Earthling
David Henson
What do you think about being able to listen to a song on YouTube for free? Back in the day we could hear a song for free on the radio, but the radio tended to play the same songs over and over again. The same Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Van Halen, and Eagles songs. You didn't get the variety, the availability of YouTube and with YouTube you don't have to wait for an hour for the song to come around again.
Everyone made tapes back then. They would record songs or even entire albums and give them out to their friends so they wouldn't have to buy it. You could buy a tape or record at a yard sale or discount club. Every artist started out by doing gigs where they played mostly cover tunes, and they weren't paying royalties on those tunes I can tell you.
But back then artists had it harder than we could have imagined. They were more or less working for the company store. The record company loaned the bands they signed with a million dollars to make an album. After the expensive studio time, paying managers etc. they would end up, typically, with about 40 thousand dollars to live on for the year. They could make their money in concert sales, and later, merchandise.
I don't know what it is about this song that makes everyone want to cover it, but I think it must be one of the most covered songs in the history of popular music. Everyone seems to want their own personal Jesus.
Everyone made tapes back then. They would record songs or even entire albums and give them out to their friends so they wouldn't have to buy it. You could buy a tape or record at a yard sale or discount club. Every artist started out by doing gigs where they played mostly cover tunes, and they weren't paying royalties on those tunes I can tell you.
But back then artists had it harder than we could have imagined. They were more or less working for the company store. The record company loaned the bands they signed with a million dollars to make an album. After the expensive studio time, paying managers etc. they would end up, typically, with about 40 thousand dollars to live on for the year. They could make their money in concert sales, and later, merchandise.
I don't know what it is about this song that makes everyone want to cover it, but I think it must be one of the most covered songs in the history of popular music. Everyone seems to want their own personal Jesus.