So far as I am involved, February 15, 2000, is a seminal day in music historical past. And sure, I am utilizing each meanings of “seminal” in that earlier sentence. On that fateful day, a silver-haired crooner named Mark Althaven Andrews unleashed a dragon of a pop tune onto the earlobes of humanity. His ballad, “Thong Tune”, would go on to prime music charts across the globe.
Even 20+ years later, “Thong Tune” generates hundreds of thousands of streams and might be usually heard on the radio and in TV/motion pictures. So that you’re most likely pondering Mark Andrews should nonetheless be cashing some spectacular “Thong Tune” royalty checks, proper? Sadly for Mr. Andrews, higher identified by his stage title, Sisqó, the story is a little more sophisticated.
These royalty checks are ACTUALLY going to the man who wrote Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca”.
A Tune Is Born
The origins of “Thong Tune” might be traced again to 2 producers, Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson. “Tim & Bob”, which is how the duo was identified and credited, have been on the prime of the music world because of hits penned and produced for artists like Monica, Boyz II Males, TLC, Madonna, and 112. They really found 112.
Tim & Bob received back-to-back Finest R&B Album Grammys for his or her work on Boyz II Males’s “II” (1994) and TLC’s “CrazySexyCool” (1995).
In 1996, a singing group from Baltimore referred to as Dru Hill launched their eponymous debut album. The album went platinum thanks largely to the singles “In My Mattress” and “By no means Make a Promise”, each of which hit #1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart.
Dru Hill’s 1998 follow-up “Enter the Dru” went double-platinum thanks largely to the smash hit “How Deep Is Your Love,” which was used ultimately credit scene within the Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker field workplace monster, “Rush Hour”, which was launched three months after the album.
Regardless of their hovering success, for some motive, considered one of Dru Hill’s members, Woody Rock, give up the group in 1999. Months handed whereas the remaining members debated methods to transfer ahead. Whereas they debated, Sisqó instructed their supervisor Kenneth Crear that he needed to place out a solo document. Sisqó truly hoped a profitable solo album would reignite and reconnect Dru Hill (btw, technically, that is just about what ended up taking place).
Kenneth Crear tapped Tim & Bob to create beats and produce what finally grew to become Sisqó’s debut solo album, “Unleash the Dragon”.
“Unleash the Dragon” and the album’s lead single, “Bought to Get It,” have been unleashed in November 1999. I unironically take into account “Bought to Get It” a GREAT tune to at the present time. I nonetheless pull up on Spotify usually. The truth is, I simply hit play.
“Bought to Get It” was reasonably profitable, reaching #40 on the Billboard Sizzling 100, nevertheless it wasn’t sufficient to push the album into the mainstream.
Thong Tune
As we said earlier, the origins of “Thong Tune” are traced again to Tim & Bob. Tim created the unique demo beat constructed on a remix of Wes Montgomery’s cowl model of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby”. Tim’s demo model featured the precise violins from “Eleanor Rigby”.
Sisqó took Tim & Bob’s demo and proceeded to tweak it into one thing of his personal.
He employed an LA studio musician named Bruce Dukov, who amalgamated his personal model of the “Eleanor Rigby” violins that you just hear straight out of the gate and assist the tune all through.
Sisqó additionally got down to pen some lyrics. As he would recount in interviews through the years, Sisqó wrote virtually your complete tune in a single night – the evening earlier than he went to the recording studio – throughout a sexual encounter with a lady who was sporting a pink thong. In case you take heed to the tune now, it is basically a moment-by-moment retelling of his sexual encounter, main all the way in which to climax. Easy, however good.
(Photograph by Chris Weeks/Liaison
Livin’ La Vida Loca
As chances are you’ll recall, in three sections of “Thong Tune”, Sisqó croons:
“Cuz she was livin la vida loca!“
Throughout their recording session, Tim & Bob warned Sisqó that he would wish to get permission (or “clear”) that line legally, because it was a reference to Ricky Martin’s smash hit #1 tune “Livin’ La Vida Loca”, which was launched a couple of months earlier.
In response to Tim & Bob, as instructed in a latest Vice.com documentary, Sisqó assured them that he was associates with Ricky and would get all the pieces cleared.
