THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

770-Kinks-Waterloo Sunset.

1967-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 0.08. Be warned before listening, this is the ultimate ‘EARWORM’ song, and now that I have told you, it will only make things even worse.

The Kinks (see also best songs 1014) were formed in Muswell Hill, London, England, in 1963, and would remain active through until 1996. In total there were 12 different members come and go, with the brothers Ray, and Dave Davies, being the groups only two constants. The four who are considered to be the classic line up were, Ray Davies, (lead vocals, guitar and keyboards) Dave Davies, (lead guitar) Mick Avory, (drums) and Pete Quaife (1943-2010) (bass.)

Sir Raymond Douglas Davies CBE was born on June 21st, 1944, in London, England, he is often referred to as the ‘Godfather of Britpop,’ which is a genre of music which reached it’s commercial peak in the mid 1990’s in the UK, through groups such as Oasis, Blur, Suede, and Pulp, whom had all been influenced to some extent by the songs of Ray Davies from the mid 1960’s. All of those four above mentioned artists have two songs each in this ‘best 1000 songs’ list. Away from the Kinks, Ray Davies has released seven solo Albums between 1985-2018, and one collaborative Album called ‘ The Kinks Choral Collection,’ in 2009, with the Crouch End Festival Chorus.

Ray Davies was the main songwriter with the Kinks, who released 24 studio Albums between 1964-1993, there have also been 78 singles, including re-issues, released between 1964-2020, and also 10 extended plays, 32 compilation Albums, and six official live Albums being available. The Kinks have sold in excess of 50 million records worldwide, with 22 of their singles reaching the UK top 40, with three of those tracks ‘You Really Got Me,’ (1964) ‘Tired of Waiting for You,’ (1965) and ‘Sunny Afternoon,’ (1966) all reaching Number 1. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, they made the top 40 on 11 occasions, with both ‘Tired of Waiting for You,’ (1965) and ‘Come Dancing,’ (1982) peaking the highest at Number 6, while ‘Waterloo Sunset’ failed to reach the ‘Hot 100’ singles chart.

‘Waterloo Sunset’ was the first of two singles released from the Kinks fifth studio Album ‘Something Else by the Kinks,’ from September 1967, the song was written and produced by Ray Davies. The songs lyrics describe someone who is on their own, watching (or imagining) two lovers passing over a bridge near the River Thames, and Waterloo Train Station, in London, the place of Ray Davies’ birth. In 2010 Ray Davies stated that the song was originally titled ‘Liverpool Sunset,’ as his favourite city to perform in is Liverpool, and that he was also inspired by ‘Merseybeat.’ He said that he didn’t want to clash with the Beatles who had just released ‘Penny Lane,’ so he called it ‘Waterloo Sunset’ instead, because Waterloo was a very significant place for him when he was a child.

Speaking about ‘Waterloo Sunset’ Ray Davies has said,’It came to me first as a statement about the death of ‘Merseybeat.’ But I realised that Waterloo was a very significant place in my life. I was in St. Thomas’ Hospital when I was really ill as a child, and I looked out on the river. I went to Waterloo every day to go to college as well. The song was also about being taken to the ‘Festival of Britain’ (1951) with my mum and dad. I remember them taking me by the hand, looking at the big Skylon tower, and saying it symbolised the future. That, and then walking by the Thames with my first wife Rasa, (who left Ray, taking his two daughters, in 1973) and all the other dreams that we had. Her in her brown suede coat that she wore, that was stolen. And also about my sisters, and about the world I wanted them to have. The two characters in the song, Terry and Julie, are to do with the aspirations of my sisters’ generation, who grew up during the Second world War, and missed out on the ’60’s.

‘Waterloo Sunset’ is critically acclaimed, and is considered by many music critics to be the best work of Ray Davies and the Kinks. Paul Weller has stated that it is his favourite song of all time, while Pete Townsend has called it ‘divine,’ and ‘a masterpiece.’ Damon Alburn was equally as gushing, naming ‘Waterloo Sunset’ the one song he wished he had written, and commenting, ‘It’s the most perfect song I could ever hope to write, with my sort of voice.’

There are two significant cover versions of ‘Waterloo Sunset.’ In 2003 David Bowie (1947-2016) was joined on stage by Ray Davies, and they performed a duet of the song at ‘Carnegie Hall,’ in New York City, for the ‘Tibet House’ benefit. Bowie has also recorded a solo studio version of the song, which can be found as a bonus track on his 2003 Album ‘Reality.’ In 1997 the British singer/songwriter Cathy Dennis (see also best songs 928) covered ‘Waterloo Sunset’ for her third studio Album ‘ Am I the Kinda Girl?’ The song was released as a single and reached Number 11 in the UK. The promotional video for the song showed Dennis singing while travelling in a taxi. The scenes visible outside the taxi windows vary between the London of the 1990’s, and film of various locations (e.g. driving up Piccadilly, with Green Park tube station on the left, Knightsbridge tube station and the small dome north of Finsbury Square) as they were in the 1960’s. Ray Davies appears in the music video in a cameo role as the taxi driver.

