THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

584-Johnny Nash-You Got Soul.

1968-Number 6 single.

Best Bit-At 0.06. You Got Soul. He was also blessed with more than his fair share of Reggae, and Pop.

John Lester Nash Jr. was born on August 19th, 1940, in Houston, Texas, United States, he died from natural causes at home in Houston, Texas, on October 6th, 2020.

Johnny Nash first began performing at the age of 13, in 1953, singing covers of R&B hits on the show ‘Matinee,’ which was a local variety programme on ‘KPRC-TV,’ shown regularly in Houston, Texas. He got his big break when signing with ‘ABC’ records in 1957, and scoring his first hit (Billboard Number 23) with his third single release, ‘A Very Special Love,’ in 1957. Nash sang in the style of Johnny Mathis, and was marketed as a competitor.

In 1964 Nash and his manager Danny Sims formed ‘JoDa Records,’ and found it to be more commercially viable to promote American artists abroad. In 1965 both Nash and Sims relocated to Jamaica where around 1966 they were introduced to Bob Marley & The Wailing Wailers, Nash signed them to a contract for J$50 a week (see also best songs 618 and 56.)

Johnny Nash was obviously heavily influenced by the music coming out of Jamaica, as all of his recordings from then onward were influenced by Reggae Music. In 1968 his own composition ‘Hold Me Tight’ would go a long way to popularising Reggae Music in America, and the UK, when reaching the top 10 in both countries.The follow up was this song ‘You Got Soul’ which he also wrote, and appeared on his seventh studio Album ‘Hold Me Tight’ In total Nash released 17 studio Albums between 1958-1986, before going into an unofficial retirement. In America he is best remembered for his 1972 Billboard Number 1 single ‘I Can See Clearly Now,’ while in the UK he achieved eight top 40 singles, with ‘Tears on My Pillow,’ reaching Number 1 in 1975.

‘You got somethin’ good as gold, somethin’ that’ll never grow old, yeah, you got soul.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

585-Jo Stafford-You Belong to Me.

1953-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 2.32. Jo Stafford became the very first female singer to have a UK Number 1, when this song topped the chart in January 1953.

‘You Belong to Me’ was initially written by Chilton Price (1913-2010,) while working as a librarian at the Louisville radio station,’WAVE,’ where the Country Music artists Pee Wee King, (1914-2000) and Redd Stewart (1923-2003,) were regular performers. Price showed this song, and others she had written to King, and Stewart, and after they had made lyric, and melody adjustments, were co-credited as the songs authors. Although in a 2002 interview Price claimed that King and Stewart had no part in the writing of the song, but Billy Stewart the son of Redd refutes that claim, saying that Stewart and King revised the lyrics, and improved the melody. The other song of note to which all three are credited is the 1951 composition ‘Slow Poke,’ which gave Pee Wee King a Billboard Country Number 1 single in 1951, as well as topping the chart in Australia in 1952.

Jo Elizabeth Stafford was born November 12th, 1917, in Coalinga, California, United States, she died from congestive heart failure on July 16th, 2008. Her first venture into music was forming the ‘Stafford Sisters’ a vocal trio, with her two older sisters at the age of 12. In 1938 she became the lead singer of the ‘Pied Pipers,’ performing backing vocals with the ‘Tommy Dorsey’ Big Band.’ During World War 2, she regularly performed concerts for soldiers, which earned her the nickname ‘G.I. Jo.’ She was an actress appearing in 15 films between 1936-1947, and also had her own television show,’The Jo Stafford Show,’ in 1954, and again in 1961. Between 1944-1956 she achieved 80 top 40 singles on Billboard, including four Number 1 songs. Jo Stafford also recorded comedy with her second husband Paul Weston (1912-1996,) under the stage name of ‘Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, releasing five studio Albums, and two singles, including a cover of The Bee Gees ‘Stayin’ Alive.’

‘See the marketplace in old Algiers, send me photographs and souvenirs.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

586-Tinie Tempah-Pass Out.

