Ben Vaughn to Release New Covers EP in August

On Friday, August 4, Ben Vaughn will release a new five-song EP titled Interpretations. And as the name suggests, this collection consists entirely of covers. Interpretations will be available for both digital download and streaming. Look for it on an internet near you.

To some that might seem a bit strange. While Ben is known as a musician, performer, record producer, TV and film composer, and syndicated radio show host, his initial success in the business came from his first love, songwriting. From an early age he found himself analyzing the tunes coming out of speakers wherever he was.

“I could be in a pizzeria or at a gas station or at home in my bedroom…it didn’t matter. If a well-crafted song came on, I would stop everything and pick it apart—lyrics, melody, everything. I gained a reputation as a ‘weird kid’ but it was worth it. The education was there for the taking and it didn’t matter who was around.”

Along the way, the young Ben Vaughn wondered why one song was a big hit and some other song wasn’t even well-known. “Why did it fall through the the cracks? It was always a mystery to me.” Through the years, his appreciation of undiscovered music has never wavered. One case in point: when he was hired as composer for That ’70s Show, he immediately pitched the semi-obscure Alex Chilton/Chris Bell song “In the Street” to the producers. Today it’s recognized around the world as the show’s opening theme. 

Vaughn first paid tribute to what might be called “a hit parade from the twilight zone” in 1993 with an album of covers, Mono U.S.A., recorded entirely—you guessed it—in mono. “I finally discovered stereo on this one,” he jokes. But technological advances aside, the emphasis of Interpretations is not only on unique song choices but on his unexpected reinventions. While a given song may have been done one way, it can also present new and exciting possibilities to the right set of ears. Vaughn puts it more succinctly: “It’s like hearing the song within the song.”

For this collection, he cast a wide net. The selections came from a variety of places: the Motown hit factory, the UK top forty of the seventies, the hippie enclave of Petaluma, the early electronica scene in lower Manhattan, and even the teenybopper-friendly pop music world of Herman’s Hermits. “A great song is a great song no matter what genre it is or where it comes from. And it can travel anywhere.”

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