Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters (Extended Version) (Europe 12'') (1984)

Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters (Extended Version) (Europe 12'') (1984)

Re-Rip Remaster Originally I posted this one back in October of 2010. But for those who may have missed it or if you are a new reader just discovering BTG. I decided to give this one a new rip with my newer equipment. This 12" is also being posted in 24 bit flac for the very first time! "Ghostbusters" is a 1984 song recorded by Ray Parker, Jr. as the theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks. It also peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart on 16 September 1984, where it stayed for three weeks. The song is performed in the key of B major. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song, but lost to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You". According to Parker, he was approached by the film's producers to create a theme song for the film. Unfortunately, he only had a few days to do so and the film's title seemed impossible to include in any lyrics. However, when watching television late at night, Parker saw a cheap commercial for a local service that reminded him that the film had a similar commercial featured for the fictional business. This inspired him to write the song as a pseudo-advertising jingle that the business could have commissioned as a promotion. The line "I ain't scared of no ghosts" came from a 1937 Mickey Mouse short, Lonesome Ghosts. Parker was later the defendant in a copyright-infringement lawsuit which claimed "Ghostbusters" was too similar in musical structure to "I Want a New Drug", written and performed by Huey Lewis and the News (more specifically, the guitar riff which runs through the song). "I Want a New Drug" was a U.S. top-ten hit earlier the same year. The two parties settled out of court. Details of the settlement (specifically, that Parker paid Lewis a settlement) were confidential until 2001, when Lewis commented on the payment in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music. Parker subsequently sued Lewis for breaching confidentiality; the lawsuit is ongoing. Ironically, Lewis had at one point been asked to record a theme song for the movie, but turned it down for other commitments. In later years, AutoNation adopted the theme for their advertising campaign. In the United Kingdom, the song is parodied with Parker himself being featured in a commercial advertising direct enquiries line 118 118. The song re-entered the UK Top 75 on 2nd November 2008 at #49. Lindsey Buckingham claims to have been approached to write the Ghostbusters theme based on his successful contribution to Harold Ramis's National Lampoon's Vacation (the song "Holiday Road"). He turned down the opportunity as he didn't want to be known as a soundtrack artist. He mentions this on the "Words & Music" interview disk. A music video for the song featured a young woman, played by Cindy Harrell, who was being haunted by a ghost portrayed by Parker, roaming a nearly all-black house interior with vibrant neon designs outlining the sparse architectural and industrial features. It also contained footage from the film Ghostbusters, and featured cameos from many celebrities of the day, including Chevy Chase, Irene Cara, John Candy, Melissa Gilbert, Nickolas Ashford, Jeffrey Tambor, George Wendt, Al Franken, Danny DeVito, Carly Simon, Peter Falk, Teri Garr and Casey Kasem; all of whom exclaim the "Ghostbusters!" line of the song when shown. The video concludes with Parker and the stars of the film, in full Ghostbuster costume, dancing down the streets of New York City. VINYL GRADE: Vinyl: Near Mint Cover: Near Mint SIDE A: Ghostbusters (Extended Version) 6:08 SIDE B: Ghostbusters (Dub Version) 5:33 Remix - Nick Martinelli And David Todd* Ghostbusters (Instrumental Version) 4:03 RELEASE INFORMATION Label: Arista - 601 460 Format: Vinyl, 12", Maxi-Single, 45 RPM Country: Europe Released: 1984 Genre: Electronic Style: Synth-pop Credits: Engineer, Mixed By - Ray Parker Jr. (tracks: A, B2) Producer, Performer, Written-By - Ray Parker Jr. Engineered and mixed at Ameraycan Studios. NOTES: Printed in Western Germany Front cover Artwork, back cover photos, titles © 1984 Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. **Track B2 is listed on sleeve and label as "Short Version" it is a misprint and is actually the "Instrumental Version"