THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

936-Eminem featuring Dido-Stan.

2000-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 6.34. Such was the impact of this song, that the name ‘Stan’ was included in the ‘Oxford English Dictionary’ in 2017. It is a slang term meaning, overzealous, maniacal, or an overly obsessed fan of a celebrity, or personality. ‘ST’-alker’ + f’AN’ =’STAN.’

Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers, on October 17th, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri, United States. At the age of 14 he began rapping with a high school friend, adopting the name ‘M&M,’ that later evolved in to ‘Eminem.’ There were several ups and downs between 1986, through until his big career break which occurred in 1997, when Eminem went to Los Angeles to compete in the 1997 ‘Rap Olympics’, an annual, nationwide battle rap competition. Eminem finished second, but had impressed Dean Geistilinger of ‘Interscope Records,’ who immediately contacted the record producer Dr. Dre, (see also best songs (564-544-482-189-128 and 48) who when criticised by his associates for hiring a white rapper said,’I don’t give a f..k if you’re purple, if you can kick it, I’m working with you.’ Eminem is credited for popularising ‘Hip-Hop’ music to a ‘Middle American’ audience, and for breaking racial barriers for the acceptance of white rappers in Popular Music. He is recognised as being greatly influential in the careers of many other artists, not just in ‘Hip-Hop,’ but in various other musical genres as well.

With sales in excess of 225 million Eminem is among the elite when it comes to record sales worldwide. His discography includes 11 studio Albums released between 1996-2020, of which the last nine all went straight in at Number 1 on the Billboard chart in America. He has also issued 57 singles as the lead artist, and 22 singles as the featured artist, between 1998-2022. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, 43 of those singles have reached the top 40, with five of those tracks making Number 1, while in the UK, he has charted on 46 occasions in the top 40, with 10 of those singles making the Number 1 spot.

‘Stan’ was the third of five singles released from ‘The Marshall Mathers LP,’ which was the third studio Album by Eminem, from May 2000. ‘Stan’ was co-written by Eminem, Dido, and Paul Herman, with the production credited to Eminem, and The 45 King, which is the stage name of the American ‘Hip-Hop’ music producer Mark James. James who was born on October 16th, 1961, in The Bronx, New York, got his name ‘The 45 King,’ through his ability to make ‘beats’ from sourcing obscure ’45 RPM’ vinyl records, James is best remembered for his 1987 groundbreaking ‘Breakbeat’ track ‘The 900 Number (UK-Number 60.) James had heard the song ‘Thank You’ by ‘Dido,’ and sent a remix he had done to Eminem, who incorporated it in to his lyrics, which would become ‘Stan.’ After ‘Dido’ had given her permission the song became eligible for release. Paul Herman who co-wrote ‘Thank You,’ with ‘Dido’ is therefore also credited as one of the writers of ‘Stan.’

‘Dido’ was born Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong, on December 25th, 1971, in Kensington, London, England, her brother is the music producer ‘Rollo’ (see also best songs 890 and 207.) Both ‘Dido’ and ‘Rollo’ were given there shortened names by their parents in childhood, and ‘Dido’ considers it to be here real name.The name ‘Dido’ derives from the legendary ‘Queen of Carthage,’ the legendary founder, and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC.
‘Dido’ and Paul Herman wrote ‘Than You’ in the late 1990’s, and it first appeared on the soundtrack of the movie ‘Sliding Doors,’ in 1998. It was then included on ‘Dido’s’ 1999 debut studio Album ‘No Angel,’ and released as a single in September 2000, reaching Number 3, in both the UK, and in America, on Billboard.

‘Stan’ is the story of a fan obsessed with Eminem. The fan whose name is Stan writes letters to Eminem, but Eminem doesn’t get to see them. Stan thinks that Eminem is wilfully ignoring him, which makes him angry, and frustrated. With all the other mental issues going on in Stan’s head, he drives himself, and his pregnant girlfriend, who he has locked in the boot of his car, over a bridge, killing them all. A while later Eminem having finally received his fan-mail, is setting about answering it, when he comes across Stan’s letter. Remembering the story of the bridge incident he heard on the news, he puts two and two together, and the reality hits him.

