"One of Us" by Eric Bazilian / Prince's cover / intangible music

Eric Bazilian of The Hooters,
composer of "One of Us"

Between now and when I finally take the plunge and buy my new Barnum-o-Tronik 7000 Supercomputer, I really need to start backing up and saving some of the treasures and drek I've been collecting on this hard disk for the last eight years or so.

I am particularly suspicious of Music which comes in an Intangible Form that cannot be seen or touched. It's just Not Natural.

But S.W.M.B.O. has discovered this iPod Thing, and is being lured into the iPod Kult -- largely because it is promising to make about a ton of CDs simply vanish from our living space, all to be replaced by strings of zeroes and ones which will fit in a box the size of a wallet.

All very unnatural. There's something wrong with Music you can't Touch or See.

I am thinking about this because of one particular treasure, a song I never possessed in tangible form, not vinyl, not CD. One day long ago, and one time only, I saw Prince on TV sing his version of the song "One of Us." And it just knocked me over, knocked my socks off, blew my mind (astonishment from circa 1968), rocked my world. I had to have it. Life couldn't go on until it was blasting through my speakers.

Commenced the strangest hunt through Cyberspace, not helped much by my profound ignorance about the song and my relative unfamiliarity with Prince's oeuvre. (Frankly, his pouting and the tightness of his velvet trousers always scared me. Perry Como never pouted and his trousers never scared me.)

I finally wound up on a website of a French-speaking Swiss guy who was clearly the biggest Prince Fan in the Universe. There was no Union Jack flag to click on for an English version of the site. Yes, I'd come to the right place, but the right place, the Galactic Cathedral of Prince, was entirely en francaise.

If he didn't have Prince's cover of "One of Us" -- well, then I was hallucinating because it didn't exist. I wanted it So Bad that I reached for my dismal, pathetic, laughable francaise skills and wrote him an e-mail entirely in French. He must have comprendre mon merde sufficiement, because this lovely Helvetian promptly sent me (and this was B.C. -- Before Cable) an email with an attachment that consisted of an enormous string of zeroes and ones -- probably the biggest file I'd ever received -- and when I clicked this file and stuck it in my audio player -- Wow. Encroyable. Unglaublich. Fantastische.

Okay, well, I will say One Nice Thing about Intangible Music. If I'd received this song in vinyl and played it 72,311 times (like how many times I played my Glenn Gould LP of the Mozart piano sonatas), it would have decayed horribly into a festering plague of pops, hisses, cracks, skips and scratches. CDs weren't immune from physical damage, either -- just a different but equally unattractive and annoying sound to troubles on a sick CD.

But you can play an mp3 (or .wav or .midi) 50 gazillion times, and it will sound exactly the same as it sounded the first time you played it. And that's not chopped liver. (Cette n'est pas pate de foie gras.)

Try doing that with your Perry Como 78s on a Webcor record player with a sapphire needle.

I have just reproduced the "One Of Us" experiment, and that fucking song, and that fucking Strange Person from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, still causes exactly the same volcanic explosion in my mind, ears and heart as he did the first time I played the Swiss guy's mp3. Go Prince! Go God! Go Digital Music!

Aeons ago I waxed poetic about this cover of this song, I think about the time of the Birth of Original Vleeptron. Lord, I sincerely apologize for my ignorance back then. Joan Osborne's cover of "One of Us" had been so horrifyingly overplayed (she invented the Whiny Teen Lilith Faire Acoustic Sound, and I wish somebody would un-invent it already), but I thought she'd written the song. She hadn't. One Commenter -- his heart was in the right place -- told me that Prince wrote it.

I wander from Ignorance to Ignorance. But slowly, very slowly, I get a little smarter. Prince didn't write this startlingly original song. Joan Osborne didn't write it.

A Caucasian USA male named Eric Bazilian wrote it. Bazilian, a founding member of The Hooters, cranked out this original smash for Joan Osborne's first album "Relish" in 1995. It certainly solved all Joan's problems with the rent and groceries for a while.

Here are the lyrics. When Prince covered it, he was having intractible contractual problems with the Warner label, and would appear at negotiations with the word SLAVE written hugely in black Magic Marker on his forehead, just to express his feelings about his situation. In his cover, he changed the line

"just a slob like one of us"

to

"just a slave like one of us"

which was just dandy to my ears and heart.

So when I finally crank up my new Barnum-o-Tronik 7000 Supercomputer, this song will be the first file I transfer and run through my new Snazzoramic Digital Speakers.

After the lyrics, Wikipedia's article about the song and the very interesting bio of Mister Eric Bazilian. I imagine this song also solved a lot of his rent and grocery and guitar string problems.

Got kids? Rob some gas stations and send 'em to the nearest Quaker school. That's Bob's advice. (Don't tell the Quakers you're paying the tuition with armed robberies.)

