"Do It Again/Billie Jean Medley" by Club House

Song#:  1572
Date:  08/20/1983
Debut:  89
Peak:  75
Weeks: 5
Genre:  Pop, Dance, R&B



Pop Bits:  Club House was an Italian studio band that recorded this medley which pairs Steely Dan's 1972 #6 hit "Do It Again" with Michael Jackson's recent #1, "Billie Jean." Released in Europe, the single was a hit reaching the Top 10 in several countries and #11 in the UK. It hopped across the pond, but the response was less enthusiastic and it could only manage a brief appearance on the Pop and R&B (#61) charts. Although it would be the band's only US Pop chart single, later in 1990 they would score a #1 on the US Dance chart with "Deep in My Heart." In 1994, they would hit #7 in the UK with the house tune "Light My Fire" (not a remake of The Doors hit). After several singles and one album, the band stopped recording in 1996.

ReduxReview:  Why would someone do this? It's just weird. This certainly isn't the first time that songs with nothing in common were smashed together for a medley, but it's a real crap shoot if it will work or not. As much as I hate to admit it, this one kinda worked. I wouldn't call it anything great, but it is certainly listenable and the two song mesh well together. My guess is that someone was listening to "Billie Jean" and it brought to mind "Do It Again" and started playing them one over the other. I think we all do a "hey - that sounds like..." thing with songs. Some are legit comparisons while others are to the ears of the beholder (I always thought Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" would work well with Cher's "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves," so go figure). Someone's potato of an idea created this mash, which doesn't taste too terrible.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  For some reason, this medley resonated with other musical folks and they set out to make it a hit of their own. Two other bands recorded this medley in 1983. The Detroit disco/dance outfit Slingshot recorded a version of the song titled "Do It Again Medley with Billie Jean" that ended up reaching #1 on the Dance chart and #25 R&B (the songs are practically identical, so why this one hit on the Dance chart and the original didn't is a mystery). Then, another studio group from New York called Brooklyn Express did their own version, but it did not chart. (Note: Slingshot also released a dance version of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" where the lyrics and melody to that song are done over Kraftwerk's "Tour de France." Very strange. It can be found on YouTube.)

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