The 3 Chords One Hit Wonder

Posted on: March 8, 2009, by :

Sometimes it’s very useful to use stumble upon or other normally distracting on-line tools when I’m thinking on what to write about. A few days ago I was looking on Youtube for some more music videos after I listened to one in my list of favorites. You know how it works. You listen to one song and before it ends you ask yourself Hey, maybe this other one I used to listen years ago is here to find as well!

Before you aware of it, hours have passed.

Finally this brought me along some songs I hadn’t heard in a long while. A song that immediatley catched my attention was What’s up by The 4 Non Blondes. My favorite version was the B-side that contained the piano-version. Linda Perry at her best. A powerful voice that screams the question many of us would like to scream out loud these days: ‘What’s going on?’

Another interesting fact, I think, is that they achieved prodcuing a worlwide hit with just three chords: A, Bm and D.

I used to work for a music company in Germany in those days and I remember that What’s up was on number 1 in the charts for 13 weeks back then.

This proofs in my opinion that it’s not necessary to search and investigate that much to create something great. Maybe this is an interesting point of view for some of you. Including me of course. Sometimes we just think to complicated when we try to figure out how to produce something worthwhile. Don’t you have sometimes the experience that a fast and easy to make meal at home is tastier and more satisfying than the food in a fancy restaurant?

Thinking simple can be very worthwhile.

1 thought on “The 3 Chords One Hit Wonder

  1. Thank you, Mario. I had never heard this more acoustic version of the song. You’re right, it’s very timely. And you’re also right about simplicity. You can do great things if you just get up every morning and do your little thing, one day at a time. It adds up to a lot after a while.
    Love, Deine Schwester

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