The Fifth Estate had a hit in 1967 with a rock version of “Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead,” which they combined with the “Bourrée” from the Terpsichore suite (1612) by Michael Praetorius.
Just heard one on the radio that was new to me – “Asia Minor” by Kokomo (Jimmy Wisner), which reached #8 on the Billboard chart in 1961. (It’s Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor.)
I listened to some pop one time and it was awful.
Actually I did listen to pop recently and all I heard was 90’s Euro club/dance music. Looks like hip-hop has discovered 1990’s Europe.
The Doors’ “Hyacinth House” features a quote from Chopin’s Polonaise in A-flat, Op. 53 (quote starts at 2:09). R. Meltzer, reviewing the album for Rolling Stone, described the passage as “Kokomo classical fancy-stepping.”
Are you suggesting that there is anything about KISS that is NOT shameless?
And I say that in the most admiringly way possible.
Indigo Girls strum a little bit of Beethoven’s ninth towards the end of Cedar Tree.
The Byrds’ lovely B-side “She Don’t Care About Time” uses Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” for the guitar solo.
So does Billy Joel’s “This Night,” from the An Innocent Man album.
And Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow used a big chunk of the “Ode to Joy” in “Difficult to Cure.”
I believe there was a connection between Moonlight Sonata and the beginning of Chicago’s Color My World.
Big Brother & The Holding Company’s version might trump them all. Gurley’s guitar workout is Phenominal! Janis must have stepped off stage for the boys to do an instrumental, since she’s featured on other songs from this session.
Bright Eyes’ “Road to Joy”, from Beethoven’s 9th symphony (Ode to Joy).
