THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
119-Richard Harris-MacArthur Park.
1968-Number 4 single.
Best Bit-At 4.52.The odds were stacked against this one ever even seeing the light of day.At 7 minutes and.21 seconds it was far too long to be played on the radio,the lyrics appeared unfathomable,it was written in a Classical Music style and to top it all off was sung by an actor.
‘MacArthur Park’ was written by Jimmy Webb,(see also best songs 846) his inspiration for the song was his relationship and breakup with his girlfriend Susie Horton.MacArthur Park is in Los Angeles where the two would sometimes meet for lunch during 1965,Horton worked for a life insurance firm whose offices were located just across the street from the park.
Of the songs lyrics Webb has said,’It was meant to be symbolic and referred to the end of a love affair.Everything in the song was visible,there’s nothing in it that’s fabricated.The old men playing checkers by the tree,the cake that was left out in the rain.Back then I was kind of like an emotional machine,like whatever was going on inside me would bubble out of the piano and onto paper.’
The acclaimed Irish actor Richard Harris(1930-2002) had originally met Webb at a fundraiser in East Los Angeles,at first Webb didn’t take Harris seriously when he suggested that they make a record together,but they went onto release two critically acclaimed Albums,’A Tramp Shining’ and ‘The Yard Went On Forever.’
In 1978 a Disco version by Donna Summer,produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte went to Number 1 on Billboard for three weeks.
‘Someone left the cake out in the rain.’
IF YOU LIKE THIS PLEASE SHARE.
The countdown continues tomorrow at 1.0.pm.

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
120-Frank Sinatra-My Way.
1969-Number 5 single.
Best Bit-At 3.13.My Way is the most requested song by people to be played at their funerals,presumably its the Frank Sinatra version and not the one by Sid Vicious.
Paul Anka heard the original French version called ‘Comme d’habitude(As Usual) performed by Claude Francois while on holiday in the South of France.He flew to Paris to negotiate the rights to the song,agreeing to share royalty’s with the songs writers Claude Francois and Jacques Revaux.
The original lyrics tell the tale of a couple who are falling out of love and their marriage coming to an end.
Anka had Frank Sinatra in mind when he re-wrote the words,he had been having dinner with Sinatra in Florida and,’a couple of mob guys,’during which Sinatra said,’I’m quitting the business.I’m sick of it,I’m getting the hell out.’Anka’s lyrics tell of a man looking back fondly on a life he lived on his own terms,Sinatra recorded it and it has become one of his signature songs(see also best songs 877-567 and 469.)
The song spent 75 consecutive weeks in the UK top 40 which is a record that still stands to this very day.Other hit versions of the song are from Welsh singer Dorothy Squires who reached Number 25 in 1970.A live version by Elvis Presley was posthumously released in 1977 peaking at Number 9,but the most famous cover is by Sid Vicious who changed many of the lyrics.Paul Anka has said that he was ‘Somewhat destabilised by the Sex Pistols version.It was kind of curious,but I felt he(Sid Vicious) was sincere about it.’
‘For what is a man,what has he got,if not himself then he has naught.’
IF YOU LIKE THIS PLEASE SHARE.
The countdown continues tomorrow at 1.0.pm.

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

COMING NEXT THE BEST 120.

Hello everyone this is your action news reporter
With all the news that is news across the nation
On the scene at the supermarket
There seems to have been some disturbance here
Pardon me sir did you see what happened

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
121-The Monkees-Daydream Believer.
1967-Number 5 single.
Best Bit-At 2.20.The songs about ‘The Seven Year Itch.’
‘Daydream Believer’ was composed by John Stewart,of the songs meaning he has said,’Married couples start out in a an idealistic haze,but after a few years it wears off and each see the other as he or she really is,this is supposedly when genuine love is proven.’
What the narrator in the song is saying is,no matter how tough life is and how little money we have,the most important thing is that we have each other.I think from what he is saying,she (Jean) may not quite feel the same.
John Stewart(1939-2008) was an American singer/songwriter and a member of the Folk group the Kingston Trio between 1961-1967,he wrote ‘Daydream Believer shortly after leaving the group.During his lifetime he wrote around 600 songs,his biggest solo chart success came in 1979 when ‘Gold’ peaked at Number 5 on the Billboard singles chart.
The Monkees were selected from auditions to form a ‘Boy Band’ that not only recorded music but also would perform in a situation comedy series.It proved to be very successful running from 1966-1968,over 2 seasons and 58 episodes.The Monkees were,David Jones(1945-2012),Micky Dolenz,Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork(1942-2019.)
‘Oh our good time starts and ends without all I want to spend,but how much baby do we really need?
IF YOU LIKE THIS PLEASE SHARE.
The countdown continues tomorrow at 1.0.pm.

