THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
554-Scritti Politti-Wood Beez(Pray Like Aretha Franklin.)
1984-Number 10 single.
Best Bit-At 0.42.The band that went from Punk to Funk.
The driving force behind Scritti Politti is Green Gartside(born Paul Strohmeyer,22 June 1955,) in Cardiff,Wales.
In the mid 1970’s Gartside moved to Leeds to study at Leeds School Of Art,this was where he formed Scritti Politti who started out life as a Punk Band.By 1979 Gartside became bored with his bands output and started to be influenced by American Funk/Soul acts like Chic,The Jacksons and Aretha Franklin.
‘Wood Beez’ is a tribute to Aretha Franklin,it was produced by the legendary Arif Mardin,who had also produced for Aretha Franklin(see best songs 644) in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
‘Each time i go to bed i pray like Aretha Franklin.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
555-Hank Williams-Jambalaya(On The Bayou.)
1952-Has never charted in the UK.
Best Bit-At 0.30.It would help to have a Cajun dictionary handy to decipher what this song is about.
Hiram ‘Hank’ Williams(1923-1953) was an American singer/songwriter,he is regarded as one of the most influential musical figures of the 20th Century.The songs he wrote and recorded have been covered by numerous artists and have been hits in various genres.
He has been cited as a key influence on artists such as Elvis Presley,Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.He recorded 35 singles which reached the top ten on the Billboard Country & Western chart,even though he died at the very young age of 29.
‘Jambalaya’ was co-written by Williams and Moon Mullican who could not be credited on the song because he was under contract to ‘King Records’ at the time.The song has been covered numerous times over the years,in the UK in 1974 Karen Carpenter(who could sing the phone book and make it sound magical) took the song to Number 12 in the chart.
‘Thibodaux,Fotaineaux,the place is buzzin’ a kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
556-B.B.King-The Thrill Is Gone.
1969-Did not chart in the UK.
Best Bit-At 3.13.His nickname was ‘The King Of The Blues.’
B.B.King was one of the most influential Blues musicians of all time,he died in 2015 at the age of 89.
‘The Thrill Is Gone’ was originally written and recorded in 1951 by Blues musician Roy Hawkins.
The song is about moving on from a relationship that has gone bad,(a usual subject for a Blues song.)King recorded the song several times but didn’t like any of the results.Producer Bill Szymczyk,who would later go on to produce The Eagles suggested adding strings.The addition pleased King and gave him his first million selling record.
‘The thrill is gone away you know you done me wrong baby.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
557-Safri Duo-Played-A-Live(The Bongo Song.)
2001-Number 6 single.
Best Bit-At 1.06.If your lucky you learn something new everyday.The Tribal Drum is said to have been invented in the 12th Century in West Africa.
The Safri Duo are a Danish Electronic Percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery and Morten Friis,they took their name from the first letters of their respective surnames.
‘Played-A-Live(The Bongo Song’) is a mixture of electronic music and Tribal Drums and to date has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.
The song featured prominently in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia and also the Commonwealth Games held in Manchester in 2002.
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
558-Nazareth-This Flight Tonight.
1973-Number 11 single.
Best Bit-At 2.16. They’re singin,’ ‘Goodbye baby,baby bye-bye,ooh, love is blind.’
Nazareth are a Scottish Rock band formed in 1968 in Dunfermline.The four original members were Dan McCafferty, Manny Charlton, Darrell Sweet and the bands one constant Pete Agnew.
They took their name from a lyric in the song ‘The Weight’ by The Band,(see best songs 629.)
This Flight Tonight was originally written and recorded by Joni Mitchell appearing on her 1971 Album ‘Blue.’Mitchell was so impressed with Nazareth’s version that when she was playing a gig in London she told the audience ‘I’d like to open with a Nazareth song!’
‘Oh star bright,star bright you’ve got that lovin’ that i like,turn this crazy bird around i shouldn’t have got on this flight tonight.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
559-Buffalo Springfield-For What It’s Worth (Stop,Hey What’s That Sound.)
1967-Has never charted in the UK.
Best Bit-At 0.01.The name of the song came about when Stephen Stills presented the song to the record company executive,’I have this song here,for what it’s worth,if you want it.’
‘For What It’s Worth’ is often seen as an anti war song,but in fact Stephen Stills wrote the song about youth gatherings protesting anti-loitering laws and the closing of the West Hollywood nightclub ‘Pandora’s Box’ in 1966.
As a group Buffalo Springfield were active between 1966-1968,Stephen Stills went on to form the super group Crosby,Stills & Nash.
‘There’s something happening here but what it is ain’t exactly clear.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
560-Barry White-You See The Trouble With Me.
1976-Number 2 Single.
Best Bit-At 2.28.’The Walrus Of Love.’He probably had 12 master bedrooms and 14 refrigerators in his love nest.
Born Barry Eugene Carter he had one of the most distinctive voices in Pop music,(a cover version of ‘Staying Alive’ would have made for an interesting listen.)
At the age of 14 his voice suddenly deepened,White recalled,’I had a normal squeaky kid voice,then as a teenager,that completely changed,my mother cried she knew her baby boy had become a man.’
White had a turbulent youth and was jailed at the age of 16 for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires.While in jail he listened to Elvis Presley singing ‘It’s Now Or Never’ on the radio,an experience he later credited with changing the course of his life.As a solo artist he was originally going to go by the name of ‘White Heat,’but decided to use his birth name instead.In the year 2000 dance music producer ‘Black Legend’ took his version of this song to the Number 1 spot in the UK,(see best songs 931.)
I’m like a blind man who lost his way i can’t see nothin.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
561-Bobby Byrd-Hot Pants (I’m Coming.)
1971-Has never charted in the UK.
Best Bit-At 0.30.If you were too young to remember hot pants,my advice is download some images.
Bobby Byrd (August 15,1934-September 12, 2007) was an American R&B/Soul singer,he played an integral and important part in the development of Soul and Funk music.
Byrd was the founder of ‘The Famous Flames’ and is credited with discovering James Brown.He co-wrote with Brown many of James Brown’s classic hits including ‘Sex Machine.'(see also best songs 880.)
Many of Bobby Byrd’s songs have been sampled,the drum loop on this song was sampled for ‘Fools Gold’ by the Stone Roses.
‘I’m coming,hey,coming,baby.Come,come,come,come.come.come,come.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
562-Eurythmics-Here Comes The Rain Again.
1984-Number 8 single.
Best Bit-At 2.35.No expense spared, it’s a 30 piece orchestra playing on this.
The string arrangements by Michael Kamen were performed by members of the British Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Eurythmics were Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.In the late 1970’s they were both members of the Pop group The Tourists who achieved five top 40 singles including their cover of ‘I Only Want To Be With You,'(UK Number 4.)
The Eurythmics were named after a mime performed by Emile Jacques-Dalcrose,they had a total of nine UK top ten hits including the Number 1 single ‘There Must Be An Angel(Playing With My Heart.’)
‘So baby talk to me like lovers do walk with me like lovers do.’
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