‘Some dude was drunk and drove his car over a bridge, and had his girlfriend in the trunk, and she was pregnant with his kid. And in the car they found a tape, but they didn’t say who it was to. Come to think about, his name was, it was you. Damn.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

937-Golden Earring-Radar Love.

1973-Number 7 single.

Best Bit-At 0.19. The best driving song in the world ever, it’s almost worth getting a speeding ticket for.

Golden Earring were formed in 1961, in The Hague, Netherlands, initially calling themselves ‘The Tornados,’ but on realising that there was another, and at that time much more famous group who were already established with that name, they instead chose the ‘The Golden Earrings.’ which was taken from a 1961 instrumental song by the British group ‘The Hunters,’ whom they had toured with. They dropped the ‘The’ in 1967, and the plural ‘s’ was discarded in 1969.

Golden Earring were formed by 13 year old George Kooymans, (guitar and vocals) and his 15 year old neighbour Rinus Gerritson (bass.) They were joined later by Frans Krassenburg, (vocals) and Jaap Eggermont, (drums) initially paying a mixture of ‘Pop/Rock,’ and scoring a 1965 Number 8 hit in the Netherlands with their first single ‘Please Go.’ Jaap Eggermont left the group in 1969, and would find his greatest success in the early 1980’s with his ‘Stars on 45’ project. In 1968 Krassenburg was replaced on vocals by Barry Hay, and Eggermont was replaced in 1969 by Cesar Zuiderwijk on the drums, these four of Kooymans, Gerritson, Hay, and Zuiderwijk who played on ‘Radar Love,’ and have performed together since 1970, are considered the classic lineup. In 2021 Kooymans announced that he was suffering from ‘amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,’ (ALS) and would retire. Shortly afterwards, Golden Earring announced that they would officially disband. In total over their 60 year career, there have been 15 different members come and go.

The discography of Golden Earring includes 25 studio Albums released between 1965-2012, and 74 singles issued between 1965-2019, there are also eight official live Albums, and two compilation Albums available. On the Dutch top 40, Golden Earring have achieved 51 hit singles, with five of those tracks reaching Number 1, including ‘Radar Love.’ In the UK, ‘Radar Love’ remains the groups only top 40 hit single, while in America on the Billboard Hot 100, they have charted within the top 40 twice, with ‘Radar Love’ making Number 13, and ‘Twilight Zone’ from 1982, reaching Number 10. Golden Earring started out life as a ‘Pop/Rock’ outfit, but since 1970 they transformed themselves in to a ‘Hard Rock,’ and ‘Progressive Rock’ group.

‘Radar Love’ is track 4 on ‘Moontan,’ which was the ninth studio Album release by Golden Earring, from July 1973. The song was written by George Kooymans, and Barry Hay, with the production being credited to Golden Earring. ‘Radar Love’ tells the story of a driver who has a very long drive ahead of him. He senses that his girlfriend needs him by her side, so he puts his foot down on the accelerator. In the days before mobile phones, there was no way of being able to communicate instantly, but the driver thinks he has a psychic relationship with her, which he calls ‘Radar Love.’ He switches on the radio to pass the time, and it is playing the 1966 Billboard Number 11 hit ‘Coming On Strong,’ by Brenda Lee. Brenda Lee (see also best songs 522) has said that she was flattered to be mentioned in such a great song.

There is a school of thought that suggests ‘Radar Love’ hasn’t got a happy ending, with some thinking that the narrator has driven in a reckless manner to get to his girlfriend quicker, and by doing so has crashed and been killed, highlighted by the lyrics,’And the line of cars drove down real slow,’ suggesting that the narrator is now watching his own funeral, but I prefer to think that the cars are slow because he has reached the end of his journey, and he can now embrace his girlfriend.

‘I’ve been drivin’ all night, my hand’s wet on the wheel, there’s a voice in my head that drives my heel. It’s my baby callin’, says I need you here, and it’s a half past four and I’m shiftin’ gear.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

938-Natalie Imbruglia-Torn.

