THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

490-James-Sit Down.

1991-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 3.03. It’s the second most popular song in the world ever for sitting on the floor to dance to. ‘Oops upside your head, say oops upside your head.’

James’ (see also best songs 109) were formed in Whalley Range, Manchester, England, in 1982, they were active until 2001, but then reformed in 2007, in total there have been 13 different members come and go, their musical output has been described as ‘Indie Pop,’ ‘Madchester,’ ‘Alternative Rock,’ and ‘Britpop.’ ‘James’ were formed when Paul Gilbertson persuaded his friend Jim Glennie to buy a bass guitar, and form a band with him, they were soon joined by Gavan Whelan. They met future lead singer Tim Booth at the ‘University of Manchester’ later in 1982, and after playing live under various names including ‘Venereal and the Diseases,’ ‘Volume Distortion,’ and ‘Model Team International,’ they settled on ‘James,’ Jim Glennie, who is the bands one constant has said, ‘No one ever calls me James, so I don’t associate it with my name in that respect. We couldn’t use Tim because he’s the singer and that would be weird. Our drummer was called Gavan, and we thought it sounded too ‘heavy metal,’ and the other one was Paul, so it was either James or Paul, so we went with James. It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time we just thought, ‘Cool let’s call the band ‘James.” Paul Gilbertson had to leave the group in 1985 due to drug problems, and he was replaced by Larry Gott, who remained a band member until 2015. Drummer Gavan Whelan left in 1988, and his place was taken by David Baynton-Power, who at the time of writing is still an official member. The other three group members who played on this 1991 recording of ‘Sit Down’ were, Saul Davies, Mark Hunter, and Andy Diagram, who all joined the band in 1989.

The discography of ‘James’ includes 18 studio Albums released between 1986-2024, and 37 singles released between 1986-2021, there are also four official compilation Albums, four extended plays, (EP’s) and four live Albums available. In the UK, their 18th studio Album ‘Yummy,’ from April 2024, finally gave them their first ever studio Number 1 Album, (although their 1998 ‘The Best Of’ compilation had previously made Number 1) while in America on Billboard, their 1993 Album ‘Laid,’ has been their most successful, reaching Number 72. In the UK, 19 of their singles have reached the top 40, with the 1991 re-recorded version of ‘Sit Down’ peaking the highest at Number 2 for three consecutive weeks. Their only charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 singles is ‘Laid,’ which made Number 61 in 1993.

‘Sit Down’ was the last of five singles released from ‘Gold Mother,’ the third studio Album by ‘James,’ from June 1990, the song was co-written by Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, Tim Booth, and Gavan Whelan, with the production being by Steve Power (see also best songs 406.) The original version of ‘Sit Down’ was first released in 1989 as a stand alone single, and stalled at Number 77 on the UK top 100, it was issued as an edited 7 inch single, and also on 12 inch, with a running time of 8.31, this original first recording was produced by the English music producer Gil Norton (see also best songs 904 and 292.) Even so the song had badly failed commercially ‘James’ still had faith, and bought the rights to the track just before their record label ‘Rough Trade’ went bankrupt. When ‘James’ signed with ‘Fontana Records,’ the band and producer Gill Norton gave ‘Sit Down’ the overhaul that we all know today, making it more uptempo, which was the way it had originally been performed when played live. In 1998 the English ‘Electronic Rock’ group ‘Apollo 440’ remixed ‘Sit Down’ as part of the promotion for the ‘2002 Commonwealth Games’ launch in Manchester, England, and this time the song made Number 7 on the UK top 40 singles chart.

The lyrics to ‘Sit Down’ are mainly the work of the bands lead singer Tim Booth, who was born on February 4th, 1960, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. He remained with ‘James’ as their lead singer until 2001, when the group went on hiatus, but rejoined in 2007. Away from ‘James’ he has released the Album ‘Booth and the Bad Angel,’ with the American composer Angelo Badalamenti in 1996, and two solo Albums in 2004, and 2011. Tim Booth has said that he wrote ‘Sit Down’ in 1988 at a time when he was feeling lonely and depressed. He credits the British novelist Doris Lessing, (1919-2013) and the American Rock singer Patti Smith as his inspirations. ‘They both connected to me when I felt very alone and misunderstood. Throughout my teens, I’d had an undiagnosed illness, and my skin was almost yellow. When I was 21 I’d almost died, so I was feeling pretty tortured in those days.’ He has also said, ”Sit Down’ is about me feeling so alone in my 20’s, and reading books by a writer called Doris Lessing, which made me realise I wasn’t. It was about being awake at 4.0.am, and having no one to talk to.’

‘I sing myself to sleep, a song from the darkest hour. Secrets I can’t keep, in sight of the day, swing from high to deep, extremes of sweet and sour. Hope that God exists, I hope, I pray.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

491-Eddie Kendricks-Keep On Truckin’

1973-Number 18 single.

Best Bit-At 0.10. ‘Keep On Truckin” is a phrase of encouragement, meaning to continue to stay focused regardless of circumstances or setbacks.

Eddie Kendricks was born Edward James Kendrick, on December 17th, 1939, in Union Springs, Alabama, United States, he was a heavy smoker for 30 years, and died of lung cancer on October 5th, 1992, at the age of 52. Kendrick was one of the founding members of what would become ‘Tamla Motown’s’ most successful male group, the ‘Temptations’ (see also best songs 1031-1001-777 and 569.) He remained with the group from their formation in 1955, until leaving in bitter circumstances in 1971, to pursue a solo career. Eddie Kendricks, who added the ‘s’ at the end of his surname for his stage name, was noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, and can be heard singing the lead vocal on many of the ‘Temptations’ hits, including ‘Get Ready,’ and ‘Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me.’) During the mid 1980’s, he dropped the ‘s’ from his stage name, and reverted back to his birth name. The American Rapper, songwriter, and filmmaker Kendrick Lamar was named by his mother after Kendricks.

