(450) HIT RECORDS : THE MYSTERY OF WHAT MAKES A HIT?

It's a bit of a mystery really, what makes a song, a recording of a song, a particular version  or cover tune of a song, a hit, a chart topper. 

So many factors to consider.  The song itself - the lyrics, the melody, the music production - which can reimagine a song, the singer - their popularity or break through, also the promotion - very important.   Some great songs you never heard of died before they were launched because there was little to no money for promo.

Sometimes everything comes together in a magical moment in time and somehow out of thousands of songs recorded at that time, one recording appeals to so many people that they go out and buy it, request it be played on a radio station, and go see the singer or band in concert. 

But for every example of how one song became a hit, there is some other song that became a hit a whole other way.  Musical stars get tired of concerts and retreat to a studio.   Very rarely someone breaks out using YouTube.

Today with so much independent music making, we have stars shining that relied on television talent contests, social networking on smart cell phones and computers, or making the rounds of local clubs performing live with CDs made in local studios in hand. 

It may be even more difficult to explain the mystery than it always was now, but you could say that a songwriter, a singer, someone has to BELIEVE IN THE SONG.

One of the ways a hit record is considered a hit is that it made it onto a chart.

Let's put it this way.  There are songs that didn't make the TOP 100 / 1000 that were still very successful for the songwriters because they were used for a movie or television series, or a number of artists recorded the song or performed it live.  Still, it's a temptation to look at charts.

Consider this.  Charts vary.  There are hit charts that proclaim the greatest hits of All Time (often opinion), Charts by record sales, charts by requests of radio play and actual radio play (which may have been dictated by a station manager or a DJ), charts that count by CITY, BY REGION, BY COUNTRY!  There are charts by category, by genre - easy listening, rockabilly, classical. 


Charts look back but don't predict the future!

(409) BMI TYPE DATABASES CAN BE WRONG

The ASCAP and BMI type songwriter databases, which help you find out who owns the intellectual properties to a song, can be wrong.

The reasons why are easy to explain.

When a songwriter sells his or her portion of the earnings on a song or leaves their portion in an inheritance to another person, someone who never wrote a song in their life can appear on the songwriter portion. A original partnership of two can appear to be a team of twelve. IT'S NOT REALLY A SONGWRITER'S DATABASE. It's a song OWNERSHIP database, about accounting.

Sometimes publishers sell part of their rights to a song to another publisher so more than one publisher may be involved.

A songwriter, artist, or publisher, who is registered with ASCAP or BMI is always locatable, should you want to use their song and pay them what you owe.

You simply contact the organization, tell them what song, and they contact the songwriter. Or if the songwriter has sold all their work or moved their work to another database/organization, they may have the address or be willing to forward for you.

(282) PJ PROBY LIVED IN A CASTLE and DROVE A ROLLS - MAKING DEMOS IS HONORABLE WORK

Like Bobby Darin and several other other music stars and singer-songwriters, P.J. Proby recorded demos for other artists.

If you can get this work today, do it! It can be a very smart move. First of all it gives you experience recording in a studio, all the equipment and possibilities open to you working in there. Other artists are recording in the same or adjacent studios. You meet singers, musicians, and producers. You get to test and train your voice. It's an in.

PJ recorded demo records for Elvis Presley, though you can hear the difference in his and Elvis' voices. This is how it worked in the songwriting business. The demo singer tried to emulate the style or sound of the singer so that he or she could really try it on. Sometimes the end result was a record that was very different from the demo anyway and sometimes the song was picked up by another artist. This kind of pitch honored the artist that may have had the song written with him or her in mind.

P.J. got his own career going and he still does! P.J. lived in a castle and drove a Rolls when he got his going. He's a hardworking and talented man and I'm happy to call him a friend!



And yes, David Gates, Leon Russel, and Glen Campbell, who were session musicians on this song, all went on to have great individual careers!