THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

374-Smashing Pumpkins-1979.

1996-Number 16 single.

Best Bit-At 1.09. Billy Corgan once joked, ‘We wrote this song for Michael Jackson, but found he couldn’t do the Moonwalk to it.’

The Smashing Pumpkins were formed in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in 1988. Even before co-founding The Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan had already chosen the name. Corgan has said ‘I like the idea of smashing being aggressive, as well as wonderful.’ He also has said, ‘It could have been any vegetable, it has nothing to do with Pumpkins or Halloween, it just came to me, there’s no related story. ‘The original lineup of The Smashing Pumpkins was Billy Corgan, (lead vocals, and guitar) D’arcy Wretzky, (bass) James Iha, (guitar) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums.) In total there have been eight members come and go, with Corgan being the bands only constant. They split in 2000, but Corgan and Chamberlin reconvened in 2006, and as of 2025 they remain active with James Iha rejoining in 2018, and Jeff Schroeder (guitars, and keyboards) being a member since 2007. The Smashing Pumpkins are filed under the musical genre of ‘Alternative Rock,’ but they have explored many offshoots including, ‘Grunge,’ ‘Psychedelic Rock,’ ‘Shoegaze,’ and ‘Dream Pop.’

The discography of the Smashing Pumpkins who have sold in excess of 30 million records worldwide, includes 13 studio Albums released between 1991-2024, and 55 singles released between 1990-2024, there are also six extended plays, (EP’s) three box sets, five soundtrack Albums, seven official compilation Albums, and seven live Albums available. In America on Billboard, seven of their studio Albums have reached the top 40, with their third studio Album ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,’ peaking the highest at Number 1 in 1995. On the Billboard Hot 100, four of their singles have made the top 40, with ‘1979’ peaking the highest at Number 12. They have charted on several occasions on both the ‘Billboard Alternative Airplay’ chart, and the ‘Billboard Mainstream Rock’ chart, with ‘1979,’ reaching the Number 1 position on both charts. In the UK, the Smashing Pumpkins have had five top 40 Albums, with three of those Albums all peaking at Number 4, while 10 of their singles have made the UK top 40, with ‘Tonight, Tonight,’ charting the highest at Number 7 in 1996.

‘1979’ was the second of six singles released from ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,’ the third studio Album by the Smashing Pumpkins, from October 1995, the song was written by Billy Corgan, with the production credited to Billy Corgan, Alan Moulder, and Mark Ellis, who is best known by his professional pseudonym ‘Flood'(see also best songs 438.) Billy Corgan (see also best songs 623) was born William Patrick Corgan Jr. on March 17th, 1967, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, he is credited with helping to push the boundaries, and popularise the ‘Alternative Rock’ genre. For much of his life Billy Corgan has struggled with anxiety, depression, panic attacks, self-harm, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicidal idealisation. He has attributed these problems to the abuse he endured as a child at the hands of his father and stepmother, as well as other personal issues. He has since become an advocate for abuse support networks. When the Smashing Pumpkins split in 2000, Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, with others, formed the Rock band ‘Zwan,’ releasing one studio Album in 2003, Billy Corgan has also released three solo Albums between 2005-2019, and three solo singles between 2005-2017.

‘1979’ signified the transition of the Smashing Pumpkins from a guitar based ‘Rock’ band into the ‘Synth-Pop’ sound they would embrace on their fourth studio Album ‘Adore’ in 1998. ‘1979’ is a song about making the transition out of youth and into adulthood. The song was written as a nostalgic coming-of-age story by Billy Corgan, who in the year 1979 was 12 years old, and this is what he considered his transition into adolescence. Corgan has said, ‘Sometimes, when I write a song, I see a picture in my head. For some reason, it’s of the obscure memory I have.’ The memory that goes with this song is from when he was around 18 years old. He was driving down a road near his home on a rainy night, and was waiting at a traffic light. He has said that the picture ‘Emotionally connotes a feeling of waiting for something to happen, and not being quite there yet, but it’s just around the corner.’

‘And I don’t even care to shake these zipper blues. And we don’t know just where our bones will rest, to dust I guess, forgotten and absorbed into the earth below.’