Eddie Kendricks solo career got off to a slow start, with all of his first five singles, released from his first two solo Albums, failing to break into the American Billboard Hot 100 top 40, His first two Albums also fared no better, but things changed with the release of his third Album, and especially after the release of ‘Keep On Truckin” as a single. The solo discography of Eddie Kendricks includes 15 Albums released between 1971-1987, and 30 singles released within the same time period. Included in those Album releases is a ‘Live at the Apollo’ recording with David Ruffin, and Daryl Hall & John Oates, from 1985, and a duets Album with his fellow ex ‘Temptations’ band mate David Ruffin, (1941-1991) called ‘Ruffin & Kendrick,’ which turned out to be Eddie Kendricks final recording, in 1987. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, Eddie Kendricks (away from the Temptations) has had six top 40 hit singles, with ‘Keep on Truckin’ reaching the Number 1 position, while in the UK, he has charted twice, with ‘Boogie Down,’ being the other hit when reaching Number 39 in 1973.

‘Keep on Truckin’ was the second and final single released from Eddie Kendricks’ self titled third solo studio Album from May 1973, the song was co-written by Leonard Caston Jr., Anita Poree, (1939-2018) and Frank Wilson, (1940-2012) (see also best songs 1001-411 and 97) who also produced the song. ‘Keep on Truckin’ was released with ‘Part 1’ being on the ‘A’ side, and ‘Part 2’ being on the ‘B’ side, as the Album version lasts for 8 minutes. The song which signified a change in style, moving towards a more ‘dance’ orientated sound, finally gave Eddie Kendricks a hit single at the seventh time of asking, and was finally making him more successfully commercial than his bitter rivals the ‘Temptations.’ ‘Keep on Truckin’ is considered to be one of ‘Disco Music’s’ first breakthrough hits.

Leonard Caston Jr. who was one of the songs co-writers was born on November 13th, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, he is a songwriter, record producer, pianist and singer. In 1964 he joined the American R&B group ‘The Radiants,’ who were signed to ‘Chess Records,’ he stayed a member until 1965. At ‘Chess’ he began to write and produce music, as well as working as a session musician, notably playing piano on the Fontella Bass song ‘Rescue Me’ (1965-Billboard Number 4 & UK Number 11.) Caston left ‘Chess’ for ‘Motown Records’ in 1968, where his numerous songwriting credits include ‘Nathan Jones,’ for the ‘Supremes’ (1971-Billboard Number 16 & UK Number 5.)

‘Keep On Truckin” was also co-written by Anita Poree, who was born on September 14th, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, she died of cancer on July 8th, 2018, at the age of 78. Prior to co-writing ‘Keep On Truckin” she had co-written two American Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits for the American vocal group ‘The Friends of Distinction, ‘Going in Circles,’ (1969-Number 15) and ‘Love or Let Me be Lonely,’ (1970-Number 6.) Harry Elston of that group said after her death, ‘She was a pioneer during a period when women were less accepted as popular songwriters.’ The musician Greg Poree who is her brother said that after several years of composing songs, his sister became disheartened with the music industry, and the whole Hollywood scene. She re-focused her life creating art with paints, composing poetry, and calling for justice for racial minorities, members of the ‘LGBTQ’ community, and others denied equal treatment and opportunity.

In ‘Keep on Truckin” the narrator is telling us of his love, and desire for another, and he will do whatever it takes to make that person his. The lyric ‘In old temptation’s rain I’m duckin,” is a dig at his former band mates, who had previously had a dig at him and David Ruffin, in their song ‘Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are.’)

‘I’m the red ball express of lovin,’ Diesel-powered straight to you, I’m truckin.’ In old Temptation’s rain, I’m duckin, ‘for your love through sleet and snow, I’m truckin,’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

492-Jimi Hendrix Experience-Hey Joe.

1966-Number 6 single.

Best Bit-At 1.51. A warning to old ladies everywhere, don’t go messin’ round with another man. You might end up getting shot.

‘Hey Joe’ was originally written and performed by Billy Roberts, who was born William Moses Roberts Jr. on August 16th, 1935, in Greenville, South Carolina, United States, he died on October 7th, 2017, at the age of 81. Roberts recorded ‘Hey Joe’ himself, but never had it officially released, but he did have it copyrighted in 1962. Billy Roberts was a Folk singer, and was a member of the ‘Driftwood Singers’ between 1964-1965, who played on the same bill as artists of the calibre of Johnny Cash, (1932-2003) (see also best songs 857-428-and 199) and Carmen McRae (1920-1994.) In 1975, Roberts released his one studio Album, called ‘Thoughts of California. It is thought that Billy Roberts got his inspiration for writing ‘Hey Joe’ from an earlier work by his then girlfriend Niela Horn, whose song ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go to Town’ uses the same chord progression. Also the 1953 U.S. Country hit ‘Hey Joe’ written by Felice Bordleaux & Diadorius Bryant shares the same title, and ‘questioning’ format. There is also an early 20th Century traditional ballad called ‘Little Sadie’ that tells of a man on the run after he has shot his wife.