====================

One Of Us
Artist: Prince
Album: Emancipation

Words, music by Eric Bazilian

(We didn't write this song, but listen)
If God had a name, what would it be
And would we call it 2 His face
If we were faced with Him and all His glory?
What would U ask if U had just one question?

Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

CHORUS:

What if God was one of us?
Just a slave like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin' 2 make His way home

If God had a face, what would it look like
And would U wanna see it
If seeing meant that U would have 2 believe in things like heaven
And Jesus and the saints and all the prophets?

Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

CHORUS

Yeah

Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob (slave) like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin' 2 make His way home

Like a holy rollin' stone
Back up 2 heaven all alone
Nobody callin' on the phone
'Cept 4 the Pope maybe in Rome
But He ain't home, He aint home, He ain't home!
No, no, no, He ain't home! {x2}
Oh yeah, oh!

What if God was one us? {x4}

===================

One of Us (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"One of Us"
"One of Us" cover
Single by Joan Osborne
from the album Relish
Released 1995
Genre Pop
Length 5:21 (Album Version)
Label Blue Gorilla Records/Mercury Records
Writer Eric Bazilian
Producer Rick Chertoff

"One of Us" is a song written by Eric Bazilian (of The Hooters) and originally released by Joan Osborne.

The song deals with various aspects of belief in God by asking questions inviting the listener to consider how they might relate to God, such as "Would you call [God's name] to his face?" or "Would you want to see [God's face] if seeing meant that you would have to believe?" The title of the song comes from the refrain, "What if God was one of us?"

Released in March 1995 on the album Relish (produced by Rick Chertoff), it hit the top 40 in November of the same year. With this song, Osborne received one of many Grammy nominations in 1995, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, but failed to win. One year later Prince covered the song for his 'Emancipation' LP.

Around January 1996, "One of Us" hit the top 10. Finally in March 1996 "One of Us" climbed to No. 1 on Rock On The Net's ARC Weekly Top 40 and stayed there for 2 weeks. Its peak chart position on the Billboard Hot 100 was No. 4.

Controversy

In 1996, William Donohue, President of the Catholic League, took issue with the song. In light of the time and money she had donated to Planned Parenthood, Donahue claimed the song was agenda-driven and danced "awfully close to the line of Catholic baiting[1]".

In popular culture

In 2003, the television series Joan of Arcadia debuted. The opening credits feature a re-recorded version of "One of Us" by Osborne specifically for the show.

=================

Eric Bazilian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Background information
Birth name Eric Bazilian
Born July 21, 1953 (1953-07-21) (age 54)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genre(s) Rock
Instrument(s) Singer
Guitar
Melodica
Saxophone
Mandolin
Keyboards
Bass guitar
Drums
Years active 1978 – present
Associated
acts The Hooters
Website http://www.ericbazilian.com

Eric Bazilian (born July 21, 1953 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer, best known for being a founding member of the rock band The Hooters.

Early life

Eric Bazilian was born at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia to a father who was a psychiatrist and a mother who was a concert pianist.

He began playing the piano at age five, and his uncle taught him guitar at nine. He never took formal musical lessons. At the age of 10, while watching The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Bazilian realized that playing and creating music was what he wished to pursue with his life.

At 16 years old, while attending Germantown Friends School, Bazilian started writing songs for his first band, Evil Seed. This band played all original music at "B-ins" at Belmont Plateau in Fairmont Park.

By the mid 1970s, while attending the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics, Bazilian met Rob Hyman and Rick Chertoff, with whom he formed a band called Baby Grand. They would release two albums during their tenure.

Tenure with The Hooters

After Baby Grand disbanded, Hyman and Bazilian decided to try something new by combining reggae, ska, and rock'n'roll to create The Hooters in 1980.

Nervous Night, The Hooters' 1985 debut on Columbia Records, sold in excess of 2 million copies and included Billboard Top 40 hits "Day By Day" (#18), "And We Danced" (#21) and "Where Do The Children Go" (#38).

After releasing six albums, The Hooters obtained a large global following throughout the 1980s and 1990s. As a result, they were asked to open three major musical events of the late 20th century:

* Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985

* Amnesty International Concert at Giants Stadium in 1986,and

* Roger Waters' The Wall Concert in Berlin in 1990

In 1995, The Hooters went on hiatus, although Hyman and Bazilian would continue to collaborate together on musical projects for other artists.

Bazilian reunited with The Hooters on successful headlining European summer tours in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

2007 saw the release of Time Stand Still, their first album of new material since 1993.

"One of Us"

Bazilian has become recognized internationally for being a songwriter, session musician, arranger and producer for numerous artists.

In 1995, he played all those roles for Joan Osborne's debut album Relish, which was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for the No. 4 Billboard hit "One of Us," which Bazilian single-handedly wrote.

