Shame on Beyonce, Rock on Stevie

[MirrorInTheSky]

Stevie gets a shout out today on Foxnews.com's 411 Report. Here's the link, then the text. (12th paragraph down)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,172552,00.html


Beyonce: She Didn't Write The Songs

Vanity Fair finally puts a solo African-American on its cover, and doesn’t do any fact checking.

Beyonce Knowles, who’s full of sass and has a striking voice, actually thinks she’s a songwriter. She says so in the new Vanity Fair.

In fact, Beyonce did not write her big hit "Crazy in Love," or even conceive of it. "Crazy in Love" — its horns, percussion, chief melody and overall "feel" — was written by the late and very great Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites (he died this summer). The group recorded and released it in 1969 as "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)."

Indeed, the person who sought out the track was hip-hop producer Rich Harrison. He’s the go-to guy when you need to sample something obscure because you can’t write your own music.

He told MTV.com in February 2004 that he’d had the sample for some time, long before Beyonce knew about it.

"Yeah, I had it in the chamber," he told the Web site. "I hadn't really shopped it much, because sometimes you don't want to come out of the bag before it's right."

Harrison then brought Jay-Z in to add a rap. The result was such a success that Harrison would later adapt the horn section from the Chi-Lites' record for similar records he produced for pop singers Amerie and Jennifer Lopez.

The Vanity Fair article, however, makes it seem like Beyonce is a genius songwriter who came up with all this stuff. Knowles says, without her veracity being questioned: "'Crazy in Love' was really hard to write because there was so much going on … I mean, I had written — what? —seven, eight number one songs with Destiny's Child, in a row." Of Jay-Z's added rap: "I knew the song wasn’t complete because the horns were so old school…"

There, she is correct. The horns were old school. They were charted 36 years ago by Record, who also wrote "Have You Seen Her?," "Oh Girl," "Am I The Same Girl?" and many other classic R&B hits. Unfortunately, he’s no longer here to defend himself.

In the Vanity Fair article, Beyonce also claims to have “written” seven No. 1 songs. Again, not exactly. Her name is on them all. But “Independent Woman, Pt. 1” was authored by Samuel J. Barnes and Jean Claude Olivier, tweaked by producer Cory Rooney and added to by …Beyonce. Olivier and Barnes also worked on constructing Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny from the Block.”

“Say My Name,” a big Destiny’s Child hit, was written by Rodney Jerkins, his brother Freddie and Rodney’s writing partner LeShawn Daniels. The names of the four girls from the group were added again, so they could share in the collection of royalties.

There’s more: "Baby Boy" was based on a hit by reggae star Ini Kamoze called "Here Comes the Hot Stepper." "Naughty Girl" is merely a hefty sample of Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder’s "Love to Love You Baby." "Bills Bills Bills" was written by singer/songwriter Kandi Burruss and producer Kevin Briggs. "Nasty Girl" and "Survivor" were the work of composer/producer Anthony Dent, who had to share credit with not only Beyonce but also her father, Matthew Knowles. "Bootylicious" is simply Stevie Nicks’s "Edge of Seventeen."

Nicks, following Sting’s lead from years ago with Diddy’s sample of "Every Breath You Take," did not allow Destiny’s Child or Beyonce to get any royalties at all. Rock on, Stevie!

In fact, not one of the songs listed under Beyonce’s name on the BMI Web site is written solely by her. They are usually credited to a list of songwriters. The list comprises the actual writers, and then a few people who’ve "tweaked" the song with a rap or by adding samples.

But this is the way it’s done in hip-hop and rap. "Writing" a song has new meaning. It means "licensing" the song from another writer. The word "composer" is not in the hip-hop dictionary.

This can make for a peculiar situation at the Grammy Awards. In 2000, Jerkins and his writing team had to share the Grammy for Best R&B Song for “Say My Name” with the members of Destiny’s Child because their names were on the credits.

In 2003, Beyonce, Harrison and Jay-Z won a couple of Grammys including Best R&B Song for “Crazy in Love.” Record’s name isn’t even listed on the Grammy Web site and he was the writer. Hopefully his widow is getting checks.

Over the weekend I discussed this phenomenon with a famous songwriter concerning rapper Nelly, whose albums — like Kanye West’s — are made up of samples of previous works. I thought they’d find the whole thing deplorable. Not so.

"Really?" they said, realizing the revenue that could be realized. "I’ll send him my whole catalogue for his next one!"