‘Hey Joe’ has been recorded in many different styles, and by numerous artists over the years. The probable first commercially released ‘Rock’ version was in 1966 by the ‘Garage’ band the ‘Leaves,’ who reached Number 31 on the American Billboard Hot 100, the highest chart placing the song has reached in America. ‘Hey Joe’ also reached Number 94 for Cher in 1967, and Number 59 for Wilson Pickett (1941-2006) in 1969. The Jimi Hendrix Experience recording failed to chart on Billboard, but it is the only version of the song to chart in the UK. Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) (see also best songs 983) got to know about the song after seeing the Folk singer Tim Rose (1940-2002) perform a slower version. On the advice of Chas Chandler, (1938-1996) (see also best songs 851 and 649) who was then Hendrix’s manager, ‘Hey Joe’ became the first single release of the ‘Jimi Hendrix Experience.’

‘Hey Joe’ was released as a stand alone single in the UK in December 1966, but was later featured on the American only released version of the Jimi Hendrix Experience debut studio Album ‘Are You Experienced,’ from May 1967. ‘Hey Joe’ would later be added to the UK, and international Compact Disc reissues as one of the bonus tracks in 1997. The Jimi Hendrix Experience version of ‘Hey Joe’ was produced by Chas Chandler, with the musicians playing on the song, who were the ‘Jimi Hendrix Experience,’ being Jimi Hendrix, guitars, and vocals, Noel Redding, (1945-2003) bass guitar, and Mitch Mitchell 1946-2008) drums. There are also backing vocals on the track provided by ‘The Breakaways,’ who were an English female vocal group, whose members included Vicki Brown, (1940-1991) who had also been a member of ‘The Vernon Girls, and the first wife of the English musician Joe Brown, and mother of the singer Sam Brown. ‘The Breakaways’ sang backing vocals on many songs in the 1960’s, including ‘Downtown’ for Petula Clark (see also best songs 838.)

The discography of the Jimi Hendrix Experience includes three studio Albums released between 1967-1968, and 14 singles released between 1966-1970, there are also three official live Albums, and two official compilation Albums available. All three studio Albums made the top 10 in America on Billboard, and in the UK, while in America their only charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 is ‘All Along the Watchtower’ which reached Number 20 in 1968, In the UK, six of their singles have made the top 40, with ‘Purple Haze’ peaking the highest at Number 3 in 1967. After the death of Jimi Hendrix in 1970, there have been numerous posthumous releases of demos, studio outtakes/alternate takes, and jams, which have made up into a further 13 studio Albums released between 1971-2018, there have also been 19 anthologies, 28 live Albums, and 28 singles issued posthumously. In October 1970, exactly five weeks after the death of Jimi Hendrix, the track ‘Voodoo Chile,’ from the 1968 Album ‘Electric Ladyland’ was issued as a single, with ‘Hey Joe,’ and ‘All Along the Watchtower’ as the ‘B’ sides, the single failed to chart in America, but reached Number 1 in the UK. Two further singles have posthumously charted in the UK, ‘Gypsy Eyes,’ (1971-Number 35) and ‘Johnny B Goode’ (1972-Number 35.)

‘Hey Joe’ is the story of a man who finds out that his woman has been cheating on him, and he takes his revenge by purchasing a gun, and shooting the woman, and her lover. In order to not face trial, and the hangman, he travels down to Mexico. The Hendrix version omits the first verse where ‘Joe’ buys the gun, and he also makes no mention of killing the woman’s lover, which is part of the original version by Billy Roberts.

‘Hey Joe, I said where you goin’ with that gun in your hand. I’m goin’ down to shoot my old lady, you know I caught her messin’ ’round with another man. Yeah, I’m goin’ down to shoot my old lady, you know I caught her messin’ ’round with another man.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

493-Hank Ballard & the Midnighters-Work with Me, Annie.

1954-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 1.39. Before ‘Je t’aime, Moi Non Plus,’ (see also best songs 467) God Save the Queen,’ (see also best songs 576) ‘Relax,’ anything by Judge Dread, and loads of others, the radio wouldn’t play this, in an attempt to save our youth from being corrupted.

Hank Ballard was born John Henry Kendricks Ballard, on November 18th, 1927, in Detroit, Michigan, United States, he died of throat cancer, on March 2nd, 2003, at the age of 75. Aside from this groundbreaking song, he would achieve even greater commercial success when his composition ‘The Twist,’ (see also best songs 749) was covered by Chubby Checker, reaching Number 1 on the American Billboard Hot 100 on two separate occasions (1960 & 1962.) Hank Ballard was the cousin of Florence Ballard (1943-1976) a founding member of the Supremes, (see also best songs 1001-411-21 and 148) and the great uncle of the former ‘NFL’ American footballer Christian Ballard.

In 1953, Hank Ballard joined the ‘Doo-Wop’ group the ‘Royals,’ who after the release of their single ‘Get It,’ in 1953, changed their name to the ‘Midnighters,’ in order to not cause confusion with another group called the ‘5 Royals.’ In 1954 Hank Ballard wrote ‘Work with Me, Annie,’ which was influenced by ‘Get It,’ he was also inspired after hearing the sexually explicit 1951 song ‘Sixty Minute Man’ by the American R&B group the ‘Dominoes.’ The lyrics to ‘Work with Me, Annie’ were extremely sexually explicit for the period, with many radio stations refusing to play the song, for example ‘Work’ was ghetto slang for sexual intercourse. Peter Potter who was a judge on the American ‘CBS’ television programme ‘Juke Box Jury,’ said of the song ‘All R&B records are dirty, and as bad for kids as dope.’ As with many songs that have been banned by the authorities down the years, it only helps to draw publicity, and in the case of ”Work with Me, Annie,’ the song become a favourite with white teenagers, and went to Number 1 on the ‘Billboard R&B’ chart, staying at the peak position for seven weeks.

