THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

713-Herbie Hancock-I Thought It Was You.

1978-Number 15 single.

Best Bit-At 5.10. Probably the reason why 12 inch singles were invented, so that we can enjoy the next 3.54 seconds.

Herbie Hancock was born Herbert Jeffrey Hancock, on April 12th, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, his parents named him after the American singer and actor Herb Jeffries (1913-2014.) Herbie Hancock is one of the leading figures in the development of Jazz music in the second half of the 20th Century, having recorded in, and experimented in the genres of ‘Jazz,’ Post-Bop,’ ‘Modal Jazz,’ ‘Jazz Fusion,’ ‘Jazz Funk,’ and ‘Electro.’ His best known compositions which include,’Cantaloupe Island,’ (1964) ‘Watermelon Man,’ (1962) “Maiden Voyage,’ (1965) and “Chameleon,’ (1973) are all now considered to be ‘Jazz Standards.’ The discography of Herbie Hancock includes 41 studio Albums, which have been released between 1962-2010, and 38 singles that have been issued between 1963-2002, there are also a massive 62 official compilation Albums, 12 live Albums, and five soundtrack Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, he has never charted within the top 40, but in the UK, four of his singles have made the top 40, with ‘Rockit,’ from 1983 peaking the highest at Number 8. Herbie Hancock has also appeared as a ‘sideman’ with many of worlds top artists, including Donald Byrd, (1932-2013) Miles Davis, (1926-1991) George Benson, Quincy Jones, and Stevie Wonder. A ‘sideman’ is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with Jazz or Rock artists, whether solo or in a group. Herbie Hancock has also been a session musician on Albums by all the above artists, as well as many others.

‘I Thought It Was You’ was the first of two singles released from ‘Sunlight,’ which is the 19th studio Album release by Herbie Hancock, from 1978, the other single release was the title track ‘Sunlight,’ which was issued as a double ‘A’ side with ‘Come Running to Me,’ which was another track from the Album, but it failed to chart.’I Thought It Was You’ was co-written by Herbie Hancock, Melvin ‘Wah Wah Watson’ Ragin, (1950-2018) and Jeffrey E. Cohen, with the production being by Herbie Hancock, and David Rubinson. Some of the big names who played on the track include Melvin ‘Wah Wah Watson’ Ragin, of the ‘Funk Brothers,’ and Ray Parker Jr. (see also best songs 560) who both played guitar, and Leon ‘Ndugu’ Chancler, (1952-2018) who was the drummer. Herbie Hancock played keyboards, synthesizers, and sang the lead and background vocals through a ‘vocoder,’ he also did the string, brass and woodwind arrangements on the track.

‘I Thought It Was You’ is noted for Herbie Hancock’s unusual vocal delivery, which he sings through a ‘Sennheiser VSM-201’ vocoder, which distorts the voice. Other artists to use a variant of the device include the ‘Electric Light Orchestra,’ which can be heard on ‘Mr Blue Sky,’ (see also best songs 25) The Alan Parsons Project, and Kraftwerk (see also best songs 41.) Herbie Hancock’s use of the vocoder was an influence on future generations of musicians, including the French duo ‘Daft Punk,’ (see also best songs 140) who have used the instrument on all of their four studio Albums between 1997-2013.

‘I Thought It Was You’ is a love song that explores the themes of deception and mistaken identity. The lyrics tell a story of heartbreak and confusion, as the narrator discovers that the person they thought they knew and loved is not who they seemed to be. It delves into the all too often experience of being deceived by someone we trust.

‘Just glance from behind, happened by chance or design. The perfume she wore, took me back through a door I had closed long ago. Suddenly I thought it was you.’