The search for a
great song covers a wide range of possibilities. The hook line from one of
Larry Gatlin’s biggest hits was, “All the gold in California is in a bank in
the middle of Beverly Hills in somebody else’s name.” Well, that lyric
often flashes through my mind when a student asks me where they can go to find
songs.
Great songs are
like gold bullion; they’re not simply lying around waiting to be picked up by
just anybody. They are valuable commodities, carefully guarded, and parsed out
only to the bidder who promises the fattest return. And, actually, this is as
it should be, the songwriter deserves to be well compensated for creating
something original. Naturally, they are going to serve up their best work to
the most prominent artists. The income from writing a hit song is quite
substantial, so a writer will be very choosey about who gets to record it
first.
That doesn't
offer much hope to the young singer looking for original song material. The
paradox is that you need good songs to get the attention of a record label, but
the only way you’ll get the really good songs is if you’re already signed to a
label.
So what’s a
singer to do? I mean, after praying for a miracle. After all, you can’t keep on
using your cover version of “On Broken Wing” or "Folsom Prison" as
your demo forever.
This list of
places of where a singer can find a song covers only a few ideas; you need to
think outside-the-box for yourself as well. Here are a few of my suggestions of
where to go to troll for the right songs.
Album Cuts
Make a list of
artists whose music you can relate to. Everyone, even the superstars, has had album
cuts that received little or no airplay. Search through their early albums for
these songs -- songs that might not have been blockbusters, but were carefully
chosen out of hundreds of contenders and approved by many people before they
ever made it onto the album. They are called "deep cuts" -- songs
that were never released as singles. These songs might as well be original;
they haven’t really been heard.
Once a song has
been recorded and made available to the public, you do not need permission from
the writer or publisher to record your own version. If you are contemplating
recording songs for sale, contact rights organizations BMI, ASCAP or SEASAC, or
go to the publisher directly, to determine the terms.
Gender Switch
If a female
singer looking for a good song covers one previously recorded by a male singer,
or vice versa, it adds a whole new element and is not likely to be considered a
cover. Just think what different results you would get if Toby Keith and, let’s
say, Alicia Keyes sang the same material. Now, I don’t know about you, but I
think that would be pretty interesting.
Re-do a Classic
Classic songs
are a part of our collective heritage. Take a classic song, make it truly and
uniquely yours, and you create your own legacy. Once again, you do not need the
writer's or publisher's permission, unless you are planning on sales.
Songs From Other Genres
There’s a
century of good songs to choose from, all styles, sizes and shapes. Search for
songs that resonate with you, but have been recorded in a completely different
style and format from the kind of music you sing. Then make it yours. Michael
Bolton made a whole career out of recording song covers. Whitney Houston’s
version of “I Will Always Love You,” written by Dolly Parton, is an excellent
example.
One-Hit Wonders
If you search
Google for one-hit wonders, you will find the top 100 for each decade since the
1950's. These artists produced songs powerful enough to become modern classics.
Who knows why they had only one hit? It could be that they exhausted all their
creative collateral on that one song and never wrote a brilliant follow-up. But
it could also mean that the band broke up during their first tour when the bass
player's wife ran off with the drummer. There may still be good songs to be
found by searching through the album cuts.
As you can see,
if you are looking for fresh material and a good song, covers from unexpected
resources can supply a treasure trove of possibilities. Be sure to sing them
with your personal imprint.
Nashville
vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams reveals the trade secrets that have already
helped hundreds of aspiring singers become celebrities: Tim McGraw, Martina
McBride, Dixie Chicks, Miley Cyrus, Huey Lewis, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill,
Jason Aldean, Christina Aguilera...
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