THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

451-Yazoo-Situation.

1982-It was not released as a single ‘A’ side in the UK until 1990, when in remixed form it reached Number 14.

Best Bit-At 0.09. Alison Moyet isn’t famous for her joviality, but her laughter taken from this song, and sampled on the ‘Macarena,’ helped that track become the best selling single in the world in 1996.

Yazoo were formed in 1981, in Basildon, Essex, by Vince Clarke (keyboards) and Alison Moyet, (vocals) after Clarke who had recently left Depeche Mode (see also best songs 968-261 and 134) had responded to an advertisement Moyet had placed in the weekly UK music magazine ‘Melody Maker,’ looking for a new musical partner. Although Clarke (see also best songs 700) didn’t know Moyet personally, he had seen her sing live on occasions. They remained active between 1981-1983, but did reform for live performances between 2008-2011. They took their name from the 1960’s specialist ‘Blues’ record label ‘Yazoo Records,’ but following a lawsuit from that label, they were forced to change their name to ‘Yaz’ in America. Reflecting in 2008 on the duo’s split, both Moyet and Clarke agreed that a lack of communication between the pair had been a major reason for the breakdown of the partnership. Although they were active as ‘Yazoo’ for only a short period of time, they are considered to be very influential, with their combination of electronic instrumentation and soulful female vocals being cited as an influence on the ‘House Music’ scene that emerged in the mid-1980’s.

The discography of Yazoo includes two studio Albums, ‘Upstairs at Eric’s,’ (1982-UK Number 2)) and ‘You and Me Both,'(1983-UK Number 1) and nine singles, including remixes, released between 1982-1999, they have also released two extended plays, (EP’s) six official compilation Albums, and one live Album. In the UK, six of their singles have reached the top 40, with their debut single ‘Only You,’ peaking the highest at Number 2 in 1982. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, they have never charted within the top 40, with ‘Situation’ stalling at Number 73 in 1982, although three of their tracks including ‘Situation’ have all reached Number 1 on the Billboard ‘Dance Club Songs’ chart.

Alison Moyet was born Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet, on June 18th, 1961, in Billericay, Essex, England, prior to Yazoo she had been involved in a number of ‘Punk Rock,’ and ‘Blues’ bands in her local area, which was when she acquired the nickname ‘Alf.’ Alison Moyet has spoken about her battles with weight and agoraphobia, and the challenges of having dyslexia, and ADHD. She had been overweight for all of her adult life, but in the mid 2000’s she embarked on a weight loss programme, because she did not want to become ‘an obese old woman.’ In 2021 she was appointed ‘Member of the Order of the British Empire’ (MBE) in ‘Birthday Honours’ for ‘services to music.’ After the parting of the ways with Vince Clarke, Alison Moyet embarked on what would become a very successful solo career, which has seen her sell in excess of 23 million records worldwide. The solo discography of Alison Moyet includes 10 studio Albums released between 1984-2024, and 32 singles released within the same time period, there are also three official compilation Albums, and two live Albums available. In the UK, her debut studio Album ‘Alf” made Number 1, while her first compilation Album ‘Singles,’ from 1995, also reached Number 1. Alison Moyet has had nine UK top 40 hit singles, with ‘That Ole Devil Called Love’ peaking the highest at Number 2 in 1985. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, her only chart entry to date remains ‘Invisible,’ which reached Number 31 in 1984.

‘Situation’ was the last of three singles released from ‘Upstairs at Eric’s,’ the debut studio Album by Yazoo from August 1982, the song was co-written by Alison Moyet, and Vince Clarke, with the production being by Eric Radcliffe, Daniel Miller, and Vince Clarke. ‘Situation’ started out life as the ‘B’ side to Yazoo’s debut single ‘Only You,’ not being deemed good enough for an ‘A’ side, but after American music radio stations began playing it, it took off and received an official ‘A’ side release in the States. It was not issued as a stand alone single in the UK until several remixes were released in 1990, including the one I have chosen here, the ‘Deadline Mix’ by the French music producer Francois Kevorkian. Kevorkian has remixed tracks for several of the worlds top artists, and in the late 1970’s, and early 1980’s was the ‘A&R’ man for the American ‘Dance’ label ‘Prelude Records,’ working with artists such as Sharron Redd (1945-1992) and D-Train.

‘Blue eyes dressed for every situation, moving through the doorway of a nation. Pick me up and shake the doubt, baby I can’t do without.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

452-Marianne Faithfull-As Tears Go By.

1964-Number 9 single.