Otherwise, Vanity Fair’s annual music issue, as has been noted elsewhere, is an attempt to make up for not including African-Americans in years of previous issues. The magazine photographed nearly all of the most famous members of the hip-hop and rap community. Most of them fare very well, although Sean “Diddy” Combs probably regrets his portrait.

[DavidMn]

Interesting/

[Neal]

Beyonce sucks.

[SortaSavageLike]

The first time I heard Bootylicious, all I could think was "hmmm... the music here... it's hauntingly familiar!" One minute later, all I could think was "the music here... it sucks!"

[SapphireSister]

"Bootylicious" is simply Stevie Nicks’s "Edge of Seventeen."

Nicks, following Sting’s lead from years ago with Diddy’s sample of "Every Breath You Take," did not allow Destiny’s Child or Beyonce to get any royalties at all. Rock on, Stevie!

Ironically, the famous guitar riff from Edge was taken from a Police song according to Waddy. She didn't write that.

[Nixxxed]

Originally Posted by SapphireSister

Ironically, the famous guitar riff from Edge was taken from a Police song according to Waddy. She didn't write that.

What else in Bootylicious is taken from Edge (besides the riff that became the hook for Booty)? Stevie doesn't write any of that kinda stuff, right? That's all the producer or musicians adding their touches to her basic melody/chord progression.

Still, at least it's (mostly) original music. All artists borrow from each other all the time, but I think the rap community has gone a little overboard.

I think it's funny though that the songwriter questioned in the article says he'd ship over his whole catalog at the thought of the royalties he would get.

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by SapphireSister

Ironically, the famous guitar riff from Edge was taken from a Police song according to Waddy. She didn't write that.

I remember hearing that. But you know there are only so many chord progressions and notes that can be played...it will happen that people "borrow" this or that...IMO, it's being able to borrow it and make it completely, honestly all your own that makes it work.

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by Nixxxed

Still, at least it's (mostly) original music. All artists borrow from each other all the time, but I think the rap community has gone a little overboard.

I agree. When I heard Sierra Leone by Kanye West and he had sampled Diamonds Are Forever I was pissed. And Madonna's new song Hung Up is bird dookie compared to Gimme Gimme Gimme, the original song by ABBA. It sounds like she took a great hook and melody and threw some vocals on...eek.

[sara1998]

Originally Posted by Nixxxed

Still, at least it's (mostly) original music. All artists borrow from each other all the time, but I think the rap community has gone a little overboard.

They have gone a little too overboard. Why sample? Write your own music.

[SapphireSister]

Originally Posted by Nixxxed

What else in Bootylicious is taken from Edge (besides the riff that became the hook for Booty)?

To my knowledge it's only the riff. And let's not forget Stevie opened her last 2 solo tours with Bootylicious!

Stevie doesn't write any of that kinda stuff, right? That's all the producer or musicians adding their touches to her basic melody/chord progression.

I believe so.

Still, at least it's (mostly) original music. All artists borrow from each other all the time, but I think the rap community has gone a little overboard.

I could not agree more! We all know our girl can write songs .

[realcowgirl]

Originally Posted by SortaSavageLike

The first time I heard Bootylicious, all I could think was "hmmm... the music here... it's hauntingly familiar!" One minute later, all I could think was "the music here... it sucks!"

No kidding!

I'm curious about the Sean Combs 'regretable' photo, though!

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by nixxxed

Still, at least it's (mostly) original music. All artists borrow from each other all the time, but I think the rap community has gone a little overboard.

Originally Posted by sara1998

They have gone a little too overboard. Why sample? Write your own music.

I think you're both completely misunderstanding one of the basic foundations of rap music.

"Why don't rap artists write their own music?" You might as well be asking, "Why don't collage artists draw their own pictures?"

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by SapphireSister

I could not agree more! We all know our girl can write songs .

Of course, she uses the same chord progressions over and over again and recycles her own lyrics all the time. Isn't she just "sampling" from herself?

[amber]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Of course, she uses the same chrod progressions over and over again and recycles her own lyrics all the time. Isn't she just "sampling" from herself?

Totally. Stevie is a huge Stevie thief.
Oh, and apparently Waddy was pissed, pissed, pissed when he found out that the Edge riff was "stolen" and he told Stevie "never do that to me again" or something.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by amber

... Oh, and apparently Waddy was pissed, pissed, pissed when he found out that the Edge riff was "stolen" and he told Stevie "never do that to me again" or something.

and you heard this where?

tone - not snarky