Rebirth in America

In the studio, the Carpenter brothers were nervously recording their second album. They have been recording for a week, and this record is the same as the previous record, with one cover and one original.

The cover was a very famous song, a Jimmie Davis classic called "You Are My Sunshine". The song was recorded on February 4, 1940, and sold over 1 million copies in the United States just one month after its release. After its release in the UK, the then-King George VI said the song was his favorite.

As a classic song, many people have covered it. It is also the anthem of the Premier League team Manchester United.

When Alex said he wanted to cover this song, Mark was also worried that the song was too famous. He was worried that the Carpenters would mess it up and that if the cover was not good, the audience would be disgusted. Alex, who was in the spotlight, refused to listen and insisted on this song.

In desperation, Mark had to give in. Their company only obtained the authorized cover and did not own the copyright to the song, so they needed to pay a fee to the copyright holder.

The reason why Alex insisted on covering this song was that in addition to the quality of the song itself, he happened to have heard a children's version released by Disney. He planned to use this song to sing a children's duet with Richard, which should be good.

This song plus another song "YourFriend", both of which are relatively soft songs. Similarly, Alex will sing solo on the latter song.

Mark wanted to record "YourFriend" first. From his years of experience as a producer, this song was of very high quality. It is much better than Alex's first "original" song "Song for Mom". He wanted to record this song first and then take his time to record "You Are My Sunshine".

"Record the original songs first, and then record the covers the rest of the time. Cover songs are easy to mess up if you don't put in the effort." Mark told Alex.

Unexpectedly, Alex firmly refused: "Record the covers first, and the original songs can be put later."

The two sides argued for a while, but Alex didn't let up. Mark had no choice but to agree. He could not convince a stubborn person like Alex.

"Listen to me, I have already had an idea for this cover song. No need to bother, it can be completed within a few days." Alex comforted Mark like this.

Mark doesn't like hearing this kind of thing the most. He believes that every song must be treated sincerely. You can’t have the idea of ​​​​muddling along, because you won’t be able to produce a high-quality recording. His style is about getting better, not messing around.

Unexpectedly, Alex really came up with a solution. He borrowed a Disney cover version of that song. Highlighting the childlike style, simple and interesting, everyone who listens to it will have a knowing smile.

Who has never been innocent? Just hearing this song takes him back to when he was a kid.

The only accompaniment instruments in this song are accordion, guitar, and drums, which is really very simple. You can probably find these in any kindergarten.

Richard played the accordion cheerfully, Alex played the guitar, and a black uncle played the drums.

At first, Mark thought Alex was crazy, but after he listened to it again, he immediately felt that such a simple style had an indescribable flavor. After listening to it a few more times, he gradually became fascinated. He realized that he was wrong and Alex was right.

In the recording studio, only Alex and Richard were heard singing in childish voices:

You are my sunshine!

Dear, it’s another night, and I gradually fall asleep.

In my dreams I hold you in my arms.

Honey, when I woke up, I messed up again.

I cried, I fell into this emotional problem again!

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine!

…

My dear, you have never understood how much I love you,

Please don't take away my sunshine!

"It's great, you sang very well!" Mark waited for the sound to stop, stopped recording, and then clapped.

Richard was very happy to be praised and looked at everyone with a smile. Only Alex frowned. He touched his chin and thought for a while.

"No, we have to re-record!" Alex said.

Mark asked in confusion: "You guys sang very well, don't you need to re-record it?"

Alex shook his head and said: "The voice is too thin, and the duet can't reflect that taste at all. We need to find four or five children to sing together!"

Mark was surprised: "You want to find other children to sing together?"

"Yes, Mr. Mark. Please ask someone to do this quickly. We can record another song first." Alex replied.

"Do those children's names also need to be written on the album cover? In what capacity are they singing?" Mark asked questioningly.

Alex thought for a while and said, "Let's use it as the harmony of the accompaniment band. Let Richard and I lead the singing, and the other children's voices can serve as background music."

Mark thought about it carefully and thought it was okay. So he quickly asked others to find children who could sing. At Alex's request, the children found were all around six or seven years old.

Since the people who needed it wouldn't arrive all at once, they recorded Alex's original songs first. Alex sang the song solo, with Richard providing the backing vocals.

This is a softer song. Even so, the rhythm of this song is still very strong, coupled with Alex's unique voice, the clear voice of a child, and the harmonies of everyone around, it is still a high-quality piece of music.

Alex sang with all his heart:

If you feel lonely,

If someone makes you sad,

don’t worry!

I will wipe away the tears from your eyes,

everything will become better.

.........

No matter where you are, you can find me.

I will always be your good friend!

After Alex finished singing, he felt that he had performed exceptionally well this time. He had not sung so seriously before, and sometimes he would use his "simulated memory" superpower to fish in troubled waters. After listening to it, everyone else felt as if they had been exposed to the sun, warm and clear.

"Do it again, Alex! Good job!" Mark asked him to continue singing. He thought that Alex's strength had not yet been unleashed.

Alex frowned, but he didn't say anything, so he sang it again.

