THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

454-Baauer-Harlem Shake.

2013-Number 3 single.

Best Bit-At 0.50. Having observed people dance the actions to this song, I can vouch that after watching those who have had 10 pints of lager do the same, in the exact same manner.

‘Baauer’ was born Harry Bauer Rodrigues, on April 30th, 1989, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, he is a music producer who specialises in ‘Electronic Dance Music,’ ‘Trap,’ ‘Hip-Hop,’ and ‘Grime.’ His discography includes two studio Albums, ‘Aa’ (pronounced ‘double a’) in 2016, and ‘Planet’s Mad,’ in 2020, he has also released two extended plays, (EP’s) 28 singles as the lead artist, and a further two on which he has appeared as the featured artist, all between 2011-2024. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, his only charting single to date is ‘Harlem Shake,’ which peaked at Number 1 for five weeks in 2013, while in the UK, ‘Harlem Shake’ is also his only charting single to date. Baauer has also done a number of official remixes for other artists, including The Prodigy, ‘Mindfields,’ (2012) No Doubt, ‘Settle Down,’ (2012) and the Gorillaz, ‘Saturn Barz,’ (2017.)

‘Harlem Shake’ started out as a free digital download from the ‘Mad Decent’ records imprint label ‘Jeffree’s’ when first issued in May 2012. Several months later the Japanese born comedian George Miller, who is better known by his stage name ‘Joji’ recorded a video of himself dancing to the song along with his friends, and posted it on ‘You Tube.’ The video became a sensation with many people posting their own outrageous dance routines, filmed in unusual settings, and often wearing comical attire. Video’s would normally last for around 30 seconds, and were watched by several thousands each day, eventually racking up millions of views. With all the publicity the song received, and the recently established new rules about adding a songs streaming history to it’s chart performance, it aided in propelling the track to Number 1 on Billboard for five weeks in 2013.

Baauer wanted ‘Harlem Shake’ to instantly grab the listeners attention so he added several strange sounds, including the noise of a growling lion. The song also has two notable samples, the line ‘Then do the Harlem Shake’ is taken from a 2001 ‘Hip-Hop’ track called ‘Miller Time,’ by the American Rap group ‘Plastic Little.’ The song begins with a sample of a voice shouting ‘con los terroristas,’ which is a Spanish phrase which translates to ‘with the terrorists’ in English. Although listeners assumed it was a female voice, the sample was actually taken from a remix of the 2006 ‘Reggaeton’ single ‘Maldades,’ by the Puerto Rican ‘Reggaeton’ artist Héctor Delgado, who often used the line as a refrain on his other songs. In 2010, the recorded phrase was used by Philadelphia DJ’s Skinny Friedman, and DJ Apt One, on a remix of Gregor Salto’s dance track “Con Alegría.’ Baauer said he found the vocal sample from an unidentified source on the Internet. The American journalist James C. McKinley wrote about the phenomenal success of the ‘Harlem Shake, ‘The tale of how an obscure dance track containing possible copyright violations rose to the top of pop charts illustrates not only the free-for-all nature of underground dance music but also the power of an Internet fad to create a sudden hit outside the major-label system.’

‘Harlem Shake’ was the third single released by Baauer, and first issued in May 2012, the song was written and produced by Baauer, and due to the samples used he was legally obliged to add the names of Héctor Delgado, Jayson Musson, and Kurt Hunte to the list of the songs writers. ‘Harlem Shake’ can be filed under the musical genre of ‘Trap,’ which is a sub-genre of ‘Hip-Hop’ music originally pioneered by the Atlanta Rappers T.I., Jeezy, and Gucci Mane, in the early 1990’s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang term ‘trap house,’ which is a house used exclusively to sell drugs. ‘Trap’ music is known for its simple, rhythmic, minimalistic productions that uses synthesised drums, and is characterised by complex hi-hat patterns, snare drums, and bass drums, some tuned with a long decay to emit a bass frequency, and originally produced from the ‘Roland TR-808’ drum machine. The lyrical content in ‘Trap’ music often focuses on drug use, and urban violence.

The ‘Harlem Shake’ dance has nothing to do with, but was probably inspired by a dance created in 1981 in Harlem by one of it’s residents called ‘Al B.’ The dance was initially called ‘The Albee,’ and was associated with the predominately African-American neighbourhood of Harlem, in New York City. The dance consists of jerking your arms, and shoulders in time to the music, a good example of the dance can be seen in the 2001 video by the American Rapper ‘G Dep,’ for his song ‘Let’s Get It.’

‘Con Los terroristas.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

455-Band Aid-Do They Know It’s Christmas?

1984-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 2.34. It seems petty to pick faults in such a good cause, but whose idea was it to get Bono to sing ‘Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you.’

Bob Geldof (see also best songs 632) who was the lead singer of The Boomtown Rats, was inspired to do something to raise money for the famine in Ethiopia after watching reports on the BBC news by the reporter Michael Buerk. He quickly got together with Midge Ure (see also best songs 543 and 532) of the band Ultravox, and together they wrote this song, with Geldof providing the lyrics, and Ure providing the music, Midge Ure was also the producer of the song.