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
123-Avicii and Nicky Romero-I Could Be the One.
2013-Number 1 single.
Best Bit-At 4.16.In Buddhism ‘Avici’ is the lowest level of Hell,with the most suffering,it is where those who have committed the worst crimes go.
‘I Could Be the One’ was co-written by Avicii and Dutch music producer Nicky Romero,also credited are Avicii’s manager Arash Pourmouri,Swedish songwriter Linus WIklund and the songs unaccredited vocalist Noonie Bao.
Avicci was born Tim Bergling in Stockholm,Sweden on the 8th September 1989,he died on the 20th April 2018,he was a writer and producer of Electronic Dance Music.During his lifetime he suffered with depression culminating with him taking his own life.
In March 2019 his family launched a mental illness and suicide prevention foundation in his name,the ‘Tim Bergling Foundation’ which also works to tackle climate change and conserve endangered species.
During Avicci’s lifetime he released two studio Albums,’True’ in 2013 and ‘Stories’ in 2015,a posthumous third Album called ‘Tim’ of unreleased material was released in 2019 with all profits going to the foundation.
‘When you need a way to beat the pressure down,when you need to find a way to breathe.’
IF YOU LIKE THIS PLEASE SHARE.
The countdown continues tomorrow at 1.0.pm.

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
124-Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood-Jackson.
1967-Number 11 single.
Best Bit-At 2.10.It was the misheard lyric,’hotter than a pepper sprout’ that gave one of the great bands of the 1980’s,Prefab Sprout their name.(See also best songs 718.)
‘Jackson’ was written by Billy Edd Wheeler and Jerry Leiber and originally recorded by Wheeler in 1963,as a songwriter Wheeler’s greatest success came when Kenny Rogers recorded his co-written song with Roger Bowling ‘Coward of the County’ which reached Number 1 in the UK in 1980.Jerry Leiber(1933-2011) is one of the most celebrated songwriters of the 20th Century who wrote or co-wrote over 70 chart hits(see also best songs 954 and 804.)
As well as this version by Sinatra and Hazlewood(see also best songs 978 and 367) there is also the recording by Johnny Cash and June Carter from 1967 which is every bit as good.
The song tells of the fiery relationship between a husband and wife,while arguing he threatens to go to Jackson where he feels he will be more appreciated,in turn she also feels that if she went she would also receive plenty of attention.
‘When I breeze into that city people gonna stoop and bow,all them women gonna make me teach em’ what they don’t know how.’
PLEASE SHARE TO REACH A WIDER AUDIENCE.
The countdown continues tomorrow at 1.0.pm.

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
125-Thin Lizzy-The Boys Are Back in Town.
1976-Number 8 single.
Best Bit-At 2.00.’Lock up your daughters.’
Thin Lizzy were formed in Dublin.Ireland in 1969 by Phil Lynott(1949-1986) and Brian Downey. Lynott was born in West Bromwich,Staffordshire,England but grew up in Dublin,he is one of Ireland’s most celebrated artists with a statue in Dublin erected in his memory in 2005.His later years were dogged by drug and alcohol dependency leading to his collapse on Christmas Day 1985,he died of pneumonia and heart failure due to septicaemia ten days later,he was 36.
There are many theories regarding the inspiration behind ‘The Boys Are Back in Town,’although none have been verified,The most likely is the one about the ‘Quality Street Gang.’Lynott’s mother Philomena was the proprietor of the Clifton Grange Hotel,Manchester in the 1970’s where many known criminals operating in the Manchester area would congregate,it has also been claimed that the ‘Gang’ had ties with organised football hooliganism connected to Manchester United.On a lighter note it is said that the ‘Gang’ were named after the Quality Street confectionery because most of the gang members were overweight.
‘Guess who just got back today,them wild eyed boys that had been away.’
IF YOU LIKE THIS PLEASE SHARE.
The countdown continues tomorrow at 1.0.pm.

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
126-Queen-We Will Rock You.
1977-Has never been released as a official single ‘A’ side in the UK,but reached Number 2 as the ‘B’ side of We Are the Champions(see also best songs 208.)
Best Bit-At 1.37.’It does exactly what it says on the tin.’
‘We Will Rock You’ was written by Brian May and appears on Queen’s sixth studio Album ‘News of the World.’Brian May wanted to create a song that the audience could participate in,he remembered a concert where Queen had just come off the stage and the crowd were singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’May has said,’I went to bed thinking,what could you ask them to do,they can clap their hands,they can stamp their feet and they can sing.In the morning I woke up and had the idea in my head for ‘We Will Rock You.’
Along with ‘We are the Champions'(see also best songs 918-615 and 208) the song has been adopted by sporting events for celebratory moments,but the songs meaning has nothing to do with sport or success. In fact the song is about three stages of a mans life,the first verse tells of a young boy dreaming of being a big man one day,the second he is a young man taking on the world,’waving his banner’ and finally as an old man realising he has failed to change things for the better.The ‘We’ in we will rock you being society,have your dreams but ‘We’ will rock you.
‘Buddy your a young man hard man shouting in the street gonna take on the world someday.’
IF YOU LIKE THIS PLEASE SHARE.
The countdown continues tomorrow at 1.0.pm.
This is the third highest placed Queen song on this countdown.