2010-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 3.25. It appears that the very well travelled Tinie Tempah has visited Miami, and Ibiza, and also Southampton, but it appears he still has the delights of Scunthorpe to look forward to.

Tinie Tempah was born Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu on November 7th, 1988, in Plumstead, London, England. He has appeared as lead artist on four UK Number 1 singles, and a further three as a featured artist, with seven UK Number 1’s in total, he has topped the chart on more occasions than any other British born Rap artist. In total he has appeared on 24 UK top 40 singles, and released three studio Albums to date. He chose his stage name at 12 years old by using a thesaurus in school, juxtaposing ‘tempar’ (temper,) which he saw under ‘angry,’ with ‘tinie,’ (tiny,) to ameliorate the aggressive sound of ‘tempah'(see also best songs 883.)

‘Pass Out’ was co-written, and produced by Timothy McKenzie, who is better known by his stage name ‘Labrinth. He was born on January 4th, 1989, in Hackney, London, England. As well as working alongside Tinie Tempah he has released two solo studio Albums, and appeared on 10 UK top 40 singles, including the 2012 Number 1 song,’Beneath Your Beautiful,’ featuring Emeli Sandi. He also wrote the score for the ‘HBO’ series ‘Euphoria,’ and has written and produced for numerous other artists, including Beyonce, and Ed Sheeran.

Before their collaboration on ‘Pass Out,’ Tiny Tempah, and Labrinth had never met, but Tempah has said that on meeting, he instantly related to Labrinth. He said that they spent many hours in the studio experimenting with different sounds, and by chance came up with the ‘Drum and Bass’ ending.’ Once we put it in there everyone went crazy in the studio, and that’s why we thought we would keep it there.’ As for the songs meaning (which I do not condone in any manner,) it is about ‘getting so out of it,’ that you end up passing out.

‘I’m born famous, I’m sort of known. If your son doesn’t, I bet your daughter knows.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

587-Madonna-Vogue.

1990-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 3.41.Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Joe DiMaggio, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean, Grace Kelly, Jean Harlow, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Lana Turner, and Bette Davis. Alongside all of them, Madonna’s place in history is also assured.

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on August 16th, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan, United States. Her first venture into performing music was as the drummer in the American Pop band ‘Breakfast Club’ in 1979, she later sang lead vocals with the band, before leaving to form a new band called ‘Emmy,’ and then moving on to start her solo career. With sales in excess of 300 million records Madonna is the best selling female recording artist of all time. In America on Billboard she has achieved 49 top 40 single, of which 12 have reached Number 1. She has released 14 studio Albums to date, the first was ‘Madonna,’ in 1983, and the latest being ‘Madame X,’ in 2019.

‘Vogue’ was the best selling single of 1990 worldwide, with sales in excess of 6 million copies, and topping the charts in 30 different countries. Madonna had just finished work on the film ‘Dick Tracy,’ and although this song has nothing to do with that film, ‘Vogue’ was added to the films soundtrack Album ‘I’m Breathless,’ as the final track of the Album’s 12 songs. ‘Vogue’ was co-written by Madonna and the American music producer Shep Pettibone, who had previously worked with Madonna on her 1989 hits ‘Like A Prayer’ (see also best songs 774,) and ‘Express Yourself,’ Pettibone has worked with many other of the worlds top artists including Michael Jackson, and George Michael.It was Madonna’s friend Debi Mazar who first told her of the dance craze that was known as ‘Vogueing.’It was a dance craze that was popular in the gay community, originating in Harlem, New York, in the late 1980’s, where dancers used elaborate hand gestures, and frequently stopped to pose. The style of dance originally arose from ‘Harlem ballroom cultures,’ as danced by African-American, and Latino gay/trans people, from the early 1960’s onward.

‘Ladies with an attitude, fellows that were in the mood. Don’t just stand there, let’s get to it, strike a pose, there’s nothing to it.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

588-The Crusaders-Street Life.

1979-Number 5 single.

Best Bit-At 1.27. The Crusaders were Jazz musicians, they played Jazz. they played Jazz fusion, they played Soul Jazz, and they played Jazz Funk….’Niiice.’