It is not clear whether or not Sisqó merely forgot, OR possibly he did say one thing to Ricky. Sadly, Ricky wasn’t the one that wanted to offer permission. The gatekeeper would have been a man named…
Desmond Little one
Desmond Little one is likely one of the most profitable songwriters of all time. This is a fast sampling of a few of his hits over the many years:
- “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” – Kiss (1979)
- “You Give Love a Dangerous Identify” – Bon Jovi (1986)
- “Livin’ on a Prayer” – Bon Jovi (1986)
- “Dude (Seems Like a Girl) – Aerosmith (1987)
- “Poison” – Alice Cooper (1989)
- “How Can We Be Lovers” – Michael Bolton (1998)
For Ricky Martin, Desmond wrote and produced his 1998 tune “The Cup of Life” and 1999’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca”.
Desmond Little one (Photograph by Theo Wargo/Getty Photographs)
Similar to all of us, Desmond could not keep away from “Thong Tune” after it was launched on that fateful day in February 2000. When he heard his lyrics used so prominently, his attorneys reached out to Def Jam, the proprietor of Def Soul, which unleashed “Unleash the Dragon”.
Negotiations over rights, permission, and royalties dragged on for months.
Had Sisqó cleared the tune BEFORE it grew to become successful, he most likely might have paid Desmond a nominal sum, possibly a couple of hundred thousand {dollars} as a flat price. Now that the tune was an earth-shattering world hit, Desmond was within the energy place. And he didn’t need a nominal flat price. He needed an possession stake. A giant one.
When the mud settled, Desmond Little one finally walked away with not only a small reduce however the lion’s share of the tune’s publishing rights and, subsequently, royalties.
In response to Tim & Bob within the Vice documentary, as quickly because the judgment got here down twenty years in the past, their royalty checks shrank to nearly nothing. And to at the present time, Desmond makes greater than all three of Tim, Bob, and Sisqó mixed from “Thong Tune”.
That’s how the songwriter behind “Livin’ La Vida Loca” got here to principally personal “Thong Tune”. These are two songs, out of about 100, which have enabled Desmond Little one to rack up a internet value of $200 million.
For his half, Sisqó would not appear too bothered by the entire expertise. As his solo profession cooled, guess what occurred? Dru Hill reunited! Simply as he predicted. He nonetheless performs with Dru Hill actively immediately (when there is not a pandemic). He is additionally not sick of performing “Thong Tune”. He even carried out it at his personal wedding ceremony.
In case you’re occupied with a full oral historical past of “Thong Tune”, sit again and luxuriate in this 18-minute Vice documentary:
Each Breath You Take
If this story sounds acquainted, that is as a result of the identical factor occurred two years earlier with Sting and Puff Daddy.
In 1997, Puff Daddy launched “I am going to Be Lacking You” as a tribute to his good friend, the Infamous B.I.G., who was murdered in March of that 12 months. Diddy’s tune was constructed on a pattern of the guitar riff from “Each Breath You Take”, a tune Sting wrote for The Police in 1986. Sadly, nobody from Diddy’s Dangerous Boy label thought to get permission for the pattern from Sting BEFORE the tune was launched. By the point Diddy and Sting’s attorneys started negotiating, “I am going to Be Lacking You” was lighting up world charts.
Ultimately, Sting obtained 100% of the tune’s publishing royalties. Diddy’s remix would go on to develop into one of many best-selling singles of all time, promoting greater than 7 million copies.
In 2010, Sting’s former enterprise supervisor claimed that “Each Breath You Take” is chargeable for greater than 1/4 of all of the singer’s lifetime publishing earnings, someplace within the vary of $20-$40 million as much as that time. The enterprise supervisor additional claimed that the remix earned Sting a mean of $2,000 in royalty earnings each single day of the 12 months from that one tune. Round $730,000 per 12 months.
And that was a decade in the past, earlier than the rise of all of immediately’s dominant streaming platforms! Wouldn’t it be secure to imagine that Sting has made $60-$80 million so far from his tune? Possibly a couple of million per 12 months in royalties between the 2 tune variations?
This is the perfect half (for Sting) – None of Sting’s bodily contributions to “Each Breath You Take” have been used within the remaining “I am going to Be Lacking You” pattern. The Diddy remix is constructed on the guitar riff, which was written and carried out by Sting’s Police bandmate Andy Summers. Sadly, Andy by no means pushed for his share of the tune’s credit score.
What are the teachings from these tales?
- At all times get permission BEFORE one thing turns into fashionable.
- At all times get credit score when credit score is owed!