In order to get the single rush released for the Christmas market, Geldof swiftly set about getting in touch with all the biggest British and Irish Pop stars of the day, according to Geldof, nearly all accepted, with only three, who Geldof refuses to name, saying no. Geldof also got the majority of the UK music magazines to donate free advertising space, the record label he was signed to, ‘Phonogram,’ released the single, and their parent company ‘Polygram’ distributed it, without making any profit to themselves. The majority of the song was recorded over a 24 hour period on Sunday November 25th, 1984, with all of the songs performers recording their parts. Bob Geldof had signed an exclusive deal with the UK newspaper ‘The Daily Mirror’ for them to have access to the studio, and ensure that a promotional ‘team photo’ was taken. All the promotion paid off with advance orders for the song topping 250,000 in the first week. The song was released on Monday December 3rd, 1984, and entered the UK chart at Number 1 the following week, it has since gone on to sell in excess of 3,802,000 copies in the UK, and over 2,500,000 in America, raising in excess of $14 million for famine relief in Africa. Bob Geldof is Irish so he can not be knighted, but he did receive a ‘KBE,’ which is the equivalent, and the reason he is affectionately known as ‘Sir Bob.’

The lyrics for ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ were written by Bob Geldof, with the music and production being by Midge Ure, who spent several days in his home studio, prior to recording, with his engineer, Rik Walton, creating the backing track, programming the keyboards and the drum machines. For the songs intro, Midge Ure used a sample of the drums from the 1983 track The Hurting,’ by Tears for Fears (see also best songs 640 and 24.) While Midge Ure was creating the backing track, Bob Geldof contacted various British and Irish artists to ask them to appear. His plan was to have the biggest names in British and Irish music at the time appear on the record. Those who were unable to attend sent recorded messages of support that appeared on the ‘B’ side, including David Bowie (1947-2016) and Paul McCartney. In total 35 different artists performed on the record, of which only four were female, Siobhan Dallin, Sara Dallin, and Keren Woodward of Bananarama, and the American singer Jody Watley (see also best songs 581.) The musicians who played on the track were Phil Collins, (drums) John Taylor (bass guitar) and Midge Ure ( synthesizers.) The following year in 1985, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ was reissued, this time reaching Number three in the UK. The 1985 single was remixed by Trevor Horn, (see also best songs 751-676 and 19) who had been the intended producer of the original version, but hadn’t been available, and it included an updated ‘B’ side entitled ‘One Year On (Feed the World,’) beginning and ending with a recording of a telephone message from Bob Geldof, and in between featuring Midge Ure reciting a list of what had been bought with the money raised during the previous 12 months.

In 1984 ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ reached Number 1 in the UK, and stayed there for five consecutive weeks, while in America on the Billboard Hot 100 it stalled at Number 13, although it was the weeks best selling single. On Billboard, how many times a song is played on the radio is also taken in to account, and the song was receiving little airplay. A second version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ was recorded under the name of ‘Band Aid II’ in 1989, this time the production was by Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, (see also best songs 627) and featured many of the successful Pop stars of that year. Bananarama’s Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward became the only artists to appear on both the 1984 and 1989 versions of the record. Siobhan Fahey, who had been part of Bananarama’s line-up at the time the first recording of the song was released, had left the group in 1988. The ‘Band Aid II’ version spent three weeks at number one in the UK, becoming the Christmas Number 1 single, and the last Number 1 single of the 1980’s. In 2004, ‘Band Aid 20’ recorded a third version of the song for the 20th anniversary of the original recording, and again it got to Number 1 in the UK. The song was produced by the ‘Alternative Rock’ music producer Nigel Godrich, probably best known for his work with the English Rock band Radiohead. This version of the song featured an extra segment, a ‘Rap’ by Dizzee Rascal in the midst of the ‘here’s to you’ section. Bono flew in especially from Ireland to sing the same line as he had done two decades earlier, making him the sixth artist to appear on two versions, in addition to Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, Paul McCartney, Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward. In November 2014, Geldof and Ure announced that another group of artists would come together to re-record the song, this time under the banner of ‘Band Aid 30’ and in aid of the ‘Ebola’ crisis, the production this time was by the English ‘Indie Rock,’ ‘Hip-Hop,’ ‘Pop,’ and ‘Dance’ music producer Paul Epworth. The lyrics were altered to address the then ongoing outbreak of ‘Ebola,’ and once again Bono added his vocals to the track, making him the only artist to appear on three different recordings. This version also topped the singles chart in the UK, like it’s predecessors.

‘It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid. At Christmas time we let in light and we banish shade. And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy, throw your arms around the world at Christmas time.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

456-John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir-Happy Xmas (War Is Over.)

1972-Number 4 single. It has since charted on many other occasions at around Christmas, notably in 1980 when peaking at Number 2.

Best Bit-At 3.01. John Lennon once claimed that an inspiration for writing the song, (presumably tongue in cheek) was that he was ‘Sick of White Christmas’ (see also best songs 457.)