The classic lineup of Joe Sample (1939-2014) (piano,) Wilton Felder (1940-2015) (saxophone,) and Nesbert ‘Stix’ Hooper (drums,) first met at high school in Houston, Texas, United States, and formed their first band ‘The Swingsters’ in 1954, These were the three musicians who played as The Crusaders on their most successful Album ‘Street Life,’ from 1979. Soon after their formation they were joined by Wayne Henderson (1939-2014) (trombone,) he would stay with the band until 1976. Other early members were Hubert Laws (flute,) and Henry Wilson (bass.)

In 1960 the band changed their name to the ‘Jazz Crusaders,’ releasing 16 studio, and live Albums between 1961-1970. In 1970 the group changed record labels, and the decision was taken to shorten the name to ‘The Crusaders,’ in an attempt to widen their potential audience. As The Crusaders there have been a further 22 Album releases between 1971-2004, all of the band members have also worked with other artists, and also released solo material.

Randy Crawford was born Veronica Crawford on February 18th, 1952, in Macon, Georgia, United States. She achieved her big breakthrough when singing on The Crusaders 1979 song ‘Street Life’ as the unaccredited vocalist, leading to a very successful solo career. She had already released three solo Albums prior to ‘Street Life,’ and would have her fourth ‘Now We May Begin’ produced by Felder, Hooper, and Sample, which included her 1980 UK Number 2 single,’One Day I’ll Fly Away.’ Randy Crawford released a total of 16 studio Albums between 1976-2008.

‘Street Life’ was co-written by Joe Sample, and the prolific songwriter Will Jennings.Other songs he has written lyrics for include ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ a 1998 UK Number 1 for Celine Dion (see also best songs 220,) ‘Tears in Heaven,’ with Eric Clapton, and ‘Up Where We Belong,’ a 1982 Billboard Number 1 single for Joe Cocker and Jenifer Warnes. An inspiration for the song was the beginner’s ski slope at ‘Mammoth Mountain’ in California, Joe Sample said,’I saw people falling, running into each other, it was absolute chaos. It looked like a boulevard of madness, and I said.’That’s what street life is.”

‘There’s always love for sale, a grown up fairy tale. Prince Charming always smiles, behind a silver spoon.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER

589-Sly and the Family Stone-Dance to the Music.

1967-Number 7 single.

Best Bit-At 1.30. The respected music critic Joel Selvin said,’There are two types of black music. Black music before Sly Stone, and black music after Sly Stone.

Sly and the family Stone were formed in San Francisco, California, United States, in 1968, they were active until 1983. The classic lineup consisted of Sly Stone (multi instrumentalist,) his brother Freddie (guitar,) their sister Rose Stone (keyboards,) Cythia Robinson (1944-2015) (trumpet, and vocals,) Jerry Martini (saxophone,) Larry Graham (bass,) and Greg Errico (drums.) They were the first successful American Rock group to have a racially integrated male and female lineup. Sly and the Family Stone are considered to be one of the most influential groups in the development of American Pop Music due to their experimentation. They were pioneers of the new music genre ‘Psychedelic Soul’, which was a major influence on Funk, Soul, R&B, and Hip-Hop, as well as the Motown music producer Norman Whitfield (see also best songs 911-777-569-533-480-346 and 233.)Sly Stone was born Sylvester Stewart on March 15th, 1943, in Denton, Texas, United States. He acquired the nickname Sly while at school when a classmate misspelled his name ‘Slyvester.’ The name ‘Stone’ was adopted by the family members as their stage name.

‘Dance to the Music’ was written by Sly Stone, and was taken from the bands second studio Album of the same name. In total they released 11 studio Albums between 1967-1982. After the critical success of.their debut Album ‘A Whole New Thing,’ in 1967, Clive Davis the executive of ‘CBS Records’ insisted that the band record a more commercial sounding song in order to gain more radio play, and get them in to the charts, which was something the band had no real interest in wanting to do, preferring their more experimental approach. A compromise was reached, but not everyone was happy, Jerry Martini dismissed the song as,’Glorified Motown beats, saying the song was an ‘Unhip’ thing for them to do. Martini also said that Sly Stone only did the song to satisfy the CBS executives desire for a hit, stating, ‘Sly hated it.’

