In honor of the piano-driven single’s 20th anniversary, GRAMMY.com revisits how “A Thousand Miles” became an instant classic upon its 2002 release. Learn why it’s proven to be timeless two decades later.
Released Feb. 12, 2002, “A Thousand Miles” was a demo initially titled “Interlude.” Vanessa Carlton came up with the song’s iconic tinkling piano riff in the summer of 1998 — when she was just 17 years old.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLO_57IV6Zc)
Carlton got writer’s block upon initially writing the song, but revisited it for a producer later that year. Speaking to MTV, Carlton recalled finishing “the song that Saturday night in an hour."
(Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/1469962/road-to-the-grammys-the-making-of-vanessa-carltons-a-thousand-miles/)
Ron Fair, then-president of Carlton’s then-label, A&M Records, discovered the song amid a pile of initial reject demos. In VICE’s “A Story Of,” Fair recalled that he immediately identified “A Thousand Miles” as a “f***ing smash.” (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLO_57IV6Zc)
As Carlton has hinted several times, the song’s lyrics were inspired by a crush she had on a fellow Juilliard student. Revealing the subject is now a “famous actor,” Carlton vows to never disclose the name.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLO_57IV6Zc)
The song received new life after it was famously featured in the 2004 film White Chicks, most memorably in a scene with actor Terry Crews. In VICE’s “A Story Of,” Crews said “that song changed my life forever.”
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNG_tTXXcg)
“A Thousand Miles” has been sampled in more than 20 songs, many of which are (perhaps surprisingly) rap. It was sampled twice in 2021, most notably in the hit “Who I Smoke” by Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, Yungeen Ace & FastMoney Goon.
(Source: https://www.whosampled.com/Vanessa-Carlton/A-Thousand-Miles/sampled/?ob=0)
“A Thousand Miles” was nominated for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year (as well as Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) at the 2003 GRAMMY Awards, where she performed the hit backed by an orchestra.
(Source: https://www.grammy.com/artists/vanessa-carlton/857)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWGgIJ5zVdI
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By: Recording Academy / GRAMMYsTitle: How Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" Has Transcended Genre And Culture | For The Record
Sourced From: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY5kCvYn4YU