1997-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 3.28. As a DJ, until becoming more acquainted with her surname I did struggle. The same could be said of my pronunciation of ‘Aguilera.’ Then further back I also remember the problems that occurred when coming across the Punk Rock band ‘Splodgenessabounds,’ but nothing compares with the toughest one of them all, that top 10 song in 1976 by Quantum Jump. ‘The Lone Ranger,”Taumatawhakatangihangakuayuwotamateaturipukakupikimaungahoronukupokaiawhenuakatanatahumatakuatanganuakawamiki-tora.’

Natalie Jane Imbruglia was born on February 4th, 1975, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Her first major breakthrough occurred in 1992 when landing the role of ‘Beth Brennan’ in the Australian soap opera ‘Neighbours,’ a role she played until 1994, when leaving to further her career, with a move to London, England. It was her manager Anne Barret, whom Imbruglia had first met in England, who convinced her to record a demo of four songs, one of which was ‘Torn,’ which impressed ‘RCA Records.’

Natalie Imbruglia who has gone on to sell in excess of 10 million records worldwide, has to date released six studio Albums between 1997-2021, and 17 singles between 1997-2022, there is also a greatest hits package ‘Glorious: The Singles 97-07,’ which was released in 2007. In Australia, Imbruglia has achieved six top 40 ‘Aria’ hits, with ‘Torn’ charting the highest at Number 2, while in the UK, she has charted within the top 40 on 10 occasions, with both ‘Torn,’ (1997) and ‘Big Mistake,’ (1998) both peaking at Number 2. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, she has never charted within the top 40, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The record company wouldn’t release ‘Torn’ as a single in America, as they wanted to get people to buy the Album ‘Left of the Middle’ instead, ‘Torn’ was one of the most played songs on American radio in 1997, but at that time ‘Billboard’ didn’t include airplay tracks into the chart, but when the rules changed in December 1998, even so ‘Torn’ was at the end of it’s commercial run on radio playlists, it still managed to chart at Number 42. Away from music Natalie Imbruglia has also appeared in six films between 2003-2015, including co-starring alongside Rowan Atkinson in ‘Johnny English,’ in 2003. She has also appeared as a guest judge in both the UK and Australian versions of ‘The X Factor,’ and in 2022, she made an appearance in the very last episode of the Australian soap opera ‘Neighbours.’

‘Torn’ was the debut single release from Natalie Imbruglia, and was the first of four singles issued from her debut studio Album ‘Left of the Middle,’ from November 1997, the Album went on to sell in excess of seven million copies worldwide, making it the best selling debut ever by a female ‘Rock/Pop’ artist. ‘Torn’ was co-written by Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Phil Thornalley, with the production credited to Thornally. Cutler, and Preven had both been members of the American ‘Alternative Rock’ group ‘Ednasnap,’ and they had written ‘Torn’ back in 1993, but didn’t release their version until 1995. The actual first issued recording of the song was in 1993 by the Danish singer Lis Sorensen, with Danish lyrics written by Elisabeth Gjerluff Nielsen, and titled ‘Braendt’ (Burned.) Another earlier cover version of ‘Torn’ was in 1996 by the Norwegian singer Trine Rein, her recording was a hit in Norway, where it reached Number 10, and is very similar in style to the version by Natalie Imbruglia.

The songs co-writer and producer Phil Thornalley was born on January 5th, 1960, in Worlington, Mildenhall, Suffolk, England. As a writer and producer, his career highlights include writing and producing two UK Number 1 singles for Pixie Lott, ‘Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh’) (2009) and ‘Boys and Girls’ (2009.) Thornalley who has also worked closely with Bryan Adams for many years, was the producer of ‘The Cure’s’ 1982 Album ‘Pornography,’ and in 1983 co-produced their UK Number 7 hit single ‘The Love Cats,’ for which he was critically acclaimed for playing the distinctive double bass line on the track.

‘Torn’ tells of the realisation of the narrator, that the man she fell in love with has changed. He once loved and cared for her, but now he is distant, and not interested in her anymore.