‘Dirty old river, must you keep rolling, flowing into the night? People so busy, make me feel dizzy, taxi light shines so bright. But I don’t need no friends, as long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset I am in paradise.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

771-The Chainsmokers-#Selfie.

2014-Number 11 single.

Best Bit-At 1.22. It’s not even summer, why does the DJ keep on playing Summertime Sadness.’ Footnote: Presumably this is a reference to the 2012 Cederic Gervais remix of ‘Summertime Sadness,’ and not the original version by Lana Del Rey, which would surely be far too slow to keep a crowd on the dance floor.

The Chainsmokers who are a Electronic Music production duo, were formed in New York City, United States, in 2012, by Alex Pall, and Rhett Bixler, Bixler would soon leave, and Pall would re-form The Chainsmokers with Drew Taggart. When the duo go on tour they are often joined by a third unofficial member, Matt McGuire, and at the time of writing The Chainsmokers remain active. When asked to explain why they chose the stage name ‘The Chainsmokers,’ Alex Pall said,’At the time of conception, it was… it was totally just like I was in college. You know I enjoyed smoking weed.’ Taggart added,’It’s just a name.’ Prior to their commercial breakthrough with ‘#Selfie,’ The Chainsmokers had started out in 2012 by providing remixes for ‘Alternative Rock’ groups, including The Killers, and Two Door Cinema Club.

The Chainsmokers discography includes four studio Albums released between 2017-2022, and 40 singles, issued between 2012-2023, there is also a 2020 Soundtrack Album of the music that they wrote for the American romantic drama film ‘Words on Bathroom Walls,’ also available, is a 2022 remix Album called ‘So Far So Good (Lofi Remixes.’) In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, seven of their tracks have reached the top 40, with ‘Closer’ from 2016 featuring Halsey, making the Number 1 spot, while on Billboard ‘#Selfie’ peaked at Number 16. On the UK top 40 singles chart, The Chainsmokers have charted on nine occasions, with ‘Closer’ also being their most successful song, when also reaching the Number 1 position.

‘#Selfie’ was the third single release by The Chainsmokers from January 2014, after their first two releases ‘Erase’ featuring Priyanka Chopra, (2012) and ‘The Rookie,’ (2013) had both failed to make any real commercial impact. ‘#Selfie’ was written by Drew Taggart, with the production credited to The Chainsmokers. The genre of music that ‘#Selfie’ should be filed under is ‘Big Room House,’ which is a sub-genre of ‘House Music’ that gained popularity in the early 2010’s, and is characterised by its simple instrumentation yet complex structure. ‘#Selfie’ was initially released as a free download by The Chainsmokers, until it got the attention, and then purchased by ‘Dim Mak Records,’ which had been founded by Steve Aoki in 1996, and the song took off from there.

A ‘selfie’ is a self portrait photograph which is normally taken from a digital camera or camera phone. The Chainsmokers while working in the nightclubs had realised how popular ‘selfie’s’ were becoming, and wanted to make a song to celebrate the new phenomenon. The female spoken vocals on the track are by the unaccredited Alexis Killacram, who finishes each verse with ‘Let me take a selfie.’ The Chainsmokers have said,’Well we aren’t really trying to celebrate the selfie or put it down. The notion of a selfie though perfectly embodies the nature of the song, this sort of selfish obsession with ourselves, and vanity and social media. So it made sense to us to use that as the jumping point. We don’t see anything wrong with selfies though, go for it.’

Music critics have pinpointed two songs which could have been an influence on ‘#Selfie.’ The 1982 song by Frank and Moon Zappa, called ‘Valley Girl,’ which reached Number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart is surely a major influence. ‘Valley Girl’ which contains spoken words by the then 14 year old daughter of Frank Zappa, (1940-1993) Moon Zappa, is a comical song about the stereotypical ‘Valley Girl,’ who was a character that originated in the early 1980’s, and is a materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, from the Los Angeles commuter communities of the San Fernando Valley. The UK equivalent would probably be an ‘Essex Girl,’ or a ‘Dumb Blonde.’ Music critics also point to the 1992 Billboard Number 1 single ‘Baby Got Back,’ by the Rap artist Sir Mix-A-Lot, for that songs spoken intro.

‘Wait, pause, Jason just liked my selfie, what a creep. Is that guy sleeping over there? Yeah, the one next to the girl with no shoes on,that’s so ratchet. That girl is such a fake model, she definitely bought all her Instagram followers.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

772-Gary Numan-We Are Glass.

1980-Number 5 single.

Best Bit-At 3.42. His first stage name was ‘Valerian,’ but after seeing the name of a plumber called Arthur Neumann in the ads in the ‘Yellow Pages,’ he decided on a change….that’s ‘Rock ‘N Roll.’

