Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2010 November 23

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November 23[edit]

Lenght of Ray Charles' What'd I Say single[edit]

Does anybody know the lenght of each side of What'd I Say single by Ray Charles? I asked here but it seems a desert page...thanks! Greetings from Italy ^^ --BMonkey (talk) 17:46, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This label shot suggests that Part 1 was 3:05. Different lengths seem to be given in different sources for Part 2. The usual version now released, of Parts 1 and 2 together, unedited, is about 6:28, but I believe the original "Part 2" B-side may have been a shorter edit (rather than being simply that part of the whole song not included in "Part 1"). Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:27, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I think I found something on Discogs here, where it says Part I is 3:05 and Part II 1:59. Thanks for the help! --BMonkey (talk) 21:28, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I saw that - it implies that a lot of the original (and now usually released) recording was not contained on either side of the single - which is possible, though I have seen other lengths quoted for Part 2. Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:07, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm a fan, but recently noticed him hawking some very specific products, which I suspect he was paid to do on his show. If so, this obvious conflict of interest makes me suspicious of any advice he gives. So, is it true, or not ? StuRat (talk) 21:42, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have no idea, but I would never rely on one person for advice, and especially not a TV personality. If you're unsure, always seek professional, independent, third party advice on everything.--Shantavira|feed me 09:09, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Most common song title[edit]

After seeing that there are at least 3 famous songs entitled "Crazy", I wanted to know the most common song title in popular music, or at least in the 20-21 century. Is there one? Finalius (Ecru?!) 21:43, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Quickly flicking through the index of Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 suggests to me that a leading contender must be "Hold On" - with 13 different songs of that title reaching the Hot 100 in that period. As follows: The Radiants (1968), The Rascals (1970), The Sons of Champlin (1976), Wild Cherry (1977), Ian Gomm (1979), Triumph (1979), Kansas (1980), Badfinger (1981), Santana (1982), Donny Osmond (1989), Wilson Phillips (1990), En Vogue (1990), and Jamie Walters (1995). And that doesn't include Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm A Comin'" (1966). "Crazy" had 11 songs over the same period, not including a "Crazay", and also not including the Gnarls Barkley song which was more recent. Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:15, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
According to this discussion (about 4/5 down), "Come Together" has 55. "The name of this game, really, is just to search using the 'song' field on www.allmusic.com (it tells you the composer, so you can weed out the covers)." Clarityfiend (talk) 22:31, 23 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
But are they "famous"? Only the Beatles' song of that name is listed in the Whitburn book of Hot 100 hits up to 2002 (albeit in several versions). Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:59, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
He or she asked for "the most common song title in popular music". I don't see "famous" in there. Clarityfiend (talk) 21:28, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If a song never made the Hot 100, then just how "popular" can it be? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:08, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Well... there is the rest of the world, of course.... Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:22, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
What's needed, then, is a list of every song ever written in the history of humanity, and a process to weed out the "covers". That would be a time-consuming project. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 10:07, 25 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The thread posted by Clarityfiend is misleading misled me, because it's clear in context that "Come Together" is used as an example, not as a record-setter. If you search for songs called "Hold On" on Allmusic, you get a claimed total of 4194 "occurrences" here, and at least 800 different songs of that title by this search - that is, 22 pages with at least 40 songs on each. I haven't checked other titles, but it's clear that "Hold On" is a more common title than "Come Together". Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:18, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
How is my response misleading? What's "clear in context" is that that was the most anyone in that discussion found, and that's what I stated, not that it was a "record-setter". Please stop putting words in my mouth. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:44, 25 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Please read what I said. I didn't say anything about what you said, I commented on what that discussion suggested.Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:56, 25 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, yes. My apologies. Clarityfiend (talk) 23:47, 25 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Not trying to give a definitive answer, but... If you do the "Whitburn test" (see above), followed by the "Allmusic test" (again, see above) for the most "occurrences" - which should (but may not) give different songs of the same title - the four top "scores" that I can identify are for "Hold On" (4194), "Tonight" (4098), "Crazy" (3883), and "Without You" (3645). If you then carry out the Wikipedia test, of checking out how many songs are listed on the relevant disambiguation pages, "Hold On" lists 42, "Tonight" lists 38, "Crazy" lists 26, and "Without You" lists 37. So, that confirms "Hold On" as a potential "winner", across three separate criteria. Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:14, 25 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

See http://www.associatepublisher.com/e/l/li/list_of_sets_of_unrelated_songs_with_identical_titles.htm - this is an ex-wikipedia article. Exxolon (talk) 22:18, 24 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

"Summertime" had 7000+ occurences at allmusic. "Angel" had 3900 at allmusic and 50+ in wikipedia. ќמшמφטтгמtorque 01:55, 26 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Another tonight song, Dirty vegassings it, and it is from 2009, Chock one up for the tonight team. Together is another common song name, Not come together, but just together. or with you, but i can agree with the hold on thing, though i haven't done a thurro search of together and with you. N.I.M. (talk) 22:40, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]