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You didn't mention the Tchaikovsky reference in "Let There Be Rock" -- I had to look it up!:) Also had to look up the Funkadelic one too, but I got 'em pretty quick...

Interesting article I found on rock songs that include bits from classical pieces....

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/pop-songs-sample-based-on-classical-music/

I dig exercises like this. I think you were limiting it to lyrical classical references. It would be an interesting companion to have another for musical ones.

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Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023Author

I didn't mention the references in hope of encouraging readers to listen to the songs. :-)

That article is interesting; I came across it in my first search, which gave me a lot of content like that but none of what I wanted.

I may take up the companion playlist idea; there certainly seems to be some interest in it here.

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Bravo! 🎶

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Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Pictures at an Exhibition"

This progressive rock band created an adaptation of Mussorgsky's composition... "Pictures at an Exhibition."

Two of the most famous references are as follows:

"A Whiter Shade of Pale," begins with Bach's "Air on a G String."

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=tZtF_5Gn9hA&si=cHtP1XXokXfyRl9a

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=CvglW3KNSsQ&si=bbDJ4l19AcMllbcu

This artist had to get permission from the Rachmaninoff family to lift this from Rachmaninoff's piano concerto #2 which is my favorite of 4. He had to pay them royalties.

"All By Myself" by Eric Carmen

Carmen literally lifted the first six and a half minutes of this composition, so he could compose a completely "new" piece of music. The original piece was written in 1900. Carmen's version was a monster hit all over the world.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=dz0jfiH7Z1Y&si=scXDusAVdfn9OdiH

Thanks for the nudge. There's a whole world of music out there, outside the thin slice of progressive rock and heavy metal.

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Yeah, I came across those too; but finding rock music that uses or riffs on classical music wasn't my brief.

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Jackie, How could you miss this one?

"...Gonna play my fiddle

Ain't got nothing to lose

Roll over Beethoven

And tell TCHAIKOVSKY the news..."

- From Roll Over Beethoven

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"Roll Over Beethoven" is the first song in the post

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I TOTALLY for got about the “Beethoven (I love to listen to)” song. I recall it was kind of a Marco Polo game in the halls of middle school! Plus it’s a “noun goes first” parenthesis song like “Satisfaction (I can’t get no)”

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Finding that has substantially increased my motivation in digging deeper into the Eurythmics' catalog. Happy to have sparked a fun memory for you, Britta!

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Oh yeah, there’s one that popped into my mind today. The Rutles’ Blue Suede Schubert!

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Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023Author

What a great tune! Obviously, I didn't search for Schubert; now I'm wondering how many songs I missed because I wasn't more exhaustive in my searches on composers' names.

Here's the vid on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRL8k5Bp1NI

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Oh Jackie! I am writing a stack right now based on a playlist input together. I start out strong and then I kind of end with a whimper. I was like a fresh battery when I clicked that “create post” button. Then I got tired. But we have to be gentle with ourselves. There is so much music and so much to write about and so many personal connections with it. This is a great post! And more will come along. And so will fresh batteries!!

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