Gary Numan (see also best songs 232 and 177) was born Gary Anthony James Webb, on March 8th, 1958, in London, England. In his mid teenage years he played in various bands, and after looking through the advertisements in the ‘Melody Maker’ music magazine, he claims to have unsuccessfully auditioned as guitarist for the then unknown band the Jam (see also best songs 670-94 and 59.) Gary Numan first found success as a member of ‘Tubeway Army,’ who in their early days played ‘Punk Rock’ music, but with Numan, who was the groups singer, songwriter, and producer, soon discovering ‘Electronic Music,’ the musical direction of the band swiftly changed, After the release of the Tubeway Army’s first two studio Albums in 1978 and 1979, the ‘Tubeway Army’ name was dropped, with all future material released under the ‘Gary Numan’ name.

As Tubeway Army there were two studio Albums released, and two official compilation Albums issued, along with four singles, which included their 1979 UK Number 1 ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ With Tubeway Army, and as Gary Numan, he has released 22 studio Albums between 1978-2021, there are also 29 official live Albums, and 17 compilations available. He has also released 51 singles between 1978-2021, with 18 of those tracks reaching the UK top 40, with two of those songs making Number 1. Gary Numan has also charted in the UK top 40 on a further five occasions, as either a featured artist, or as a collaboration. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, only ‘Cars’ in 1979, has ever charted, when making Number 9.

At the age of 18 Gary Numan had joined a group called ‘The Lasers,’ as their lead guitarist, which was where he first met that bands bassist Paul Gardiner (1958-1984.) The Lasers soon became ‘Tubeway Army,’ and it was Gardiner, along with Cedric Sharpley, (1952-2012) (drums) and Chris Payne, (synthesizers) who stayed with Numan after he effectively went solo. Paul Gardiner was born on May 1st, 1958, in Hayes, Middlesex, England, he died on February 18th, 1984, after struggling with Heroin addiction in his last years, he died from an overdose of Valium and Diconal, at the age of 25. Gardiner performed on both Tubeway Army studio Albums, and also the first two Gary Numan solo Albums, he also released two solo singles ‘Stormtrooper in Drag’ in 1981, and ‘Venus in Furs’ in 1984. During the 2009 ‘Pleasure Principle’ tour, Gary Numan paid tribute to Gardiner on the 25th anniversary of his death by playing ‘Complex,’ (the demo version) with a picture of Gardiner displayed on the large screen background.

‘We Are Glass’ was the first of three singles added to the re-issue of ‘Telekon,’ the second solo studio Album by Gary Numan, from May 1980. ‘We Are Glass’ was written and produced by Numan, with Russell Bell, (guitar) Dennis Haines, (piano) and John Webb, (percussion) playing on the track, along with those mentioned above. According to Numan the song was inspired by a comment from a writer in the ‘Omni’ magazine (the Omni was a science fiction publication.) ‘He said that he thought I’d been put here by something…. aliens, or something to carry out a cause, which I thought was very flattering, but a little silly.’ In We Are Glass’ Gary Numan is saying that just because he is a Pop star, it doesn’t mean that he isn’t fragile, like everyone else, he can also be broken.

‘We are young we can break, watch us fall. We can take some train down to the sea, we are glass. We are glass, we are real you can touch just for now, and I say: ‘Hey you, which way is down?’ We are glass.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

773-Mud-Tiger Feet.

1974-Number 1 single.

Best Bit At 0.01. Not every song can boast it’s own dance moves that everyone of a certain age knows how to do, but this one does. ‘Yeah, Yeah!’

Mud were formed in Carshalton, Greater London, England, in 1966, by Rob Davies, (lead guitar) (see also best songs 928) Les Gray, (1946-2004) (vocals) Dave Mount, (1947-2006) (drums) and Ray Stiles (bass.) Mud were first signed to ‘CBS Records’ in 1967, and released four singles without any success between 1967-1970. It was when signing with Mickie Most, (1938-2003) and his ‘RAK Records’ label in 1973, and being introduced to the legendary songwriting team of Nicky Chinn, (see also best songs 860 and 686) and Mike Chapman, (see also best songs 860-686 and 402) that Mud finally made their commercial breakthrough. Mud would work with Chinn and Chapman through until 1976, when they then left ‘RAK Records’ to join ‘Private Stock Records,’ where they enjoyed two more top 20 singles. When ‘Private Stock’ went bankrupt, Mud signed with ‘RCA Records,’ but they were soon dropped by that label, when the hits died up.

After Mud split in 1980, Les Grey reformed the band with new members, calling the group ‘Les Gray’s Mud.’ With Gray as the one constant the group with differing members would remain active until Gray’s death in 2004. Following his death, the three remaining members of ‘Les Gray’s Mud’ were given permission by the other founding members of Mud, plus that of Gray’s family, to continue using the band’s name, which they rechristened ‘Mud II,’ which at the time of writing remain active with changing membership. Also since 2015, Rob Davis and Ray Stiles, who are the two surviving founding members of Mud, have been performing together again under the band name ‘Mud’, alongside new members Keith Read and Pete Phipps. In total there have been 24 different members of all the variations of ‘Mud’ between 1967 to the present day.

