “I stay in hotels, tear out the walls, I have accountants pay for it all,” “I have a mansion, forget the price. Ain’t never been there, they tell me it’s nice,” and the regrettably relatable, due to my spatial reasoning issues, “I go to parties sometimes until 4, it’s hard to leave when you can’t find the door.” When I saw Joe Walsh open up for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 2017, he walked out onstage and said, “Good morning!” so you know the song came from a genuine place!
Melodically: This song, though easy to play, is a little bit more complicated to discuss, in terms of chords. However, the verses are written in C major, starting on the IV chord, and end on an A for a key change. Instrumentally, the song uses both electric, acoustic, and bass guitar guitar, as well as a Hammond organ, synthesizer, piano, drums, and other percussion.
You can listen to “Life’s Been Good” in your Maserati that does 185, or you can just listen to it here!