‘Work with Me, Annie’ was the 10th single release by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, and the first with that name, as their previous nine releases were as the ‘Royals.’ In total as a group, or as Hank Ballard solo, there were 89 singles issued between 1952-1979, with eight of those tracks reaching the Billboard Hot 100 top 40, with ‘Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go,’ from 1960, peaking the highest at Number 6, while ‘Work with Me, Annie,’ reached Number 22. There are also at least 15 Albums available, that were released between 1952-1974.

‘Work with Me, Annie’ which was written by Hank Ballard, and produced by Henry Glover (1021-1991) is recognised as one of the most influential songs in the development of ‘Rock’ music, because of it’s big bass beat, electric guitar, and sexually suggestive lyrics. The song spurned other songs about ‘Annie,’ such as ‘Annie Had a Baby, (1954) also recorded by ‘The Midnighters,’ and also ‘answer songs’ such as ‘Roll With Me Henry’ (Wallflower’) notably recorded by Etta James, (1938-2012) in 1954, and also by Georgia Gibbs, (1918-2006) who took her version to Number 1 on Billboard in 1955.

Hank Ballard & the Midnighters split in 1965, after over three years without any real commercial success, with Hank Ballard going on to pursue a solo career. His 1969 Album ‘You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down,’ was produced by James Brown, (1933-2006) (see also best songs 880-349-270 and 88) and Ballard then appeared on two tracks on Brown’s 1972 Album ‘Get on the Good Foot.’ James Brown has cited Hank Ballard & the Midnighters as a major influence on his early career. Hank Ballard continued to record during the 1970’s, and in 1979 he turned his hand to ‘Disco,’ recording his final single release ‘Freak Your Boom-Boom,’ he then reformed ‘The Midnighters,’ and they performed together until 2002.

‘Work with Me, Annie’ was produced by Henry Bernard Glover, who was born on May 21st, 1921, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States, he died of a heart attack on April 7th, 1991, at the age of 69. Glover began his music career playing the trumpet in the ‘Jump Blues’ band led by Buddy Johnson (1915-1977) in 1944. He soon was hired as an ‘A&R man at ‘King Records,’ and helped to construct the labels first recording studio. During the mid 1940’s Glover became a music producer for many ‘Country Music’ musicians, and then moved on to ‘Rhythm and Blues,’ notably producing the original version of ‘Fever,’ (see also best songs 468) for Little Willie John (1937-1968.) Henry Glover was also a songwriter, with two of his most successful compositions being ‘Let the Little Girl Dance,’ (1960-Billboard Number 11 & UK Number 15) for Billy Bland, (1932-2017) and ‘Peppermint Twist,’ his co-write with Joey Dee, (1962-Billboard Number 1 & UK Number 33) for Joey Dee and the Starliters. In 1986 Henry Glover was inducted into the ‘Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.’

Annie, please don’t cheat give me all my meat, ooo! Ooo-hoo-wee, so good to me. Work with me Ann-ie-e, now, let’s get it while the gettin’ is good.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

494-Womack & Womack-Teardrops.

1988-Number 3 single.

Best Bit-At 0.58. If future generations of the Womack family appear on the television programme ‘Who Do You Think You Are,’ they will have their work cut out sorting this family tree.

Womack & Womack were the singing and songwriting partnership of Linda Womack, and her husband Cecil Womack, (1947-2013) they were musically active between 1983-2004, in the genres of ‘R&B,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Funk,’ and ‘Dance.’ After travelling to Nigeria in the early 1990’s, the couple discovered that they had ancestral ties to the ‘Zekkariyas’ tribe, and from then on they both adopted African names. Cecil became known as ‘Zek,’ and Linda became known as ‘Zerilya,’ and for the release of their last five studio Albums, they were issued under the name ‘Zek,’ or ‘The Greater House of Zekkariyas.’ The discography of Womack & Womack includes 10 studio Albums released between 1983-2006, and 19 singles released between 1984-1997, there are also three official compilation Albums available. In America on Billboard, none of their Albums or singles have ever reached the top 100, although their debut studio Album ‘Love Wars’ did reach Number 34 on the Billboard ‘Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums’ chart. In the UK, their 1988 Album ‘Conscience’ is their only charting top 40 Album, making Number 4, while four of their singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Teardrops,’ peaking the highest at Number 3.

Cecil Dale Womack was born on September 25th, 1947, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, he died of unknown causes in Johannesburg, South Africa, on January 25th, 2013, at the age 65. Cecil Womack was born into a very religious family, and he and his brothers, Bobby, (1944-2013) Harry, (1945-1974) Friendly, and Curtis, formed a ‘Gospel’ group in their formative years. In the mid 1950’s, they came to the attention of the American singer/songwriter Sam Cooke, (1931-1964) (see also best songs 156) and then in 1961 Cooke signed then to his record label ‘SAR,’ changing their name to the ‘Valentinos,’ and recording ‘the devils music,’ rather than sticking with their ‘Gospel’ roots. In 1965, 77 days after the death of Sam Cooke, Cecil’s brother Bobby Womack (see also best songs 221) married Cooke’s widow Barbra, who was 10 years his senior, which both the Womack and Cooke family both bitterly opposed. During the 1960’s, Cecil Womack made himself a name as a songwriter, forming a partnership with his first wife Mary Wells, (1943-1992) whom he had married in 1966, and co-writing many of the songs from around that period with her, that she sang on, including the Billboard R&B Number 22 hit ‘The Doctor,’ which Womack also sang backing vocals on. They divorced in 1977, after he discovered that she was having an affair with his brother Curtis Womack. Prior to ‘Teardrops,’ Cecil’s biggest success as a songwriter was with the song ‘Love T.K.O,’ which he co-wrote with Gip Noble Jr. and when recorded by Teddy Pendergrass, (1950-2010) reached Number 2 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1980. When Cecil married Linda Cooke, the daughter of Sam Cooke, this created an interesting family tree, because Cecil’s brother Bobby Womack had married Sam Cooke’s widow, who was Linda’s mother Barbara Campbell. Cecil and Linda had seven children together, and had homes in Africa and Thailand. After 1994, Cecil was known professionally and personally by the name ‘Zekkariyas,’ and he spent the final years of his life travelling the world with his wife and children, using his time to explore his African heritage, spirituality, and knowledge of the continent, as well as making music.