‘You might like to hear my organ, I said ride Sally ride. If I could hear the horns blow, Cynthia on the throne, yeah.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

590-Pluto-Dat.

1975-Number 6 single.

Best Bit-At 0.13. And you thought a trip to Tesco’s was stressful.

Pluto Shervington also known as Pluto, was born Leighton Shervington on August 13th, 1950, in Kingston, Jamaica, he acquired the nickname ‘Pluto’ while at school. He has been involved in music since 1970, working as a singer, bass guitarist, audio engineer, and music producer. He emigrated to Miami, Florida, United States, in 1982, and regularly performs in and around the State of Florida, when not touring.

Pluto Shervington started his career in the early 1970’s as a member of the Jamaican band ‘Tomorrow’s Children,’ heavily inspired by the fellow Jamaican Reggae singer Ernie Smith, whose lyrical delivery is in heavy Jamaican patois, in later years both Shervington and Smith have recorded together. He released his first solo Album ‘Ram Goat’ in 1974, and his latest release is 2009’s ‘Second Wind’. He has had two top 40 UK hit singles, with the other one being ‘Your Honour,’ which reached Number 19 in 1982.

Some consider ‘Dat’ to be almost a novelty song, probably because of it’s subject matter, and Jamaican patois delivery. The song is about a Rastafarian secretly buying pork (pork is not allowed in the Rastafarian religion) instead of more expensive meats, in order to keep his shopping bill down, so that he has enough money left ‘to buy a little weed,’ presumably Cannabis. The song is a humorous take on the lengths the narrator will go in order to keep what he is doing a secret.

‘Ozzy pay off the butcher bill, take him parcel, and trod up the hill.Like a spy, who do you think he meet? Rasta Jeremiah from down the street.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

591-Kid Creole & The Coconuts Present Coati Mundi-Que Pasa/ Me No Pop I.

1980-Number 32 single.

Best Bit-At 0.04. They’ve got a lovely bunch of Coconuts.

‘Que Pasa/Me No Pop I’ was released as a stand alone single just prior to the release of Kid Creole & The Coconuts debut Album ‘Off the Coast of Me,’ in 1980. The songs writer, and co-producer was Andy Hernandez, better known by his stage name ‘Coati Mundi. Hernandez was born January 3rd, 1950, in New York City, United States, and had previously been a member of the very successful mid 1970’s Disco group ‘Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band,’ along with this songs other co-producer Kid Creole. As ‘Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savanah Band they released three studio Albums between 1976-1979, as well as the Billboard Number 27 hit single ‘Cherchez La Femme,’ from 1976. As well as providing vocals. and playing the Vibraphone in King Creole & The Coconuts, Hernandez has also released two solo studio Albums, and appeared in many films, and TV shows including ‘Who’s That Girl,’ starring Madonna, and ‘Miami Vice.’

Kid Creole was born Thomas August Darnell Browder on December 12th, 1950, in The Bronx, New York City, United States, he took his stage name from the 1958 film ‘King Creole’ starring Elvis Presley. Along with Hernandez, and Adriana Kaegi, who had also been a member of Dr. Savannah’s, they formed Kid Creole & The Coconuts in 1980, and the three of them remain active with the band at the time of writing. They have released 14 studio Albums to date, between 1980-2011, and although never achieving a top 40 single on Billboard, they have had six in the UK, including the 1982 Number 2 single ‘Annie I’m Not Your Daddy.’

With me not being fluent in Spanish, I can only make an educated guess as to what this song is about. It appears that the narrator and his girlfriend are not compatible anymore, and in his anger he tells her what he thinks of her. Whereas Popi and Olive Oil were made for each other, it appears that these two were not.

‘You ain’t got no class, with brains like a Medano glass. You’re full of fertiliser, number two is your appetiser.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

592-Manfred Mann-Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James.