Yoko Ono (Japanese: 小野 洋子) (see also best songs 168) was born on February 18th, 1933, in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, she is an artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist, the Japanese translation of ‘Yoko’ means ‘ocean child.’ Yoko Ono and John Lennon (1940-1980) (see also best songs 927-473-168 and 20) first met on November 7th, 1966, at the ‘Indica Gallery,’ in London, where she was preparing ‘Unfinished Paintings,’ her conceptual art exhibit about interactive painting and sculpture, Lennon was intrigued by her work. In a 2002 interview Yoko Ono said, ‘I was very attracted to him. It was a really strange situation.’ On March 20th, 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married at the registry office in Gibraltar, and spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam, campaigning with a week-long ‘bed-in’ for peace, then on April 22nd, 1969, Lennon changed his name by deed poll, switching out ‘Winston’ for Ono as a middle name, Although official documents referred to him as John Winston Ono Lennon. After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, Ono and Lennon lived together in London, and then moved permanently to Manhattan to escape tabloid racism towards Ono. Their relationship became strained because Lennon was facing deportation due to drug charges that had been filed against him in England, and because of Ono’s separation from her daughter. The couple separated in July 1973, with Ono pursuing her career, and Lennon living between Los Angeles and New York with personal assistant May Pang, (see also best songs 927) Ono had given her blessing to Lennon and Pang’s relationship. John Lennon and Yoko One reconciled in 1974, and on October 9th, 1975, their son Sean was born. Following the birth of Sean, both Lennon and Ono took a hiatus from the music industry, with Lennon becoming a stay-at-home dad to care for his infant son. Lennon and Ono released their first new music in five years in November 1980, with the release of their joint Album ‘Double Fantasy.’ On the evening of December 8th, 1980, Lennon and Ono were at the ‘Record Plant Studio,’ and working on Ono’s song ‘Walking on Thin Ice.’ When they returned to ‘The Dakota’ (their home in Manhattan), Lennon was shot dead by Mark David Chapman, who had been stalking Lennon for two months. Yoko cradled the dying Lennon in her arms, and for a time afterwards, lived in constant fear of her own, and her son Sean’s assassination. The English press dubbed Yoko Ono ‘The woman who broke up the Beatles’ (see also best songs 599-319-238-218-141-80-51-10 and 5.) In an interview John Lennon explicitly denied that Yoko Ono broke up the Beatles, and George Harrison (1943-2001) (see also best songs 737 and 726) has said that the problems within the group began long before Ono came onto the scene. Yoko Ono herself has said that the Beatles broke up without any direct involvement from her, adding “I don’t think I could have tried even to break them up.’ In 2012, Paul McCartney (see also best songs 646 and 107) revealed that he did not blame Yoko Ono for the breakup of the Beatles, and credited her with inspiring much of John Lennon’s post-Beatles work.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent a lot of time working on promoting peace in the late 1960’s, and early 1970’s. In 1969 they paid for 12 black and white billboards to be erected in major cities around the world that said ‘War is over (if you want it’) Two years later the slogan became the basis for this song.’Happy Xmas (War Is Over’) was co-written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, although how much input was from Ono is in doubt, as she was not there to participate in the early stages of the songs demo. The song is essentially a protest song against American involvement in the Vietnam War, and was a way of elaborating upon the themes of social unity, and a continuation of the earlier billboard campaigns.

John Lennon brought in Phil Spector (1939-2021) (see also best songs 782-737-192 and 127) to produce, Spector had already worked with the Beatles, and with Lennon as a solo artist, and had previous experience with working on a Christmas record, having produced the 1963 classic Album ‘A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector.’ The children singing on the track were hired from the ‘Harlem Community Choir’ in New York, the 30 children were aged between four to 12 years old.The songs melody borrows from two sources, one is the traditional English ballad ‘Skewball,’ where the verses of the song are close in structure to the 1963 rendition by the Folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Lennon also instructed the guitarists to incorporate mandolin style riffs similar to the ones heard in ‘Try Some, Buy Some,’ a song Phil Spector had produced for his wife Ronnie Spector, (1943-2022) and written by George Harrison. At the very start of the song Lennon and Ono can be heard whispering a Christmas greeting, Ono says ‘Happy Christmas Kyoko,’ followed by Lennon ‘Happy Christmas Julian,’ these are the children from their previous marriages.

‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over’) was first released in America in 1971, but failed to reach the Billboard top 40, probably because it was released too close to Christmas and therefore was not picked up by the radio stations in time. In the UK there was a dispute between Lennon and the music publishers ‘Northern Songs,’ meaning that the song wasn’t released until November 1972.

‘A very merry Xmas and a happy New Year, let’s hope it’s a good one without any fear.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

457-Bing Crosby with Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra-White Christmas.

1942-There was no UK chart until 1952, since then it’s highest chart peak was in 1977, when it reached Number 5.

Best Bit-At 2.45. Today my Christmas gift to you is ‘THE BEST SELLING SONG IN THE WORLD EVER.’

Bing Crosby (see also best songs 934 and 259) was born Harry Lillis Crosby Jr. on May 3rd, 1903 in Tacoma, Washington, United States, he died after playing a round of golf at the ‘La Moraleja Golf’ course on October 14th, 1977, at the age of 74, from a massive heart attack, which killed him instantly, his last words were ‘That was a great game of golf fellas. Let’s go have a Coca-Cola.’ Crosby acquired his lifelong nickname ‘Bing’ at an early age, when a neighbour called Valentine Hobart named him ‘Bingo from Bingville’ after a comic feature in the local paper called ‘The Bingville Bugle’ which young Harry liked, over time Bingo was shortened to ‘Bing.’ Bing Crosby was a singer, actor, television producer, television and radio personality, and businessman. He is recognised as the first ‘multimedia star,’ and one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th Century worldwide. He appeared in 85 feature films between 1930-1974, being ranked the Number 1 leading ‘box office star’ five years running between 1944-1948. Four of the films he appeared in went on to be the highest grossing film of their year in America. He won an ‘Academy Award’ for ‘Best Actor’ for ‘Going My Way’ in 1944, and was nominated for the 1945 sequel, ‘The Bells of St. Mary’s.’ He received critical acclaim, and his third ‘Academy Award’ nomination for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in ‘The Country Girl’ (1954.)

