THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
114-Marvin Gaye-What’s Going On.
1971-Has never charted in the UK.
Best Bit-At 1.43.Berry Gordy Jr. founder of Motown records and also the brother-in-law of Marvin Gaye did not want this song released as he thought a protest song would not go down well with Motown’s fan base and the wider general public.
The original idea for the song came from Renaldo Benson(1936-2005) of the Four Tops.He had been on the groups tour bus in Berkeley,California on May 15,1969 when he witnessed police brutality and violence in the city’s ‘Peoples Park’ during a protest held by anti war activists in what was later to become known as ‘Bloody Thursday.’Benson took his idea for the song to Motown staff songwriter Al Cleveland(1930-1996) who helped develop the song.
Benson offered the song to the Four Tops(see also best songs 650) but they refused it because of it’s subject matter,so he then took it to Marvin Gaye(see also best songs 723 and 183) who added many of his own ideas.
The song went on to peak at Number 2 on Billboard selling over 2 million copies and became Motown’s biggest selling single up to that point.
‘Picket lines and picket signs,don’t punish me with brutality.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
115-Gary Glitter-I’m the Leader of the Gang(I Am.)
1973-Number 1 single.
Best Bit-At 2.36.I can imagine many people are looking at this artists name in shock and horror,and also at it’s inclusion, that of course is totally understandable.
Many other artists in this list have also committed atrocious crimes,but Gary Glitter’s atrocities make him the most infamous.For the record I state it is the song and not the singer that is worthy of inclusion.
‘I’m the Leader of the Gang(I Am’) was co-written by Glitter and Mike Leander(1941-1996.) Leander has worked with some of the all time greats including the Beatles and The Rolling Stones,he also co-wrote Glitter’s other two UK Number 1’s,’I Love You,Love Me Love,’ from 1973 and ‘Always Yours’ from 1974.He died of Cancer at the age of 54 in 1996.
Gary Glitter was born Paul Gadd in Banbury,Oxfordshire in 1944.On 5th February 2015 he was convicted of attempted rape,four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under the age of 13.On 27th February 2015,Judge Alistair McCreath sentenced Glitter to 16 years in prison.
‘Come on,come on,come on,come on,come on,come on,come on.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
116-Norman Greenbaum-Spirit in the Sky.
1970-Number 1 single.
Best Bit-At 3.19.It’s always nice to have something to look forward to.
Norman Greenbaum was born in Maiden,Massachusetts,United States in 1942.He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish household and attended Hebrew school at the local synagogue.He is one of only a handful of artists who are truly one hit wonders(a one hit wonder is someone who has had a Number 1 single,but has never again reached the top 75 with any other song.)
Greenbaum has explained the songs meaning,’What did we grow up watching? Westerns! These mean and nasty varmints get shot and they wanted to die with their boots on.So to me that was spiritual.It wasn’t like a Christian song of praise it was just a simple song.I had to use Christianity because I had to use something.But more important it wasn’t the Jesus part,it was the spirit in the sky.’
The song has been a UK Number 1 on three separate occasions.In 1986 Doctor and the Medics took their version to the top of the chart and in 2003 Gareth Gates with The Kumars hit Number 1 with the official Comic Relief charity single for that year.
‘When I die and they lay me to rest,gonna go to the place that’s the best.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
118-David Bowie-Heroes.
1977-Number 24 single.After Bowie’s death in 2016 the song re-entered the chart reaching Number 12.
Best Bit-At 3.59.It was seeing what the Berlin Wall divided,and the sight of a couple embracing near it which inspired this tale of forbidden love.
Tired with the stresses of fame and his lifestyle Bowie uprooted for a change,moving to West Berlin in late 1976.This was where his three consecutively released Albums known as the ‘Berlin Trilogy’ were made,’Low(1977),’Heroes'(1977) and ‘Lodger'(1979.)
‘Heroes’ was co-written by Bowie and long term collaborator Brian Eno,it was produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti. Like many Bowie songs from that period the music was written before the lyrics.
Bowie(see also best songs 807-440-334-302-209 and 186) had seen Visconti embracing his lover by the Berlin Wall,Visconti at the time was still married to singer Mary Hopkin. This led to Bowie thinking of other types of forbidden love such as Gay relationships or interracial,and the symbolic Wall of Berlin dividing East from West.
Following Bowie’s death in 2016 the German government thanked Bowie for ‘Helping to bring down the Wall,’ adding,’You are now among Heroes.’
‘And the shame was on the other side,oh we can beat them forever and ever.’
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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.’
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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.’
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THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

COMING NEXT THE BEST 120.

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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?
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