THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

288-Lew Stone And His Band (Vocal Chorus by Sam Browne)-I Get Along Without Very Well (Except Sometimes.’)

1939-It has never charted in the UK. There was no UK chart until 1952.

Best Bit-At 0.09. The lyrics were written 15 years before the music was added, and the lyricist died before hearing or seeing the songs success.

‘I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes’) was co-written by Hoagy Carmichael, (music) and Jane Brown Thompson, (lyrics) Carmichael based the main melodic theme on the ‘Fantaisie-Impromptu’ in C sharp minor, by Frederick Chopin (1810-1849.) In 1924 a friend of Carmichael’s showed him a magazine clipping of a poem he thought he might like, Carmichael did, and scribbled it down on the back of an envelope. 15 years later while having a clear out he came across the envelope, and this time decided to write music to the words, but he couldn’t release it until tracking down the poems author. Hoagy Carmichael asked his friend, the American radio presenter Walter Winchell (1897-1972) to broadcast on air a plea to find whoever had written the songs lyrics. Winchell said on air, ‘Attention, poets and songwriters! Hoagy Carmichael, whose songs you love has a new positive hit, but he cannot have it published. Not until the person who inspired the words communicates with him and agrees to become his collaborator. I hope that person is a listener now,’ Winchell then went on to quote some of the lines from the original 1923 poem. Around a month later two former employees of the now disbanded ‘Life’ magazine where the poem had first appeared came forward, and the author who was now a 71 year old widow living in a nursing home was found. Her name was Jane Brown-Thompson (1868-1939) who signed a contract where she would receive 3 cents per copy sold. The sad post-script to the story is that the song made it’s debut on the Dick Powell (1904-1963) radio show on January 19th, 1939, but unfortunately Mrs Thompson died the day before on January 18th, so never knew of her songs great success.

Hoagy Carmichael (see also best songs 185) was born Hoagland Howard Carmichael on November 22nd, 1899, in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, he died of a heart attack on December 27th, 1981, at the age of 82. Hoagy Carmichael who was named after a circus troupe called the ‘Hoaglands’ that had stayed at the Carmichael house during his mother’s pregnancy, was one of the most successful ‘Tin Pan Alley’ (see also best songs 669-535-443-412 and 397) songwriters of the 1930’s and 1940’s, and was among the first singer-songwriters to utilise new communication technologies such as old-time radio broadcasts, television, microphones, and sound recordings. Carmichael who wrote several hundred songs, is remembered as one of the most gifted songwriters of the 20th Century. Two of his best known compositions are ‘Stardust,’ written in 1927, which is now considered as a standard, and part of the ‘Great American Songbook,’ (see also best songs 281) and ‘Georgia on My Mind,’ (see also best songs 185) a song he wrote the music for in 1930. The music historian Ivan Raykoff described Hoagy Carmichael as ‘One of America’s most prolific songwriters,’ and an ‘Iconic pianist.’ his work appeared in more than a dozen Hollywood films, including his performances in classic films such as ‘To Have and Have Not, (1951) and ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’ (1946.)

‘I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes’) has been covered numerous times over the years, with the best selling recording being by ‘Red Norvo (1908-1999) and his Orchestra, with vocals by Terry Allen (1916-1981) from 1939. The version I have chosen is the 1939 recording by Lew Stone, who was born Louis Stone on May 28th, 1898, in London, England, he died on February 13th, 1969, at the age of 70, Stone is best remembered as one of the most innovative, and imaginative musical arrangers of his era. The vocals on the track were provided by Sam Browne who was born on March 26th, 1898, in London, England, he died on March 2nd, 1972, at the age of 73, recording over 2000 songs during his career. Browne was a go to vocalist for several of the top bands of the 1930’s, and early 1940’s, including ‘Alfredo, and his Orchestra,’ and ‘Ambrose and his Orchestra.’ Sam Browne was often featured in radio broadcasts, and he had his own 15 minute programme called ‘Sing with Sam’ in 1947, on the ‘BBC Light programme.’ Browne was also featured in several British films, including Calling All Stars, (1937) Variety Parade, (1936) and Hi Gang, (1941) as well as on numerous film shorts. On November 3rd, 1941, he was travelling by train to fulfil an engagement in Bristol, when something crashed through the window and he fell to the floor. It was found that he had been shot in the jaw and neck. When the train reached Bath, Browne was taken to hospital and an operation was performed to remove a bullet.

