August 28, 2008
August 8, 2008
You might not have known
The Grass Roots "Let's Live For Today"
-This is an English version of the Italian hit "Piangi Con Me."
-This was written by Doc Pomus (born Jerome Solon Felder) and Mort Shuman. Pomus and Shuman were born in Brooklyn, USA. Pomus lived in New York City (with a short trip to London in 1959) and Shuman lived there until late into the '60s when he slowly (over the course of a year and a half) moved to France. He spent the remainder of his life there and in Europe
-The "Sha-la-la" chorus is very similar to The Drifters' hit "I Count the Tears," which Pomus and Shuman wrote. Pomus was upset about the obvious similarity, and even though lawyers called him to suggest that he should sue, he did not. The main reason was because he was not that kind of person. If you were a thief and stole from him, as long as he could still support himself and his family (and no one was physically injured of course) he would let it go. He felt that you'd get what you deserved in the end. The other reason was that at the time the song was released he was under contract with Hill & Range (later to become Warner/Chappell) and they would have had the authority to sue and not him.
THE GRASS ROOTS - Let's Live For Today-1968 (The song was actually released in 1967)
The Rokes - PIANGI CON ME-1966
The Drifters - I Count The Tears-1960
-This is an English version of the Italian hit "Piangi Con Me."
-This was written by Doc Pomus (born Jerome Solon Felder) and Mort Shuman. Pomus and Shuman were born in Brooklyn, USA. Pomus lived in New York City (with a short trip to London in 1959) and Shuman lived there until late into the '60s when he slowly (over the course of a year and a half) moved to France. He spent the remainder of his life there and in Europe
-The "Sha-la-la" chorus is very similar to The Drifters' hit "I Count the Tears," which Pomus and Shuman wrote. Pomus was upset about the obvious similarity, and even though lawyers called him to suggest that he should sue, he did not. The main reason was because he was not that kind of person. If you were a thief and stole from him, as long as he could still support himself and his family (and no one was physically injured of course) he would let it go. He felt that you'd get what you deserved in the end. The other reason was that at the time the song was released he was under contract with Hill & Range (later to become Warner/Chappell) and they would have had the authority to sue and not him.
THE GRASS ROOTS - Let's Live For Today-1968 (The song was actually released in 1967)
The Rokes - PIANGI CON ME-1966
The Drifters - I Count The Tears-1960
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