Called it a "career ending" move, and they wouldn't show it. Lots of rock video cliches are parodied, enormous stacks of Marshall amps, exagerrated video babes writhing about, rock star poses, the works.all done for laughs. In the strip club, The Smithereens realize that the strip club band is playing their song, and they comandeer the stage to play the normal hit version. The band originally filmed a video for the song that featured them sneaking in to a strip club on the way to a gig, while their manager (played by actor Leon Askin, best known as General Burhalter of "Hogan's Heroes") chases after them, trying to get them out, and back to their own gig. It was recorded to be used during the original video for "A Girl Like You". This version is totally different, featuring a bump and grind rhythm, horn section, and no vocals, apart from shouts of the title during the chorus. The cassette single version of The Smithereens "A Girl Like You" featured an instrumental version called "A Girl Like You Part II", also known as "the strip club version", and therin lies a tale. It's impossible to think of the Jamaican music industry without the use of version. I'm in possession of literally thousands of rips of Jamaican vinyl from the 60's thru the 90's, and almost every one of them has their instrumental counterpoint on the b-side. Many great cd's of these mixes are available on the UK Blood & Fire label for those interested. Version started as straight instrumentals of the a-side vocals but later morphed into the more psychedelic sounding dub mixes most famously mixed by the late,great King Tubby, among others. That's where you can trace the origins of rap to the toasting that was done over these early versions by founding Jamaican DJ's like U-Roy and Big Youth among so many others. As a matter of fact, 'version' became so popular at the big sound system dances that people wanted to hear the 'version' more than the vocal side. So unlike the one-off use of instrumental sides that are being mentioned here, practically every single issued in Jamaica since the late 60's has had an instrumental b-side. The b-side, what is called 'version' in Jamaica, has been a staple of reggae since the late 60's. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention an oft-overlooked genre called reggae. And you thought the single version of The Doors "Light My Fire" was short! On a similar note, WABC during it's heyday would edit hit songs down to one minute versions on carts (four-track cartridge tapes, like the spots, the first to do so) to cram more tunes an hour so they could legally advertise that they played more songs than other stations, and buffer up to newcasts sometimes splicing a vocal's instrumental section after the first chorus to fade into top of the hour IDs or newscasts. Just a guess here, but I think other than the obvious reason for this being the record companies' stinginess, and the outside possiblity that the label offered the artist a one-side deal or the aritists were too lazy or unable to supply a second tune, radio stations (long before production companies offered instrumental backing tracks for commercials, show themes, and fills to the top of the hour news or traffic reports and such) used an instrumental version for spots and time fillers, and if the record got more than a minute of air time ASCAP or BMI royalties could be earned. I always liked "Music Minus Orpheus" (an instrumental version of Orpheus singing "My Life" )better than the vocal.
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