The discography of Mud includes seven studio Albums released between 1974-1982, and 36 singles issued between 1967-1985, there are also 10 official compilation Albums available. In the UK, Mud achieved 15 top 40 singles, with three of them, ‘Tiger Feet,’ (1974) ‘Lonely This Christmas,’ (1974) and ‘Oh Boy,’ (1975) all making the Number 1 spot. ‘Oh Boy’ remains as the only song that ‘Chinn and Chapman produced, that got to Number 1, but wasn’t a song that they hadn’t written as well. Outside of the UK, Mud had their greatest success in the Netherlands, where five of their singles all reached the Number 1 position.

Les Gray was born Thomas Leslie Gray, on April 9th, 1946, in Carshalton, Surrey, England, he died on February 21st, 2004, of a heart attack, whilst fighting throat cancer, at the age of 57. Les Gray released two solo studio Albums, and five singles between 1977-1982, with his cover version of ‘A Groovy Kind of Love,’ reaching Number 32 in the UK in 1977. In 1992 Gray moved with his wife Carol to live in the Algarve region of Portugal, where he lived out the rest of his life. He was well known for his distinctive vocal impersonation of Elvis Presley, (1935-1977) particularly on Mud’s Christmas Number 1 single ‘Lonely This Christmas.’

‘Tiger Feet’ was the first of five singles released from Mud’s debut studio Album ‘Mud Rock,’ from September 1974, with the song being co-written, and co-produced by Nicky Chinn, and Mike Chapman. In the UK ‘Tiger Feet’ was the best selling single of 1974, with over 700,000 copies sold, and over a million sold worldwide. Mike Chapman has credited Mud’s bassist Ray Stiles for his input, particularly for the songs ‘memorable bass lick.”Tiger Feet’ is a song about someone who is attracted to a person whom they see dancing. The narrator feels a strong connection to this person, and says that they have ‘Tiger Feet,’ because they move so swiftly and gracefully like a tiger.

‘Yeah, yeah. All night long, you’ve been looking at me. Well, you know you’re the dance hall cutie that you longed to be. Oh well now, you’ve been laying it down. you’ve got your hip swinging out of bounds, and I like the way you do what you’re doin’ to me.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

774-Madonna-Like a Prayer.

1989-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 1.30.’Once your a Catholic, your always a Catholic, in terms of feelings, or guilt, and remorse, and whether you’ve sinned or not.Sometimes I’m wracked with guilt when I needn’t be, and that to me, is left over from my Catholic upbringing. Because in Catholicism you are born a sinner, and you are a sinner all of your life. No matter how you try to get away from it, the sin is within you, all the time.’ MADONNA.

By 1989 Madonna’s career was in the balance, she had just had two films spectacularly fail, both critically, and commercially, it was three years since her last successful Album ‘True Blue,’ and her marriage had broken down. She realised that her fan base were growing up, and if she was to survive, she would have to take her career in a different direction (see also best songs 587.)

‘Like a Prayer’ was the first of six singles released from Madonna’s fourth studio Album of the same name, from March 1989. The song was written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, with the production also being by them. Notable other names to play on the track were ‘Prince,’ (1958-2016) (see also best songs 884-487-269-85 and 54) who played guitar, although on the Albums liner notes he was not credited. Prince was also the co-writer, and co-producer with Madonna, on the Albums third track ‘Love Song.’ The choir that can be heard on ‘Like a Prayer’ was the Andraé Crouch Choir, led by the Gospel, contemporary Christian performer Andraé Crouch (1942-2015.) After realising that ‘Like a Prayer’ had lyrical content that could be construed as sexual, the Andraé Crouch Choir refused to appear in the songs now famous promotional video, so actors were used, who can be seen miming their parts.

Patrick Ray Leonard was born on March 14th, 1956, in Crystal Falls, Michigan, United States, he is best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. In total Patrick Leonard has worked with Madonna on five of her studio Albums between 1986-1998, with the other four Albums being ‘True Blue.’ (1986) ‘Who’s That Girl,’ (1987) ‘I’m Breathless,’ (1990) and ‘Ray of Light’ (1998.) Leonard has also played keyboards with Madonna at the 1985 ‘Live Aid’ concert. and he was the ,musical director and keyboardist on ‘The Virgin Tour,’ in 1985 and the ‘Who’s That Girl World Tour,’ in 1987. Away from Madonna, Leonard has worked with many of the worlds top artists, including Elton John, Pink Floyd, and Leonard Cohen. Madonna has always held Patrick Leonard in the highest esteem, and has said about their working relationship,’We’re both from the Midwest, and deep down at our core, we’re both geeks. He’s melancholic, and he is a classically trained musician with an incredible sense of melody. We just hit it off from the start. We always come up with something interesting. We usually don’t write frivolous songs, although we’ve done that, too. There’s something magical about our writing.’

