Call Me -- a song she rejected

PenguinHead · #1 08-25-2009, 07:58 PM

I was just watching a special on VH1 that features the 100 best songs from the 1980s. Call Me, from Blondie was one of them. The writer of the song initially had Stevie in mind to record it. She rejected it and it fell into the hands of Blondie.

It's interesting to see how many songwriters, famous (the lauded Bernie Taupin!) and not so famous, at that time, were writing songs they wanted Stevie to sing. She rejected almost all of them!

**mylittledemon** · #2 08-25-2009, 08:02 PM

Yeah like "These Dreams".... and then Heart went on to do it. I heard Stevie thought it was too close to Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" (at least in title) and that's why she didnt do it.

~GoldDustWoman~ · #3 08-25-2009, 08:02 PM

Didn't know that, good song.

David · #4 08-25-2009, 08:09 PM

Didn't Bruce Springsteen also write her a song to sing called "Janie's Got a Gimp in Her Gitalong"?

GypsyBlueEyes · #5 08-25-2009, 09:12 PM

She would have been able to make These Dreams work...but Call Me definitely doesn't sound like anything she would sing.

markolas · #6 08-25-2009, 09:13 PM

I think Call Me being written for Stevie is a myth; I think that was discussed here extensively a few years ago.

GoldDustOrphan · #7 08-25-2009, 09:47 PM

Giorgio Moroder says he asked Stevie to write a song with him for the soundtrack of American Gigolo, but she declined. Moroder then brought the instrumental track (called "Man Machine") to Debbie Harry, asking her to write lyrics and melody, and "Call Me" was born.

silvasprings · #8 08-25-2009, 10:52 PM

I also read or heard (i'm not sure) somewhere that during Rock A Little sessions or Mirror Mirror

(sometime around 1984-5) that she was offered the song "Crazy For You" that was later done by Madonna, i always wondered what this would have sounded like....
I can really imagine her doing "These Dreams" it even sounds like a song she would write. although i do love Heart's version.

Dodfather · #9 08-26-2009, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silvasprings

I also read or heard (i'm not sure) somewhere that during Rock A Little sessions or Mirror Mirror

(sometime around 1984-5) that she was offered the song "Crazy For You" that was later done by Madonna, i always wondered what this would have sounded like....
I can really imagine her doing "These Dreams" it even sounds like a song she would write. although i do love Heart's version.

This is my all time favourite Madonna song. I think a Stevie version could be pretty good, it's just that side of country. Not totally certain but I'd definitely love to have heard it.

Random fact about Crazy For You.... it's co-written by John Bettis who was Richard Carpenter's good friend at college and went on to write several of the Carpenters biggest hits with him.

silvasprings · #10 08-26-2009, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dodfather

This is my all time favourite Madonna song. I think a Stevie version could be pretty good, it's just that side of country. Not totally certain but I'd definitely love to have heard it.

Random fact about Crazy For You.... it's co-written by John Bettis who was Richard Carpenter's good friend at college and went on to write several of the Carpenters biggest hits with him.

I love Crazy For You too, it's one of the only Madonna songs i really really like...
I'm not really sure if her RAL voice would have done it well or not.

It's amazing how it's such a small world with songwriting... can you imagine the carpenters singing crazy for you...lol that would be hilarious, i really can't see them doing a really 80's song like that...

carrie721 · #11 08-26-2009, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

Didn't Bruce Springsteen also write her a song to sing called "Janie's Got a Gimp in Her Gitalong"?

that was gonna be the b-side to "grandma got run over by a reindeer."

trackaghost · #12 08-26-2009, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

Didn't Bruce Springsteen also write her a song to sing called "Janie's Got a Gimp in Her Gitalong"?

I once started a thread about this very subject, Tiffany had good info about it too, shame she doesn't post anymore

http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=14859

LukeA · #13 08-27-2009, 04:21 AM

As I've said many times on these boards, "These Dreams" by Stevie would have been a major hit, along the lines of "Bette Davis Eyes", #1 for 6-7 weeks.

She also turned down the Bernie Taupin-penned track "We Built This City", too. The Motels and another female solo artist I can't remember at the moment turned it down too before it ended up in Starship's lap.

Travis · #14 08-27-2009, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GypsyBlueEyes

She would have been able to make These Dreams work...but Call Me definitely doesn't sound like anything she would sing.

I know I’m in the minority here but if you think about the time Stevie would have recorded the song, 1979/80, I think Stevie could have pulled this off. Stevie was the deal back then and you can understand why she was first asked to do it. Even though the lyrics are not what Stevie would have written, it doesn’t mean she couldn’t have interrupted the song. Stevie certainly had a sexy voice back then.

goldustsongbird · #15 08-27-2009, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silvasprings

I also read or heard (i'm not sure) somewhere that during Rock A Little sessions or Mirror Mirror

(sometime around 1984-5) that she was offered the song "Crazy For You" that was later done by Madonna, i always wondered what this would have sounded like....
I can really imagine her doing "These Dreams" it even sounds like a song she would write. although i do love Heart's version.

Actually, for RAL-era Stevie, Crazy For You would have been perfect. I could hear her singing that.