THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

439-Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes-(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.

1987 Number 6 single. In 1990 it re-entered the chart, this time reaching Number 8.

Best Bit-At 4.39. Bill Medley was reluctant to record the song because he thought Dirty Dancing sounded like a porno.

”(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” was co-written by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz. Previte who had previously tasted success in the early 1980’s as the lead singer with the Pop group Franke and the Knockouts, achieving three Billboard top 30 singles, was approached by the music producer Jimmy Lenner to write some music for ‘A little movie called Dirty Dancing.’ Of the songs Previte presented, this track, and ‘Hungry Eyes,’ which was recorded by Eric Carmen, (see also best songs 625) were chosen for the Dirty Dancing film, and the films soundtrack, which has currently sold in the region of 40 million copies since it’s release.

Because of budget restrictions the Dirty Dancing film was filmed out of sequence with the finale being the first thing that was shot, and since Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes hadn’t recorded their version of ”(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” yet, a demo version recorded by Previte and the singer Rachele Cappelli was used instead, as a guide for the films actors Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. When Medley and Warnes recorded their version they used the final scene of the film as their guide.

The female vocals were initially offered to Donna Summer, but she turned it down, it was then offered to Jennifer Warnes who had already had great success with another film soundtrack song, her duet with Joe Cocker ‘Up Where We Belong,’ from ‘An Officer and A Gentleman’ had been a Billboard Number 1, and Grammy winning song in 1982. Once Medley (see also best songs 782 and 91) who had always been a fan knew Warnes was on board he accepted the role.

”(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” spent one week at Number 1 in America on Billboard in November 1987, while in the UK it has charted on two separate occasions. In November 1987 after the films release it peaked at Number 6, and after the film was first shown on mainstream television in 1990, it re-entered the chart, and this time reached Number 8.

‘Just remember you’re the one thing I can’t get enough of, so I’ll tell you something, this could be love.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

440-David Bowie-Soul Love.

1972-Has never been released as a single in the UK.

Best Bit-At 1.03. Some music critics have cited ‘Five Years’ and ‘Soul Love,’ which are the opening two tracks on ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ as the best start to any Album ever made.

‘Soul Love’ is track two on David Bowie’s fifth studio Album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ released in February 1972.. The Album wasn’t intentionally written as a concept Album, but many of the songs are about the fictional character ‘Ziggy Stardust’ invented by David Bowie. Ziggy was a androgynous, bisexual rock star who is sent to Earth as a saviour, before an impending apocalyptic disaster (see also best songs 31.)

When Bowie toured the Album, he performed in the character of Ziggy Stardust, with the three musicians who backed him, and also played on the Album, being known as the ‘Spiders from Mars.’ The musicians were Mick Ronson (1946-1993) (guitar, piano and synthesizer) (see also best songs 131 and 58) Trevor Bolder (1950-2013) (bass guitar and trumpet) and Mick Woodmansey (drums.) After Bowie killed off Ziggy Stardust in 1973, the Spiders from Mars were disbanded, but in 1975 Bolder and Woomansey reformed without Ronson, and were joined by three others for the release of a self titled Album in 1976, which proved to be a final hoorah. The bands name ‘Spiders from Mars’ came from the UFO sighting on October 27th, 1954, where a stadium crowd thought they had witnessed Martian spacecraft which cast off a thin filament material, later hypothesised to be webs from migrating spiders.

‘Soul Love’ has three verses presenting different facets of human love. The first verse is stone love, and tells of a mother kneeling at the grave of her brave soldier son, who gave his life fighting for his country. The second verse tells of new love, a young couple find love for the first time,’A love so strong it tears their hearts.’ The third verse deals with religious and spiritual love, putting faith in what the priest is saying. David Bowie was 24 years old when he wrote the song (see also best songs 807-334-302-209-186-131-118-58-47-31 and 5.)

‘Love is careless in it’s choosing, sweeping over cross and baby. Love descends on those defenceless, idiot love will spark the fusion. Inspiration have I none just to touch the flaming dove. All I have is my love of love and love is not loving.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

441-Shirley Bassey-Razzle Dazzle.

1975-Has never been released as single in the UK, but was issued as the ‘B’ side of ‘I Let You Let Me Down Again’ in 1977.