The discography of Bing Crosby who recorded over 1600 songs, and according to different sources has sold anywhere between 300 million, to 500 million records, tapes, compact discs, and digital downloads worldwide, includes 71 studio Albums released between 1939-1977, and 409 singles released between 1927-2023, there are also six extended plays, (EP’s) 83 official compilation Albums, two live Albums, seven soundtrack Albums, and 14 Christmas Albums available. In America on Billboard, 291 of his singles have made the top 40, with 45 of those tracks making Number 1, while in the UK, where there was no chart until 1952, he has had 15 top 40 hit singles, (including re-entries from ‘White Christmas’) with ‘Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy,’ with David Bowie, peaking the highest at Number 3 in 1982.

‘White Christmas’ was one of 12 songs written by Irving Berlin for the 1942 musical film ‘Holiday Inn’ starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire (1899-1987) (see also best songs 358.) Initially Bing Crosby didn’t realise how iconic the song would become, casually telling Berlin, ‘I don’t think we have any problems with that one, Irving.’ Since its release, ‘White Christmas’ has been covered by many artists, with the version sung by Bing Crosby being the world’s best selling single, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million physical copies worldwide. When the figures for other versions of the song are added to Crosby’s, sales of the song exceed 100 million.

‘White Christmas’ was written by Irving Berlin, who was born Israel Beilin, on May 11th, 1888, in Tolochin, Russian Empire, he died on September 1989, from a heart attack, and natural causes. at the age of 101. Irving Berlin was a Russian Jew who uprooted with his family in 1893 at the age of five to Ellis Island, New York City, United States. Berlin is perhaps the most celebrated songwriter of the 20th Century, having written around 2000 songs, four of which appear in this countdown (see also best songs 731-358 and 100.)

According to the Canadian author Mark Steyn in his 2008 book ‘A Song for the Season,’ Irving Berlin began writing ‘White Christmas’ on January 8th, 1942. The songwriter was in a hurry that Monday morning and shouted at his musical secretary, Helmy Kresa, (1904-1991) ‘Grab your pen and take down this song. It’s the best song I ever wrote. Hell, it’s the best song anybody ever wrote.’ Mark Steyn writes that ‘White Christmas’ owes much of its enduring popularity to World War II, specifically the attack on Pearl Harbor that led to the United States involvement, because the song adopted a significance beyond the reaches of Hollywood. ‘Had America entered the war in Europe in 1939, ‘White Christmas’ might have been just a hit-record from a so-so movie. Instead, 1942 was the American serviceman’s first Christmas away, in the Pacific, under glorious sunny skies that only made home seem even more distant.’

It is possible that the lyrics to ‘White Christmas’ held a deeper meaning for Irving Berlin, as tragedy had struck 14 years earlier in 1928, when Irving Berlin and his second wife Ellin Mackay (1903-1988) had found their infant son dead in his cot on Christmas Day morning.

‘I’m dreamin’ of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know, with the treetops glistenin’, and children listenin’, to hear sleigh bells and the snow.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

458-Pearl Jam-Alive.

1991-Number 16 single.

Best Bit-At 3.39. The lyrics are about a young man who finds out that the man he thought was his father, is actually his step father, and his real father is dead, and to top it all off, his mother ‘comes on to him,’ and you thought you were having a bad day!

Pearl Jam were formed in Seattle, Washington, United States, in 1990, by Eddie Vedder, (lead vocals, and rhythm guitar) Stone Gossard, (guitars, and keyboards) Jeff Ament, (bass, and keyboards) Mike McCready, (lead guitar) and Dave Krusen (drums.) Krusen left in 1991, and after a further three drummers, Matt Cameron joined in 1998, and at the time of writing these five make up the current line up of Pearl Jam. The group were originally called ‘Mookie Blaylock,’ but after signing to ‘Epic Records’ changed to ‘Pearl Jam.’ ‘Mookie Blaylock’ was an American professional basketball player, whose official number was ’10,’ Pearl Jam would later title their debut studio Album ‘Ten,’ from where this song ‘Alive’ was taken. The name ‘Pearl Jam’ came about as Eddie Vedder’s great-grandmother was called ‘Pearl,’ and then after the group had attended a Neil Young (see also best songs 602 and 559) concert in which Young extended his songs as improvisations (i.e. ‘jams’) of 15–20 minutes in length, the name was born.

Pearl Jam who are critically acclaimed, and are considered to be one of the most influential ‘Rock’ bands of the 1990’s, were inducted into the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ in 2017′ in their first year of eligibility. Pearl Jam play in the musical genres of ‘Alternative Rock,’ ‘Grunge,’ and ‘Hard Rock,’ and have sold in excess of 90 million records worldwide, making them one of the best selling ‘Rock’ acts of all time. The discography of Pearl Jam includes 12 studio Albums released between 1991-2024, and 46 singles released within the same time period, there is also one extended play, (EP) three official compilation Albums, and 23 live Albums available. In America all of their studio Albums have made the top 5, with five of their Albums reaching Number 1, while on the Billboard Hot 100, five of their singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Last Kiss’ from 1999, charting the highest at Number 2, ‘Alive’ was never issued as a single in America, so was unable to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, Pearl Jam have had three Number 2 Albums, ‘Vs,’ (1993) ‘Lightning Bolt,’ (2013) and ‘Dark Matter,’ (2024) while 13 of their singles have made the UK top 40, with ‘Spin the Black Circle’ from 1994, peaking the highest at Number 10.

