THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

659-Laurie Anderson-O Superman.

1981-Number 2 single.Best Bit-At 2.40.If you know of a more unlikely song ever to make the UK top 40, then please let me know.

Laurie Phillips Anderson was born on June 5th, 1947, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States, you could call her a ‘jack of all trades,’ but you would have to add, ‘master of many.’ During her career she has always tried to push back the boundaries, in the fields of pop music, performance art, and her multimedia projects. She is also noted for inventing several devices that she has used in her recordings, in the genre of Electronic Music, including the ‘Tape-bow violin,’ the ‘Talking Stick,’ and ‘Voice Filters.’ She has released seven studio Albums between 1982-2010, and two spoken word Albums, in 1995 and 2015.She was married to the singer/songwriter Lou Reed (1942-2013) (see also best songs 58-131-165 and 401) from 2008, until his death.

‘O Superman’ remains one of the most unlikely songs to have become a hit single in the UK. It was the legendary BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel (1939-2004) who championed the song, getting it on the the Radio 1 playlist, and therefore giving the general public a chance to hear something they otherwise probably wouldn’t have.

Laurie Anderson has explained the songs meaning.’In 1979, Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran. America went blazing in with helicopters to get hostages out, but it backfired. A helicopter and a plane crashed in the desert, we were left with dead bodies, and a pile of burning debris, so I thought I’d write a song about all that, and the failings of technology.’

‘Here come the planes, they’re American planes, made in America.’