Best Bit-At 1.55. Britain’s greatest ever female vocalist effortlessly ‘Razzle Dazzle’s’ us.

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey was born on January 8th, 1937, in Cardiff, Wales, her father was Nigerian, and her mother came from Teeside, England. In January 1959 she became the first Welsh person to achieve a UK Number 1 single with ‘As I Love You.’ In total she has released 38 studio Albums between 1957-2020, and although none of them have made Number 1, she is the only female artist to have had Albums chart in seven separate decades. 30 of her singles have made the UK top 40, including two Number 1 songs, she has also charted with all three of the James Bond themes she has recorded for the films. In America her records don’t sell as well, but she has sold out her concert tours, ‘Goldfinger’ from 1964 remains as her only charting song on Billboard, reaching Number 8. Bassey had a very striking and powerful voice from an early age, it is told that as a child she sang ‘Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man’ from Showboat with such feeling that it made her school teacher uncomfortable.

‘Razzle Dazzle’ was written for the 1975 musical ‘Chicago’ by John Kander and Fred Ebb (1928-2004) as were all the other songs from that musical. The duo first began working together in 1962, and got their big breakthrough when the song ‘My Colouring Book’ was nominated for a Grammy Award. They co-wrote the music and lyrics for 20 musicals including ‘Cabaret’ and ‘Chicago,’ and have also written songs for films and television series (see also best songs 469 and 182.)

In the musical ‘Chicago,’ ‘Razzle Dazzle’ is performed by the lawyer Billie Flynn to his client, the accused murderess Roxie, explaining how to manipulate and bamboozle a jury. In the 2002 film version the song is performed by Richard Gere.

‘Give ’em the old three ring circus, stun and stagger ’em. When you’re in trouble go in to your dance, though you are stiffer than a girder, they let ya get away with murder.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

442-Elvis Presley-In the Ghetto.

1969-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 2.21. The vicious circle.

In 1968 Elvis Presley (see also best songs 954-664 and 194) was looking for new material for his 10th studio Album, and 35th overall, which was to be called ‘From Elvis in Memphis,’ His chart hits were beginning to dry up, and he had to get hold of the right material. At first Elvis and his entourage were reluctant to record ‘In the Ghetto’ as up until that point he had steered clear of anything that could be perceived as politically controversial, but such was his faith in it being a sure fire hit, he went ahead and released it.

‘In the Ghetto’ was written by Mac Davis, who was born Scott Mac Davis on January 21st, 1942, in Lubbock, Texas, United States, he died on September 29th, 2020, following heart surgery at the age of 78. Davis was a Country music singer, songwriter, and an actor who appeared in films and on television. He also provided Presley with the hit singles ‘Memories (1969, Billboard Number 35) ‘Don’t Cry Daddy’ (1969, Billboard Number 6 and UK Number 8) and the posthumous 2002 UK Number 1 ‘A Little Less Conversation.’Davis was also a successful recording artist releasing 19 studio Albums between 1970-1994, and 38 singles, of which 30 charted on the Billboard Country Music chart. His biggest solo success was with ‘Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me’ which made Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972, while in the UK his only chart hit was with the 1980 novelty song ‘It’s Hard to Be Humble,’ which reached Number 27. Another notable song he recorded was ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life.’) (see also best songs 1024.)Mac Davis spoke about the song,’It was a big brouhaha of him recording ‘In the Ghetto,’ I think he had to fight to get that out as a single.RCA was afraid of it, and Col. Parker was afraid of it, but Elvis believed in it and he wanted to be taken seriously. He wanted to do a song that said something. It was one of my prideful moments, because I didn’t know if anyone would ever cut that song, it was controversial at the time.’

‘In the Ghetto’ tells the story of a child born in to poverty who can’t escape his surroundings. In order to survive he is forced to turn to a life of crime, which leads to his death, and as he is lying on the ground dying, another child is being born in the ghetto.

‘As her young man dies, on a cold and grey Chicago mornin’ another little baby child is born in the ghetto.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

443-Ray Noble and his Orchestra with Al Bowlly on vocals-The Very Thought of You.

1934-It has never charted in the UK, there was no UK chart until 1952.

Best Bit-At 2.45. Back in the old days I used to get a little embarrassed playing well worn vinyl on my turntable with the sound of static crackling through the speakers, but I must admit in these days of sterile clear audio I do miss it a bit (but only a bit.)