‘Alive’ was the first of four singles released from Pearl Jam’s debut studio Album ‘Ten’ from August 1991, the song was co-written by Stone Gossard, (music) and Eddie Vedder, (lyrics) with the production being by Rick Parashar, (1963-2014) and Pearl Jam. Rick Parashar was born Rakesh Parashar, on December 13th, 1963, in Seattle, Washington, United States, he died on August 14th, 2014, from complications arising from a pulmonary embolism, at the age of 50. In 1985 Parashar and his brother Raj founded the ‘London Bridge Studio,’ in Seattle, and due to Rakesh Parashar’s production work, the studio became the centre of the Seattle music scene. His credits include multi-platinum releases for Temple of the Dog, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Blind Melon, Dinosaur Jr. and Nickleback (see also best songs 415.)

The music to ‘Alive’ was one of three demos written by Stone Gossard just prior to Pearl Jam’s formation. He circulated the tracks in the hope of finding a singer, and drummer to form a band, as his previous group ‘Mother Love Bone’ had disbanded due to the death of the lead singer Andrew Wood (1966-1990.) On hearing the tracks Eddie Vedder wrote his own lyrics, and vocals, and sent them to Gossard, who was immediately impressed. The songs first verse is about Eddie Vedder’s real life experiences about finding out that he had not been told the truth about whom is real father was until it was too late to meet him, as his father was dead. The songs second verse is pure fantasy about the horror of incest, as the boy is molested by his mother. The other two demos which were sent to Vedder would become the songs ‘Once’ and ‘Footsteps,’ which continue the story. In ‘Once’ the boy goes mad and starts killing people, and in ‘Footsteps’ the boy is sentenced to death, and blames his mother, Vedder called these songs the ‘Momma-Son’ trilogy.

The extended guitar solo played by Mike McCready at 3.39. is considered to be one of the best, being ranked Number 44 on ‘Guitar World’s’ list of the ‘100 Greatest Guitar Solos.’ My own personal opinion is that if it went on a couple of minutes longer it might get somewhere close to ‘Freebird,’ (see also best songs 12) but only somewhere.

While she walks slowly across a young man’s room, she said I’m ready for you. Why I can’t remember anything to this very day, ‘cept the look, the look, oh, you know where. Now I can’t see, I just stare, I, I’m still alive.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

459-Bee Gees-New York Mining Disaster 1941.

1967-Number 12 single.

Best Bit-At 0.23. A very clever piece of marketing had everyone thinking that this was the new single from the Beatles.

The Bee Gees (see also best songs 211 and 35) were formed in 1958 by the three brothers Barry, Robin (1949-2012) and Maurice Gibb, (1949-2003) Robin and Maurice were twins. Their father Hugh Gibb (1916-1992) was a drummer, and an early influence in nurturing the brothers interest in making music. The Gibb’s were born in Douglas, Isle of Man, but Hugh moved the family to Manchester, England, in 1955 to pursue his music career. In 1958 the whole family including older sister Leslie, and infant brother Andy (1958-1988) emigrated to Queensland, Australia, where the three brothers began their recording career.They released their first two studio Albums in 1965 and 1966, along with 12 singles in Australia, and New Zealand, but felt that in order to achieve international success they needed to come to England. Before departing from Australia Hugh Gibb sent demos to the Beatles manager Brian Epstein, (1934-1967) who passed on the tapes to Robert Stigwood, (1934-2016) (see also best songs 768-306-211 and 35) who got them signed to a five year contract.

‘New York Mining Disaster 1941’ was the first of three singles released from the Bee Gees third studio Album ‘Bee Gees’ 1st,’ from July 1967, it was co-written by Barry Gibb, and Robin Gibb, with the production being by Robert Stigwood, and Ossie Byrne (1926-1983.) ‘Bee Gees’ 1st’ was the Bee Gees first international full-length recording after two Albums distributed only in Australia, and New Zealand. ‘New York Mining Disaster 1941’ was the groups first single release since arriving in England, and their breakthrough international hit, they had previously released 14 singles in Australia, and New Zealand, between 1963-1966, of which ‘Spicks and Specks’ had charted the highest at Number 5 in 1966, on the Australian ‘ARIA’ singles chart. On ‘New York Mining Disaster 1941,’ all three of the Gibb brothers provided the vocals, and were joined on the track by Colin Peterson, (drums) who was a member of the Bee Gees from 1967-1969, and Vince Melouney, (lead guitar) who was also in the group for approximately the same time period.

Ossie Byrne, who co-produced ‘New York Mining Disaster 1941,’ was born Oswald Russell Byrne, in 1926, in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia, he died in December 1983, of cancer, at the age of 57. Ossie Byrne, was the youngest of nine children, who first got in to music, playing the cornet and trumpet in a Salvation Army band. During World War II, he fought with the ‘RAAF,’ being injured and losing an eye in New Guinea. In 1961 he recorded a local group, called the ‘Del-Fi’s,’ whose recordings had some success, and then in 1965 he moved to Hurstville, Sydney, Australia, and set up a new studio behind a butcher’s shop. Although the Bee Gees early recordings were relatively unsuccessful commercially, Ossie Byrne was a fan, and in 1966 offered the group almost unlimited recording time to develop their sound, he also became the group’s co-manager. At the same time, he worked as a producer with the successful Australian pop singer Ronnie Burns. When the Bee Gees decided to go to England, Byrne went with them, he co-produced the ‘Bee Gees’ 1st’ Album, but did not work with them again after that. After his death, the Bee Gees dedicated their 1987 Album, ‘E.S.P.,’ to his memory.