‘I thought I saw a man brought to life, he was warm, he came around like he was dignified. He showed me what it was to cry, well, you couldn’t be that man I adored, you don’t seem to know, or seem to care what your heart is for, but I don’t know him anymore.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

939-Easybeats-Friday on My Mind.

1966-Number 6 single.

Best Bit-At 0.33. The ‘Aussie’ ‘Sultans of Swing.’

All five original founding members of the ‘Easybeats’ were from families that had migrated to Australia from Europe, and first met at the ‘Villawood Migrant Hostel,’ in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in 1964.The families of the band members spent their first years in Australia housed at the ‘Villawood Migrant Hostel,’ in the early and mid 1960’s. Lead singer Stevie Wright, (1947-2015) was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and is probably the most successful musician to have been born in that city. Harry Vanda, (guitar) was born in the Netherlands, George Young, (1946-2017) (guitar) was from Glasgow, Scotland, Dick Diamonde, (bass) was from the Netherlands, and Gordon ‘Snowy’ Fleet, (drums) was born in Liverpool, England. Fleet left the Easybeats in 1967, and was replaced by Tony Cahill, (1941-2014) (drums) who had been born in Melbourne, Australia. The Easybeats remained active until 1969, but there was a reunion tour of Australia in 1986, undertaken by all five original members.

The Easybeats who were heavily influenced by the Beatles, achieved a similar level of popularity in Australia between 1964-1966. They then relocated to London in 1966 in an attempt to further their international career. With the success of ‘Friday on My Mind,’ the Easybeats became the first Australian ‘Rock’ act to score an international hit. The Easybeats discography includes six studio Albums released between 1965-1970, and 24 singles that were issued between 1965-1980. In Australia 15 of those singles made the top 40 chart, with two of those songs, ‘Sorry,’ (1966) and ‘Friday on My Mind,’ (1966) both reaching Number 1. In the UK the Easybeats have charted twice, with their other hit being ‘Hello, How Are You,’ making Number 20 in 1968, while in America on Billboard ‘Friday on My Mind,’ was their only top 40 entry, when reaching Number 6 in 1966.

After the split of the Easybeats in 1969, Harry Vanda, who was born Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg, on March 22nd, 1946, teamed up with his fellow band mate George Young, who was born George Redburn Young, on November 6th, 1946, to continue their songwriting and production work, which had began towards the second half of their time with the Easybeats. Young, whose cause of death was not reported, died on October 22nd, 2017, at the age of 70. George Young was the older brother of Malcolm Young, (1953-2017) and Angus Young, of the Australian Rock band ‘AC/DC,’ (see also best songs 797-245 and 170) and together with Harry Vanda he produced six of that bands studio Albums. Other high profile work includes ‘Love Is in the Air’ (UK Number 5 & US Number 7 in 1978) for John Paul Young (no relation) (see also best songs 447.) The duo also wrote and produced ‘Evie,’ for ex band mate Stevie Wright, which topped the Australian singles chart in 1974. They also worked together as the studio group ‘Flash and the Pan,’ releasing six Albums between 1978-1992, and 24 singles between 1976-1996. In the UK ‘Flash and the Pan’ are best remembered for the 1982 Number 7 hit ‘Waiting for a Train,’ which had vocals provided by Stevie Wright. Mark Knopfler (see also best songs 829 and 298) paid tribute to the duo on his 1978 song ‘Sultans of Swing,’ with the lines,’You check out guitar George,’ and ‘And Harry doesn’t mind if he doesn’t make the scene.’

‘Friday on My Mind’ was written and produced by Harry Vanda, and George Young, with the production being by Shel Talmy, (see also best songs 1014-926-770 and 592) and is track 6 on side 1 of the Easybeats fourth studio Album ‘Good Friday’ from May 1967. In 2001 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the ‘ Australasian Performing Right Association’ (APRA) a panel of 100 music industry personalities chose the ‘Best Australian Songs,’ of all time, and ‘Friday on My Mind’ came out as the Number 1. ‘Friday on My Mind’ tells the tale of someone who is stuck in a boring job from Monday to Friday, but come the weekend he is free to enjoy himself. In 1973 David Bowie covered the song for his Album ‘Pin-Ups,’ and in 1987 the song became a hit again in the UK, when Gary Moore took his version to Number 26.

