"Synthetic Substitution" is a 1973 song by

Melvin Bliss Melvin McClelland (June 1, 1945-July 26, 2010) was a rhythm and blues singer known for his 1973 song " Reward/Synthetic Substitution", the B-side of which was heavily sampled

. Originally starting life as a throwaway

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, with "Reward" as the

A-Side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, the song failed to chart anywhere on its initial release because of the collapse of

Opal Productions Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms ...

, the parent company of Sunburst Records. However, after the song was sampled by Ultramagnetic MCs, many other artists followed suit, and eventually the song became one of the most sampled songs of all time.

Background

With the Exciters disbanded in 1971, Herb Rooney was out of a record deal. Having previously written for other artists, Rooney decided to continue down this path. Meanwhile, Melvin Bliss had drifted from stage to stage since leaving the Army in 1957. Looking to boost his career prospects he visited a

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

concert hall intending to use it for self-promotion. While awaiting a meeting with the hall's owner, he encountered the mother of Herb Rooney and it emerged that he wanted a singer to record one of his compositions. After an informal discussion with Rooney himself, Bliss hit the studio to record it. Rooney had intended the

to be " Reward" and thus presented it to Bliss first.

Subject matter

"Synthetic Substitution" is a scathing critique of what society would be like if it was entirely computerised,Melvin Bliss, R.I.P.
Hua Hsu. The Atlantic. Jul 27 2010 which towards the end of the song features the wailing of Bliss clinging onto the final few authentic remnants of his daily life. In 1986 the song's drums, provided by

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdi ...

- were sampled in "

Ego Trippin' ''Ego Trippin' '' is the ninth studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 11, 2008 by Doggystyle Records, Interscope Records and Geffen Records.

" by Ultramagnetic MCs, spawning numerous other uses. It has since been sampled in over 94 songs, with

WhoSampled WhoSampled is a website and app database of information about sampled music or sample-based music, cover songs and remixes. History Nadav Poraz founded the site in London, England in 2008, as a way to track musical samples and cover songs. ...

.com claiming that that number is 826. "Synthetic Substitution" lends its name to a 2011

Earl Holder Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

-produced documentary about

Melvin Bliss Melvin McClelland (June 1, 1945-July 26, 2010) was a rhythm and blues singer known for his 1973 song " Reward/Synthetic Substitution", the B-side of which was heavily sampled

, Synthetic Substitution: The Life Story of Melvin Bliss, which was released by

Peripheral Enterprises A peripheral or peripheral device is an auxiliary device used to put information into and get information out of a computer. The term ''peripheral device'' refers to all hardware components that are attached to a computer and are controlled by th ...

. In a 2010 interview produced exclusively for its trailer, Bliss said that " Herb Rooney and I">/nowiki> Herb Rooney and I/nowiki> had no idea what the song was about; we just needed a

Select list of samples

* "Nigga Bridges", "Getdafucout" and " Throw Ya Gunz" by

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*" God Made Me Funky" by Too Poetic * "24 Deep" and "Back Fade" by Brotha Lynch Hung *"

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" and " Zunga Zeng" by K7 *"

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References

{{reflist 1973 singles 1973 songs Sampled drum breaks