Robin Hugh Gibb CBE was born on December 22nd, 1949, in Douglas, Isle of Man, he died on May 20th, 2012, at the age of 62. In 2011, he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, which had metastasised to his liver several months earlier, while it was initially reported that he died from cancer, his son Robin-John Gibb said that his father’s cancer had gone into remission by the time of his death, and the cause was kidney failure. Robin Gibb was the fraternal twin of Maurice Gibb, and was the older of the two by 35 minutes. In 1994, he was inducted into the ‘Songwriters Hall of Fame,’ and in 1997, he was inducted into the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,’ In the 2002 New Year Honours, he was appointed as a ‘Commander of the Order of the British Empire,’ (CBE) along with his brothers Maurice and Barry. As a solo artist Robin Gibb released eight studio Albums between 1970-2015, and 21 singles between 1969-2014, there are also two official live Albums, and one extended play (EP) available. In the UK, Robin Gibb has appeared on four top 40 singles without the Bee Gees, with his appearance on (‘Barry) Islands in the Stream,’ by Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon featuring Tom Jones and Robin Gibb, reaching Number 1 in 2009. while in America on the Billboard Hot 100, two of his singles have made the top 40, with ‘Oh Darling’ from 1978, peaking the highest at Number 24.

‘New York Mining Disaster 1941’ is about a miner trapped beneath the surface who wants to contact his wife, there was no such exact event, and the lyrics are totally fictional.There was no mining disaster in New York in 1941, but there was one in McIntire, Pennsylvania, which killed six people.The song though is probably inspired by the Aberfan tragedy in South Wales, in 1966.

In what was a very clever piece of marketing, promos of the song were distributed to radio stations with a blank label, with the suggestion that it was an English group whose name began with the letter ‘B,’ many DJ’s thought it was a new Beatles song, and played the track constantly.

The Bee Gees have admitted that the Beatles were a big influence on their early career. In turn this song was an influence on David Bowie’s 1969 song ‘Space Oddity,’ in style, arrangement and lyrics, as ‘Space Oddity’ is also about a trapped man who is soon to die.

‘I keep straining my ears to hear a sound, maybe someone is digging underground.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

460-Lotte Lenya-Alabama-Song.

1930-It has never charted in the UK, there was no UK chart until 1952.

Best Bit-At 2.09. It is to be hoped that the whisky is of a certain vintage, like the little boy, at least 16 years old.

The lyrics for ‘Alabama-Song,’ which is also known as ‘Moon of Alabama,’ ‘Moon over Alabama,’ and ‘Whisky Bar,’ were written in 1925 by the German playwright, theatre director, and poet Bertolt Brecht, (1898-1956) (see also best songs 43) and translated from the original German in to English by his close collaborator, the German writer Elisabeth Hauptmann, (1897-1973) then in 1927 the lyrics were set to music by the American, German born composer Kurt Weill (1900-1950) (see also best songs 43) for the play ‘Little Mahagonny.’ In 1930 ‘Alabama-Song’ was re-used as one of the 11 songs all composed by Brecht and Weill for the opera ‘Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.’

Lotte Lenya was born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer on October 18, 1898, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, she died of cancer in 1981, at the age of 83. Lotte Lenya re-recorded and performed ‘Alabama-Song’ on many occasions during her life time, she first performed the song in the role of ‘Jessie’ at the 1927 ‘Baden-Baden Festival’ performance of ‘Little Mahagonny.’ In 1930 she recorded her first vinyl version of the song, and in 1955 a re-recorded take appears on her ‘Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill’ Album, Lotte Lenya had been married to Kurt Weill until his death in 1950. Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill were also the composers of ‘Mack the Knife,’ (see also best songs 43) and in the 1959 hit version by Bobby Darin, he name checks Lotte Lenya in the songs lyrics. As an actress Lotte Lenya appeared in eight films between 1931-1980, including ‘The Threepenny Opera, (1931) and ‘The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone,’ (1961) but she is probably best remembered for her role as ‘Rosa Klebb’ in the 1963 James Bond film ‘From Russia With Love.’

Lotte Lenya was married to Kurt Weill from 1926 until 1933, when they divorced. Kurt Weill was a German Jew, and with the rise of ‘Nazism’ in the early 1930’s in Germany he decided to leave the country, feeling it wasn’t safe to stay, and emigrated to Paris, France in 1933, and then relocated to New York, United States, in 1935. Although not married anymore Lotte Lenya went with him, and continued to perform in stage productions in Paris, and then in America. In 1937, Lenya and Weill remarried, and stayed together until Weill’s death in 1950. After his death, Lenya founded the ‘Kurt Weill Foundation for Music’ in 1962, to administer incomes and issues regarding rights, and to spread knowledge about Weill’s work. Lotte Lenya was present in the recording studio when Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) (see also best songs 1039-767-286-231 and 100) recorded Brecht-Weill’s ‘Mack the Knife.’ Armstrong improvised the line ‘Look out for Miss Lotte Lenya,’ and added her name to the list of Mack’s female conquests in the song.

Kurt Julian Weill was born on March 2nd, 1900, in the ‘Sandvorstadt,’ which was the the Jewish quarter in Dessau, in Saxony, Germany, he died on April 3rd, 1950, having suffered a heart attack shortly after his 50th birthday. Kurt Weill was a leading composer for the stage who was known for his collaborations with Bertolt Brecht, their best-known work together is ‘The Threepenny Opera,’ (1928) which included the ballad ‘Mack the Knife.’ Kurt Weill’s body of work includes composing seven ‘Cantatas,’ including ‘Das Berliner Requiem,’ (1928) with Bertolt Brecht. He also composed ‘Chamber Music,’ Piano Music, ‘Orchestral Music,’ and ‘Film Music,’ prolifically from 1918 until his death.

