Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth For Christ Choir
LIke A Ship...(Without A Sail)
Ok, embarrassing revelation time. I have this record in my collection, filed away as an indication that I've listened to it.
Somehow I ended up with a second copy, probably due to the fact that both Light In The Attic and Numero Group have both reissued it over the years. Anway, I pulled it out to listen to, and I'd be goddamned if my immediate reaction wasn't "Wait...isn't this a Parliament song?"
As I pull at the thread further, what I've come to realize is that the title track has been played often over the years on the TMR turntable and beyond. I've heard it dozens of times, no doubt.
But I never really connected it with the Barrett LP. I thought it was George Clinton and company.
Nevertheless, the soulful vocals, the propulsive funk bass bottom and the magical spark in the air anytime you've got a youth choir and this record is IT. In addition to many other dream hypotheticals, a perfect world is one wherein there's a thousand different albums just like this, just as good. I can only imagine...
And since I've got two copies, one can be yours.
Post your best story, truthful or fiction, that explains a song you mis-attributed to the wrong artist, in good faith, because of how much they sounded alike. Except for "Lies" by the Knickerbockers sounding like the Beatles. You can't post that story because I lived that one too.
Get your words up here before midnight January 30th and the winner, as chosen by me, will get this delicious LP mailed straight to their doorstep, or failing that, PO box.
I always thought that the song playing when Phoebe Cates got out of the pool in Fast Times at Ridgemont High was Pink Floyd. The tone of the voice and the riff didn’t sound like The Cars.
For the longest time both my father and I thought “Let’s have a Party” was done by Brenda Lee. At the time neither of us had heard of Wanda Jackson. This was the early days of the internet and resources for looking up songs was not as easy as it is today. All we could really tell by listening to the song that it was a rocking female voice with a 50s rockabilly sound. We use to visit record stores and search through Brenda Lee’s catalog searching for the song and never having luck. We even found stores that had Germany label Bear Family box sets (which I think Brenda Lee had at least two of) still nothing. At this point I don’t really remember how we found out that the song was actually done by Wanda Jackson, but once we did, and did a deep dive into her catalog, we definitely found ourselves listening to more Wanda than Brenda.
I’m 46, and until about ten years ago I though “Lonely is the Night” by Billy Squier was some ladder-day Led Zeppelin filler from like In Through the Out Door or Coda. I have learned this mistake was not uncommon.
This is more of story about my (then) girlfriend (now wife) – we met working at a record store in Grand Rapids, Believe in Music. George Harrison had just released Cloud 9, and being a big Beatles fan, she was trying to impress me one night as we’re closing the store, the album was on, and she was complaining about how this artist was ripping off the Beatles sound this many years later. Who did this guy think he was, stealing someone else’s work. I had to explain with a big laugh, and we still bring it up 37 years later – George Harrison sounds like a Beatle on purpose :). She is still embarrassed by it.
Embarrassing as it is, I mistook Coloratura by Coldplay for a new Pink Floyd release. My wife mistook Neil Sedaka’s Laughter in the Rain as a Carpenter’s release. Don’t know which is worse!!!!
Embarrassing as it is, I mistook Cororatura by Coldplay for a new Pink Floyd release. My wife mistook Neil Sedaka’s Laughter in the Rain as a Carpenter’s release. Don’t know which is worse!!!!
Your mentioning Parliament brought back a favorite memory of our then 5 year old daughter stepping onto an outdoor concert stage on 30A between live sets and began to dance totally unencumbered in front of a fan and a large audience to the song Flashlight. I have never seen such pure innocence and joy channeled through music before and may never see again.
My most embarrassing misidentification didn’t last long, but it’s haunted me since.
On the radio began what I’d describe as a simple upbeat, rock beat. For whatever reason my mind immediately went to Clearance Clearwater Revival. My brother, also in the car agreed with me. So for a brief minute the two of us were jamming to what we foolishly thought was Clearance Clearwater Revival. The bliss didn’t last long.
It wasn’t until the synth came in and with that it hit me. It was not Clearance Clearwater revival but that of Head East’s Never Been Any Reason. The synth stung and and taunted me throughout the rest of the ride, they had betrayed me. How could they?
The actual intro clearly shows the synth in full display but I tuned in just in time to not hear it.
I should’ve known too…I had just gotten an LP of Flat As A Pancake and the station had been playing Never Been Any Reason frequently.
I don’t think I’ll be able to ever live it down.
My most embarrassing misidentification didn’t last long, but it’s haunted me since.
On the radio began what I’d describe as a simple upbeat, rock beat. For whatever reason my mind immediately went to Clearance Clearwater Revival. My brother, also in the car agreed with me. So for a brief minute the two of us were jamming to what we foolishly thought was Clearance Clearwater Revival. The bliss didn’t last long.
It wasn’t until the synth came in and with that it hit me. It was not Clearance Clearwater revival but that of Head East’s Never Been Any Reason. The synth stung and and taunted me throughout the rest of the ride, they had betrayed me. How could they?
The actual intro clearly shows the synth in full display but I tuned in just in time to not hear it.
I should’ve known too…I had just gotten an LP of Flat As A Pancake and the station had been playing Never Been Any Reason frequently.
I don’t think I’ll be able to ever live it down.
I’d heard Plush by Stone Temple Pilots on the radio, but always missed the ID of the band/song so I figured it was a new Pearl Jam song that was pushed out. Saw the video a couple weeks later and was like, whoa these guys changed their look quickly then the splash came up at the end of the song. It was not a Pearl Jam.