# Rock You/ Champions: why don't more bands exploit the segue? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807 "2004-06-23T15:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/1 "2004-06-23T15:37:55Z")
When you hear **Queen** ’s _We Will Rock You_ on the radio, you _know_ it’s going to be followed by _We Are the Champions_. The pause between the songs - on the compilation and IIRC, the album - is just the right amount for radio. Artists get paid (a little) for airplay. Why don’t more of them exploit this? If you were an REM or a U2 - or their record company - why wouldn’t you at least make it possible by the sequencing of songs on your next compilation? ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/2 "2004-06-23T15:54:06Z")
Most radio stations strictly control the length a song can be before they’ll play it, so no extended tracks for new songs. I would also submit that most current bands (that get airplay, anyway) aren’t creative enough songwriters to makes segues sound like anything but jarring stops/starts anyway. Really though, it’s never been that common of a practice. There’s the Queen example you mention and the famous segue to the coda of _Layla_ and I really can’t think of that many others. I’d bet it has to do with marketing and sales though. If you have two parts decent enough to be a good two-part song with an interesting segue, why not just make them 2 completely seperate songs and sell twice as many singles? ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/3 "2004-06-23T15:57:21Z")
Isn’t there an INXS song like this? The second half is the song with all the words that end in -ate. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/4 "2004-06-23T16:05:32Z")
Somewhat on the same topic: (Songs that have to be played together) Van Halen- Eruption must be followed by Girl You Really Got Me Now Prince- I Would Die 4U must be followed by Baby Your A Star ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/5 "2004-06-23T16:08:21Z")
Pure speculation on my part, but I think the Queen case mentioned above was due to the fact that both songs were released as a “double A” side. (I _think_ Sheer Heart Attack was the flip side. - Don’t really remember, and my 45s are in storage) Anyways, when the DJs played the We Will Rock You single, they had a choice, they could lift the needle before the next song on the 45 played, or they could let it play. I would guess that most DJs found it easier to let it play, and it eventually became traditional to play them both together. Again - pure speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/6 "2004-06-23T16:15:37Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > Isn’t there an INXS song like this? > > The second half is the song with all the words that end in -ate. That’d be “Need You Tonight”/“Mediate” from _Kick._ For my part, I can’t _stand_ that you never hear “We Will Rock You” without “We Are the Champions” on the radio. There’s something so sheep-like about it. FYI- The two were finally broken up on the _Queen Rocks_ compilation, it being a collection of strictly up-tempo rockers. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/7 "2004-06-23T16:23:35Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Somewhat on the same topic: > (Songs that have to be played together) > > Van Halen- Eruption must be followed by Girl You Really Got Me Now > Prince- I Would Die 4U must be followed by Baby Your A Star It only happened once, but a radio station played Journey’s “Feelin’ That Way” and did not back it up with “Anytime”. It was very odd. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/8 "2004-06-23T16:28:25Z")
Tool’s “Parabol” and “Parabola” off of its \*Lateralus \* album are two completely different sounding songs with pretty much the same lyrics and so flawless a segue that on the album, you can’t even tell you’ve moved onto a new track unless you look at the track listing or otherwise know. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/9 "2004-06-23T16:50:43Z")
Artists have done various segues. However, if they put two songs together, it’s likely to be called “Song A/Song B” and be considered one song for ASCAP/BMI credit. For instance, there’s the segue of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help from my Friends,” or Traffic’s “Glad/Freedom Rider.” ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/10 "2004-06-23T19:00:58Z")
Led Zeppelin also does this with “Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid (She’s Just A Woman).” ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/11 "2004-06-25T10:23:52Z")
And don’t forget the Alan Parsons Project’s **Sirius/Eye in the Sky**. I suspect that a lot of people are unaware that they’re two different songs. ---
**Author:** ![mbacko1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@mbacko1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbacko1)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/12 "2004-06-25T12:54:08Z")
Some more examples: Judas Priest _Hellion/Electric Eye_ Van Halen _Intruder/Pretty Woman_ Crack the Sky _Hold On/Surf City_ Those are the only ones I can think of at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/13 "2004-06-25T13:14:42Z")
There’s a version of _Stay_ which goes > [@](#): > > Now if the owner don’t mind and the roadies don’t mind > If we take a little time and we leave all this behind > And sing one more song and is the second half of a pair. I don’t remember the first half because the stations I’ve been listening to only play _Stay_. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/14 "2004-06-25T13:36:17Z")
_Just a Gigolo/Ain’t Got Nobody_ by David Lee Roth might possibly count, though I guess it’s not so much a segue as a combination. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/15 "2004-06-25T13:55:56Z")
**Jeff Olsen** , is the version of _Stay_ you’re thinking of the Jackson Browne one? It comes out of the _The Load-out_. A good example of a real segue rather than the sequencing artifact I’m wondering about. _Stay_ is a cover of a Maurice Williams song and was also covered by the Four Seasons. I’ve never heard the Browne version played by itself on radio. I guess > [@](#): > > _RealityChuck_ > Artists have done various segues. However, if they put two songs together, it’s likely to be called “Song A/Song B” and be considered one song for ASCAP/BMI credit. is a fair bit of the answer to my question - it no doubt applies to the David Lee Roth medley **GuanoLad** mentions (although I’m pretty sure both of them were covers anyway). I doubt this applied to Queen, since they were always pretty careful with money. My recollection from when I used to record a bit was that if it’s listed as a separate track, it’s counted as a separate track for royalties purposes. In any case, when you’re making your greatest hits album and considering whether to squeeze two tracks fairly close together to encourage DJs to play them together this is no longer an issue. It’s been a long while since I’ve heard any Alan Parsons Project on the radio, although as it happens I was noodling Eye In the Sky on guitar last weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/16 "2004-06-25T14:41:55Z")
> [@hawthorne](#): > > **Jeff Olsen** , is the version of **Stay** you’re thinking of the Jackson Browne one? It comes out of the **The Load-out**. A good example of a real segue rather than the sequencing artifact I’m wondering about. **Stay** is a cover of a Maurice Williams song and was also covered by the Four Seasons. I’ve never heard the Browne version played by itself on radio. Thanks! That’s the one. Stations that play soft rock tend to play _Stay_ but not _The Load Out_. That could be due to their copy of _Stay_ being a live version. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/17 "2004-06-25T16:08:17Z")
I don’t know if this counts, but Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” segues into the instrumental “Gypsy Queen” on both the album _Abraxas_ and always does so when played on the radio. I used to think it was all one song with an outro like “Layla” or Guns and Roses’ “November Rain”. I was very disappointed when I got a Santana “Greatest Hits” CD some time ago, “Black Magic Woman” just ended without the ‘outro’. ---
**Author:** ![Jplacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jplacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jplacer)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/18 "2004-06-26T04:06:10Z")
Pink Floyd Brain Damage/Eclipse The Happiest Days of Our Lives (Well, when we grew up and went to school …) /Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2 (We don’t need no education. We don’t need no thought control …) ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/19 "2004-06-26T04:17:24Z")
> [@Moody Bastard](#): > > For my part, I can’t _stand_ that you never hear “We Will Rock You” without “We Are the Champions” on the radio. There’s something so sheep-like about it. Maybe the DJ wants to make sure that the listeners are RAWKIN’ while he heads out for a quick bathroom break. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807/20 "2004-06-26T04:43:15Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > _Just a Gigolo/Ain’t Got Nobody_ by David Lee Roth might possibly count, though I guess it’s not so much a segue as a combination. IIRC, Louis Prima did the originals the same way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-you-champions-why-dont-more-bands-exploit-the-segue/251807.md?page=2)