THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

486-Bob Lind-Elusive Butterfly.

1966-Number 5 single.

Best Bit-At 0.51. Don’t be concerned, this will not harm you, it’s just poetry in musical motion.

Robert Neale Lind was born on November 25th, 1942, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.In 1965 he signed with ‘World Pacific Records,’ which was a subsidiary of ‘Liberty Records,’ recording his first two Albums there, in total he has released five studio Albums between 1966-2016. Although this song remains his only self recorded charting single, his body of work has been covered by more than 200 artists. Lind suffered from drug, and alcohol problems for many years, but has been clean and sober since 1977. Away from music he is the writer of five novels, and an award winning play, and a screenplay called ‘Refuge,’ He was also a regular contributor to weekly tabloid papers for many years. In 2004 Lind returned to music, performing live shows, and releasing new music.

‘Elusive Butterfly’ features on Bob Lind’s 1965 debut Album ‘Don’t Be Concerned,’ with a string arrangement by Jack Nitzsche. Lind has said he wrote the lyrics around sunrise, sometime in 1964. He credits the songs inspiration as coming from the W.B.Yeats (1865-1939) poem ‘The Song of Wandering Aengus,’ first printed in 1897.In the song Lind sees himself as a butterfly hunter, he is looking for romance, but he finds it as elusive as butterflies are to capture. The original version of the song is more of a ‘Folk’ guitar based acoustic recording, and is nearly six minutes long, with more verses, but after being introduced by this songs producer Richard Bock to Jack Nitzsche, (1937-2000) the track was transformed. Nitzsche added a lush string arrangement, thus making the song one of the first ‘Folk/Rock’ songs to feature a string section.

‘Elusive Butterfly’ was initially released as the ‘B’ side to Lind’s first single release ‘Cheryl’s Goin’ Home,’ because the record company thought it was too different from the types of music that were becoming hits at that time, to be successful, but when one of the DJ’s at the Miami radio station ‘WQAM’ began playing it, the track started to get requests from the listening audience. In America on Billboard the song reached Number five in 1966, while although peaking in the same position in the UK, it was stopped from going higher by a rival version from the Irish singer Val Doonican (1927-2015) whose version also stalled at Number 5.

‘Don’t be concerned, it will not harm you, it’s only me pursuing somethin’ I’m not sure of. Across my dreams with nets of wonder, I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

487-Prince-Sign O’ the Times.

1987-Number 10 single.

Best Bit-At 1.47. This is one of the best examples of what Prince was capable of writing about, when he wasn’t just thinking about sex. According to the music engineer Susan Rogers who worked on the record with Prince, he wrote this song on a Sunday, because that was when he composed his most introspective songs.

‘Sign O’ the Times’ was the first single released off of Prince’s ninth studio Album of the same name in 1987. On this song, as well as writing and producing, he also provides all of the vocals, and plays every instrument, which included the use of a drum machine, and a ‘Fairlight’ sampling synthesizer, which was state of the art at that time.At around this time in his career, Prince (see also best songs 884-269-85 and 54) was a prolific creator of music, and had written enough material to release a triple CD Album, but his record company ‘Warner Brothers’ refuted the idea, and Prince eventually compromised to a double CD Album, but this was the start of his dispute with the label, eventually leading to him changing his name to a ‘squiggle,’ and having the word ‘slave’ written on his face.

The title of the song came from a magazine called ‘Signs of the Times’ which is a monthly religious publication, both of Prince’s parents were followers of Christianity. The song makes many social references to the state of the world in the mid 1980’s, including ‘AIDS.’ gang warfare, poverty, drug culture, the amount spent on the American space programme, and the imminent threat of nuclear war.At the very end of the song Prince is telling us to grab happiness while we can, and live for today.

The songs lyric video is an early example of the type of video that has become commonplace over the years.

‘Sign O’ the Times, mess with your mind, hurry up before it’s too late.Lets fall in love, get married, have a baby, we’ll call him Nate, if it’s a boy.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

488-Wilson Pickett-Land of 1000 Dances.

1966-Number 22 single.

Best Bit-At 0.12.The Pony, Chicken, Mashed Potato, Alligator, Watusi, Twist, Fly, Jerk, Tango ,Yo-Yo, Sweet Pea, Hand Jive, Slop, Bop, Fish, and the Popeye. I could mention the other 884 dances, but I would run out of room.