The following lyrics are from the original poem written by Jane Brown Thompson in 1923.

‘I get along without you very well, of course I do
Except sometimes when soft rain falls
And dripping off the trees recalls
How you and I stood deep in mist
One day far in the wood, and kissed
But now I get along without you-well, of course I do’.

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

289-Elbow-One Day Like This.

2008-Number 35 single. It later peaked at Number 4 in 2012.

Best Bit-At 3.25. ‘Cause Holy cow I love your eyes,’ is possibly not the greatest of chat up lines.

‘Elbow’ were formed in Bury, Greater Manchester, England in 1990 by Guy Garvey, (lead vocals) who was then 16 years old, and had met Mark Potter, (guitar) at ‘Bury College,’ where Potter invited Garvey to join his student band, which also included Richard Jupp, (drums) and Pete Turner, (bass) they were soon joined by Potter’s brother Craig, (keyboards) and then played their first gig in 1990 as ‘Mr Soft,’ taking their name from the 1974 song ‘Mr Soft’ by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, (see also best songs 410 and 2) they later shortened their stage name to ‘Soft.’ In 2016 Richard Jupp left the band, and Alex Reeves who had provided sessions, and toured with them since 2016, took over the drumming and percussion duties, finally becoming an official member in 2024. In 1997 the band changed their name again, this time to ‘Elbow,’ The name was inspired by a line from the 1986 BBC television drama ‘The Singing Detective’ in which the character Philip Marlow describes the word elbow as the loveliest word in the English language.

The discography of Elbow includes 10 studio Albums released between 2001-2024, and 48 singles released within the same time period, there are also five extended plays, (EP’s) two official compilation Albums, and three live Albums available. Elbow who have had four of their studio Albums nominated for the ‘Mercury Music Prize,’ and won the award in 2008 for their fourth studio Album ‘The Seldom Seen Kid,’ have had all of their studio Albums reach the UK top 15, with four of them making the Number 1 position, while eight of their singles have reached the UK top 40, with ‘One Day Like This,’ peaking the highest at Number 4 in 2012. In America on Billboard Elbow have failed to chart, with the exception of their sixth studio Album ‘The Take Off and Landing of Everything,’ which reached Number 83 on the Billboard 200 Album chart in 2014, and their single ‘New York Morning’ taken from that Album, which made Number 28 on the Billboard Adult Album Alternative chart, also in 2014.

‘One Day Like This’ was the second of three singles released from ‘The Seldom Seen Kid,’ which was the fourth studio Album by Elbow, from March 2008, the Album has gone on to sell in excess of one million copies in the UK. ‘One Day Like This’ was written by Elbow, with the lyrics credited to Guy Garvey, and the production credited to Craig Potter and Elbow. When first issued as a single in June 2008, the song reached Number 35, but following their appearance at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012 the song re-entered the UK top 40, peaking at Number 4. In January 2009 Elbow recorded ‘The Seldom Seen Kid Live at Abbey Road,’ with the BBC Concert Orchestra, at Abbey Road Studios in London, with a special limited edition CD/DVD released on March 30th, 2009. As well as the discs, five postcards featuring photos of each band member, and a special booklet with photos commemorating the recording were issued.

