The song really does remain the same

By Andy Hughes

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HEAVY rock legends Led Zeppelin were right when they advised the listening world that� 'the song remains the same.' It does,� just the singers change from time to time.

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Crazy uses

A song with Crazy for a title, for example, has been a hit no fewer than 16 times in the UK, with artists as diverse as soul and doo-wop band The Manhattans, Roxy Music-influenced Australians Icehouse, and super-smooth crooner Julio Iglesias.

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Elsewhere in the world, the list goes on. No fewer than 21 separate bands and solo singers have released�songs called Crazy. Everyone from fusion rocker Joe Satriani to ironic Canadians Barenaked Ladies have had a go at something with Crazy as a title.

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Remember The Bachelors with their somewhat over-wrought but massively successful�I Believe Who would have guessed that a similar 16 versions with that title would fill the British charts, and again, 23 more versions would grace the worldwide airwaves. Never mind TV actors Robson And Jerome, who re-worked the original, what about John Cale and Lou Reed, waxing lyrical about their late mentor Andy Warhol on their Songs For Drella album Or pop-soulsters The Young Rascals, across to blues legend Elmore James, through T Rex, to Perry Como Just a title can link the most diverse artists together.

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Another popular sentiment, expressed in a title like Stay gives rise to�14 hits here, and a further 16 elsewhere. Jackson Brown can lay claim to a memorable version, unless you prefer Pink Floyd, German disco king Sash, club hero Isha-D, or r 'n' b bad boy Jodeci. The potential for diversity is endless, linked only by the urge to use an idea that has occurred to several other artists before and afterwards.

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The song Only You brings memories of Yazoo, and the a capella re-working by The Flying Pickets, but for some, '50s rhythm kings The Hilltoppers may provide the definitive version. The list goes on.