Editor’s note: Tami Hoban is our guest blogger today. Please check out her links, at the end of the post.
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One of the most significant bands I cut my musical teeth on in the '90s was The Cranberries. Delores O’Riordan and I hit it off big in my college days, she just never knew it. One Cranberries song in particular that everybody loves is "Zombie." When "Zombie" came out, everyone wanted to sing it. And it remains one of their best-loved songs.
So what made "Zombie" such a hit? Answer: Hook upon hook upon hook. I’ll name the most significant ones, in my mind, and number them for ease of reference, 'kay?
1. First of all, there was the novelty for us Yanks of trying to sing with that gorgeous, raw-dirty Irish accent. Not a hook, you say? Try singing it like an American. Not as easy as it sounds.
2. The next thing I’d point out is the grinding opening chords that kick in after the first four measures. This chord progression, carried on the electrics, is so tricked out with overdrive it inevitably causes you to scrunch your brow, set your mouth in a Billy Idol snarl and pound it out on air guitar. Try it now, just for fun.
Hear the hook: Zombie MP3, crunchy guitar Copyright info
3. At the end of that opening, leading right into the first verse, is a very simple, very memorable solo, performed by Delores herself in concert. It's repeated later in the song, too. Easy to play, easy to whistle.
Hear the hook: Zombie MP3, solo
4. The pre-chorus and chorus are extremely repetitious in their melody patterns and in a great range for humming along (or humming without the music). “But you see, it’s not me, it’s not my family…”
Hear the hook: Zombie MP3, Delores O'Riordan gets going now
5. And, of course, the most significant hook is Delores’s signature yodel on the chorus. She actually does this throughout the song, but it’s most notable (and most copied) on the word “zombie” itself, and the echo-y vocalizing she does just after. “zombie-a-eh-a-eh-a-eh-a-eh, oh-o…”
Hear the hook: Zombie MP3, the bit that made Delores O'Riordan famous
…Nice.
About Tami Hoban:
Tami is a singer, songwriter and worship leader in the NW Chicago suburbs.
Follow her at:
tamihoban.wordpress.com
mylifeasadream.wordpress.com
twitter.com/tamipants

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