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Song Stories

“Juicy”

Notorious B.I.G. | 1994

The late great Christopher Wallace AKA the Notorious B.I.G. was known for putting his gritty street tales to music. But no one expected to hear Biggie – the same man to boast about keeping his "glock by the penis" -- rapping over R&B funk band Mtume's 1982 "Juicy Fruit." Unfortunately, Pete Rock was left with a bad taste in his mouth the first time he heard the final version of the rags to riches song. "I did the original version, didn't get credit for it. They came to my house, heard the beat going on the drum machine… next thing you know it comes out," Pete Rock revealed years later.

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“Happy Pills”
Norah Jones | 2012
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“A Nickel and a Nail”
O.V. Wright | 1971

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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