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prisdeej
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| Posted: 19 April 2016 at 8:55am | IP Logged
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This song was so popular when I graduated high school
that I remember hearing a "Class of 99" version. I do
not own the single, (as I could not locate it in the
record stores at the time). I would drive 60 miles
from Providence to North of Boston just to purchase
R&R magazine. Tower records was only place in Southern
New England where I could physically purchase a single
copy. This song was well into the Top40 on many
playlists, but alas no luck finding it. Any promo or
stock singles out there?
Oh, and once I had a copy of R&R in my possession. I
was able to justify the 120 mile trip. :)
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aaronk
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| Posted: 19 April 2016 at 9:23am | IP Logged
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Yes, there is a promo CD for this one:
DPRO 7087 6 13560 2 1
1. Edit (5:06)
2. Album Version (7:08)
3. Sunscreen (Geographic's Factor 15+ Mix) (4:42)
I also have an import CD single, which lists the song title on the spine and cover as "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) The Sunscreen Song (Class of '99)." The track list itself, though, does not mention the second part of the title. Tracks 1 & 2 are the same listed versions and times as tracks 1 & 3 on the promo CD.
Both the promo CD single and the import CD single include the line "Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '99" at the beginning. If you listen very, very carefully, it sounds like "ninety-nine" was dubbed in. What I didn't realize until today is that there is an earlier (original?) version that opens with the same line but instead says "class of '97."
Edited by aaronk on 19 April 2016 at 9:30am
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Aaron Kannowski
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Back2TheFuture
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| Posted: 19 April 2016 at 4:56pm | IP Logged
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I pulled my promo CD single of "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" and you're right Aaron—It DOES sound like the '99 was edited into the song. The background echo from the previous words said seems to cut off abruptly when the '99 is tacked on. Until you mentioned it, I hadn't really paid that much attention to that. Good catch!
Now, just to throw more confusion into this song, when my youngest brother (now 36) graduated high school in 1998, I remember hearing a version they played at his high school graduation ceremony that said "Ladies and gentlemen of the Class of '98, wear sunscreen etc." Till this day, my younger brother has been looking for the '98 version.
I've had luck locating the '99 version (when it went mainstream in 1999) and became easier to find, but I still have yet to find the '97 or '98 versions. Perhaps there was different promos released by graduation year for this song after it was first released?
Edited by Back2TheFuture on 19 April 2016 at 5:01pm
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JL328
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| Posted: 19 April 2016 at 5:34pm | IP Logged
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There was definitely a "97" version. From what I recall, this "song" started
as an op-ed in a newspaper (I believe the Chicago Tribune) in 1997,
written by somebody who felt challenged to write a mock graduation
speech. It went viral (by 1997 standards). I believe it was passed around
as an email forward and falsely attributed to all sorts of prominent people
(I don't believe the newspaper editor who authored it was anyone of note),
before being noticed by the movie producer Baz Luhrmann. Luhrmann
liked it and had somebody narrate it for release. The original version,
which may have only been distributed overseas, said "97."
I don't know the story behind why it was re-released in 1999, but I
presume it may have been as simple as somebody heard the original,
liked it, and convinced Luhrmann to update it for release as a US single.
Not sure if the "97" version is on any US issued CD (I doubt it) but I would
bet quite a bit it is on a foreign release.
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aaronk
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| Posted: 19 April 2016 at 5:58pm | IP Logged
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Amazon shows an import CD, released in March 1998, called Something
For Everybody. The CD is mostly music from various movies and plays
that Luhrmann has been involved with, but it does also include a 7:10
version of "Sunscreen." My guess would be that this is where the '97 version
comes from. There is a YouTube lyric video with a 7:10 version that
definitely has the '97 reference in the opening line, and it's probably taken
from this CD.
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Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
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aaronk
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Back2TheFuture wrote:
Now, just to throw more confusion into this song,
when my youngest brother (now 36) graduated high school in 1998, I
remember hearing a version they played at his high school graduation
ceremony that said "Ladies and gentlemen of the Class of '98, wear
sunscreen etc." Till this day, my younger brother has been looking for the
'98 version. |
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Since you only ever heard it at his graduation ceremony, is it possible that
someone with a similar voice dubbed in the opening line? This line is said
with no music behind it, so it would be fairly easy to do.
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Aaron Kannowski
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eric_a
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| Posted: 19 April 2016 at 6:53pm | IP Logged
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aaronk wrote:
Amazon shows an import CD, released in March 1998, called Something
For Everybody. |
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Quote:
My guess would be that this is where the '97 version
comes from. |
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I have this CD, which does indeed say "Class of '97".
My copy (Capitol 57636) appears to be a domestic pressing. The album has an Australian copyright but says it was manufactured in the U.S. and has the Hollywood address for Capitol, so I'm inclined to think it was released here.
Edited by eric_a on 19 April 2016 at 6:53pm
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Back2TheFuture
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| Posted: 19 April 2016 at 10:07pm | IP Logged
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aaronk wrote:
Since you only ever heard it at his graduation ceremony, is it possible that someone with a similar voice dubbed in the opening line? This line is said with no music behind it, so it would be fairly easy to do. |
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Locally, they also played that same '98 version on the radio from April 98 to about July '98. I don't know however if it was custom made by the local top 40 station or if it actually exists on a promo CD somewhere. I e-mailed the ex-program director at the time earlier for more details about this '98 version. I'll post the findings as soon as I get word from him.
