Three Dog Night was one of my favorite bands to listen to while growing  up. The harmonies between the three lead singers were inspiring and spot on. The range the vocalists had was nearly unmatched. They were one of the groups that inspired me to compose songs with an ear towards harmony.

They had lots of hits, most of which were covers of songs written by some great artists. Randy Newman gave them "Mama Told Me Not to Come". Laura Nyro gave them "Eli's Coming". Argent (of "Hold Your Head Up" fame) gave them "Liar".

One of my favorites came from the pen of an artist I really did not think much of in the day. It was probably because his big hits this side of the Atlantic were in the disco era, especially "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing". Leo Sayer wrote "The Show Must Go On", which Three Dog Night turned into a smash. They made a very faithful rendition of the song, as they did with most of their tunes, with one minor word change that either by accident or by design changed the entire meaning of the song.

There's a wonderful live version of Leo Sayer performing the song in make up that seems like a cross between Pierrot and Harlequin (which is kind of ironic in itself):



Three Dog Night left off the scat solo in favor of a calliope instrumental, but the differences did not stop there:



Any artist needs to perform as if they are doing each show the first time, looking fresh and exited to be there. Show after unchanging show gets monotonous at times. In this song the artist sings of his despair and feelings of being trapped in this world. He knows he is being taken advantage of by the producers, who are the ones making the big bucks. He feels the audience demands too much of him, turning from his inspiration to his torment:

Baby, there's an enormous crowd of people, they're all after my blood.
I wish maybe they'd tear down the walls of this theater,
Let me out, let me out.

Here's the difference: In the original version, Leo Sayer sings that he's had enough. He's through. He sings "... but I won't let the show go on."

Three Dog Night, however, goes the opposite route. They will persevere, in spite of the torture: "...But I must let the show go on."

At first I determined that Three Dog Night's version was the more positive. I still think so, but only from the perspective of the paying audience, and the standard theatrical attitude. The artist himself is trapped in his nightmare, always suffering for the sake of his art (and presumably, a paycheck). 

Leo Sayer's performer is giving up and getting out. Maybe it is bad for the audience (but they might enjoy a fresh performer with more enthusiasm better) and certainly bad for his bank account, but his piece of mind, maybe even his sanity, will be the better for it.

Looking deeper into the lyrics, the Three Dog Night version makes a bit less sense, since the last verse has him pleading with his friend/lover to help him leave:

Baby, I wish you'd help me escape, help me get away. Leave me outside my address - far away from this masquerade.

It does seem to make more sense that he wants out for good.

One word. Big difference.

Posted by: topmaker at 02:37 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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