Cover submission
ロック・アラウンド・ザ・クロック [Rocks Around the Clock] by Billy Morokawa
Submitted by
On June 22, 2017
Performance
Rock Around the Clock
By Billy Morokawa
Cover of
Completeness
Additional comments and sources
History
This is not a cover of Rock Around the Clock. The song is a tribute to Bill Haley with a few musical phrases from his songs - it opens with the Shake Rattle and Roll riff, and includes a few others. The song contains no elements of Rock Around the Clock other than mentioning the song title, not even musical phrases. I recommend this be rejected or maybe shifted to being a cover of Shake Rattle and Roll, though it's a very tenuous.
Last updated by 23skidoo on 2018-08-09 03:52:03 UTC - Show original message
I just listened to this again, and while the majority does seem to be a derivative Shake, Rattle and Roll …, it does still (to me) have elements of "Clock" (including some English lyrics). And may be best treated as a mash. I believe Q searched for the translator and was unsuccessful.
I'll also note https://secondhandsongs.com/case/72430 …, which after a quick re-sample, sounds like a far straighter cover of "Shake" (again with some English in the mix).
Last updated by Tar Heel on 2018-08-09 05:03:08 UTC - Show original message
I disagree on there being elements of RATC in this. The phrase "Rock Around the Clock" appears only because it is included in a list of Haley song titles along with See You Later Alligator. I'm almost hesitant to say this is Japanese as it sounds almost like a non-English speaker phonetically singing English words. I listened to the Shake Rattle and Roll version - which is intended to be English, not Japanese - and it sounds similar. That said, I would agree this belongs more to Shake Rattle and Roll, though even then I don't think the intent was to cover anything. This is a very similar song to other tributes that borrow phrases from Haley's songs but aren't actually covers. Two examples to examine: Bill Haley We Remember by the late German singer Hank Kerns (English language):
Last updated by 23skidoo on 2018-08-09 13:04:01 UTC - Show original message
What you're describing still seems to be some form of adaption or other derivative work to me. Stuff like this can lead to months of editor discussion and debate on how to process. Unless I have a clear and defensible position (which isn't that case here), I don't really care.
I would err on the side on SHS inclusion, if only to avoid a later duplicate submission resulting in rehashing it all over again....
@VirileVagabond Fair point, though if we're going to be less strict on it, I'd be more inclined to move this to being a derivative of Shake Rattle and Roll based on its opening. I'm probably going to submit the Ted Herold recording to the RATC covers list if it hasn't been already because that one is definitely built on the bones of RATC.
At some point this listing moved and is now listed under the Takashi Otowa translation. While there may be debate over whether this qualifies as a cover of RATC, it's pretty clear it's not a performance of Takashi Otowa's translation as previously recorded by Chiemi Eri.