Edited by Back2TheFuture on 19 April 2016 at 10:07pm
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Back2TheFuture
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| Posted: 21 April 2016 at 9:24am | IP Logged
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Back2TheFuture wrote:
| Locally, they also played that same '98 version on the radio from April 98 to about July '98. I don't know however if it was custom made by the local top 40 station or if it actually exists on a promo CD somewhere. I e-mailed the ex-program director at the time earlier for more details about this '98 version. I'll post the findings as soon as I get word from him. |
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So, I finally got an e-mail back from my old friend (who used to be program director at the time) regarding this particular song. He told informed me that there was indeed a promo single that was released in around February or March of 98 that had the '98 dubbed into the song. He also informed me that it was sent out on a light blue CD single and that our local top 40 station had provided several local high schools with a copy of this promo single on cassette tape for play at their 1998 graduation ceremonies after they began playing it on the air (which also explains why I also heard it at my kid brother's graduation too). He also said that this version was released in very limited quantities to certain top 40 stations and that it's now considered a valuable rarity.
Edited by Back2TheFuture on 21 April 2016 at 9:25am
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PopArchivist
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The 5:05 on the promo single is lossy. Anyone know of any source where it is lossless? Other than the first 20 seconds the peak is at 15 on the spectrum in a straight line...
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LunarLaugh
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From wiki:
Quote:
It was released in some territories in 1997, with
the speech (including its opening words, "Ladies and
Gentlemen of the Class of '97") completely intact. This
version appeared in the Triple J Hottest 100 of that
year at number 16 in the countdown, and was released on
the subsequent CD in early 1998. In the United Kingdom,
the song was released on May 31, 1999.
Also known as "The Sunscreen Song", it sampled
Luhrmann's remixed version of the song "Everybody's Free
(To Feel Good)" by Rozalla, and opened with the words,
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Class of '99" (instead of
"'97", as in the original column). It was later released
as a single in 1999, appearing at the end and during the
credits of the 1999 movie, "The Big Kahuna." |
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Listen to The Lunar Laugh!
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PopArchivist
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| Posted: 26 July 2021 at 3:52pm | IP Logged
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LunarLaugh wrote:
From wiki:
Quote:
It was released in some territories in 1997, with
the speech (including its opening words, "Ladies and
Gentlemen of the Class of '97") completely intact. This
version appeared in the Triple J Hottest 100 of that
year at number 16 in the countdown, and was released on
the subsequent CD in early 1998. In the United Kingdom,
the song was released on May 31, 1999.
Also known as "The Sunscreen Song", it sampled
Luhrmann's remixed version of the song "Everybody's Free
(To Feel Good)" by Rozalla, and opened with the words,
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Class of '99" (instead of
"'97", as in the original column). It was later released
as a single in 1999, appearing at the end and during the
credits of the 1999 movie, "The Big Kahuna." |
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It's not on the soundtrack.
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AdvprosD
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| Posted: 26 July 2021 at 6:58pm | IP Logged
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"Ladies and Gentlemen, If I could offer you only one tip for the future..."
Is how the HitDisc version on 293-A begins. It doesn't reference the class year at all. This one is also 4:57 in length and is probably the previously mentioned
"Lossy" version, with the class year completely removed. There is also a 5+ minute version on a GoldDisc, but I haven't found that one yet. It may have a class,
year included.
I was doing a number of school functions back then. I didn't notice the class year was edited off the copy.
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PopArchivist
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| Posted: 26 July 2021 at 8:16pm | IP Logged
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AdvprosD wrote:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, If I could offer you only one tip for the future..."
Is how the HitDisc version on 293-A begins. It doesn't reference the class year at all. This one is also 4:57 in length and is probably the previously mentioned
"Lossy" version, with the class year completely removed. There is also a 5+ minute version on a GoldDisc, but I haven't found that one yet. It may have a class,
year included.
I was doing a number of school functions back then. I didn't notice the class year was edited off the copy. |
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The CD promo from 1999 has the class and year (1999). The good news is that the 7:10 is lossless, while the 5:05 is lossy. There might be a way to recreate the 5:05 edit...
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sriv94
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| Posted: 27 July 2021 at 11:40am | IP Logged
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LunarLaugh wrote:
From wiki:
Quote:
It was released in some territories in 1997, with
the speech (including its opening words, "Ladies and
Gentlemen of the Class of '97") completely intact. This
version appeared in the Triple J Hottest 100 of that
year at number 16 in the countdown, and was released on
the subsequent CD in early 1998. In the United Kingdom,
the song was released on May 31, 1999.
Also known as "The Sunscreen Song", it sampled
Luhrmann's remixed version of the song "Everybody's Free
(To Feel Good)" by Rozalla, and opened with the words,
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Class of '99" (instead of
"'97", as in the original column). It was later released
as a single in 1999, appearing at the end and during the
credits of the 1999 movie, "The Big Kahuna." |
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The original column by Mary Schmich:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/chi-schmich-sunscreen -column-column.html
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VWestlife
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On TopHitsUSA's T473 radio disc, issued 2/26/99, "Everybody's Free" (the 5-minute version) starts with "Ladies and gentlemen, if I could offer you...", with "of the class of 199_" edited out. And not only was it taken from a lossy source, I can also hear rumble, sibilance, and some clicks, so I'm pretty sure it was dubbed from vinyl!
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aaronk
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| Posted: 05 August 2021 at 8:39pm | IP Logged
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The UK CD single with the 1999 "Edit" version has the first 17 seconds lossless with no sound quality issues, but the remainder is lossy and from vinyl. It's likely the US promo CD is the same way, and I'll retrieve my copy when time permits to find out.
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Baz Luhrmann - "Everybody’s Free (To..."
