Someday, Someway
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"Someday, Someway" is a song by American rock musician
Marshall Crenshaw Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as " Someday, Someway", a US top 40 hit in 1982, " Cynical Girl", and " Whenever You're on My Mind". He is ...
. The song was released on his 1982 self-titled debut album. A breakthrough song for Crenshaw, "Someday, Someway" originated as a take on
Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...
's " Lotta Lovin'". Crenshaw wanted to use the beat to create a hypnotic effect and wrote a new melody around it. The lyrics were described by Crenshaw as simple, but with a hidden depth; he later claimed that the lyrics had been influenced by the beginnings of his marriage. Crenshaw's version of the song was released as a single in 1982 after Robert Gordon released the first version of the song in 1981. Both versions saw early success on New York radio, though Crenshaw's rendition saw greater success nationally. Gordon's 1981 version reached number 76 on the ''Billboard'' chart, while Crenshaw's version ultimately hit the top 40 in the United States and has since become his most famous song. It has since been covered by multiple artists.


Background and recording

"Someday, Someway" was one of the first songs Marshall Crenshaw wrote, following "
You're My Favorite Waste of Time "You're My Favorite Waste of Time" (also known as "Favorite Waste of Time" and "My Favourite Waste of Time") is a song written and first released by American singer Marshall Crenshaw. His 1979 home demo of the song was released as the B-side o ...
" and some others. The song was written while Crenshaw was in New York, where he had played
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
in the musical ''
Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles from 1963 to 1966. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom in late 1963, propelled by the singles " Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and " She Loves Yo ...
''; he explained, "While I was
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I wrote 'Someday, Someway' and five or six of the other tunes on my first album. I wrote those in my hotel room. That was my next move in life, to be a recording artist. I actually had a sense of artistic direction and off I went." Crenshaw described "Someday, Someway" as "the first
ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, ...
I wrote where I really thought 'Eureka'." Calling it a "breakthrough moment," he later said the song was the result of a "particular sound and style had been forming in my mind during this period." "Someday, Someway" was recorded along with other songs for his debut album by Crenshaw with producer
Richard Gottehrer Richard Gottehrer (born June 12, 1940) is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive. His career began as a Brill Building songwriter in the 1960s. His first number one record as a songwriter and producer was " My Boyfr ...
at the
Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...
in New York. Gotterher, a former songwriter whose hits included "
I Want Candy "I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat. Original version "I Want Candy" ...
" and " My Boyfriend's Back", had produced albums by Blondie and
the Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American all-female Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar ...
during the 1970s and 1980s. Crenshaw had originally planned to produce his debut album alone but after sessions stalled,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
suggested Gotterher; Crenshaw recalled, "We started making our first album and I sort of S'dmy way into the producer's chair but it didn't work out. So Richard Gottehrer came in and he helped me make the record."


Music and lyrics

"Someday, Someway" was based on the 1957
Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...
song " Lotta Lovin'." As Crenshaw explained, "I wanted to take the beat and atmosphere of a 1950s Rock and Roll record that I loved ... and build something around that. I came up with the music first for 'Someday' and dug that it was kind of hypnotic, very spare and succinct." Crenshaw later called the song's guitar riff his "my best riff ever." Crenshaw wrote the lyrics to the song after finishing the music, explaining, "they were nice and spare but had some depth, lots of possible meanings and implications, etc. There was something kind of mysterious about it and I liked that." Crenshaw described the song as "one of those ones that came out in a rush." In an interview with PBS, Crenshaw explained that the song had subconsciously been written about the early stages of marriage. He stated, "What I figured out finally was that I wrote it about the awkward beginnings of a marriage. All of a sudden, you're married and you realized that you signed up for something permanent. That's what the song's about. At the time I didn't realize that. I wasn't trying to write about that, but that's just what was going on."


Release

The first version of "Someday, Someway" to be released was in 1981 by
neo-rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...
musician Robert Gordon. This version of the song became a regional hit in New York. Crenshaw later attributed the song's success to the New York radio station 102.7
WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...
. He explained in an interview, "WNEW was on one hand what you would call a mainstream FM rock station, but there also was some flexibility. People like Vin celsaand
Meg Griffin Megan "Meg" Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Family Guy''. She first appeared in the show's pilot episode, " Death Has a Shadow", on January 31, 1999. The character was originally voiced by La ...
were really talented and determined to express themselves as well as play the hits. Meg really loved Robert Gordon's version of 'Someday, Someway,' and just jumped on it. Then when I got my single out on Shake Records, what do you know? She picked up on that, too, and started talking about me on the radio. Then the rest of the station followed suit; they were really great to us, always." Crenshaw's version of "Someday, Someway" came out in May 1982. He was initially hesitant to release it as his debut single, given Gordon had already released it, but was overruled by the label. He joked, "Thank goodness they talked me out of my stupidity." The single release of the song, backed by "You're My Favorite Waste of Time", was a moderate chart hit in the United States, reaching number 36 on the ''Billboard'' chart and number 31 on the ''Cashbox'' chart. ''Cash Box'' magazine. The single would be Crenshaw's only top 40 hit. The song was also released on his 1982 debut album, ''
Marshall Crenshaw Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as " Someday, Someway", a US top 40 hit in 1982, " Cynical Girl", and " Whenever You're on My Mind". He is ...
''. The music video for "Someday Someway" came from a concert Crenshaw played in San Francisco. Crenshaw later explained, "
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
sent a film crew, three cameras, and they sent a sound truck with a multi-track recording set up and they documented the show. Their purpose in doing that was to send out VHS tapes to all of the distributors to let people know what we were about and what we looked like and sounded like. Back in the day, that concert was shown on MTV a couple of times and the video for 'Someday, Someway' from taken from that show as well." An archival release of the San Francisco concert was released in 2017.


Critical reception

At the time of its release, "Someday, Someway" saw positive reception from critics. In a 1982 review of ''Marshall Crenshaw'' for ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', Thomas Gabriel praised the song's "lean, emotionally direct lyrics" and noted that the song's bridge is just as catchy as its melody. The song has since seen critical acclaim and has been praised as one of Crenshaw's best songs. Jim Bessman of ''Billboard'' called the song a "masterful pop creation" while Dave McKenna of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' called the song "irresistible". Don Harrison of ''Richmond Magazine'' called the song "impossibly catchy" and Juliet Pennington of ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' said the song was "such a catchy tune that you can't get it out of your head after you hear it". "Someday, Someway" has been called Crenshaw's signature song. Crenshaw later said of the song, "I still like it just fine, and I especially like the record we did. The tempo and groove are just perfect, it doesn't sound dated and maybe never will, it's just good." Crenshaw continues to perform the song live.


Charts


References

{{Authority control 1981 songs 1981 singles 1982 singles Marshall Crenshaw songs Songs written by Marshall Crenshaw Warner Records singles