In the 1920’s and 1930’s the real Pop stars were the ‘Dance Band’ leaders, and one of the major stars of the era was Ray Noble. He was born Raymond Stanley Noble on December 17th, 1903, in Brighton, Sussex, England, he died on April 2nd, 1978, at the age of 74 from cancer. Noble was a bandleader, composer, arranger, radio comedian, and an actor, five of his recordings reached Number 1 on the American music charts between 1933-1935, just prior to the advent of Billboard.

Al Bowlly was born Albert Allick Bowlly on January 7th, 1898, in Lourenco Marquues, Portuguese Mozambique, but was initially brought up by his parents in Johannesburg, South Africa. He made his first recording in 1927, a cover version of ‘Blue Skies,’ by Irving Berlin, which he recorded in Germany. It was in 1930 that he signed a recording contract with Ray Noble, and over the course of the next four years he recorded over 500 songs. In 1933 Bowlly also began working with the band leader Lew Stone (1898-1969) (see also best songs 288) splitting his time between Nobel and Stone. Bowlly was one of the the most sought after vocalists of the period recording approximately 1000 songs, he is considered to be a pioneer of the art of ‘crooning.’ (see also best songs 457) Bowlly recorded his last song two weeks before his death, a satirical song written by Irving Berlin (see also best songs 731-457-358 and 100) about Adolf Hitler called ‘When That Man Is Dead and Gone.’ On April 17th, 1941, he was killed by a Luftwaffe parachute mine that detonated outside his flat at 3.10.am, his body was unmarked, but the mine had blown his bedroom doors off it’s hinges, and the impact against his head was fatal.

‘The Very Thought of You’ was written by Ray Noble, and first recorded in 1934 with Al Bowlly providing the vocals, it went on to become an American Number 1 single the same year. The song has become a Pop standard, and has been covered by hundreds of artists through the years. In 2005 the song received the ‘Grammy Hall of Fame’ award which honours musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance.

‘I see your face in every flower, your eyes in stars above. It’s just the thought of you, the very thought of you, my love.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

444-De La Soul-A Rolling Skating Jam Named ”Saturdays.”

1991-Number 22 single.

Best Bit-At 0.17.’All that scratchin’ is makin’ me itch.’

De La Soul were formed in high school in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York, United States, in 1988 by Kelvin Mercer, known by his stage name ‘Posdnuos,’ David Jolicoeur ‘Trugoy the Dove,’ and Vincent Mason Jr. ‘Maseo,’ all three have used other stage names on occasions. A demo of the song ‘Plug Tunin” came to the attention of Paul Huston who is better known by his stage name ‘Prince Paul,’ which led to him working with and producing the first three critically acclaimed Albums of De La Soul.

De La Soul (see also best songs 246) had released their debut Album ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ in 1989 to critical acclaim, with many of the songs themes being focused on peace and harmony, this led to them being labelled the ‘Hip-Hop Hippies,’ an image they attempted to shred on the second Album ‘De La Soul Is Dead,’ from where this song was released as the first single. ‘A Roller Skating Jam Named ”Saturdays” is a lighthearted song about having fun, the songs title is derived from the roller skating fad of the 1970’s.

The songs writing credits are attributed to all three members of De La Soul, along with the tracks producer Prince Paul who also raps the intro. There are also two other credited writers, Kamal Fareed who is better known by his stage name of ‘Q-Tip’ and a member of the Rap group ‘A Tribe Called Quest’ raps the first verse, and Rodney Mathews whose song ‘Evil Vibrations’ performed with his band ‘The Mighty Ryeders’ from 1978 is heavily sampled, and for that he also receives writing credits. The female vocals on the track are performed by the unaccredited Vinia Mojica.

‘A Roller Skating Jam Named ”Saturdays” featured several samples including the horn riff from ‘Grease’ from 1978, there are also vocals taken from the 1972 song ‘Saturday in the Park’ by the band Chicago (see also best songs 631 and 328.) Samples are also taken from ‘Light My Fire’ by Young-Holt Unlimited from 1969, and ‘I Got My Mind Made Up’ by Instant Funk from 1978 (see also best songs 1041,) there are also others used.

‘Back once more with the wallop in the score. Must I ride and rip, should I make you rock your hip, reviver of a roller boogie in a rink.