‘Monday mornin’ feels so bad, ev’rybody seems to nag me. Comin’ Tuesday I feel better, even my old man looks good. Wed’sday just don’t go, Thursday goes too slow, I’ve got Friday on my mind.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

940-Morrissey-Suedehead.

1988-Number 6 single.

Best Bit-At 2.32. ‘Oh it was a good lay, good lay, it was a good lay, good lay.’ The words of the worlds most famous celibate (apart from the Pope of course.)

‘Suedehead’ was the first solo single released by Morrissey (see also best songs 673-222-167-72 and 42) after the split of ‘The Smiths,’ it was issued in February 1988, and later appeared on his debut solo studio Album ‘Viva Hate,’ which was released approximately one month later. ‘Suedehead’ was co-written by Morrissey, (lyrics) and Stephen Street, (music) who was also the producer of the single, and it’s parent Album. The song gave Morrissey the confidence to realise that he could be successful away from The Smiths, in fact when it made Number 6 on the UK top 40, it out performed any of The Smiths singles, as ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,’ and ‘Sheila Take a Bow,’ had both only peaked at Number 10.

Stephen Street (see also best songs 595-256 and 21) was born Stephen Brian Street on March 29, 1960, in Hackney, London, England. Street first met Morrissey in 1984, when working as an in-house engineer for a session for The Smiths ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,’ he later said,’I’d seen them just shortly beforehand on ‘Top of the Pops’ doing ‘This Charming Man,’ and like most other people around that time who were into music I was really excited by them.’ Street would go on to work as an engineer on The Smiths third studio Album ‘The Queen Is Dead’ in 1986, and then with Morrissey, and Johnny Marr, he co-produced The Smiths fourth and final studio Album ‘Strangeways, Here We Come,’ in 1987. Street would become one of main influences on the ‘Britpop’ boom of the mid 1990’s, producing Albums for the likes of ‘Blur,’ ‘Catatonia,’ and ‘Sleeper,’ and his success didn’t slow down in the 21st Century, as his Album production skills were still highly in demand, for artists including Pete Doherty, and the Kaiser Chiefs.

For Morrissey’s debut Album ‘Viva Hate,’ Stephen Street played the bass guitar. Morrissey also hired Viny Reilly, who played guitar, and keyboards, and Andrew Paresi, who played the drums, and percussion. The song lyrics to ‘Suedehead’ are open to interpretation, but in all probability the narrator has had a fling with someone, he doesn’t want to continue the relationship, but the other party becomes obsessive, by going behind the narrator’s back, and sneaking a look in his diary, which the narrator finds over obtrusive and sickening. In the end, all the narrator can think is, that all the relationship was, ‘was a good lay,’ and he wishes that the other person would also leave it like that.

‘Suedehead’ is also the title of a 1971 novel by the author Richard Allen, (1922-1993) on which Morrissey has commented,’I did happen to read the book when it came out, and I was quite interested in the whole Richard Allen cult, But really I just like the word ‘Suedehead’.’ Morrissey has also confirmed that ‘Suedehead’ is about a figure he knew from his teenage years, though he refused to specify the individual, he has said,’I’d rather not give any addresses and phone numbers at this stage. The song took its title from the Suedehead subculture.’ Shortly after the release of ‘Suedehead’ in June 1988 in an interview with the American music magazine ‘Spin,’ Morrissey explained that,’A Suedehead was an outgrown skinhead, but outgrown only in the hair sense. An outgrown skinhead who was slightly softer, not a football hooligan. Back in ’71, when youth cults were on the rampage in Manchester, there was a tremendous air of intensity and potential unpleasantness. Something interesting grabbed me about the whole thing. I don’t think there were any good guys, everybody had several chips on several shoulders. There was a great velocity of hate. Everybody got their head kicked in. It’s made me what I am today.’

