Post by joe on Feb 17, 2023 4:10:59 GMT
This month is the 40th anniversary of Bonnie Tyler's well known song Total Eclipse of the Heart. I found that out when I did my periodic search for "articles of the week" that include Blue Öyster Cult. I found out a couple of interesting things along the way. I cut the quotes out of two different articles, one was released this month and the other in 1983. Links included if you want to see the quotes in context.
1. BÖC's Goin' Through the Motions was part of a test to see whether or not Jim Steinman would be interested in producing Tyler and helping her make a comeback:
"In April 1982 the pair met in Steinman's New York apartment. "He got straight down to business," recalls Tyler. "He said, 'What do you think of this?' and played Creedence's Have You Ever Seen the Rain? Then he played Goin' Through the Motions by Blue Oyster Cult. He didn't tell me until later that if I hadn't liked those songs, he wouldn't have entertained producing me because he'd have realized we weren't thinking on the same terms."
(from web.archive.org/web/20090608120512/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20198439,00.html
You will probably have to copy the link and paste it in your browser manually - it doesn't forward correctly
2. Total Eclipse of the Heart originated as a vampire song. How fitting to use a BÖC song as a test!
"Steinman said of the origins of Total Eclipse: "I actually wrote that to be a vampire love song. Its original title was ‘Vampires in Love’ because I was working on a musical of Nosferatu, the other great vampire story. If anyone listens to the lyrics, they’re really like vampire lines. It’s all about the darkness, the power of darkness and love’s place in the dark."
However, he also became inspired by Tyler's unique talent and reworked and completed the song for her: "I never thought it had a prayer as a single. It was an aria to me, a Wagnerian-like onslaught of sound and emotion. I wrote it to be a show-piece for her voice."
(from www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1733634/Total-Eclipse-of-the-Heart-40th-anniversary-Bonnie-Tyler-video-fury-pervert-meaning
Guess I need to check out the lyrics.
Last minute edit: I didn't realize when I first posted this just how common it's been to link Eclipse to something vampire. Wife found a dozen examples on YouTube within 10 minutes of telling her about the actual origin of the song. But now I know that the actual origin of the song was in fact vampire related.
FYI: There's already a good discussion of the song Goin' Through the Motions on this forum at: buck-dharma-forums.freeforums.net/thread/1121/saddest-song
1. BÖC's Goin' Through the Motions was part of a test to see whether or not Jim Steinman would be interested in producing Tyler and helping her make a comeback:
"In April 1982 the pair met in Steinman's New York apartment. "He got straight down to business," recalls Tyler. "He said, 'What do you think of this?' and played Creedence's Have You Ever Seen the Rain? Then he played Goin' Through the Motions by Blue Oyster Cult. He didn't tell me until later that if I hadn't liked those songs, he wouldn't have entertained producing me because he'd have realized we weren't thinking on the same terms."
(from web.archive.org/web/20090608120512/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20198439,00.html
You will probably have to copy the link and paste it in your browser manually - it doesn't forward correctly
2. Total Eclipse of the Heart originated as a vampire song. How fitting to use a BÖC song as a test!
"Steinman said of the origins of Total Eclipse: "I actually wrote that to be a vampire love song. Its original title was ‘Vampires in Love’ because I was working on a musical of Nosferatu, the other great vampire story. If anyone listens to the lyrics, they’re really like vampire lines. It’s all about the darkness, the power of darkness and love’s place in the dark."
However, he also became inspired by Tyler's unique talent and reworked and completed the song for her: "I never thought it had a prayer as a single. It was an aria to me, a Wagnerian-like onslaught of sound and emotion. I wrote it to be a show-piece for her voice."
(from www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1733634/Total-Eclipse-of-the-Heart-40th-anniversary-Bonnie-Tyler-video-fury-pervert-meaning
Guess I need to check out the lyrics.
Last minute edit: I didn't realize when I first posted this just how common it's been to link Eclipse to something vampire. Wife found a dozen examples on YouTube within 10 minutes of telling her about the actual origin of the song. But now I know that the actual origin of the song was in fact vampire related.
FYI: There's already a good discussion of the song Goin' Through the Motions on this forum at: buck-dharma-forums.freeforums.net/thread/1121/saddest-song