Best Bit-At 0.16. This was the first acknowledged classic song jointly written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Up until they wrote this song The Rolling Stones (see also best songs 933-662-160 and 77) were a band who mainly covered American ‘Blues’ and ‘R&B’ songs, but their manager Andrew Loog Oldham could see far more potential in the two young men. It is said that Oldham locked Jagger and Richards in a kitchen, telling them that they couldn’t come out, not even to go to the toilet until they had come up with what he called, ‘A song with brick walls all around it, high windows and no sex.’ On the completion of the composition Jagger and Richards thought it was a terrible song, Richards has said, ‘We came out and played it to Andrew and he said ‘It’s a hit.’ We actually sold this stuff, and it actually made money. Mick and I were thinking, this is money for old rope.’
Initially Jagger and Richards thought the song did not fit in with the ‘Rock N’ Roll’ image that The Rolling Stones were attempting to portray, and therefore the song was offered to the then 17 year old Marianne Faithfull who was also under the management of Andrew Loog Oldham. The song became the breakthrough hit for Faithfull in 1964, with The Rolling Stones recording their own version in 1965 for their Album ‘December’s Children (And Everybody’s.’) The song was also released by the Stones in America where it reached Number 6 on Billboard, but in the UK it only appeared as the ‘B’ side of the 1966 single ’19th Nervous Breakdown.’

Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull was born on December 29th, 1946, in Hampstead, London, England, she is a singer, songwriter, and actress. Marianne Faithfull has been married three times, and was also involved in a romantic affair with Mick Jagger between 1966-1970. She has suffered from drug addiction during her adult life, which affected her voice after a severe case of laryngitis, permanently altering her singing leaving it raspy, and in a lower pitch, which some music critics have praised for sounding ‘whiskey soaked,’ and helping to capture the raw emotions expressed in her songs. Marianne Faithfull has had three miscarriages and four abortions. The first abortion was in 1964, when she had become pregnant by the American singer Gene Pitney, (1940-2006) the procedure was still illegal in the United Kingdom at the time and Faithfull has stated that she had a hard time dealing with the guilt. She has said that she began to feel better once her son was born the year after. Subsequent terminations were from her period of drug abuse, as she did not wish for the children to be born as addicts. In addition to her music career, she has had a career as an actress in theatre, television and film, with her first professional theatre appearance being in a 1967 stage adaptation of ‘Chekhov’s Three Sisters,’ at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in which she played ‘Irina,’ co-starring with Glenda Jackson, (1935-2023) and Avril Elgar (1932-2021.) Marianne Faithfull is also an author having had three autobiography’s published between 1994-2014. The discography of Marianne Faithfull includes 22 studio Albums released between 1965-2021, and 27 singles released between 1964-2018, there are also two extended plays, (EP’s) at least seven official compilation Albums, and four live Albums available. In the UK five of her singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Come Stay with Me’ peaking the highest at Number 4 in 1964, while in America on the Billboard Hot 100, she has charted within the top 40 on four occasions, with ‘As Tears Go By’ peaking the highest at Number 22. Notable songs on which Marianne Faithfull has provided backing vocals for include, the ‘Beatles,’ ‘Yellow Submarine,’ (1966) the ‘Beatles,’ ‘All You Need Is Love,’ (1967) (see also best songs 141) and ‘The Rolling Stones,’ ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ (1968.)

‘As Tears Go By’ was written by Mick Jagger, who provided the lyrics, and Keith Richards, who wrote the melody, Andrew Loog Oldham is also credited as a co-writer, and was the songs producer. ‘As Tears Go By’ was the first of three singles released from Marianne Faithfull’s self titled debut studio Album from April 1965. When ‘As Tears Go By’ was first written it was called ‘As Time Goes By,’ but as to avoid any confusion with the song from the film ‘Casablanca,’ (see also best songs 651) it was Oldham who suggested ‘As Tears Go By.’ Music critics have commended Mick Jagger on his song lyrics saying that they are very worldly wise for a 21 year old to have written. The songs subject is one of regret with the narrator looking back on their life. He sees children playing, a thing he used to do, he knows that he has choices to make in front of him, but when he made those choices, he made the wrong ones.

‘It is the evening of the day, I sit and watch the children play. Smiling faces I can see, but not for me, I sit and watch as tears go by.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

453-Limmie & Family Cookin’-You Can Do Magic.

1973-Number 3 single.

Best Bit-At 2.12. Some kids collect toy cars, some collect Barbie Dolls, I collected every 7 inch single on the ‘AVCO’ record label….probably a bit sad.