‘Land of 1000 Dances’ was originally written, and recorded by Chris Kenner (1929-1976.) He had his greatest success as a recording artist in 1961 when his co-write ‘I Like It Like That,’ with Allen Toussaint (1938-2015) reached Number 2 on Billboard.The song was covered by the English group ‘The Dave Clark Five’ in 1965, and made Number 7 on Billboard, but failed to chart in the UK. Kenner’s original version of ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ was inspired by an old ‘Spiritual Song’ called ‘Children Go Where I Send Thee,’with Kenner substituting places for dances, his recording stalled on Billboard at Number 77 in 1963.

The first top 40 version of the song was in 1965 by the Mexican/American band ‘Cannibal & the Headhunters’ who took the song to Number 30 on Billboard. This was the first time that the songs famous ‘na, na, na, na, na’ hook had been used, having been improvised by the bands lead singer Frankie ‘Cannibal’ Garcia. While performing the song Garcia’s microphone chord kept cutting out, and so to fill the gaps he chanted the ‘na, na.’ Probably all subsequent covers of the song now include the chant, including this most famous version by Wilson Pickett. In 1994 the Jamaican Reggae artist Ini Kamoze used the ‘na, na, na,’ in the chorus of his Billboard Number 1 single ‘Here Comes the Hotstepper.’

Wilson Pickett was born on March 18th, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama, United States, he died on January 19th, 2006, after suffering a heart attack at the age of 64. Pickett is considered a major figure in the development of Soul music, and after a grounding in Gospel music, joined the influential American R&B group ‘The Falcons’ in 1960 (see also best songs 828,) remaining a band member until pursing a solo career in 1963.Pickett recorded his version of ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at the ‘FAME’ studios using many of the top session players, and also members from the ‘Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.’ Pickett recorded 21 solo studio Albums between 1963-1999, and had 16 Billboard top 40 singles, with ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ achieving the highest chart placing when reaching Number 6 in 1966.

‘Dance with me honey, like Long Tall Sally.Twistin’ with Lucy,doin’ the Watusi. Gotta hold of your back, I like it like that, do the Jerk, watch me work.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

489-Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine-Sheriff Fatman.

1989-It didn’t chart on initial release, but when reissued in 1991 it made Number 23.

Best Bit-At 3.19. I don’t wish to start a lawsuit, but this bit here sounds awfully like The Waterboys song ‘The Whole of the Moon.'(see also best songs 755.)

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, or ‘Carter USM’ as they are also known were formed in 1987 by James Robert Morrison, known as ‘Jim Bob,’ and Leslie George Carter, known as ‘Fruitbat,’ they were active until 1998, but have reformed to perform live between 2007-2014. Prior to first playing together in the ‘Indie Pop’ band ‘Jamie Wednesday’ the duo had both plied their trade in other bands. When Jamie Wednesday disbanded after little success, Morrison, and Carter joined forces.In 1994 they added a drummer called ‘Wez,’ and the trio toured America, Japan, and Europe, and then in 1996,Wez’s brother Steve joined the band on guitar, and Ben Lambert was brought in as the keyboard player. Carter USM released six studio Albums between 1990-1998, including the 1992 ‘The Love Album,’ which reached Number 1 in the UK. They have also achieved 12 UK top 40 singles, with ‘The Only Living Boy In New Cross,’ being the highest charting, when reaching Number 7 in 1992.

‘Sheriff Fatman’ was co-written by Morrison, and Carter, and appears on their debut Album ‘101 Damnations’ from 1990. The song is about ‘Slum Landlords,’ and the way they manipulate their tenants with threats, and violence. There are notorious figures from the past name checked in the song including Nicolas Van Hoogstraten, who is referred to as ‘Nicholas Van what’s his face,’ Hoogstraten is a British businessman who became a convicted criminal over his property dealings.Also mentioned is Peter Rachman (1919-1962) who was a Polish born landlord who operated in Notting Hill, London, in the 1950’s, and 1960’s, he became infamous for his exploitation, and intimidation of his tenants.

‘There’s bats in the belfry, the windows are jammed, the toilets ain’t healthy, he don’t give a damn. Just chuckles and smiles, laughs like a madman,a born again Rachman, here comes Sheriff Fatman.’

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 up side your head.’

