In
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
, interpolation (also called a replayed sample) refers to using a
melody—or portions of a melody (often with modified lyrics)—from a previously recorded song but re-recording the melody instead of
sampling it. Interpolation is often used when the artist or label who owns the piece of music declines to license the sample, or if licensing the piece of music is considered too costly.
Interpolation examples
Interpolation is prevalent in many
genres of popular music; early examples are
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
interpolating "
La Marseillaise" and "
She Loves You", among three other interpolations in the 1967 song "
All You Need Is Love", and
Lyn Collins interpolating lyrics from
the 5 Royales
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
' "
Think" in her similarly titled 1972 song "
Think (About It)".
One genre where interpolating (as well as
sampling) is highly prevalent is
hip hop music; prominent examples include
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...
's "
Pastime Paradise" interpolated in
Coolio's hit song "
Gangsta's Paradise",
and
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-earth ...
's "
Shape of My Heart" interpolated in
Juice WRLD's 2018 hit "
Lucid Dreams".
In
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
, notable examples include
Anne-Marie
Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson (born 7 April 1991) is an English singer. She has attained charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's " Rockabye", which peaked at number one, as well as "Alarm", " Ciao Adios", "Friends", "200 ...
's "
2002" which interpolates lyrics from six songs,
Portugal. The Man's "
Feel It Still" which interpolates
the Marvelettes' 1961 hit "
Please Mr. Postman
"Please Mr. Postman" is a song written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman. It is the debut single by the Marvelettes for the Tamla (Motown) label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the ...
"
and "
Bad Liar" by
Selena Gomez which interpolates the bassline of "
Psycho Killer" by
new wave band
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talki ...](_blank)
.
The 1992 song "
Murder She Wrote" by
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
duo
Chaka Demus & Pliers has been interpolated in
Omarion and
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...
's "
Post to Be",
in
Pitbull's "
El Taxi
''Dale'' (; Spanish for "Hit it") is the second Spanish album and ninth studio album by American rapper Pitbull. It was released July 17, 2015, through Mr. 305 and Sony Music Latin. This album arrived almost five years after his first Spanish- ...
",
in
Jason Derulo's "
Too Hot" and in the remix version of
Black Eyed Peas' "
Ritmo" featuring
Jaden Smith,
among many other songs.
See also
*
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...
*
List of interpolated songs
*
Interpolation (classical music)
*
Musical quotation
References
External links
WhoSampled– a user-generated database of interpolations and samples in all types of music, as well as covers and remixes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interpolation (Music)
Musical techniques