Canadian-American musician and singer Rufus Wainwright had briefly met Jeff Buckley and recorded a tribute to him after his 1997 death. That song, “Memphis Skyline”, referenced Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah”, which Wainwright would later record, though using piano and a similar arrangement to Cale’s. Wainwright’s version was included on the album Shrek: Music from the Original Motion Picture, although it was Cale’s version that was used in the film itself. The Shrek soundtrack, containing Wainwright’s cover, was certified Double Platinum in the United States in 2003 as selling over two million copies.
Category: 2003
Evanescence – Bring Me To Life
“Bring Me to Life” is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody, and David Hodges and produced by Dave Fortman. It also features guest vocals from Paul McCoy of the band 12 Stones. Wind-up released “Bring Me to Life” in 2003 as the lead single from Evanescence’s debut studio album, Fallen. The song delivers genres from alternative metal to rap rock and gothic metal, and is considered a nu metal classic.
The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
“Seven Nation Army” is the first track on the album Elephant by American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released as a single in 2003 and is arguably the band’s best-known song. “Seven Nation Army” reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks for three weeks and won 2004’s Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. It also became 3rd best performing alternative song of the decade on the same chart. The song is known for its underlying riff, which plays throughout most of the song. Although it sounds like a bass guitar (an instrument the group had never previously used), the sound is actually created by running Jack White’s semi-acoustic guitar (a 1950s style Kay Hollowbody) through a DigiTech Whammy pedal set down an octave.
Phil Collins – The Least You Can Do
“The Least You Can Do” is a 2003 single release by English singer Phil Collins from his seventh solo album Testify, released in 2002. The song was also released in a double A-side format alongside “Wake Up Call”. The song was written and arranged with Daryl Stuermer. Stuermer also provided the arrangement for other songs in Collins career, such as “Something Happened on the Way to Heaven”.
Sheryl Crow – The First Cut Is the Deepest
“The First Cut Is the Deepest” is a 1967 song written by Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold in the spring of 1967. Stevens’ own version originally appeared on his album New Masters in December 1967. The song has been widely covered and has become a hit single for four different artists: P. P. Arnold (1967), Keith Hampshire (1973), Rod Stewart (1977) and Sheryl Crow (2003).