‘James’ were formed in Whalley Range, Manchester, England, by the friends Jim Glennie, and Paul Gilbertson, and were soon joined by Gavan Whelan on drums. They met future lead singer Tim Booth at the University of Manchester in 1982, and after playing live under various names settled on ‘James,’ probably because of Jim Glennie. In total there have been 11 members come and go, with Glennie being the bands one constant. ‘James” have released 16 studio Albums between 1986-2021, and have achieved 19 UK top 40 singles (see also best songs 109.)

The original version of ‘Sit Down’ at 7.39 seconds was released in 1989 on ‘Rough Trade Records,’ but disappointingly only reached Number 77. ‘James’ still had faith in the song, and bought back the rights just before Rough Trade went bankrupt. When James signed with ‘Fontana Records,’ the label brought in the experienced producer Gil Norton, who along with James gave the song the overhaul we all know today. In 1998 the Electronic Rock group ‘Apollo 440’ did a remix of the track as part of the promotion for the 2002 ‘Commonwealth Games’ launch in Manchester, and that version reached Number 7 in the UK.

‘Sit Down’ is credited to Glennie, Booth, Whelan, and Larry Gott who had become a full time member of the band in 1985, but the lyrics are mainly, if not fully the work of Tim Booth. Booth was born on February 4th, 1960, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.He remained with James as their lead singer until 2001, but rejoined the band again in 2007. Away from James, he has released two solo Albums in 2004, and 2011, and a further one with Angelo Badalamenti, called ‘Booth and the Bad Angel’ in 1996.

Booth has said that he wrote the song in 1988 at a time when he was feeling lonely and depressed. He credits the author 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 James Kendrick was born on December 17th, 1939, in Union Springs, Alabama, United States, he 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. Kendrick was noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, and can be heard singing lead on many of the Temptations hits including ‘Get Ready’, and ‘Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me.’)

Eddie Kendrick’s solo career got off to a slow start, with all five singles released from his first two solo Albums failing to break into the Billboard top 40, but things changed with the release of his third, and self titled studio Album in 1973, when ‘Keep On Truckin” released as the Albums second single made it all the way to Number 1 on Billboard. The song signified a change in style, moving towards a more dance oriented sound, and is considered to be one of ‘Disco’s’ first breakthrough hits.

‘Keep On Truckin” was co-written by Leonard Caston Jr. Anita Poree (1939-2018) and Frank Wilson (1940-2012) who also produced the song. Caston Jr. has written for many artists on the ‘Chess,’ and ‘Motown’ labels, including the 1971 top 20 hit for The Supremes,’Nathan Jones,’ he can also be heard playing the piano on the Fontella Bass hit ‘Rescue Me,’ from 1965. Frank Wilson who also worked with Kendrick on all of his first six solo Albums will always be best remembered for his ‘Northern Soul’ classic ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do’) (see also best songs 97.) He went to work for Motown in 1965, employed as a songwriter and producer for many of the labels top acts including The Supremes,(see also best songs 411) and The Four Tops. Wilson retired from music in 1976 to become a born again Christian Minister.

Eddie Kendricks released 12 solo studio Albums between 1971-1981. There were also two duet Albums with his fellow ex ‘Temptations’ band mate David Ruffin (1941-1991) and a live Album recorded with Ruffin, and Daryl Hall & John Oates in 1985,’Live at the Apollo.’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 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 in the mid 1950’s by Billy Roberts, who was born William Moses Roberts Jr., on August 16th, 1936, in Greenville, South Carolina, United States, he died on October 7th, 2017, at the age of 81. Roberts recorded the song himself, but never had it officially released, but he did have it copyrighted in 1962.Roberts was a folk singer, he was a member of the ‘Driftwood Singers’ between 1964-1965, who played on the same bill as artists such as Bill Cosby, Carmen McRae, and Johnny Cash. He released one studio Album in 1975 called ‘Thoughts of California’.It is thought that Robert’s 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 US Country hit ‘Hey Joe’ written by Boudleaux & 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, 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 Billboard, the highest chart placing the song has reached in America. Jimi Hendrix (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 (see also best songs 851) (1938-1996) who was now Hendrix’s manager, the song became the first single release of the ‘Jimi Hendrix Experience.’ The song failed to chart in America, but made Number 6 in the UK.’Hey Joe’ is the story of a man who finds out 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 a trial, and the hangman, he travels down south 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 Roberts.

On May 12th, 2012, in the town square of Wroclaw, in Poland, a ‘Guinness Record’ was set when 7,273 guitarists played ‘Hey Joe’ simultaneously.

‘Hey Joe, 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.’