Linda Womack was born on April 25th, 1953, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, she is the daughter of Sam Cooke. In December 1964, when she was 11 years old, her father was killed, and soon after, her mother married Sam Cooke’s protege Bobby Womack. In 1970, her mother Barbara shot at him after she discovered he was having an affair with Linda, who was 17-years-old at the time. According to Bobby Womack, Linda never spoke to her mother again after that incident.

‘Teardrops’ was the first of six singles released from Womack & Womack’s fourth studio Album ‘Conscience,’ from June 1988, the song was co-written by Cecil Womack, and Linda Womack, with the production being by them, and the legendary British record producer, and the founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell (see also best songs 291 and 56.) In 1998 the British ‘UK Garage’ group ‘Lovestation’ took their cover version of ‘Teardrops’ to Number 14 on the UK top 40, in 2000 they issued several remixes, and it charted again at Number 24. Other notable remakes of the song are by the German girl group ‘No Angels,’ whose version as part of a medley with a track called ‘Amaze Me,’ reached Number 25 in their home country in 2007, and the Australian singer Kate Alexa featuring Baby Bash, who made Number 26 on the ‘Aria’ singles chart in 2008.

‘Teardrops’ is a song of regret, with the narrator having taken her partner for granted, and maybe even cheated on them, now wishing things could get back to the way that they used to be.

‘And the music don’t feel like it did when I felt it with you. Nothing that I do or feel, ever feels like I felt it with you.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

495-Jax Jones featuring Mike Dunn and MNEK-House Work.

2016-Number 85 single.

Best Bit-At 1.18. This House Work is most definitely not a chore.

Jax Jones is the stage name of Timucin Fabian Kwong Wah Ozluer, who was born on July 25th, 1987, in London, England, United Kingdom, his father is Turkish, and his mother is Chinese-Malaysian. Jax Jones showed an interest in music from a young age, initially studying classical guitar, and listening to artists such as the Notorious B.I.G. (1972-1997) (see also best songs 955 and 307) The Neptunes, and Timberland (see also best songs 691.) Prior to his mainstream breakthrough, he worked on some of the early ‘mixtapes’ released by the British ‘Grime’ artist Big Narstie. It was after meeting the English music producer Duke Dumont (see also best songs 779) in 2014 that Jax Jones got into ‘House Music,’ and together they co-wrote and produced ‘I Got U,’ (2014-UK-Number 1) ‘Won’t Look Back,’ (2014-UK-Number 2) and ‘Ocean Drive,’ (2015-UK-Number 42.)

The discography of Jax Jones includes one studio Album, ‘Snacks (Supersize’) released in 2019, and 29 singles released between 2013-2024, there are also three extended plays (EP’s) available. As the lead artist he has had 15 top 40 hit singles in the UK, with each one of them having at least one featured artist appearing, with ‘You Don’t Know Me’ featuring Raye, from 2016, charting the highest at Number 3, he has also had a UK Number 1 single as the featured artist on ‘I Got U,’ by Duke Dumont, in 2014. Jax Jones also has several remixes, production, and songwriting credits, for other artists.

‘House Work’ was co-written by Jax Jones, and MNEK, and features the vocals of both MNEK, and Mike Dunn, with the production being by Jax Jones. The song is one of the tracks that appears on Jax Jones’ debut extended play ‘Snacks,’ from November 2018, and later also appears on his debut studio Album ‘Snacks (Supersize’) from September 2019. In an innovative piece of advertising by ‘Polydor Records,’ every time a new single by Jax Jones was released, it would be added to the ‘Snacks’ EP. Stephen Hallowes the head of marketing at the label explained, ‘The main purpose was to create one destination for fans to listen to all of Jax’s hits, but it also enabled us to start building an Album story with him over time, which felt like a good strategy for an artist much stronger in the singles market than Albums. Jax Jones has said that he did not anticipate releasing an Album, ‘Because I don’t sing my music, some people might only be a fan of one or two of my songs. It is so exciting to have an Album with all my hits and new songs in one place. When you work with the names I did on the Album, it makes you bring your A-game.’ The Album ‘Snacks (Supersize’) has spent over 100 weeks in the UK top 100 Album chart, selling in excess of 100,000 copies, and peaking at Number 9.

The other co-writer of ‘House Work’ is MNEK, who was born Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike, on November 9th, 1994, in Lewisham, London, England, his stage name ‘MNEK’ is a gramogran of his surname. He is a singer, songwriter, and music producer, in the genres of ‘Pop, ‘House Music,’ ‘UK Garage,’ and ‘R&B.’ ‘MNEK’ has spoken about his introduction into music, ‘I started writing poems and writing songs around the age of 8 or 7, and I started playing around with production software from really young as well. I then put some stuff up on Myspace finally when I was 14. There were two songs I had. I sent them out to all my favourite artists on Myspace and it just landed on this artist at the time called CocknBullKid, but she’s now Anita Blay, and she’s an amazing songwriter. She was like ‘Okay, cool. I’m just gonna send this to my publisher,’ and at the time I had no idea what a publisher was. So she sent it, and that was that and it became this flurry of people wanting to be my publisher, and then that was me in the industry.’