Before ‘Like a Prayer’ was officially released ‘Pepsi’ signed Madonna to a $5 million endorsement deal, which included a two minute commercial that would debut this song.The song was released the day after it aired worldwide to approximately 250 million viewers. It was also added to the ‘MTV’ playlist, but instead of using scenes from the commercial, it showed Madonna witnessing a brutal crime, and taking refuge in a church. She shares an interracial kiss, gets stigmata on her hands, and dances in front of burning crosses.The Vatican condemned it, while religious groups protested it’s broadcast. They boycotted products by ‘Pepsi,’ forcing them to drop Madonna from their promotions, but still having to pay her.

‘Like a Prayer’ is a song about a passionate young girl in love with God, who becomes the only male figure in her life. The song is controversial because the lyrics can be interpreted by some people to have dual meanings of sexual innuendo, and religion. Madonna has said,’Like a Prayer’ is a very important song to me. I felt the impact that it was going to make. That song means a lot more to me than ‘Like a Virgin’. I wrote it, and it’s from my heart. It’s a very spiritual song. I think I was much more spiritually in touch with the power of words and music by the time I started recording the song and the Album.’

‘I hear your voice, it’s like an angel sighing. I have no choice, I hear your voice, feels like flying. I close my eyes, oh God, I think I’m falling. Out of the sky, I close my eyes, heaven help me.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

775-Chris Montez-The More I See You.

1966-Number 3 single.

Best Bit-At 1.22. It is said that until people actually saw a photograph, they thought it was a female singer.

Chris Montez was born Ezekiel Christopher Montañez, on January 17th, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, United States. He began his music career as a ‘Rock ‘N Roll’ performer, but once the hits dried up he was persuaded by Herb Alpert (see also best songs 815) the co-founder of ‘A&M’ records, the label he was signed to at that time, to move in to a more ‘middle of the road’ and ‘easy listening’ musical direction. In the early 1960’s Chris Montez toured with artists of the calibre of Smokey Robinson, Sam Cooke, (1931-1964) and The Patters, and while in England, the Beatles opened for him in London, Northampton, and York. Chris Montez commented at the time,’Who are these guys The Beatles? I try to keep up with the British scene, but I don’t know their work.’ During that tour, it is said that Montez and John Lennon (1940-1980) got into an argument, which led to a fistfight between the both of them.

The rendition of ‘The More I See You’ by Chris Montez can be filed under the genre of ‘Easy Listening’ music, which is a sub-genre of ‘Middle of the road,’ music, which is also known by its acronym ‘MOR.’ ‘Easy Listening’ music encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, non-Rock vocals, and instrumental covers of selected popular Rock songs. It mostly concentrates on music that pre-dates the Rock and Roll era, characteristically on music from the 1940’s and 1950’s. ‘Easy Listening’ music is often confused with ‘Lounge Music,’ but while it was popular in some of the same venues, it was meant to be listened to for enjoyment rather than as background sound.

The discography of Chis Montez includes seven Albums released between 1963-1983, and 20 singles issued between 1960-1972. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, five of his tracks have made the top 40, with ‘Let’s Dance’ from 1962, peaking the highest at Number 4, and ‘The More I See You’ reaching Number 16. In the UK, Chris Montez has reached the top 40 on three occasions, with ‘Let’s Dance’ being the most successful, when making Number 2. He has also had seven of his singles chart on the Billboard ‘Adult Contemporary’ chart, and had two of his Spanish language songs reach the top 10 in the Netherlands in the early 1970’s.

‘The More I See You’ was originally written for the 1945 musical film ‘Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe,’ starring Betty Grable, (1916-1973) and Dick Haymes, (1918-1980) (see also best songs 842) who first introduced the song in the film. ‘The More I See You’ which was written by the legendary songwriting team of Mack Gordon, (1904-1959) and Harry Warren (1893-1981) (see also best songs 877-396 and 321) has been covered on many occasions over the years, with artists as diverse as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and Marvin Gaye recording their renditions.

It was at the suggestion of Herb Alpert, that Chris Montez recorded ‘The More I See You’ for his 1966 second Album of the same name, with Alpert arranging and producing the track. This was the first of four Albums that Herb Alpert worked on with Chris Montez between 1966-1968. ‘The More I See You’ was the second of three singles released from the Album, with the first ‘Call Me,’ making Number 22 on Billboard, but not charting in the UK, and the other, ‘There Will Never Be Another You,’ reaching Number 33 on Billboard, and Number 37 in the UK.

‘The more I see you, the more I want you, somehow this feeling just grows and grows. With every sigh, I become more mad about you, more lost without you and so it goes.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

776-Runrig-Loch Lomond.