1966-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 2.08. There is nothing boring about owning a suburban semi detached, actually it’s a great investment.

Manfred Mann were formed in London, England in 1962 as the ‘Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers’ by the keyboard player Manfred Lubowitz (Manfred Mann,) and Mike Hugg, who played the drums. They were soon joined by Mike Vickers (guitar,) Dave Richmond (bass,) and Paul Jones (vocals.) The group would become known as Manfred Mann in 1963, on the advice of the music producer John Burgess (1932-2014.) The band initially formed as a ‘Jazzy, Blues’, based music group, but found mainstream success when turning to ‘Pop,’ having chart success with many cover versions, but several of their early ‘EP’s,’ and ‘B’ sides would still be ‘R&B’ material that the band wrote themselves. Richmond left the group in 1964, and was replaced by Tom McGuinness, and in 1965 Jack Bruce (1943-2014) was a member for around a year, before going on to be co-founder of ‘Cream.’ In 1966 Klaus Voormann joined, as did the new lead singer Mike d’Abo, who replaced Paul Jones, who left for a solo career. The band were active through until 1969, releasing five studio Albums, and achieving 17 top 40 UK hits, which included three Number 1’s.

‘Semi-Detached Suburban Mr Jones’ was released as a non Album track, it was later added to the North American release of their fifth and final Album,’Mighty Garvey,’ from 1968. The song was co-written by Geoff Stephens (1934-2020,) and John Carter. Stephens wrote, or co-wrote numerous hits, including two UK Number 1 songs, ‘You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me,’ for The New Seekers,’ and ‘Silver Lady’ for David Soul. John Carters best known songs include The Ivy League’s ‘Tossing and Turning,’ and The First Class”Beach Baby’ (see also best songs 1000.)

The lyrics to this song are told from the point of view of a lover spurned. He tries to convince his ex girlfriend that she would find life with the new man in her life Mr James tedious and boring, where as with him it would be excitement and adventure.

‘So you think you will be happy taking doggie for a walk, with your semi-detached suburban Mr James.

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

593-The Sisters of Mercy-Lucretia My Reflection.

1988-Number 20 single.

Best Bit-At 1.28. To have a song written about you must be wonderful, but perhaps not so wonderful when you are being compared to Lucrezia Borgia.

The Sisters of Mercy were formed in Leeds in 1980 by Andrew Eldritch, and Gary Marx, the bands name was influenced by the Robert Aitman 1971 film,’McCabe & Mrs Miller, which featured the Leonard Cohen song ‘Sisters of Mercy.’ In total 20 band members have come and gone, with Eldritch being the bands one constant.

They have released only three studio Albums between 1985-1990, being only a touring band since then, with Eldritch reasoning that he can make more money on the road than in the studio. The band have made new music since 1990, and premier it while on stage. The Sisters of Mercy are often pigeon holed as a ‘Goth Rock’ band, but Eldritch laughs that off, insisting they are no part of the ‘Goth’ scene. There have been some very famous names who have been members of the group before moving on, including Tony James who before joining the band in 1989, had been a member of ‘Generation X’, and ‘Sigue Sigue Sputnik’ (see also best songs 163,) he stayed until 1991. Another ex member was Wayne Hussey between 1983-1985, who would go on to form ‘The Mission’ (see also best songs 1051 and 984.)

‘Lucretia My Reflection’ was written by Andrew Eldritch, and was the third single released from The Sisters of Mercy’s second studio Album ‘Floodland’ from 1987. The title of the song refers to Lucretia Borgia of the prominent Borgia family, of the Italian Renaissance,who were notorious for their ruthless political tactics, and alleged crimes.Eldritch wrote the song for band mate, and bass player Patricia Morrison, of whom Eldritch said, ‘She always strikes me as a Lucretia type person.’ In 1996 Morrison by now a member of the Punk Rock band ‘The Damned’ married their lead singer David Vanian (see also best songs 273.)

‘I hear the roar of a big machine, two worlds, and in between,hot metal, and methedrine, I hear empire down.’