MNEK has an extensive discography, and production discography, which includes his one studio Album ‘Language’ from 2018, and 22 singles released as the lead artist between 2011-2023, and a further 12 as a featured artist between 2014-2022. In the UK, he has charted on seven top 40 singles, with ‘Head & Heart,’ by Joel Corry, featuring MNEK, reaching Number 1 in 2020, while his only entry to date on the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart is ‘Never Forget You,’ with Zara Larsson, which made Number 13 in 2015. His production work includes 47 UK top hit singles, with three of those tracks reaching the Number 1 position.

Some of the vocals on ‘House Work’ are provided by Mike Dunn, who is a ‘Rapper,’ and ‘House Music’ producer, who hails from Englewood, Chicago, United States. He is a leading light in the genre of ‘Hip-House,’ (see also best songs 805) which is the gelling together of ‘Rapping’ over a ‘House Music’ track. Mike Dunn can be heard to great effect doing this on his 1994 song ‘God Made Me Phunky.’

‘I call it house work (Woop) ’cause it’s light work (What you, what you gon’ do?) I’ma throw shapes, feeling the bass, ’til my feet hurt. I call it house work (Woop) ’cause it’s light work (What you, what you gon’ do?) I’ma throw shade, if I don’t get paid for this housework.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

496-Mr. Oiso-Flat Beat.

1999-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 0.51. It’s Daft Punk for the primary school kids.

Mr. Oiso is the stage name of Quentin Dupieux, who was born on April 14th, 1974, in Paris, France, he has explained how he came about his stage name, ‘Oiseau means ‘bird’ in French. A long time ago I was with a bunch of friends, we were all high, and one of my friends saw me as a bird, so it became my nickname.’ As well as writing, producing, and remixing music, Quentin Dupieux also works in the film, and the video making industry. To date he is the director and writer of 15 movies released between 2001-2024, he has also composed the music for five of them. He has produced 14 music video’s between 1997-2019, including the video for ‘Flat Beat,’ and he has worked for other artists as well. Quentin Dupieux who records in the musical genres of ‘Electronic Music,’ and ‘Experimental,’ uses the name ‘Mr. Oiso’ for releasing his music, but uses his birth name for his film work. In 2019 he was promoted to ‘Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres,’ by the French ‘Ministry of Culture.’

The discography of Mr. Oiso includes seven studio Albums released between 1999-2022, and eight singles released between 1999-2023, there are also three soundtrack Albums, and two official compilation Albums available. He has remixed many tracks for some of the worlds top artists, including, Calvin Harris, and the Scissor Sisters. His only top 40 single chart entry to date (apart from in France) remains ‘Flat Beat,’ which reached Number 1 in seven European countries in 1999, making him a ‘one hit wonder’ in those territories. ‘Flat Beat’ has sold in excess of 3 million copies worldwide, although surprisingly in his home country of France it only reached Number 5, as it didn’t receive a great deal of air play on it’s initial release. In 2020, Mr. Oiso finally had a second top 40 hit in France, when his track ‘Pharmacist,’ featuring the Francophone Belgian rapper Roméo Elvis, reached Number 8 on the ‘SNEP,’ official French singles chart.

‘Flat Beat’ was the second of three singles released from ‘Analog Worms Attack,’ which was the debut studio Album from Mr. Oiso, from October 1999, the song was written and produced by Mr. Oiso. ‘Flat Beat’ wasn’t one of the 14 original tracks recorded for ‘Analog Worms Attack,’ but was added to the Album as a ‘hidden’ bonus track, appearing five minutes after track 14 ‘Analog Wormz Sequel.’ Mr. Oiso has said that it only took him two hours to compose ‘Flat Beat,’ on the monophonic analog synthesizer, ‘Korg MS-20.’ The song has few lyrics, and is regarded as an instrumental, with the heavily repeated bass-line being sampled from the American Funk group the ‘Fatback Band’s,’ (see also best songs 798 and 217) 1975 song ‘Put Your Love In My Tender Care.’

Undoubtedly the songs great success can be put down to it being commissioned by ‘Levi Jeans’ for one of their commercials, which featured the yellow puppet character ‘Flat Eric,’ who was created by Quentin Dupieux. ‘Flat Eric’ was based on a dog-like puppet, but with hands, and originally called ‘Stephane,’ but Levi Jeans’ insisted on re-naming the character ‘Eric,’ as that was more of a ‘international name.’ The original idea for the commercial was to have Eric being involved in a car accident, and having his head flattened, but that idea was dropped, but the name ‘Flat Eric’ stuck.

‘Levi Jeans’ are no strangers to commissioning music for their advertising campaigns, having made 40 commercials between 1985-2007. Other songs on this ‘1000 Best Songs’ list that have been used in ‘Levi Jean’s’ adverts include, Ben E King, with ‘Stand by Me,’ (1987-UK Number 1 single) (see also best songs 804) Eddie Cochran, with ‘C’Mon Everybody,’ (1988-UK Number 14 single) (see also best songs 50) and the Steve Miller Band, with ‘The Joker,’ (1990-UK Number 1 single) (see also best songs 715.) The puppet ‘Flat Eric’ was created by Quentin Dupieux, and built by Janet Knechtel, for the ‘Jim Henson’s Creature Shop,’ who are the special/visual effects company, founded in 1979, in Hampstead, England, by the puppeteer Jim Henson, (1936-1990) who was the creator of ‘The Muppets.’ ‘Flat Eric’ was performed by the American puppeteer Drew Massey for both of the adverts commissioned by ‘Levi Jeans’ to feature the song ‘Flat Beat,’ Massey had previously worked extensively with the ‘Muppets.’

