11.28.2007

makes no difference where i go

A local news anchor retired the other day and I was shocked to discover that my beloved hometown song was not so original.

Exhibit A:


I can still sing this word for word. So, imagine my surprise, and dismay, when I realized it was a nation-wide (and Canada-wide) campaign for various CBS locales. Until this musical montage was played on Michelle King's last broadcast I was in the dark.

Exhibit B:


It's the same singer and even the vibrato-ey part at the end is the same, except the word. I feel like my whole childhood was a sham.

And this version is for my sister (scroll down to the Utah link). Apparently grown women still swoon for Donny.

***UPDATE: I just read this article on Wiki. Wisconsin, you win. *Sigh

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

who would have thought, recycled musical propaganda. Calgary, you have really let me down.

Anonymous said...

I'm gob-smacked!

Dainon. said...

That's pretty freaking hilarious. You should find out who had it first. Like, who copied who here, hmm?

aisy said...

i know, right rocky? like, who knew it was obviously a national campaign??? eyun, we are all let down to know this beloved song isn't just OUR beloved song.

dainon my personal opinion (and obviously tainted by my love of calgary) is that calgary had it first. we got a song about a city, whereas the the other one covered a whole state.

Anonymous said...

Once I got the gob, smacked on the computer screen, cleaned off I could see what the fuss was all about. Good research Aisy, but one of life's lessons is that the world is full of imposters and like many shallow things, electronic media is derivative.

When was the footage shot? That's Brad Marsh, 22, Flames captain and Paul Reinhart, 23, skating to the boards toward the end. Marsh was a first round draft pick of the Atlanta Flames and when the team transferred to Calgary in the summer of 1980 he was captain. He was traded to Philadelphia November 11, '81, so that gives you a window of just over a year.

I like the Calgary version better because it carries memories.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't open the Donny one, but I bet it was amazing because he is AMAZING.

I discovered this quite a few years ago while out of town and sitting in the hotel room watching the local news. I was gobsmacked myself. I can't remember where I was but it was that day that all my youthful innocence was lost.

My favourite part of the Calgary montage is where Deborah Lamb is smiling and pointing at something. I used to always get excited about that part because she was a very popular newswoman and she interviewed dad on our front lawn for something. So that made dad famous, which of course gave me some status too. Hahaha.

Anonymous said...

The song was originally "Hello Cleveland" and it was of course about Cleveland Ohio. It was later sold to many other TV stations in other cities and those stations changed the name to fit their city.

"Makes no difference where I go, your the best hometown I know, hello Cleveland, hello Cleveland...."

Anonymous said...

When I was a kid Channel 12 in Milwaukee had the exact same song with "Milwaukee" replacing "Cleveland" in the song. I was stunned and a bit disappointed to hear a different city name in the song.

Anonymous said...

I looked it up and it was originally made for Milwaukee. Go Cheeseheads!

Anonymous said...

Just found out a minute ago it was wide spread --so much for hello san diego channel 8 loves you!