l’ve only seen parts of a few episodes of American Dreams on ABC, but every time I turn to it I hear phony cover versions of the vintage rock songs used on the soundtrack.
Back in the early Sixties there was a record label called HIT Records that produced cover versions of current hits. I bought these ‘knock-off’ versions at the local grocery store for 39 cents each. At the time, a record by the original artist cost 99 cents at the record store, so a kid with limited funds, who didn’t know any better, could get the ‘same’ song for less than half the price of the real thing. The fakes were probably all performed by the same studio band but the label credited them with names that were similar to the original artist’s. The only one I remember for sure is that The Beatles covers were credited to The Bugs!
Anyway, when a song is played on the American Dreams programs I’ve seen, it always sounds like it’s one of these shitty records. Now if this were another type of program, it wouldn’t matter. But it’s a show built around American Bandstand that features period music prominently on the soundtrack. I mean, even car commercials use the original artist’s recordings. But a hit show on a major network can’t spring for the rights to Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham??
What’s up with that, I ask?