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

445-Kungs vs. Cookin’ on 3 Burners featuring Kylie Auldist-This Girl.

2016-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 1.03. At 1.03 and again at 2.34 you hear what is known as a ‘Drop.’ In Electronic Dance Music some tracks are structured to build to a climax, followed by the ‘Drop.’ This song can be filed under ‘Drop/Pop.’

‘This Girl’ was originally written and recorded in 2009 by the Australian Funk band Cookin’ on 3 Burners, with guest vocals provided by Kylie Auldist. Cookin’ on 3 Burners were formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1997 by Jake Mason (Hammond Organ) Lance Ferguson (guitarist) and Ivan Khatchoyan (drums) all three are credited as this songs writers.’This Girl’ was taken from the bands third Album ‘Soul Messin” but failed to chart anywhere in the world. In total Cookin’ on 3 Burners have released seven studio Albums between 2007-2018, one live Album, and 10 singles.

Kungs is the stage name of Valentin Brunel who was born on December 17th, 1996, in Toulon, Provence, France, he is a producer of House Music. Brunel chose his stage name ‘Kungs’ after searching online for the translation of the word ‘gentleman’ in various languages, choosing the Latvian translation ‘Kungs’ meaning ‘Mister.’ He has released one Album to date called ‘Layers’ in 2016 and 10 singles, of which six have reached the French top 40.

Of the making of the track Kungs has said,’It’s a track I produced in my bedroom. I just heard the track on You Tube and I fell in love with it. I told myself that I really had to remix it and to add my personal touch. I didn’t expect such success, it was a strange blend and I thought that people wouldn’t understand the track, so I was really happy when I saw that the radio was playing it.’

The vocals on the original and the remix are provided by Kylie Auldist who comes from Broken Hill, Australia. She has provided vocals for many artists, as well as releasing five solo studio Albums between 2008-2020. The songs lyrics tell of a rich guy trying to buy a girl’s affections with gifts, but he is failing, because for her there is nothing more precious than ‘A heart that feels, and a heart that’s true.’

‘Money rains from the sky above, but keep the change ’cause I’ve got enough. A little time and some tenderness, you’ll never buy my love.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

446-Al Wilson-The Snake.

1968-It did not chart until reissued in 1975, when reaching Number 41.

Best Bit-At 2.37. The song which helped elect an American President.

The Snake was originally written and performed by Oscar Brown Jr (1926-2005) in 1963, he also recorded the first version. In 1966 the American singer/songwriter Johnny Rivers released a version, but the song didn’t become a hit until covered by Al Wilson in 1968, when peaking at Number 27 on Billboard, his version was produced by Rivers on ‘Soul City Records,’ the record label owned by Rivers. In the UK the track has become a cult classic among fans of Northern Soul Music,being one of the most popular songs of that genre.

The songs lyrics are inspired by Aesop’s Fable of The Farmer And The Viper.It tells of a kind woman who finds a frozen snake and nurses it back to health.The snake repays her by biting her with deadly poisonous venom,when she asks why, the snake tells her that she knew he was a snake before she took him in.

During the 2016 United States Presidential election campaign Republican candidate Donald Trump read out the lyrics at several campaign rallies to illustrate his position on the Syrian refugee crisis,claiming that the decision to allow people claiming refugee status to enter the U.S.would ‘Come back to bite us,’as happened to the woman who took in the snake in the song.The daughters of the late songwriter Oscar Brown Jr have asked Trump to stop using their fathers song saying ‘He’s perversely using The Snake to demonise immigrants’ and that Brown ‘Never had anything against immigrants.’

Al Wilson was born Allen LaMar Wilson on June 19th, 1939, in Meridian, Mississippi, United States, he died on April 21st, 2008 from kidney failure. Wilson recorded five studio Albums between 1968-1979, and released 22 singles, four of which made the Billboard top 40. His major success occurred in 1973 when his version of the Jerry Fuller song ‘Show and Tell’ reached Number 1 in America. In the UK he is best remembered for this song which is a staple of over 30 Northern Soul various artists compilations, and in a survey of the most popular Northern Soul songs of all time it came in at Number 4 (see also best songs 97.)

‘Oh shut up silly woman said the reptile with a grin, now you knew darn well I was a snake before you brought me in.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

447-John Paul Young-Love Is in the Air.

