THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

314-Shania Twain-When.

1998-Number 18 single.

Best Bit-At 0.50. Stand by for some surprises. With sales of over 100 million records Shania Twain is the best selling female Country Music artist of all time. Her Album ‘Come On Over’ which has sold 40 million copies worldwide isn’t just the best selling Country Music Album ever, it is also the best selling Album ever by a Canadian artist, and to top it all off the Album is also the best selling solo studio Album ever by a female artist, that’s why she’s called the ‘Queen of Country Pop.’

Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards on August 28th, 1965, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and when her mother married again she legally took her step fathers surname. Twain’s step father who was Jerry Twain, was an ‘Ojibwe,’ who are one of the largest tribal populations among Native American peoples, and in the ‘Ojibwe’ language the word ‘Shania’ roughly translates to ‘she’s on the way.’ The family were poor and in order to earn some money she began singing in bars at the age of eight, sometimes working until 1.0.am, she has said, ‘I hated going in to bars and being with drunks, but I loved the music and so I survived.’ In 1993 she sent demo tapes to a few record labels, and was signed by ‘Mercury Nashville Records,’ which was when she changed her name to Shania. Although her self titled debut Album was not a commercial success, it was critically praised, and came to the attention of the music producer Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange, who offered to produce and write songs with her. After many telephone conversations they finally met in Nashville where they became close, and were married six months later, in December 1993, they would remain married until 2010. In 2008 it was announced that they were separating after Lange had an affair with Twain’s best friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud. In 2010 it was reported that Twain was engaged to Frédéric Thiébaud, Marie-Anne’s former husband, and they were married on January 1, 2011, in Rincón, Puerto Rico.

The discography of Shania Twain includes six studio Albums released between 1993-2023, and 44 singles released between 1993-2024, there is also one box set, three remix Albums, three official compilation Albums, and two live Albums available. In Canada, on the ‘Canadian music charts,’ 13 of her singles have reached the top 40, with ‘I’m Gonna Getcha Good!’ peaking the highest at Number 1 in 2002, while ‘When’ made Number 14. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, 10 of her singles have reached the top 40, with ‘You’re Still the One’ peaking the highest at Number 2 in 1998, in America ‘When’ was never issued as a single. On the American Billboard ‘Hot Country Songs’ chart, 28 of her singles have made the top 40, with seven of those tracks reaching Number 1. In the UK, Shania Twain has had 15 top 40 hits, with ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much,’ (1998) and ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’ (1999) both peaking the highest at Number 3.

‘When’ was the fifth of 12 singles released from ‘Come On Over’ which was the third studio Album from Shania Twain, from November 1997, the song was co-written by Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange, and Shania Twain, with the production being by Lange. Robert John Lange (see also best songs 632 and 479) was born on November 11th, 1948, in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia, (now Zambia) Africa, he acquired the nickname ‘Mutt’ at an early age. He began as a producer in 1976, with early success coming when in 1978 he wrote and produced the ‘Ipswich Town’ English Football Club’s FA Cup final single ‘Ipswich Get That Goal.’ Lange has written and produced for dozens of artists, with highlights including producing AC/DC’s 1980 Album ‘Back in Black,’ which is the second best selling Album worldwide of all time, and co-writing and producing ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ for Bryan Adams, which holds the record for the longest number of consecutive weeks at Number 1 in the UK, which is 16. Robert Lange and Shania Twain were divorced in 2010, and have one son who was born in 2001.

‘When,’ and it’s parent Album ‘Come On Over’ can be filed under ‘Country Pop,’ which is a fusion genre of ‘Country Music’ and ‘Pop Music’ that was developed by musicians of the Country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country Pop music blends genres like Rock, Pop, and Country, and can be traced as far back as the late 1950’s. ‘Country Pop’ first peaked in the 1970’s, with crossover artists such as Glen Campbell, (1936-2017) (see also best songs 846 and 197) Kenny Rogers, (1938-2020) (see also best songs 582) and John Denver (1943-1977) (see also best songs 110) finding mainstream success. The genre has continued to thrive during the 21st Century, and by the mid 2020’s it had taken over as the best selling genre of music in the United States.

‘When’ is a song about a break up. The narrator regrets the parting, and in a humorous manner states things that are impossible to happen as having the same chance as her getting back with her lover.

‘I’d love to wake up smiling full of the joys of spring, and hear on CNN that Elvis lives again, and that John’s back with the Beatles and they’re going out on tour.’