Members New Trail Posted February 14, 2008 Members Share Posted February 14, 2008 Whether we like it or not, certain songs, such as Mustang Sally, work in a bar/dance club. Others, like Brown Eyed Girl, Old Time Rock and Roll, Sharp Dressed Man, et. al. work too. We all know it and a lot of us hope to try to ignore it. Not to get into a debate over whether to play them vs. playing songs WE like, or even to play covers vs. originals, but WHAT, in musical terms, makes those songs what they are? Is it purely a good beat that even the most unrhythmic person can get? Would a different set of lyrics with the EXACT same beat as Mustang Sally work? Or is is that most of these are songs the crowd can sing along with? Is it just familiarity? Or is it something else? Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RadiationNation Posted February 14, 2008 Members Share Posted February 14, 2008 Never could understand. Mostly familiarity, I think. And they pretty much expect every band to know them. Mustang sally especially, I never got, as it's kind of a boring song. I've worked at a bar, and not once did I ever hear someone play Mustang Sally or Brown Eyed Girl on the jukebox, yet every time I play with my band, we get multiple requests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted February 14, 2008 Members Share Posted February 14, 2008 I think it's the fact that a one-legged spastic can dance to it, and everyone likes to sing along on "Ride, Sally, Ride". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChordGirl Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 I think it's the only one that casual blues listeners remember the name of. I really like all the other songs you mentioned, overplayed or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 face it ,, its a good song. For sure, alot more bands make fun of it than can knock it out of the park .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cooterbrown Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Actually, I can remember a time, in the mid-80s (early in my playing career), when that song was not all that popular. The band I was in didn't play it, because we never got a request for it. But then it was suddenly revived by being lumped in with the 60s/oldies revival courtesy of The Big Chill and Dirty Dancing. A few years later, The Commitments boosted the song's popularity even further, and from then on...there was no turning back. I knew it was all over for us musicians, when they actually started *line dancing* to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cherri Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Association with other good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Association with other good times. I must be old ,, it was a top 40 hit when I played it .....but yea those were good times. What could be better than getting paid to play in a rock band at 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pink floyd cramer Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Mustang Sally is popular IMO because the original version has a groove that noone else comes close too. Usually bands screw it up by playing it too fast but that's not the only issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elbow Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 lol... I've never played it in my life... and have never been asked to play it....but I have heard some bands do it and a few actually play it very good. I think it's a decent song though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDLMUSIC Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 What makes "Mustang Sally" such a bar favorite? I'm pretty sure it's the way I sing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ANameYouTrust Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 I work at a bar and this song is CONSTANTLY played on the jukebox. I don't understand it. I never hear it anywhere else. Its got a solid bassline, though. DO dodo, do DO dodo, do DO dodo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Mustang Sally is popular IMO because the original version has a groove that noone else comes close too. Usually bands screw it up by playing it too fast but that's not the only issue. you have heard that people would screw up pooring piss out of a boot if the directions were on the heel. The directions are in the lyrics of mustang sally ,,, you gotta slow your mustang down. I agree ,,pretty well everyone plays it too fast. rat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wades_keys Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 The lyrics are catchy. The chorus invites singing, and can be sung by men and women, comfortably. The song can be played by a beginner, though not necessarily well, it will be recognizable. There are no tricky rhythmic variations or modulations; it's almost impossible to trainwreck, even when blind drunk. It sounds like 20 other songs, so even when people don't quite recognize it, they still feel like they know it. Every hack band in town has played it at least once to a crowd of screaming drunks, you should too. not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wades_keys Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 The directions are in the lyrics of mustang sally ,,, you gotta slow your mustang down. I agree ,,pretty well everyone plays it too fast. rat Live bands playing songs "too fast" is nothing new though. Not saying It's right, I'm just sayin'. Some songs just don't work live at the recorded tempo; Journey for example would always play certain tunes faster live. I'm sure that was intentional, as they had Steve Smith back there, who is a very schooled and very precise drummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Ever since that movie "The Committments", Mustang Sally has been unavoidable. Its lyric content is unmistakably double-entendred... and folks dig that. Particularly the girls who get up on the dancefloor and do a slow but energetic grind every time the song gets played to folks who've had a couple of drinks (hint: put this song in your SECOND set). face it ,, its a good song. For sure, alot more bands make fun of it than can knock it out of the park .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Live bands playing songs "too fast" is nothing new though.Not saying It's right, I'm just sayin'.Some songs just don't work live at the recorded tempo; Journey for example would always play certain tunes faster live. I'm sure that was intentional, as they had Steve Smith back there, who is a very schooled and very precise drummer. Hmm speeding up motown or R&B is a mortal sin. Its somthing the hacks do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wades_keys Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Hmm speeding up motown or R&B is a mortal sin. Its somthing the hacks do. True. Knowing what songs NOT to play, is just as important as knowing what songs TO play. It's band-specific. We can tear up some Van Halen, but it would be a sin to try an oldies tune. Some grey-hairs I see get up there to try and "shred" on rock would be better off playing the oldies, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkwire Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Like the kids on American Bandstand used to say: "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it." You can sing the words straight with a little bit of inflection...or you can change them to be somewhat racy. Either way, people are going to grind on the song and sing along on "Ride, Sally, ride". We never put the song on our set list, but I insisted that we run through it when we were putting our band together. The guys looked at me like I was crazy, but we get a request for it at least once a month. Because I insisted we work it up, we're prepared when that happens, and everybody's happy. I don't mind 'Mustang Sally'. We follow the Wilson Pickett version very closely, and that is still a cool track. I'm just glad the requests for 'Mony Mony' have died down. Now THAT song I could live happily never doing again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wades_keys Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 As a bass player, I could dig playing that tune with the right bunch of folks. Just doesn't fit with our current lineup and setlists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nobody Told Me Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 I will not play it in a barI will not play it in the carI do not like that silly rhymeI do not like it all the time I will not play it for a crowdI will not play it quiet or loudI do not like this song you seeI do not like Mustang Sally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 What drives me bonkers is that folks dig the Billy Idol version which IMO sucks next to the drive of the original Shondells version! I'm just glad the requests for 'Mony Mony' have died down. Now THAT song I could live happily never doing again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 What drives me bonkers is that folks dig the Billy Idol version which IMO sucks next to the drive of the original Shondells version! Mack rice wrote it and recorded it first ,in 65, then wilson picket covered it soon after and made it a big hit in I think 66. I dont think the shondells did it ,that i can remember,, tommy james was from niles michigan. I used to live there. But that said mustang sally has been covered by a ton of artist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 What drives me bonkers is that folks dig the Billy Idol version which IMO sucks next to the drive of the original Shondells version! Mack rice wrote it and recorded it first ,in 65, then wilson picket covered it soon after and made it a big hit in I think 66. I dont think the shondells did it ,that i can remember,, tommy james was from niles michigan. I used to live there. But that said mustang sally has been covered by a ton of artist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members way2fat Posted February 15, 2008 Members Share Posted February 15, 2008 Mustang Sally is popular IMO because the original version has a groove that noone else comes close too. Usually bands screw it up by playing it too fast but that's not the only issue. It's a great song if you play it right, which most everybody who professes to hate it doesn't do. I'm amazed that anyone requests the song considering how routinely it gets butchered by guitar players who just can't resist playing the horn changes. Get some horns and play it right or apologize to the crowd and tell them you can't play it because the horn section is in drug rehab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.