1982-Number 86 single.

Best Bit-At 1.12. In a survey in 2009, the ‘Hampden Remix,’ with the Tartan Army, was chosen as the greatest Scottish song ever.

‘Runrig’ were formed in the Isle of Skye, Scotland, in 1973, by the brothers Calum and Rory Macdonald, and their friend Blair Douglas, they were joined the following year by Donnie Munro. In total there have been 12 different members come and go up until 2018, when the group was retired. ‘Runrig’ who took there name from the Scottish name for a pre–agricultural revolution farming practice, did over the course of their career focus their lyrics on locations, history, politics, and people who are unique to Scotland.

‘Runrig’ released 14 studio Albums between 1978-2016, and 31 singles or extended plays between 1982-2018, there are also seven official live Albums, and eight compilation Albums available. In the UK, Runrig have charted within the top 40 on nine occasions, with ‘An Ubhal as Àirde (The Highest Apple’) peaking the highest at Number 18 in 1995. In 2007 ‘Runrig’ made the UK top 10 for the first and only time, reaching Number 9, when they re-recorded ‘Loch Lomond’ to raise money for the ‘BBC Children in Need Appeal.’ The recording featured the ‘Tartan Army,’ a group of Scottish football supporters, including Rod Stewart (see also best songs 965-565-206-179-70 and 34)) on backing vocals. The song was recorded shortly before the Scottish football team played a vital European Championship qualifier against Italy, which they lost 2-1.

The genre of music associated with ‘Runrig’ was ‘Celtic Rock,’ which is a genre of ‘Folk Rock,’ as well as a form of ‘Celtic’ fusion which incorporates ‘Celtic’ music, instrumentation and themes into a ‘Rock’ music context. It was in Ireland that ‘Celtic Rock’ first came to the fore, when musicians attempted to apply the use of traditional, and electric music, to their own cultural context. By the end of the 1960’s Ireland already had perhaps the most flourishing ‘Folk Music’ tradition, and a growing ‘Blues’ and ‘Pop’ scene, which provided a basis for ‘Irish Rock.’ Perhaps the most successful product of this scene was the band Thin Lizzy (see also best songs 125.) Formed in 1969 their first two Albums were recognisably influenced by traditional Irish music, and their first hit single ‘Whisky in the Jar’ (Ireland-Number 1 & UK Number 6) in 1972, was a ‘Rock’ version of a traditional Irish song. From Scotland, other bands in this ‘1000 best songs’ list who have incorporated ‘Celtic Rock’ into their sound are ‘The Waterboys, (see also best songs 755) and Big Country (see also best songs 962.)

‘Runrig’ first recorded ‘Loch Lomond’ in 1979 for their second studio Album ‘The Highland Connection,’ the song was first issued as a single in the UK in 1982, making little impact when stalling at Number 86. Over the years the song has become a fans favourite after being played live on many occasions. It became the groups signature tune, and was often used as the encore at their concerts.

‘Loch Lomond’ is a traditional Scottish Folk song, which was first published in 1841. It is thought that the subject of the song could be a captured soldier who knows he is unlikely ever to spend time again with his true love by the shores of Loch Lomond. The ‘Low Road’ may be a reference to the ‘Celtic’ belief that if someone died away from the homeland, then the fairies would provide a route for their soul to return home.

‘O ye’ll tak’ the high road, and I’ll tak’ the low road, and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye. But me and my true love will never meet again, on the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

777-The Temptations-Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)

1971-Number 8 single.

Best Bit-At 2.34. Nothing wrong with some healthy fantasising.

The Temptations (see also best songs 1031-1001 and 569) were formed in 1960, in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in total there have been 27 different members come and go, and at the time of writing they remain active, with only one of the founding members, Otis Williams, remaining as the groups one constant. The extensive discography of The Temptations includes 43 studio Albums released between 1964-2022, and 109 singles released between 1961-1994, there are also 15 official compilation Albums, and four live Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, 38 of their tracks have reached the top 40, with four of those songs making Number 1, including ‘Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me,’) while in the UK, they have reached the top 40 on 19 occasions with the 1992 re-issue of ‘My Girl’ peaking the highest at Number 2.

‘Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me’) was the second of two singles issued from The Temptations 14th studio Album ‘Sky’s the Limit’ from April 1971. The song was written by Norman Whitfield, (1940-2008) (see also best songs 911-569-533-480-346 and 233) and Barrett Strong, (1941-2023) (see also best songs 569) with the production by Whitfield. ‘Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me’) had originally been written in 1969, but purposely kept in the vaults due to The Temptations change in musical styles. In the early 1960’s, the group had been very successful recording ‘Soul,’ and ‘R&B,’ but when Norman Whitfield took charge in 1968, he wanted to experiment with ‘Psychedelic Soul,’ inspired by contemporary groups such as ‘Sly and the Family Stone,’ (see also best songs 589 ) and ‘Funkadelic’ (see also best songs 340 and 26.) At first this new style proved very successful, with hits such as ‘Cloud Nine,’ and ‘Psychedelic Shack,’ but by 1971 sales were starting to decline, with the single ‘Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World,’) stalling at Number 33 on Billboard, which was well below the previous standards set by the group. Things had reached the stage where both The Temptations themselves, and many of their fan base were crying out for a return to the more ‘Soulful’ days. It was at this point that Norman Whitfield relented, and got the group to record ‘Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me,’) to appease the majority, and see a return to the good old days.

