I was reading online and I read that Taylor Dayne’s first hit Tell It To My Heart, was originally a ballad. It’s very hard for me to imagine that song being done in a slow ballad sort of way.
I also read that Hanson’s MmmBop was also originally a ballad at first. Now that one I can’t imagine at all being a ballad.
I know that Neil Sedaka made his “bouncy” hit Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, into a ballad, which went into the top 10.
So I thought I’d ask what fast song, done as Pop, Dance or Rock tracks, have also been done as slow ballads, and what did you think of them?
I never heard of MmmBop or Tell It To My Heart done as ballads, but I didn’t like Sedaka’s ballad version of Breaking Up is Hard To Do, though I liked the original uptempo one.
The Beverly Hillbillies’ Theme is ‘The Ballad of Jed Clampett’ but the bluegrass accompaniment is up-tempo. Not sure if that really qualifies but it’s a fun listen
Not rock, but the original Ethel Merman version of “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” is a cheery little ditty focusing on Annie ability with a gun. Bernadette Peters slowed it down, turning it into a much more mournful lament (which is probably what Berlin intended).
Lyle Lovett slows down “Stand By Your Man” for a bit, making it a much sadder song.
The movie “That Thing You Do”, starring Tom Hanks, is based on that premise.
The Oneders, a 1960s Pennsylvania band, play their ballad “That Thing You Do” at a talent show and their drummer, who is just filling in for their regular drummer, starts the song a lot faster, causing everyone to dance, them to win the talent show and getting a huge nationwide career.
Interesting… John Lennon originally wrote “Please Please Me” as a midtempo, country-flavored song; George Martin suggested speeding it up, and the rest is history.
“Handy Man” – uptempo version by Jimmy Jones got to #2 in 1960; ballad version by James Taylor made it to #4 in 1977.
Carole King did a slower version of a song she co-wrote, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, that was a big hit for the Shirelles. The difference in tempo was not too extreme in that case.
The Mamas and the Papas did a slow version of the Beatles’ “I Call Your Name”, changing it from 4/4 to 6/8 in the process.
The Cowboy Junkies did an extremely lethargic version of the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane”.
The absolutely horrible song “My Humps” by the Black Eyed Peas was redone by Alanis Morissette as a ballad, and she improved it about 1000 percent. I actually like her version enough that I have it in my iTunes, while I can’t even listen to the original because it’s so bad. I think she meant it to be amusing, but she actually made it palatable.
Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean is a great dance tune. David Cook’s cover is simply heartbreaking (yes, I know Chris Cornell slowed it down first. I prefer Cook’s vocals).
My girlfriend and my’s song (mine and my girlfriend’s? my girlfriend and I’s?)… anyway, our song is “I’ve Just Seen a Face” by the Beatles, and I do a slow ballad version of it on the piano for her. Lower the key, play quarter-note chords with a classical-sounding solo in the middle, and voilà, an uptempo guitar song becomes a lovely little piano ballad.