‘You had to sneak into my room, just to read my diary. It was just to see, just to see, all the things you knew I’d written about you, oh, so many illustrations. Oh, but I’m so very sickened, oh, I am so sickened now.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

941-Lock ‘n’ Load-Blow Ya Mind. (Club Caviar Remix.)

2000-Number 6 single.

Best Bit-At 3.15. ‘Oh is this the way they say the future’s meant to feel? Or just 20,000 people standing in a field, and I don’t quite understand just what the feeling is, but that’s okay, cos we’er all sorted for ‘E’s and ‘Wizz.’

‘Lock ‘n’ Load’ was the stage name of the Dutch ‘Electronic Dance Music’ duo Frank van Rooijen, and Niels Pijpers, who charted twice in the UK, first with ‘Blow Ya Mind,’ which was released in 1999, but didn’t reach the top 40 until 2000, when it peaked at Number 6, and then later on in 2000, the very similar sounding ‘House Some More,’ stalled at Number 45. Both Rooijen, and Pijpers have worked together as ‘Lock ‘n’ Load,’ jointly providing remixes for artists as diverse as Freddie Mercury, to the ‘Vendaboys.’ They have also done remixes separately, with both artists working under several different pseudonyms, Rooijen has also worked as ‘DJ Francis,’ and ‘Stylizztix.’ as well as other names, while Pijpers as worked as ‘Nilz,’ and also in groups with other artists, including the collectives ‘DC Chant,’ and ‘United DJ’s Of Utrecht.’ In 2011 Rooijen, and Pijpers were joined by the South African music producer Andre Frauenstein, who together produced new remixes of ‘Blow Ya Mind,’ Frauenstein became an official member of the group, but at the time of writing ‘Lock ‘n’ Load’ are no longer active.

‘Blow Ya Mind’ can be filed under the ‘Dance Music’ banner, in particular in the genre of ‘Hardcore.’ ‘Hardcore Techno,’ or ‘Hardcore House’ as it is also known, is a genre of ‘Electronic Dance Music’ that originated in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany in the early 1990’s, it is distinguished by faster tempos, generally 160 to 200 BPM, or more, and often with shouted vocals. The term ‘Hardcore’ is not new in the world of ‘Pop Music.’ It was first used in the mid 1970’s within the ‘Punk Rock’ movement to describe American Punk bands like ‘Black Flag,’ and ‘Minor Threat,’ and then again in the 1980’s, it was used to describe the ‘harder side’ of ‘Hip-Hop,’ and ‘Rappers,’ such as ‘KRS-One,’ and ‘Public Enemy’ (see also best songs 578 and 35.) Early examples of ‘Hardcore’ dance tracks, include the German producer Marc Trauner, who is also known as ‘Mescalinum United,’ he claimed in 1990 to have released the first ‘Hardcore Techno’ track, with “We Have Arrived.’ Also in 1990 the London, England, based ‘Electronic/Rave’ group ‘Together,’ released the track ‘Hardcore Uproar,’ which reached Number 12 in the UK top 40, in August of that year.

‘Blow Ya Mind’ heavily samples the vocals from the 1991 Electronic/Hip-Hop song ‘Take Me Up,’ by ‘Sound Source featuring M Rock & Zemya,’ with lines including ‘Blow Ya Mind with the rocking crowd, now I’m keeping on with my word and soul,’ being constantly repeated throughout the track. ‘M Rock’ whose vocals were sampled for ‘Blow Ya Mind,’ is a Swedish artist who was born Emrik Larsson, he was a member of the Swedish ‘Funk/Hip-Hop’ group ‘The Stonefunkers’ between 1987-2001, and again since their reformation in 2009.

‘Blow Ya Mind with the rocking crowd, now I’m keeping on with my word and soul. So I’m pure perfection from the beginning to the end, I’m here once again.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

942-Bobby Goldsboro-Summer (The First Time.)

1973-Number 9 single.

Best Bit-At 3.23. Mission accomplished. Although I do wonder if the gender roles had been reversed, would the public have accepted the situation so easily.