‘Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me,’) certainly satisfied the fan base, giving The Temptations the third of what would eventually be four Billboard Number 1 singles. It was the last song on which Eddie Kendricks (1939-1992) (see also best songs 491) sang lead vocal, as he left shortly afterwards to start his solo career. It was also the last performance for fellow group member Paul Williams, (1939-1973) who sang the ‘Every night on my knees I pray,’ line, as he was suffering from ill health, and would pass away at the age of 34. Paul Williams who was a founding member of The Temptations was born on July 2nd, 1939, in Ensley, Alabama, United States, he suffered from ‘sickle-cell anemia,’ which caused him constant pain, which in turn led to him developing alcoholism, and depression. He died on August 17th, 1973, from an apparent suicide. According to his fellow band mate Otis Williams, Paul had expressed suicidal thoughts to him and Melvin Franklin (1942-1995) months before his death.

‘Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me,’) is not your conventional love song in any shape or form. The narrator imagines a relationship with a woman he sees walking past his window everyday, but he is clever enough to realise that his fantasy’s are fiction, in fact the woman doesn’t even know that he exists. Norman Whitfield has said,’It was anything but romantic, but it did pretty good in the dollars and cents category.’

‘Every night on my knees I pray, dear Lord hear my plea. Don’t ever let another take her away from me, for I would surely die, her love is heavenly. When her arms enfold me I hear a tender rhapsody, but in reality, she doesn’t even know me, ’cause it was, but it was, just my imagination runnin’ away with me-once again.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

778-Tom Robinson-War Baby.

1983-Number 6 single.

Best Bit-At 1.08. 2-4-6-8 who do we appreciate. Great artist, great song.

Thomas Giles Robinson was born on June 1st, 1950, in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, Robinson is gay, and has spent his life promoting the cause of the ‘LGBT’ community. At the age of 13 in 1963, Robinson realised that he was gay when he fell in love with another schoolboy. Up until 1967 male homosexual activity was a crime in England, punishable by prison, and at the age of 16 he had a nervous breakdown and attempted to commit suicide.

In 1976 Tom Robinson founded the Punk Rock/New Wave group the ‘Tom Robinson Band,’ their debut single was ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway,’ written by Robinson, which reached Number 5 in the UK. Robinson also wrote ‘Glad to be Gay, which made Number 18 in the UK in 1978, and is now considered by many as ‘Britain’s national gay anthem.’ The Tom Robinson Band remained active until 1979, releasing two studio Albums, and seven singles, including extended plays, there are also two official live Albums, and five compilation Albums available. In the UK, the Tom Robinson Band had three top 40 singles, with ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’ charting the highest, the song also reached Number 13 in Australia.

After the split of the Tom Robinson Band, Robinson founded the ‘New Wave’ band ‘Sector 27’ in 1979. With ‘Sector 27’ he recorded one studio Album called ‘Sector 27,’ and released four singles. Shortly after the release of the Album, the bands management company went bankrupt, the band disintegrated, and Robinson suffered another nervous breakdown. At the time Robinson had also just split from his lover, and he decided to go and live in a friends spare room in East Berlin, Germany, which was where he wrote ‘War Baby.’

‘War Baby’ was the first of four singles released from Tom Robinson’s second Album ‘Hope and Glory,’ from 1984, the song was written by Robinson, and produced by Robin Millar. As a solo artist Tom Robinson has released 14 Albums between 1982-2015, and 20 singles between 1980-1996. Two of those singles have reached the UK top 40, with the other being ‘Listen to the Radio: Atmospherics,’ which was the follow up to ‘War Baby,’ and peaked at Number 39 in 1983.

Sir Robin John Christian Millar CBE, who produced ‘War Baby,’ and its parent Album, was born on December 18th, 1951, in Tottenham, London, England. Millar is one of the worlds most successful music producers, with sales in excess of 55 million record sales to his credit. In 2010 He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, (CBE) and in 2023 he was knighted in the New Year Honours for services to music, people with disabilities, young people, and charity. Millar’s production credits include the ‘Fine Young Cannibals self titled debut Album, (see also best songs 563) and ‘Wonderful Life,’ by Black, but his most successful work came with Sade in 1984, when he produced the Album ‘Diamond Life,’ which has gone on to sell 10 million copies worldwide.

