A SAMPLE OF SAMPLES

 

In 2001, my former production partner Reid Whitelaw let me know that we had a new hit, a rap ‘song’ entitled “Friends” on the album: “Snoop Dogg Presents Tha Eastsidaz – Duce’s ‘N Trayz The Old Fashioned Way”.  Since I had not recalled writing that particular song, Whitelaw soon explained that it was a rap performance over a track ‘sample’ of a song and production of ours, “At Long Last” from our 1972 ‘Moment Of Truth’ album.  On this new song, there were now four additional writers whom we had never met, but we didn’t mind since the album had become one of the top hits of the year, with platinum sales.

   

(Now that I have looked at the picture more closely, one of the gentlemen does look familiar though I don’t think we ever wrote a song together).

 

Three other Whitelaw-Bergen collaborations with recent samples: “Stay Around”, “Has Your Man Got Soul?” (formerly “Love Is Just A Heartbeat Away”) both recorded by German duo Milk and Sugar; “Hi ‘N’ Bye” (formerly “Helplessly”) by Till West and Eddie Thoneick. Thank you Reid. 

My most unusual sample is one I learned about a few years after the fact.  In 1997, Wyclef Jean had a platinum album with “Wyclef  Jean Presents The Carnival”.  Cut #6, a song entitled “Prelude To ‘To All The Girls’”, is actually a 30-second piece of the 1960s Mighty Sparrow recording of “Only A Fool Breaks His Own Heart” with nothing added.  The CD gives no writer or publisher credits for this track, but I have since learned that this ‘new song’ has a third writer in addition to Shelly Coburn and myself, you guessed it – Wyclef Jean.  Actually I have met him (since the time we ‘co-wrote’ the new song); he is a great talent and a nice man.    

 

 

 

 

Oh yes, I guess this next one is unusual as well -  a Hungarian rap using a sample of Mighty Sparrow’s recording of “Only A Fool Breaks His Own Heart” –

 

New song: “Szeretem” by Norba & Kool Kasko