Bobby Goldsboro was born Robert Charles Goldsboro on January 18th, 1941, in Marianna, Florida, United States. His music career began in high school when he joined ‘Spider and The Webs,’ who performed semi-professionally as a quintet. In 1961 ‘The Webs’ manager ‘Buddy Blue,’ (1941-2015) arranged for the band to play for Roy Orbison (1936-1988) (see also best songs 657) who was without a backing band, in a show that he had organised. The arrangement worked out well, with ‘The Webs’ becoming Orbison’s full time backing band until 1964, where they toured America, and Europe. Whilst still a member of ‘The Webs,’ Goldsboro launched his solo career, and struck gold with his fifth single release ‘See the Funny Little Clown,’ which reached Number 9 on Billboard in America in 1963, selling in excess of 1 million copies.

The discography of Bobby Goldsboro includes 26 studio Albums released between 1964-2015, and 61 singles issued between 1962-1982. In America, 11 of those singles have reached the Billboard Hot 100 top 40, with ‘Honey,’ which was also the best selling song of 1968 worldwide, giving him his only chart topper. In the UK, he has charted within the top 40 on four occasions, with ‘Honey’ reaching Number 2 in 1968, and then on it’s re-release in 1975, it once again made Number 2. Although Bobby Goldsboro is considered a Country/Pop artist, two of his songs from the mid 1960’s, ‘It’s Too Late, and ‘Too Many People,’ are both cult ‘Northern Soul’ classics.

The success of ‘Honey’ led to many television appearances, where he soon became a regular, and co-host on ‘The Mike Douglas Show.’ Following that Goldsboro went on to host his own syndicated television series ‘The Bobby Goldsboro Show,’ between 1973-1976. In 1995, he created the children’s television series ‘The Swamp Critters of Lost Lagoon.’ Goldsboro voiced all the characters, wrote all the scripts, and played all the musical instruments in the show, which was aimed at the 2-8 years age group, and ran for 52 episodes, between 1996-2001.

‘Summer (The First Time’) which was also the title of Bobby Goldsboro’s 19th studio Album from 1973, was co-written by Goldsboro, Ashley Abram, and Timmy Tappan, (1946-2013) with the production being by Bob Montgomery, and Bobby Goldsboro. Bob Montgomery was born on May 12th, 1937, in Lampasas, Texas, United States, he died of Parkinson’s disease in 2014, at the age of 77. Montgomery was a songwriting partner, and best friend of the legendary Buddy Holly, (1936-1959) (see also best songs 898 and 264) and together they performed together as teenagers in high school as ‘Buddy and Bob.’ When Holly was lured away to start a solo career in 1955, Montgomery didn’t lose touch, and co-wrote with Holly the hits ‘Heartbeat,’ (1958) and ‘Love’s Made a Fool of You,’ (1958) amongst others. Montgomery also wrote the Country Music standard ‘Misty Blue’ in 1966, and produced ‘Honey’ for Bobby Goldsboro in 1968.

‘Summer (The First Time’) is about someone reminiscing about being a 17 year old boy, having his first romantic experience with a 31-year-old woman during the summertime. Bobby Goldsboro has said that the song was loosely based on something that happened to him with someone older, but not as romantic as that depicted in this song. It is also believed that Goldsboro took inspiration for the song from the 1971 film ‘Summer of 42.’ The Canadian singer Bryan Adams has stated that he was inspired by that film to write ‘Summer of 69’ (see also best songs 1003.) ‘Summer (The First Time’) has a memorable piano riff throughout the song, which was written by Timmy Tappan, for which he received writing credits. The song opens with the sounds of ocean waves and seagulls, which were taken from a sound effect library. The label (United Artists) had wanted to remove these sounds to shorten the song, but Goldsboro insisted that they be kept in.

Earlier on I asked whether the song would have worked as well had it been gender reversed, well in 1974 the American R&B singer Millie Jackson recorded the song for her fourth studio Album ‘Caught Up,’ and her ‘Soulful’ rendition, using very nearly the same lyrics, certainly didn’t seem out of place to me.

‘And then she smiled, then we talked for a while, then we walked for a mile to the sea. We sat on the sand, and a boy took her hand, but I saw the sun rise as a man.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

943-DJ Snake and Lil Jon-Turn Down for What.