‘Alabama-Song’ was first performed by Lotte Lenya, in the role of ‘Jessie’ at the 1927 ‘Baden-Baden Festival’s’ performance of ‘Little Mahagonny,’ she first recorded the song under the title ‘Alabama-Song’ in 1930. ‘Alabama-Song’ has been recorded by many other artists down the years, most notably by the American Rock group the ‘Doors’ (see also best songs 235 and 133) for their self titled debut Album in 1967. The bands lead singer Jim Morrison changed the songs lyrics in the second verse from ‘Show us the way to the next pretty boy’ to, ‘Show me the way to the next little girl,’ and also for the third and final verse as well, ‘Show me the way to the next little dollar’ is omitted completely. Another notable recording was made by David Bowie (1948-2016) (see also best songs 807-440-334-302-209-186-118-47 and 5) in 1980, who had always been a fan of Bertolt Brecht, his version reached Number 23 in the UK.

”Alabama-Song’ has three themes, materialism, despair, and illicit pleasures.

‘Oh moon of Alabama it’s time to say goodbye, we’ve lost our good old mama and must have whiskey or you know why.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

461-Azealia Banks featuring Lazy Jay-212.

2012-Number 12 single.

Best Bit-At 2.17. Warning! Do not listen to this song if you are easily offended. Also, do not listen, even if you only get slightly offended.

Azealia Amanda Banks was born on May 31st, 1991, in New York City, United States, after her father died of pancreatic cancer when she was two years old, her mother raised her and her two siblings in Harlem. Azealia Banks has said that her mother ‘Became really abusive, physically and verbally. Like she would hit me and my sisters with baseball bats, bang our heads up against walls, and she would always tell me I was ugly.’ She made her first recordings online in 2008 using the stage name ‘Miss Banks$.’ She then sent two songs to the record producer ‘Diplo,’ (see also best songs 915 and 210) which led to her first recording contract with ‘XL Recordings,’ but due to musical differences she only remained with the label for a short period. After leaving ‘XL Recordings’ she dropped the ‘Miss Banks$’ moniker in favour of her birth name Azealia Banks. It is probably fair to say that Azealia Banks has never fulfilled her full musical potential for a number of reasons. In 2011 she topped ‘NME”s ‘Cool List’ for the year, and was touted as the ‘future of music,’ by Kanye West (see also best songs 1049-636-477 and 267.) Throughout her career, her social media presence and outspoken views, especially on U.S. politics and race, as well as disputes with other artists, have attracted significant controversy. The American media and entertainment company ‘Complex’ noted in 2014, that ‘she gets more attention for her public feuds than she does for her music.’

The discography of Azealia Banks includes one studio Album released in 2014, and 17 singles released between 2011-2023, she also appears as a featured artist on a further nine singles issued between 2012-2023, there are also three mixtapes, and two extended plays (EP’s) available. In America she has never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, although her 2014 single ‘Chasing Time’ did make Number 12 on the ‘Billboard Dance Club Chart.’ In the UK, her only chart hit remains ‘212,’ which peaked at Number 12 in 2011.

‘212’ was the debut single from Azealia Banks, released in December 2011, and later added to her debut studio Album ‘Broke with Expensive Taste,’ from November 2014. ‘212’ (pronounced ‘two-one-two’) was co-written by Azealia Banks, (lyrics) and Jef Martens, (music) with the production being by Martens, using the name ‘Lazy Jay,’ for which he is also credited on the track as the featured artist. ‘212’ heavily samples the 2009 instrumental ‘House Music’ track ‘Float My Boat,’ written by Jef Martens, and his brother Toon. Jef Martens who has worked under other stage names including ‘Basto!,’ was born in Hoogstraten, Belgium, and has been active since 2005, recording in the genre of ‘Electronic Dance Music.’ He was a member of the Belgium ‘Dance’ group ‘Lasgo’ between 2010-2011, who previously had four top 40 hit singles in the UK between 2001-2004, but his greatest success to date is co-producing with Will.i.am (see also best songs 899 and 234) the 2012 UK Number 1 & Billboard Number 3 hit single ‘Scream & Shout,’ by will.i.am and Britney Spears.

‘212’ is named after the area code 212 which covers the area of Harlem a neighbourhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City, where Azealia Banks grew up. At the time she wrote the song she was struggling to pay her rent, and has said that ‘212’ ‘Came out of a place of desperation, but it also came out of a place of anger. It was like, ‘F#k all y’all. I’m the best bitch here.’ It’s about the journey to fame and stardom. It starts out, and this girl, she’s like, ‘Hey, I can be the answer.’ She’s real ambitious and she’s like, ‘Yo, I’m here. I can do this. All the same s#t that you got these bitches doing, I could do.’ Azealia Banks has said that she was talking to herself when she raps in the bridge, ‘Why you procrastinate girl? You got a lot, but you just waste all yourself. They’ll forget your name soon. And won’t nobody be to blame but yourself.’ She added that the name she was worried about people forgetting was her own.

‘212’ was recorded at a time when Banks was struggling financially, which probably explains why the songs video cost just $30 to make, and was shot entirely in black and white The video features Azealia Banks dancing in front of a brick wall, her hair in pigtails, wearing a Mickey Mouse sweater and short shorts, and close-ups of her rapping into the camera, to date the video has received over 200 million views. She has said about the making of the video, ‘I was surprised. I remember being really insecure about it because I didn’t have my hair done. I was really broke, and I felt I looked broke in the video so no one was going to like it.’ Lazy Jay does not appear in the video, but it does include appearances by the Canadian record producers Lunice and Jacques Greene. In 2021, ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine placed it on their list of the ‘100 Greatest Music Videos.’

