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Wait A Minute! Oh Yes, Postman
By Bob Dennis
New hits often ride on the coat tails of the old. A sixties Motown writer gets another platinum sales award for a remake of Please Mr. Postman. The Motown Hit Factory is alive and well.

The "Robert" part of the Brianbert songwriting/producing team is about to get his forth gold sales award - for the same song.
It was the early 1960's and the lyrics went, "Oh Yes, Wait A Minute Mr. Postman..."  A small independent record company in Detroit gets it's first million-selling record, "Please Mr. Postman."  by the girl singing group, The Marvelettes. In a seminar at Recording Institute of Detroit, Bob Bateman tells us the he had been instrumental in getting the Supremes signed by the Motown label and then he was pretty much ignored by the group.  His attitude was, "I'll show them..." and proceeded to write ands produce a hit record ("Please Mr. Postman") on another Motown Female act.
But once a song is a hit, the conventional thinking is that it can be a hit again.  With this tune being "covered" by the Beatles and with another smash hit version by the Carpenters in the 1970s, conventional wisdom proved itself again with Please Mr. Postman.
But now rapper Juelz Santana uses samples from the Carpenter's recording as a bed for his tune called "Oh Yes, AKA Postman," and it looks like Bob will bet his 4th gold sales award.
Collaboration
Hit records are usually made by collaboration rather than than individual effort. 
The songwriter/producer who has had a hit record in the past has the experience and connections to get another.  The younger new artist has the pulse of today's topics and viewpoints.  Put together, more hits can be "developed."
Two Viewpoints
The more experienced and successful producer/songwriter (aka the "old guys") will see things with a little different priority than the new breed hip hop performer/songwriter (aka the "new breed").
The "old guys" will first look at what would be appealing to the masses, the hook and the catchy title/phrase. The old guys will look for musical hooks (melody, harmony, etc). The old guys will eventually be concerned about the lyrical content (the verses).
The "new breed" will first be concerned with the "message" - the lyrics that would normally make up the "verses" of the song.  The new breed is concerned with expressing themselves as top priority, rather than appealing to a large number of people. 
These differing viewpoints often result in the new breed seeking "samples" and "hooks" from the old guys. There are also differences in how simple or complex the rhythm of the tune is, etc.
The bottom line is that all of these things are part of making a successful music release and the "collaboration between the old and the new increases the chance of success in the music field.
Developing Music
In the quest of increased collaboration between successful and new music makers in the Detroit area ("Motown"), Bob Batema, with two other Motown alumni are starting the Motown Heritage Club.  See details at www.developingartistproductions.com .
© 2006, Robert Dennis. All Rights Reserved
USE OF THIS CONTENT SUBJECT TO USER AGREEMENT.