"One of Us" has since been covered by many artists throughout the world, among them being Prince, Doctor Evil in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Martyn Joseph, Scott Bradoka, Sharla Jackson Band, Wildside, Jackie "O", DJ Irene, Outta Control, and Seal.

In 2003, "One of Us" was used as the theme song for the CBS television series Joan of Arcadia. It has also appeared on the soundtracks of numerous movies, including Vanilla Sky (2001), Bruce Almighty (2003) and Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005).

In more recent years, The Hooters have also performed "One of Us" in their live shows.

Solo career

Bazilian has released two solo albums to date:

The Optimist (2000)

1. Driving In England
2. Until You Dare
3. Gemini Yo Yo
4. Bye Bye Baby
5. U.G.L.Y.
6. When I Was The Man
7. Kid From Outer Space
8. Be My Woman
9. Fiddlesticks
10. Hopelessly, Relentlessly
11. Mind Going Down
12. The Optimist

A Very Dull Boy (2002)

1. A Very Dull Boy
2. Lucky To Be
3. Insomnia
4. Since You Ask
5. Feeling Your Pain
6. A Pocket Full Of Nothing
7. Ella Fitzgerald
8. Too Much Of My Time
9. Lump Of Clay
10. Hallelujah And Amen

Recognitions

On November 17, 2000, Bazilian was inducted into the Philadelphia Walk of Fame on the Avenue of the Arts.

On April 21, 2004, Bazilian won an ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for "One of Us" as the theme song for the CBS television series Joan of Arcadia.

Songwriter

Bazilian has written songs for numerous artists throughout the world, among them:

* Billie Myers - "Kiss The Rain"

* Robbie Williams - "Old Before I Die"

* Joan Osborne - "Dracula Moon"; "Ladder"; "Let’s Just Get Naked"; "Lumina"; "One Of Us"; "Pensacola"; "Right Hand Man"; "Saint Teresa"

* Amanda Marshall - "Believe In You"; "Best Of Me"; "Give Up Giving In"; "If I Didn't Have You"; "Love Lift Me"; "Never Said Goodbye"; "Ride"; "Shades Of Grey"; "Too Little Too Late"; "Why Don't You Love Me"

* Ricky Martin - "Private Emotion"

* Scorpions - "Remember the Good Times"; "Dreamers"; "Humanity"; "We Were Born To Fly"; "The Future Never Dies"; "You're Lovin' Me To Death"; "Love Will Keep Us Alive"; "Your Last Song"; "Cold"; "She Said"

* Annie Carrier - "Attitude"

* Sarah Hudson - "Girl on the Verge"; "Little"

* Des'ree - "God Only Knows"

* Bijou Phillips - "Hawaii"; "Just Look Around"

* Patty Smyth - "Heartache Heard Around the World"; "Never Enough"

* Alejandra Guzman - "Hoy Me Voy A Querer"

* Bon Jovi - "I Get a Rush"; "One Man Band"

* Bif Naked - "I Love Myself Today"

* The Calling - "Just That Good"; "Stigmatized"

* Jonatha[n?] Brooke - "Less Than Love is Nothing"

* Ronnie Spector - "Never Gonna Be Your Baby"

* Shannon McNally - "Now That I Know"

* Zucchero - "Pure Love"

* LeAnn Rimes - "Safest Place"

* Cyndi Lauper - "Someone Like Me"; "That's What I Think"

* Matt Nathanson - "Suspended"

* Alannah Myles - "Bad 4 You"

* D-Side - "My Best Chance"

* Jon Bon Jovi - "Ugly"

* Journey - "To Be Alive Again"

* Leah Andreone - "Incon[c?]eivable"

* Lucia Cifarelli - "We Are Angels"

* Midge Ure - "Fallen Angel"

* Nordman - "Hjalp Mig Att Leva"; " Sorg Min Alskarina"

* Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers - "Half A Heart"

External links

* Eric Bazilian official website
* Eric Bazilian official MySpace page
* Eric Bazilian at the Internet Movie Database

The Hooters
Current members
Eric Bazilian | Rob Hyman | David Uosikkinen | John Lilley | Fran Smith Jr.

Former members
Bobby Woods | John Kuzma | Rob Miller | Andy King | Mindy Jostyn

Discography:
Studio albums: Amore | Nervous Night | One Way Home | Zig Zag | Out of Body | Time Stand Still

Live albums: The Hooters Live

Compilations: Hooterization: A Retrospective

Video releases: Nervous Night | The Ultimate Clip Collection

Solo albums
Eric Bazilian: The Optimist | A Very Dull Boy
Fran Smith Jr.: For No Apparent Reason | Man Meets Machine
Andy King: Spiritual Pre-School