Rate-O-Rama: Don't Be Cruel

Rate-O-Rama : Songmania is a reader participation game.

Every Sunday I will publish a Rate-O-Rama article which will feature three versions of a popular song.

The object is to listen to each of the music videos provided within the post.

After listening to each video you can rate each song in the comments section below.

(You must be a member to comment. If you are not a member you can join Vocal Media for FREE. You don’t ever have to pay for membership unless you choose to upgrade your membership)

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The rating method is easy. Simply give each song a rating of 1 to 100.

(The more you like the song the higher the rating).

If possible, please provide a brief comment explaining the reasoning behind your ratings for each song.

After a week (Saturday evening) I will tally the ratings and in the next Rate-O-Rama post I will announce the winner from the previous post.

The winners will be determined on a scale of averages.

If you wish to receive a notice when the next Rate-O-Rama post is published please mention that you would like a notification in the comments section.

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The Raffle!!!

I am taking the Rate-O-Rama series to the next level. At the end of each month I will do a raffle in which the winner will win a $5.00 tip.

To enter all you have to do is participate in playing the Rate-O-Rama game. Since R-O-R is updated every Sunday night in order to qualify you must play the game during it's initial seven day period with Sunday evening being the cutoff period.

For each game you play you will receive a ticket for the raffle. Therefore if you play all four games in the month you will have four chances to win.

The winner will not only win the $5 prize but I will feature your Vocal Profile on Vocal + Assist on both Facebook and Discord and you will be featured in the first R-O-R game of the month after your win.

The September 2023 Rate-O-Rama Raffle Winner:

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Last week we featured the funk and soul classic "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" as recorded by Stevie Wonder (1970), Peter Frampton (1977), and Blue (2003).

The following are the average ratings for each song as resulted from the votes:

🥇 Stevie Wonder: 97.1

🥈 Blue: 82.8

🥉 Peter Frampton: 77.3

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The Seventh Edition of Rate-O-Rama features three renditions of the rock and roll classic: "Don't Be Cruel."

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Elvis Presley (1956)

Otis Blackwell, the man who wrote "Don't Be Cruel" wrote many other classics including "Fever," "Great Balls of Fire," "Breathless," "All Shook Up," "Return to Sender," and one of my favorites "Handy Man" along with several other great hits. "Don't Be Cruel" was one of his first songwriting successes.

Elvis Presley took the song and turned it into an instant classic reaching #1 in the US for 11 weeks in 1956. By 1961 the song had sold more than six million copies.

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The Judds (1987)

"Don't Be Cruel" was the lead single from their third studio album, the platinum selling Heartland. The song made it to #10 on the US Country charts breaking a string of eight consecutive #1 country hits.

The Judds were privileged to showcase the renowned vocal quartet, The Jordanaires, known for their iconic backing of Elvis Presley.

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Cheap Trick (1988)

"Don't Be Cruel" was Cheap Trick's second of three consecutive Top 40 hits in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. After listening to hundreds of demo tapes for a song to follow-up their #1 hit "The Flame" someone in their circle suggested "Don't Be Cruel." The suggestion ended up being fruitful as the song made it to #4 on charts in the US and Australia and #2 in Canada as well as #6 in New Zealand.

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My Thoughts

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Elvis Presley: Really must we go any further than Elvis? It's all there: the energetic beat, great guitars, Bill Black's bass line, clever lyrics, the infectious harmony vocals of the Jordanaires, and the ever recognizable voice of Elvis Presley. The rockabilly feel of this song is great. I like pretty much everything Elvis released in the 1950s, especially the upbeat songs. I give this 100.

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The Judds: Wynona and ❤️ Naomi ❤️ excelled with their tight familial vocal harmonies. I enjoy the way they briefly transformed the song into a ballad at the beginning, followed by a tempo increase that really kicks the song into high gear. Wynona's lead vocals are skillfully executed, and I particularly admire how the Jordanaires faithfully recreated Elvis's original backing vocals. I give The Judds a 99.

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Cheap Trick: It's hard to ruin a great song and Cheap Trick more than does the song justice. There's a lot I like about Cheap Trick's rendition. First I love how they replicate the Jordanaires' backing vocals with a little bit of spark added to the mix. The music video makes it look like it's a female quartet but to me it sounds like the guys from Cheap Trick. Robin Zander's lead vocal is electrifying. I have always been a big fan of his voice. Rick Nielsen's guitar solos really rock the song. But it's Bun E. Carlos on the drums that steals the show. Oh and did I mention the music video is great. I love this rendition as much as the other two and give it a 99.

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I will be back next week with the results of this Rate-O-Rama Edition.

Last Week's Rate-O-Rama:

With Love, RHC ❤️