‘Hey I can be the answer, I’m ready to dance when the vamp up, and when I hit that dip get your camera, you could see I been that bitch since the pamper.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

462-Earth, Wind & Fire with the Emotions-Boogie Wonderland.

1979-Number 4 single.

Best Bit-At 1.38. What do all these song titles have in common?
‘Oogie Oogie,’ ‘Reggae Woman,’ ‘Get Up and,’ ‘Jungle,’ ‘I Love To,’ ‘Blame It On the,’ ‘Yes Sir I Can,’- Yes, of course, you can ‘Boogie’ to them all.

Earth, Wind & Fire (see also best songs 916) were formed in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in 1969, by Maurice White, (1941-2016) (see also best songs 916 and 525) at the time of writing they remain active with 10 current members, in total 35 musicians have been band members since their incarnation. Maurice White chose the groups name from his own astrological sign, ‘Sagittarius,’ which has a primary elemental quality of fire, and seasonal qualities of earth and air, according to classical triplicities. Sagittarius in the northern hemisphere occurs in the autumn, whose element is earth, and in the southern hemisphere, it is spring, whose element is air. Hence the omission of water, the fourth classical element.

With sales in excess of 90 million records sold worldwide, Earth, Wind & Fire are one of the best selling acts of all time. Their discography includes 21 studio Albums released between 1971-2014, and 62 singles released between 1971-2021, there are also 17 official compilation Albums, and four live Albums available. On the American Billboard 200 Album chart, 14 of their Albums have reached the top 40, with ‘That’s the Way of the World’ making the Number 1 spot in 1975. On the Billboard Hot 100, 16 of their singles have made the top 40, with ‘Shining Star’ peaking the highest at Number 1 in 1975, while ‘Boogie Wonderland’ reached Number 6. In the UK, Earth, Wind & Fire have had 11 top 40 entries, with ‘September,’ (1978) and ‘Let’s Groove,’ (1981) both peaking the highest at Number 3.

‘Boogie Wonderland’ was the first of five singles released from Earth, Wind & Fire’s ninth studio Album ‘I Am,’ from June 1979, the song was co-written by Allee Willis, (1947-2019) (see also best songs 916) and Jon Lind, (1948-2022) with the production being by Maurice White, and Al McKay. Other notable works by Allee Willis include winning two ‘Grammy Awards’ for the soundtracks to the films ‘Beverley Hills Cops,’ (1984) and ‘The Color Purple’ (1985.) Jon Gus Lind was born on April 14th, 1948, in Brooklyn, New York, United States, he died from cancer on January 15th, 2022, at the age of 73. Other notable songs written by Jon Lind include co-writing two Billboard Number 1 singles, the 1985 chart topper by Madonna, ‘Crazy For You,’ and the 1989 Number 1 song ‘Save the Best For Last,’ performed by Vanessa Williams.

For ‘Boogie Wonderland’ Earth, Wind & Fire teamed up with their fellow ‘Columbia’ records label mates the Emotions, who are a ‘Gospel,’ ‘R&B,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Disco,’ and ‘Pop’ all girl group. The Emotions were formed in 1962, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, starting out as the ‘Hutchinson Sunbeams,’ as a ‘Gospel’ singing group, made up of the sisters Wanda, Jeanette, and Sheila, and joined later by their younger sibling Pamela Hutchinson, (1959-2020) there have also been two other past non family members, and at the time of writing Wanda and Sheila continue to perform as the Emotions. By the late 1960’s they had transitioned into a ‘R&B/Soul’ act, signing to ‘Stax’ records, and being produced by Isaac Hayes, (1942-2008) (see also best songs 530-398 and 1) and David Porter (see also best songs 530.) In 1975 the Emotions signed with ‘Columbia’ records, where they first began to work with Maurice White, who would go on to produce their four Albums on Columbia between 1976-1979, as well as co-writing and co-producing their 1977 Billboard Hot 100 Number 1 single ‘Best of My Love.’ The Emotions who are considered to be one of the most influential ‘girl groups’ of all time, have released nine studio Albums between 1969-1985, and 45 singles between 1964-2003, there are also six official compilation Albums available. In America on Billboard, they have had three top 40 hit singles with ‘Best of My Love,’ reaching Number 1 in 1977, while in the UK they have charted twice with ”Best of My Love’ peaking the highest at Number 4.

‘Boogie Wonderland’ was inspired after Ailee Willis had watched the 1977 film ‘Looking for Mr Goodbar,’ which stars Diane Keaton as a lost soul who goes to clubs every night to dance away her misery. Willis explained, ‘When I saw Mr Goodbar I got kind of fascinated with people who did go to clubs every night, whose life was kind of falling apart, but they lived for the night life, though it didn’t seem to be advancing them as humans in the end. So if you really look at the lyrics of Boogie Wonderland, unlike ‘September,’ (a song she also co-wrote) it’s not a happy song at all. It’s really about someone on the brink of self destruction who goes to clubs to try and find more, but is at least aware of the fact that if there’s something like true love, that is something that could kind of drag them out of the abyss.’

‘Sounds fly through the night, I change my vinyl dreams to boogie wonderland, I find romance when I start to dance in boogie wonderland.’