Tom Robinson wrote ‘War Baby’ when he was massively in debt, particularly with the British tax authorities, he was technically bankrupt at the time, as well as suffering from depression. Robinson has described writing ‘War Baby’ whilst stoned after a bad experience at a gay sauna while living in Germany. He has said that he wrote ‘Only the very young, and the very beautiful can be so aloof.’ And the rest of it poured out onto the page, eight, ten pages of the stuff, just hand-written, stream of consciousness stuff. And it took about a year to get those ten pages down to something that you could actually sing in four minutes.’ ‘War Baby’ has been described as being about Robinson’s experiences of the divisions between East and West Germany, however, as to what it is all about says Robinson,’I couldn’t tell you, I just wrote what sounded right. Tom Robinson has also said,’War Baby’ is the song that I’m most proud of. … I think it’s the most truthful song that I’ve written, because I didn’t think about it at all.’

‘Corresponding disasters every night on the TV, sickening reality keeps gripping me in its guts. All my friends talk and joke and laugh about Armageddon, but like a nightmare it’s still waiting there at the end of every day.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

779-Duke Dumont-The Giver.

2012-It has never charted in the UK, but the vocal remix reached Number 32 in 2015.

Best Bit-At 4.09.The proof that it’s better to be a giver than a taker.

Duke Dumont was born Adam George Dyment in August 1981, in Harrow, London, England, he is a music producer in the genres of ‘Electronic,’ ‘Deep House,’ and ‘Tech House’ music. To date Duke Dumont has released one studio Album called ‘Duality,’ in 2020, plus nine extended plays between 2007-2021, and 17 singles between 2013-2023, of which five have reached the UK top 40, with ‘Need U (100%’) featuring A*M*E, making the Number 1 spot in 2013, while in America on the Billboard ‘Dance Club Songs’ chart he has had seven charting singles, with all seven reaching the Number 1 position. Duke Dumont who also records on his own record label called ‘Blasé Boys Club,’ has remixed tracks for other artists including ‘Missy Elliott, (We Run This-2006) Lily Allen, (The Fear-2009) and The Killers (The Man-2017,) he has also written and produced two songs with Katy Perry, including her 2017 Billboard Number 46, and UK Number 19 hit ‘Swish Swish’ featuring Nicki Minaj. Speaking of why it took him so long to release his debut studio Album in 2020, Duke Dumont has said,’It gave me an opportunity to make an album, and a body of music that has an emotional impact. There’s a reason there’s strings on a lot of the tracks. That’s to give it a sense of longevity. There’s a reason why the songs have chords and not just beats and synth lines. You’ve got to aspire to that long game.’

‘The Giver’ was originally released on an extended play (EP) in 2012, which was only made available in America and Canada. Following the success of Duke Dumont’s three consecutive Billboard ‘Dance Club Songs’ Number 1 hits in 2013-2014, ‘The Giver’ was remixed by the Australian music producer ‘Wave Racer,’ with new lyrics added, and a memorable promotional video, and called ‘The Giver (Reprise.’) This new version also went to Number 1 on the Billboard ‘Dance Club Songs’ chart, and reached Number 32 in the UK singles top 40 in 2015.

‘The Giver’ features a sample of the 1995 Dance track ‘Time For Love,’ by the American ‘Gospel,’ and ‘House Music’ singer Kim English, (1970-2019) that song was written by Byron Stingily, Hal Ritson, Byron Burke, Kelli-Leigh, and Henry-Davila, which is why they get song writing credits on ‘The Giver,’ and ‘The Giver (Reprise,’) alongside Duke Dumont. Incidentally both Byron Stingily, and Byron Burke were both members of the American House Music act ‘Ten City,’ who had two top 40 hits in the UK in the late 1980’s. ‘The Giver (Reprise’) was produced by Duke Dumont, and remixed by ‘Wave Racer,’ which is the stage name of Thomas Michael Purcell, who was born on April 26th, 1992, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

‘The Giver’ can be filed under the genre of ‘Deep House,’ which is a sub-genre of ‘House Music,’ ‘Deep House’ originated in the 1980’s, initially fusing elements of ‘Chicago House’ (see also best songs 981 and 424) with the lush chords of 1980’s Jazz-Funk, and touches of Soul Music. ‘Deep House is known for tempos typically from 110 to 125 bpm, with muted bass-lines, spacious use of percussion elements, often using a ‘Roland TR-909’ drum machine, soft keyboard sounds (pads,) use of advanced chord structures, ambient mixes, and soulful vocals. The lyrics usually focus on positive, uplifting themes,

‘The Giver’ also conveys a positive message. The narrator has been hurt in love before, and has up until now avoided the chance to get close to someone again. However he meets that someone special, and is willing to take that chance again. He knows she is his destiny, and he feels grateful to have found her.

‘You’re the special soul who makes me wanna give it. You’re the special soul who makes me wanna, makes me wanna.’