Because of the ‘Flat Eric’ puppet it is not surprising that ‘Flat Beat’ is looked down upon as a ‘novelty’ record, but that could not be further from the truth. ‘Flat Eric’ can be filed under the genre of ‘French Electronic Music,’ which in modern times dates back to the French composer Jean-Michel Jarre, who became famous worldwide with the Album ‘Oxygene’ in 1976. Other notable French innovators from the 1970’s include the group ‘Space,’ and ‘Cerrone’ (see also best songs 547.) In the following decades, up to the present, other names in ‘French Electronic Music’ who feature in this ‘1000 Best Songs’ list include, ‘BBE,’ (see also best songs 510) DJ Snake,’ (see also best songs 943) ‘David Guetta,’ (see also best songs 909-260 and 234) and ‘Daft Punk’ (see also best songs 140.)

‘Oh yeah, I know Quinnan, he’s a real, a real jerk.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

497-Stephen Bishop-On and On.

1976-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 0.56. Although the song’s subject is fictional, Bishop has stated, ‘I write much better when I’n heartbroken, and sad, or melancholy.’

Earl Stephen Bishop, was born on November 14th, 1951, in San Diego, California, United States, he is a singer/songwriter, actor, and guitarist. His first venture in to the music business occurred in 1967, when he was a member of a ‘British Invasion’ styled group called the ‘Weeds.’ After the ‘Weeds’ came to an end, he moved to Los Angeles, to pursue a solo career. Although he failed to land a solo recording contract over the next eight years, he continued to write songs, eventually landing a $50-a-week job with a publishing house. His big break came when his friend Leah Kunkel, who is the younger sister of Mama Cass Elliot (1941-1974) (see also best songs 660 and 274) gave Art Garfunkel (see also best songs 529-200-96 and 71) one of Bishop’s demo tapes, from which Garfunkel chose two of his songs ‘Looking for the Right One,’ and ‘The Same Old Tears on a New Background,’ for his second solo studio Album ‘Breakaway’ in 1975, which would go on to become Garfunkel’s best solo selling Album. Stephen Bishop finally secured a recording contract with ‘ABC Records’ in 1976, because of Art Garfunkel’s patronage. As well as having a career as a singer/songwriter Bishop has also appeared in many films, including ‘The Kentucky Fried Movie, (1977) and ‘The Blues Brothers (1980.) His songs have also appeared in many movies over the years, with perhaps the most notable being ‘Separate Lives,’ (Billboard Number 1 & UK Number 4) sung by Phil Collins, and Marilyn Martin, in the 1985 film ‘White Nights.’

The discography of Stephen Bishop includes 19 Albums released between 1976-2019, and five official compilation Albums released between 1988-2002, he has also released 16 singles between 1977-1991. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, four of his singles have reached the top 40, with ‘On and On,’ peaking the highest at Number 11. Although it failed to make the top 10, it still finished the year as Billboard’s 30th best selling single, due to it’s longevity of spending 28 weeks on the chart. ‘On and On’ was also very successful in Canada, where it reached Number 6. In the UK, Stephen Bishop’s only entry on the singles chart is ‘It Might Be You,’ which made Number 99 in 1983.

‘On and On’ was the second of two singles released from ‘Careless,’ the debut studio Album from Stephen Bishop, from October 1976, the song was written by Stephen Bishop, with the production being by Bishop, and Henry Lewis. ‘On and On’ features the American multi-instrumentalist Andrew Gold (1951-2011) on electric guitar, while it’s parent Album ‘Careless’ can boast many famous musical contributions, including backing vocals from Art Garfunkel, Chaka Khan, and Leah Kunkel. Other big names who appear on the Album include Eric Clapton, (electric guitar) Larry Knechtel, (1940-2009) (electric piano) and Jim Gordon (1945-2023) (drums.) In Eric Clapton’s (see also best songs 726 and 361) autobiography he mentions Stephen Bishop as one of his favourite singer/songwriters.

‘On and On’ and it’s parent Album ‘Careless’ was co-produced by Henry Lewy, who was born Heinz Lewy, on May 31st, 1926, in Magdeburg, Germany, after a period of declining health, which included a stroke and heart surgery, he died on April 8th, 2006, at the age of 79. At the age of 13 in 1939, Lewy, who was born to a Jewish family, left Germany, initially travelling to England, but eventually settling in Los Angeles. After graduating from high school in 1945, he served in the United States Army before working in radio stations in San Diego, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, as an audio engineer and announcer. During the 1950’s he studied engineering, and gained employment at ‘Liberty Records.’ In 1967 he moved to ‘A&M Records,’ and worked on songs with the Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes. While working with Crosby, Stills and Nash, (see also best songs 417) he was introduced by David Crosby (1941-2023) to Joni Mitchell, (see also best songs 637 and 558) thus beginning a long collaboration with the Canadian singer-songwriter. Henry Lewy worked on many of the world’s top artists Albums, including Neil Young, (Harvest, 1972) Leonard Cohen, (Recent Songs, 1979) and Minnie Riperton (Minnie, 1979.) Lewy retired from music in the late 1980’s.

