Modern popular songs based on classical music.

[Pista Gyerek]

Have you ever seen the "Pachelbel Rant" on iTunes? Not only is it hilarious, but it does an AMAZING job of finding the Pachelbel chord progression in almost everything!

The Pachelbel Rant is indeed inspired. I doubt that all the performers mentioned as "quoting" the Canon were even aware of the plagiarism: if Green Day, for example, know who Pachelbel is, I'll eat your lunch.

Since I didn't see it mentioned, I'll add that heavy metal visionaries Spinal Tap quoted Boccherini's "Minuet" just prior to the end of "Heavy Duty Rock and Roll." It was done with the taste and finesse we expect from the band, so you might hardly have noticed it.

 

[OverlappingCircles]

Pachelbel's canon is the object of a lot of different interpretations by quite a few budding guitarists on youtube. here's a couple of the better ones:
Matt Rach
Jerry C
interesting how such a soothing piece of music can change to something so different!!

 

[Dorsetmike]

1978 Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Keeley "If I had Words" from Saint Saens 3rd Organ symphony.

 

[Lusaka_Guitarist]

The Instrumentation for Coolio's "I'll See You When You Get There" is also based on Pachebel's Canon. I've heard alot of songs that have part of Canon in them.

 

[White Knight]

Modern popular songs based on classical music

Jason, I just came across this thread you posted and came away utterly amazed at the painstaking research and time you must have invested in it. Congratulations and well done!:cheers: I just had a question about one of your citations: namely "Hall Of the Mountain King" as being done by the Who. I had always thought it was another group like King Crimson, Yes or maybe ELP which performed this song but I could be wrong. Anyway, ciao for now and congrats again on a wonderful thread.:tiphat: Looking forward to hearing from you soon, White Knight.

 

[Mat]

I was just listening to Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto and realized that E. Carmen's All By Myself is based on it. On second mvmt, to be precise. It was before I read the thread's opening post.

 

[Corno Dolce]

"I will never fall in love again", with melody from Adagio movement of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symphony.

 

[White Knight]

"In the Hall of the Mountain King"

Jason, you were right; The Who performed this song from their album "The Who Sell Out", which I listened to today. Again, thanks for producing such a magnificently researched and composed thread.:tiphat::cheers:. White Knight.

 

[rsp]

Three not included on your list (or I just missed them): The Platters' minor hit "Where" (1959), based on the First Movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony # 6; Jackie Wilson's "Night" (1960), based on the aria "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" from the opera Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saens; and Elvis's "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You" (1961), which has one of the earliest classical derivations--Martini's "Plaisir d'amour," written in 1784.

 

[rsp]

Great catch! How can one forget James Cromwell dancing to "If I Had Words" in the movie Babe? It was my introduction to the Saint Saens organ symphony.

 

[rsp]

It isn't--but it is very similar to a theme in Siegfried's Funeral March from Wagner's Gotterdammerung. Also, John Williams has ripped off numerous classical pieces, including the ominous, descending, 3-note theme toward the end of Mahler's Symphony #1, which he used in King Kong.

 

[rsp]

Oh, I forgot: Presley's "Love Me Tender," which is note-for-note the Civil War song "Aura Lee."

 

[bob32116]

Australian 1970's band Daddy Cool, who were better known for producing retro 1950's style rock, did a semi-proggy track called "Make Your Stash", the melody of which is nicked from the Jupiter movement of The Planets by Gustav Holst.

Apparently Frank Zappa also used this theme, though not being familiar with Zappa's work I can't confirm.

 

[bob32116]

Oh, I forgot: Presley's "Love Me Tender," which is note-for-note the Civil War song "Aura Lee."

Also Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" uses the melody from "Plaisir d'amour"[SUP]][/SUP] (1784), by Martini.

The original was probably the equivalent of a "pop song" in its day.

 

[John Watt]

bob32116! You're talking about Daddy Cool and "Make Your Stash",
saying Frank Zappa also used this theme. I'm not sure.
I tend to remember Frank singing "they're getting so laid back they're forming a heap".
But then again, one persons' stash can be someone elses' trash.