In the song “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell, there’s a part at the end where the guy sings lines from “Where Did Our Love Go?” by the Supremes. What is the technical musical name for that? It’s not a cover, and neither is it sampling (really).
Plagiarism?
I don’t get how it isn’t sampling or covering…
A medley?
Well, it’s not sampling because it isn’t a sample (a snippet of an actual previous recording). It’s not covering because it isn’t a cover (a redo of a previous song). And it’s definitely not plagiarism, since I don’t think they made ever claimed to be the original writers of “Where did our love go?”.
I’d be more likely to call it “riffing.” As in playing/singing a riff from another song. It’s really common in Jazz and other improvisational styles to play a lick or riff from a well-known song, retooling it as necessary to make it fit the chord structure of what you’re playing.
Quotation.
IRC in classical music, if one composer borrows part of a tune from another and inserts it in their composition with the intention that it should be recognized, it is called ‘quoting’.
ThisYearsGirl: I have always wondered that myself…
Anyway, another question- why is it that “Where Did Our Love Go?” is only sampled/quoted/whatever sometimes? That is, I have a compliation 80s CD and the short version of “Tainted Love” is on it, though sometimes when I hear it on the radio, it’s the longer one…