2014-Number 23 single.

Best Bit-At 2.15. The songs title is urban slang. To ‘Turn Up’ is to do something that you want to do, for example have a drink at a party. So to ‘Turn Down’ is to do the opposite, to not want to do something.

DJ Snake is the stage name of William Sami Etienne Grigahcine, who was born on June 13th, 1986, in Paris, France, in his youth he produced graffiti art, which earned him the name ‘snake’ as he consistently managed to evade the attentions of the police. DJ Snake has said,’When I started DJ-ing, everyone called me ‘Snake’ in my city first, I was like ‘DJ Snake, OK let’s go for it.’ The name sucks, but it’s too late now.” DJ Snake first came to international attention in 2011 when he was credited as one of the four producers of ‘Government Hooker,’ which is track 3 on ‘Born This Way,’ the second studio Album by Lady Gaga ( see also best songs 363.) The discography of DJ Snake includes two studio Albums released in 2016, and 2019, and 31 singles that have been issued between 2013-2022. In France eight of those singles have reached that top 40 with ‘Let Me Love You’ featuring Justin Bieber, making Number 1 in 2016. In the UK, he has charted on five occasions, with ‘Lean On Me’ with Major Lazer featuring MO, (2015) and ‘Let Me Love You,’ both reaching Number 2. While in America on Billboard, six of those singles have made the top 40, with the two aforementioned tracks, and ‘Turn Down for What,’ all peaking at Number 4.

Lil Jon was born Jonathan Howard Smith on January 17th, 1971, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, he was instrumental in the emergence of the ‘Hip-Hop’ sub-genre ‘Crunk,’ and is credited with bringing the genre into mainstream success (see also best songs 982.) To date Lil Jon has released seven studio Albums between 1997-2010, and 15 singles as lead artist between 1997-2019. In America on Billboard, five of those singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Get Low’ charting the highest at Number 2 in 2003. Lil Jon has also charted on Billboard as the featured artist on 10 occasions, with ‘Yeah!’ by Usher, which also features Ludacris, topping that chart in 2003.

‘Turn Down for What’ was co-written by DJ Snake, Lil Jon, Martin Bresso, and Steve Guess, who are both long term collaborators with DJ Snake, the song was produced by DJ Snake, Lil Jon, and Martin Bresso, under his working name of ‘Tchami.’ On the evolution of the song Lil Jon has said,’When DJ Snake sent me the track with a sample of ‘Redman’ saying ‘Bang the underground,’ he wanted me to redo it with my voice. When I heard the song I was like this beat is too crazy for that sample. I wanted to make it hip and current, and the first thing that came to mind was the phrase ‘Turn Down For What!’ Lil Jon has also gone on to say.’The genre of the song is dance, but it’s really a Hip-Hop beat.” ‘It captures a moment with people, they listen to the song, and no matter what they’re doing, it pushes them to do something. If you’re in the gym and it comes on, it’s like, why are you going to stop? Work out harder! If you’re out partying and the song comes on, it’s like, let’s have another shot!”

‘Turn Down for What’ is filed under the ‘EDM Trap’ music genre.’Trap’ is a sub-genre of ‘Hip-Hop’ music that originated in the Southern United States during the late 1980’s.The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word ‘Trap,’ meaning a house that is used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music uses synthesised drums and is characterised by complex ‘hi-hat’ patterns, and tuned kick drums, which were originally provided from the ‘Roland TR-808 drum machine.’ The lyrical content of ‘Trap’ music often focuses on drug use, and urban violence.

‘Turn Down for What’ ended the year as the seventh best selling song in America in 2014, with sales just falling short of 3.5 million copies sold. The songs memorable video has been equally successful, surpassing one billion views in November 2020. The song has very few lyrics, and apart from Lil Jon speaking ‘Turn down for what, the only other words he utters are ‘Fire up that loud, another round of shots,’ which according to the urban slang dictionary means, keep the music blaring, keep drinking, keep the party going.’

‘Fire up that loud, another round of shots. Turn down for what?’