Even in the world of music, it takes all shapes and sizes. Some songs are invitations to dance, while some prompt the listener to pause and think.
Some songs, like any other form of expression, is often used to deliver a story. And with the creative labor involved, plus the record label and airtime restrictions, not everyone can release lengthy narratives such as in Don Mclean's "American Pie," Green Day's "Jesus of Suburbia," or Bob Dylan's "Murder Most Foul." Here are four songs that shared a story and later spawned its own sequel.
1. Eminem's "Stan" (2000) and "Bad Guy" (2013)
Aside from telling related stories, the two songs essentially connect 2013's "The Marshall Mathers LP 2" to the 2000 original LP. After the horrific events of "Stan," Slim returns to play the surviving younger brother in the older track, plotting revenge.
The gap in both songs were definitely enough time to see "Matthew" grow up, later kidnapping Eminem and having him go through the same events as in "Stan." He was thrown in the trunk of a car as Matthew drives around listening to the original Marshall Mathers LP.
2. David Bowie's "Space Oddity" (1969) and "Ashes to Ashes" (1980)
Taking inspiration from the Stanley Kubrick film "2001: A Space Odyssey" released a year earlier, David Bowie created "Space Oddity." It began the tale of the now-famous fictional astronaut, "Major Tom," and his interaction with Ground Control. It was Ziggy Stardust's first charting single in the UK, and the rest of the album was renamed after it.
By 1980, David Bowie released his album "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)," whose lead single "Ashes to Ashes." The song refers to Major Tom as "a guy that's been in such an early song" and takes a darker turn. "Ashes to ashes, funk to funky/ We know Major Tom's a junkie."
3. Chubby Checker's "The Twist" (1960) and "Let's Twist Again" (1961)
"Let's Twist Again" is probably Chubby Checker's most famous hit. Most of us relate the song to the artist or vice versa. However, most people probably don't know that it was a sequel to an earlier song. The "Again" on the title was supposed to be an obvious mark.
Chubby Checker, born Ernest Evans, first broke through the popular rock n' roll scene when he covered Hank Ballard and the Midnighters' modest hit "The Twist." Aside from topping the Hot 100 when Checker did it, he also introduced the dance craze with it. So yes, "Let's Twist Again" is an encore/ sequel to when he first skyrocketed to the top.
4. Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" (1958) and "Bye Bye Johnny" (1960)
Chuck Berry, rock n' roll pioneer and inventor of the "duck walk," has had a lot of songs over the years. One of his first and most enduring hits was "Johnny B. Goode," a simple cheer of "Go! Go, Johnny Go! Go!" punctuating a story of a young country boy who had great dreams.
While Johnny B. Goode has become Berry's fictional alter-ego featured in his other songs, the most touching follow-up comes with "Bye Bye Johnny." Johnny's mom gave everything she had to send her "little boy aboard a Greyhound bus." She arranged for her son to leave their native Louisiana for a taste of Hollywood.
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