1978-Number 5 single.

Best Bit-At 2.48. Take a deep breath, inhale, and enjoy yourself.

John Inglis Young was born on June 21st, 1950, in Bridgeton, Scotland, at the age of 11 in 1962 he emigrated with his family to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. His first professional venture in to music occurred at the age of 17 when asked to be the lead singer in a band called ‘Elm Tree’ that had been formed by his schoolmates. It was the music producer and manager Simon Napier-Bell (see also best songs 171) who after hearing Young perform with Elm Tree then offered him a recording contract in 1971. Napier-Bell produced Young’s first single ‘Pasadena,’ which was written by Harry Vanda, George Young and David Hemmings (1941-2003) the song reached Number 16 in Australia in 1972.

It would be three years until Young would taste chart success again, this time with the Vanda/Young composition ‘Yesterday’s Hero,’ which he performed on the Australian music show ‘Countdown.’ The show chose Young as an experiment to see if they could make someone who was basically an unknown in to a megastar. Young would become a regular presenter of the show, and an on and off performer through until Countdown’s demise in 1987.

John Paul Young has released nine studio Albums between 1975-2006, and has achieved 12 top 40 hits in Australia. Two of his songs have made Number 1 in South Africa, while ‘Love Is in the Air’ remains his only hit in the UK or America. His first five studio Albums were all co-written and produced by Harry Vanda and George Young, (no relation) (1946-2017) both Vanda and Young had both been members of the Australian Rock/Pop band The Easybeats between 1964-1969 (see also best songs 939.)

‘Love Is in the Air’ was written and produced by Vanda and Young, and is the title track from John Paul Young’s fourth studio Album from 1978. The song was written to try to stay contemporary, and also to cash in on the current ‘Disco’ fad of the late 1970’s, John Paul Young has said,’We actually did ‘Love Is in the Air’ because we needed something for the German market. It was all electronic mania, all clicks and electric buzzes, so George and Harry gave it the treatment. Young performed the song on episode 148 of Countdown on April 30th, 1978. In 1992 the song was remixed for a more up to date sound, and chosen for the soundtrack to the Australian romantic comedy film ‘Strictly Ballroom,’co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, the remixed recording peaked at Number 3 in Australia, the same position as the original version had in 1977.

‘And I don’t know if I’m just dreaming, don’t know if I feel safe, but it’s something that I must believe in and it’s there when I look in your eyes.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

448-Cola Boy-7 Ways to Love.

1991-Number 8 single.

Best Bit-At 4.13. Just so you don’t get confused, this song is not an abbreviated version of the Karma Sutra.

Cola Boy was the brainchild and side project of Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs who in 1990 had formed the Alternative Dance act Saint Etienne. Stanley and Wiggs who had known each other since childhood had been listening to the Dance Music of the day and realised that they could do it just as well, or maybe even better. As Saint Etienne were a serous project, the pair invented the name Cola Boy, as they felt that a ‘Euro Pop’ sounding song might compromise their standing in the music community.

‘7 Ways to Love’ was initially recorded as a white label and sent to record stores that dealt in Dance Music, once it began to take off Arista Records signed Stanley and Wiggs in order to release the song nationwide. Sarah Cracknell who was the third member and lead singer of Saint Etienne could not sing on the track as she was bound by another contract, so Janey Lee Grace who had previously been a backing singer for Wham on their world tours for three years was recommended. Also brought in to form a face for the band was Andrew Midgeley (not to be confused with Andrew Ridgeley of Wham) A follow up single called ‘He Is Cola’ was issued, but after it flopped Cola Boy were disbanded. Janey Lee Grace went on to become a radio presenter on BBB Radio 2, and she is also an author, having released four books. In 1993 Stanley and Wiggs produced a new remix of the song for the Japanese singer Nokko for her Album ‘I Will Catch You,’ in which she added new lyrics, sung in both Japanese and English.

Saint Etienne were formed in Croyden, London, England, in 1990 and remain active, they took their name from the French football club ‘A.S. Saint Etienne.’ They have released a total of 10 studio Albums between 1991-2021, and 38 singles of which 17, including collaborations have made the UK top 40. Ironically ‘7 Ways to Love’ the song they didn’t want St Etienne to be associated with remains the bands only top 10 single.

‘7 ways to love.’