Limmie Frank Snell, Jr. was born on October 4th, 1948, (although another source suggests it could have been 1945) in Dalton, Alabama, United States, he died from renal failure, on May 27th, 1986. As ‘Limmie B. Good,’ he began recording at the age of 11 for ‘Columbia Records,’ ‘Mercury Records,’ and ‘Warner Bros. Records.’ One of his earliest recordings was in 1965, when using the name ‘Lemme B. Good,’ he sang the original version of ‘Good Lovin,’ when the song was later recorded by the American Rock group ‘The Young Rascals’ with slightly different lyrics, it became a Billboard Hot 100 Number 1 single in 1966.

In the early 1970’s Snell joined forces with his two twin sisters Jimmie, (1946-2016) and Martha, to form ‘Limmie & Family Cookin”, and after releasing one unsuccessful single on ‘Scepter Records,’ they signed with ‘Avco Embassy Records.’ As ‘Limmie & Family Cookin” they released nine singles between 1972-1977, with their only American Billboard Hot 100 entry being ‘You Can Do Magic,’ which stalled at Number 84. They achieved greater success in the UK, where they charted three times, with ‘You Can Do Magic,’ (1973-Number 3) ‘Dreamboat,’ (1973-Number 31) and ‘A Walkin’ Miracle’ (1974-Number 6.) Limmie & Family Cookin’ continued to tour in to the 1980’s, but in 1976 Snell also joined up with other musicians to form ‘Limmie Funk,’ and then ‘Limmie Funk Unlimited,’ these bands included Tony Mansfield, who would later go on to form ‘New Musik,’ and also become a successful song writer (see also best songs 833.) Other artists to play alongside Snell included Nick Straker, (A Walk in the Park) and the brothers Paul and Robert Simon, who became members of the bands ‘Neo,’ ‘Ultravox,’ (see also best songs 532) and ‘Magazine’ in the late 1970’s, and early 1980’s.

‘You Can Do Magic’ was the debut single release by Limmie & Family Cookin,’ in 1972, it was written by Sandy Linzer, (see also best songs 1042) and co-produced by Linzer, and Steve Metz, who would also go on to work on several of the other Limmie & Family Cookin’ singles. Sandy Linzer is an American, who was born Sanford Linzer, in 1941. In the early 1960’s the American songwriter Al Kasha, (1937-2020) introduced Sandy Linzer to the legendary Bob Crewe, (1930-2014) (see also best songs 914-863-739-499-393-284-164-112 and 83) and Denny Randell, (see also best songs 1042) and with either Crewe or Randell, Sandy Linzer wrote several hit singles for ‘The Four Seasons,’ including ‘Working My Way Back to You,’ (1965-Billboard Number 9) which when covered by ‘The Detroit Spinners’ became a UK Number 1 single in 1979. Other hits co-written by Linzer for The Four Seasons include ‘Dawn (Go Away,’) (1963-Billboard Number 3) and ‘Opus 17 (Don’t You Worry ’bout Me’) (1966-Billboard Number 13.)

In 1965, Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell wrote and produced most of the songs for the American Pop’ and ‘R&B’ girl group ‘The Toys,’ including their singles ‘A Lover’s Concerto,’ (1965-Billboard Number 2 & UK Number 5) (see also best songs 1042) which was adapted from ‘Minuet in G major,’ once attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, (1685-1750) but now to Christian Petzold, (1677-1733) and ‘Attack!’ (1966-Billboard Number 18 & UK Number 36.) Another ‘The Toys’ recording written by Linzer and Randell was, ‘Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby,’ which was later covered by the ‘Garage’ band ‘? and the Mysterians,’ (1967-Billboard Number 56) and then in 1998, it was covered by the American Rock band ‘Smash Mouth,’ reaching Number 8 in Canada, and Number 14 in Australia. In 1966 Linzer and Randell established their own record label called ‘Oliver,’ and continued to write for artists including ‘The Monkees,’ and ‘Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon,’ including ‘Breakin’ Down the Walls of Heartache,’ (1968-UK Number 4.) Sandy Linzer also produced the debut 1976 Album by Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, (see also best songs 591) including their hit single ‘Cherchez La Femme’ (Billboard Number 27.) In 1977 he and Denny Randell co-wrote ‘Native New Yorker,’ which when recorded by the American ‘Disco’ group Odyssey reached Number 2 on Billboard, and Number 5 in the UK, and then in 1980 with the American lyricist L. Russell Brown, (see also best songs 886) he co-wrote ‘Use It Up and Wear It Out,’ which made Number 1 in the UK also for Odyssey.

‘You can do magic, you took the raindrops that filled my eyes and put them back up in the skies, and then made the grey skies turn blue.’

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.’