‘On and On’ is a tale of how cruel love can be. The narrator tells us of two unrelated couples, where in both cases one of the partners ends up heartbroken, and then in the final verse he gets personal, and tells of his own heartbreak, brought on by his partners infidelity. In the end he says that no matter how tough things get we must soldier on. ‘On and On’ has been covered, like many of Bishop’s songs, by other artists. I would highly recommend the 1989 Number 25 UK hit, 12 inch version, by the British Reggae group ‘Aswad,’ who work the song into a medley, along with ‘The Temptations’ song ‘My Girl’ (see also best songs 1031.)

‘Poor ol’ Jimmy sits alone in the moonlight, saw his woman kiss another man. So he takes a ladder, steals the stars from the sky, puts on Sinatra and starts to cry.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

498-Timmy Thomas-Why Can’t We Live Together.

1972-Number 12 single.

Best Bit-At 1.35. The message on the ‘Hotline Bling’ remains the same as it did back in 1972.

Timothy Earle Thomas was born on November 13th, 1944, in Evansville, Indiana, United States, he died of cancer on March 11th, 2022, at the age of 77. Thomas who was born one of 12 siblings, was a singer, songwriter, musician, and music producer. Prior to finding commercial success with this song, he had started his career as a session musician, and also released a few unsuccessful solo singles on the ‘Goldwax Records’ label. His fledgling career also included being a member of a group called ‘Phillip & the Faithfuls,’ whom he also released music with on ‘Goldwax Records,’ in Memphis, Tennessee. He found success when relocating to Miami Florida, in 1972, initially playing sessions for the artists on ‘TK Records,’ and then signing to the ‘TK’ subsidiary label ‘Glades Records,’ where he recorded this song ‘Why Can’t We Live Together.’

The discography of Timmy Thomas includes seven Albums released between 1972-1994, and 23 singles released between 1972-1991. His only charting Album was his debut ‘Why Can’t We Live Together,’ which reached Number 53 in America on Billboard, in 1972. He achieved three Billboard Hot 100 entries, with ‘Why Can’t We Live Together,’ being his only top 40 hit single, when reaching Number 3, while in the UK, ‘Why Can’t We Live Together,’ is also his only top 40 entry, although ‘New York Eyes,’ with the American R&B singer Nicole, just missed out, when peaking at Number 41 in 1985. As well as working as a session musician for ‘TK Records,’ in later years he also turned his hand to producing, most notably the ‘TK’ artist Gwen McCrae. In the 1990’s he worked as a producer for ‘LaFace Records,’ and released his final Album ‘With Heart and Soul.’

‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ was the only single released from Timmy Thomas’ debut Album of the same name from 1972. It was written and produced by Timmy Thomas, who also played all of the musical instruments on the track. Timmy Thomas has explained how the idea for the song came about, ‘I was sitting in my study, and I heard Walter Cronkite (1916-2009, American broadcaster.) I’ll never forget this, he said, ‘35,000 Viet Cong died today, 15,000 Americans.’ I said ‘WHAT,’ you mean that many mothers’ children died today. In a war that we can’t come to the table and sit down and talk about this, without so many families losing their loved ones, I said, ‘Why can’t we live together?’ And I did it as a one-man band. That was my foot playing bass, that was my left-hand playing guitar. Could never believe that as a one-man band, something like that would’ve been played that much. But I do believe that the world was ready to start changing a little bit, and that song made the change.’

‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ was released in it’s original ‘demo’ form. The idea was to take the song into the studio and add a full band, but after listening to it, the ‘TK Records’ staff producer Steve Alaimo suggested that the song would be best released without any further work. Timmy Thomas had recorded the song in mono, and had played every instrument on the track, predominantly using a ‘Lowrey organ.’ He also used an early version of a drum machine, which was highly unusual at that time. He recorded the track in around 15 minutes, and it went on to sell over two million copies worldwide.

Steve Alaimo whose idea it was to release ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ in it’s original ‘demo’ form, was born Charles Stephen Alaimo, on December 6th, 1939. He joined ‘TK Records’ in 1969, and in 1974 formed a business partnership with Harry Casey, Richard Finch, and ‘TK Records’ label owner Henry Stone, (1921-2014) to oversee the career of ‘KC & the Sunshine Band’ (see also best songs 893.) Prior to joining ‘TK Records,’ Steve Alaimo had a career as a singer, releasing seven studio Albums between 1961-1966, and 25 singles between 1962-1972, where he was promoted as a ‘teen idol.’ He had nine of his singles reach the Billboard Hot 100, charting between Number 46 to Number 100, which is a record amount of chart entries for an artist, without ever reaching the top 40.

‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ has been covered on many occasions, with the English R&B group ‘Sade’ recording a version for their 1984 debut Album ‘Diamond Life,’ they later played the song at the 1985 ‘Live Aid’ concert. In 1982 the American music producer Mike Anthony recorded a ‘Disco’ version which became a hit in Belgium, and Holland. He was sued by the owners of the original Timmy Thomas recording for using elements from the original recording. A judge ordered a re-recording of the song with all the original parts removed. This ruling marked one of the first court cases in which the use of original samples in new recordings played a role, as a precursor to the many court cases in the 1990’s and 2000’s. In 2015 the Canadian Rapper Drake (see also best songs 1043-921 and 858) heavily sampled ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ with different lyrics, as ‘Hotline Bling,’ reaching Number 2 on Billboard, and Number 3 in the UK. Timmy Thomas admitted that he had no idea what Drake was rapping about. He recalled: ‘I was excited that my kids had to say ‘Daddy, here’s what he’s saying.’ It’s like I had to get into a rap dictionary to find out some of the things he was saying.’

‘Everybody wants to live together,why can’t we be together. No matter, no matter what colour, you are still my brother.