After Mark listened, he asked Alex to start singing from one of the sections, which he thought was not up to par. This was repeated several times. The song was recorded for several days and Mark kept saying no.

Alex was almost driven crazy by him. He threw the guitar in his hand to the ground: "No more recording, today is off!"

Mark saw this situation and knew what Alex was thinking. He played the first recording: "Alex, listen, this is your first time singing. Do you think it is the same as what you just sang?" What’s the difference?”

Alex listened carefully and found that it was indeed different, very different. So he quickly compared all the songs he had recorded these times in his mind, and now he understood that Mark was helping him correct his bad singing habits.

Usually, everyone has their own singing habits, some of which are good and some of them are bad. However, Alex is a special person. He has a superpower that others do not have, which is the ability to sing other people's songs through "simulated memory". However, this method is a shortcut, and problems may arise if you go too far. Other people's singing habits will slowly leave their mark on Alex.

Good habits are hard to learn, but bad habits are easy to learn. Unless you are an experienced and careful music producer, you really won’t notice it. Mark discovered that he admired Alex's "talent" very much, but he also quickly noticed the looming bad habits. So he planned to let Alex change it while singing it over and over again.

After this experience, Alex was finally convinced. He stopped looking down on others and stopped using his abilities indiscriminately. I listened to Mark’s arrangements honestly and learned a lot from it.

When Alex was tortured by Mark every day, all the children they were looking for came. Mark looked at Alex's condition and knew that there was no problem now, so he let it go.

"Let's not record this one today. Let's record another cover song." Mark suggested.

Alex had no objection, and Richard wouldn't say anything.

This time, after adding the harmonies of six children, the song's infectious ability has reached another level. After several collaborations, everyone performed very well and finished the song within a few days. The rest is just mixing and post-processing.

After finishing the song, it was time for Alex to sing solo. After Alex had been singing for an hour or two, Mark finally said, "OK! Great! Alex, you can come out now, we've recorded it."

"Ah? It's finished?" Alex was a little surprised. He thought he would need to continue recording for a few more days to complete it.

Mark smiled and said: "What, do you like to continue singing? In fact, this song was ready a few days ago. You sang really well, I just need to put the perfect parts together, and this song will be ready." It can be done.”

Alex suddenly realized that it seemed that everything Mark did was for him. He said with some gratitude: "Thank you, thank you all."

After these two songs were recorded, Alex did not leave. He shadowed Mark, learning about mixing and post-production adjustments. Although I followed Rudy to do it last time, in order to rush for time, Rudy did it very roughly. This time there was another opportunity, and he wouldn't miss it.

While Alex and others were busy with the post-recording work, Rudy suddenly called them.

"Hey! Brother Carpenter, your luck has come." Rudy's voice showed that he was in a very good mood.

The person who answered the phone was Alex. He asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything good?"

Rudy said loudly on the phone: "A TV station wants to give you an exclusive interview!"

Alex asked in surprise: "Really? What TV station?"

"CBS! They're going to broadcast this show in New York!" Rudy said excitedly.

He really needs to be so excited, you know, CBS, ABC (National Broadcasting Company), and NBC (American Broadcasting Company) jointly dominate the domestic television broadcasts in the United States. Being on this kind of TV show means that the popularity will be further improved, which is a very good publicity opportunity for the Carpenter brothers.

"When!" Alex was not dazzled by the news and asked again.

"Three days later! You have to get ready now. They plan to interview your family, yes! Your whole family can be on the TV show, and little sister Karen will also be on it." Rudy continued to chatter.

Alex estimated the time in his mind, and then asked: "Do Bart and the others know?"

"Well, not yet, I haven't had time to tell them yet." Rudy didn't understand why Alex asked this question.

"Well, don't tell them. We can't go on TV in three days." Alex explained, and he thought for a while and added: "Unless they are willing to adjust the time to next week!"

Rudy was stunned by Alex's words: "How is that possible? It's impossible for them to adjust the program time just to wait for you."

Alex’s answer was straightforward: “Then we won’t go up! Let’s wait until next time.”

"Why, why wait until next week?" Rudy asked. He really couldn't figure out what could be more important than this.

Alex said calmly on the phone: "Record! Our record requires concentration, and we can't distract too much energy from other things."

Rudy laughed angrily and said: "When did you become so nervous about recording? You were not like this before."

"Recently! I have only been like this recently. I have figured out that records are the foundation of who I am now. If my records are good enough, even if I reject them, they will eventually come back to me. What if? , I said, what if our record is messed up, so what if we are on a TV show? That will only bring humiliation to ourselves!" Alex explained patiently.

Rudy was speechless by Alex's words, and he finally said viciously: "Then just pray that the record sells!"

Alex said: "Sorry, I'm afraid God can't hear my prayer!"

What he means is that if you do not believe in God, no matter how much you pray, you will not be able to communicate with God.

Rudy didn't understand it, but he heard the determination in Alex's words, so he hung up the phone.

A few days later, on Monday, the Carpenters' second record hit stores. They titled it "The Carpenters - Strike Two!" 》.