Guy Garvey was born Guy Edward John Patrick Garvey on March 6th, 1974, in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, he is a musician, singer, songwriter, and radio presenter. Guy Garvey was born into a working class Catholic family, he is one of seven siblings, having five sisters and one brother, he was named Guy after another Catholic, Guy Fawkes (1570-1606.) Guy Garvey has been a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music since 2007, and in 2020 he presented the Sky Arts music series, ‘Guy Garvey: From The Vaults,’ which features performances and interviews from a specific year in Pop and Rock history showing archive footage, including Channel 4’s ‘The Tube,’ as well as clips from several regional television programmes. Many of the performances were previously unseen or being shown for the first time since they originally aired. Guy Garvey married Rachael Stirling in 2016, she is the daughter of the English actress Dame Diana Rigg (1938-2020.) Away from Elbow, Guy Garvey has released one solo studio Album called ‘Courting the Squall’ in 2015.

Guy Garvey has said that the line ‘One day like this a year would see me right,’ had been a lyric he had thought of as a teenager, and written in his diary, with the intention of using it sometime when the right song came along. Garvey has also stated that he wrote the song the day he woke up to a beautiful morning, ‘After being with someone and waking up with them for the first time.’ When the band first recorded the song, and added the strings, they thought it sounded like ‘Hey Jude,’ by the Beatles, (see also best songs 6) they also thought the song was similar to ‘Loaded,’ by Primal Scream (see also best songs 724.) Garvey said that he felt it was the ‘generous’ thing to do, to give those associations to the listener. ‘It’s that one great big song we’ve got, isn’t it? When we were writing it we were feeling that it might become a popular anthem. The balance of the song is that the tone that it strikes is not saying that everything’s rosy, it’s saying ‘this moment is rosy’. That gives people reason to throw their mouth open and their head back in song.’

‘What made me behave that way? Using words I never say. I can only think it must be love, oh, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

290-Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five featuring Melle Mel and Duke Bootee-The Message.

1982-Number 8 single.

Best Bit-At 3.44. This is the song that changed Rap music forever. Before this song MC’s only told people to take to the dance floor, and put their hands in the air.

‘The Message’ was the first ‘Hip-Hop’ song to provide a social commentary rather than the self congratulatory boasting, or party chants of earlier Hip-Hop. It’s influence cannot be stressed enough, as it paved the way for artists such as Public Enemy, (see also best songs 578 and 37) and N.W.A. (see also best songs 564 and 128.) In 2012 the American music ‘Rolling Stone Magazine’ named the song the greatest Hip-Hop song of all time.

The original demo of ‘The Message’ was written in 1980 by Edward ‘Duke Bootee’ Fletcher, (1951-2021) who at that time was employed as a songwriter at Sugar Hill Records. He took the demo which included his own Rap to Sylvia Robinson (1935-2011) (see also best songs 597-523-466-87 and 17) the co-founder of Sugar Hill Records, who asked Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to record it, (see also best songs 523 and 87) but they initially wanted nothing to do with it, Grandmaster Flash has said, ‘The subject matter wasn’t happy, It wasn’t no party sh#t, it wasn’t even some real street sh#t. We would laugh at it.’ With the group not wanting to record it Sylvia Robinson talked Melle Mel (see also best songs 523 and 85) of the Furious Five to perform the song with it’s writer Duke Bootee. Grandmaster Flash then had a change of mind and wanted to record the track, but Robinson refused. The only input on the song from Grandmaster Flash, (see also best songs 87) or the four other members of the Furious Five is at the end of the song, where they do a skit about being arrested by the police while stood on a street corner minding their own business.

As well as writing the majority of the songs lyrics ‘Duke Bootee’ also wrote the music, which unlike many ‘Hip-Hop’ tracks at the time didn’t have an up-tempo ‘Disco’ beat. ‘The Message’ has a ‘slow groove,’ and a reverberated synthesizer hook. Duke Bootee has said that he was influenced to write the music after hearing the songs ‘More Bounce to the Ounce’ by ‘Zapp’ from 1980, and ‘Genius of Love’ by ‘Tom Tom Club’ from 1981. The other songwriting credits on the song include Melle Mel who provided additional lyrics, and Clifton ‘Jiggs’ Chase, who was a producer at Sugar Hill Records, and also worked on this track, along with Sylvia Robinson.

The discography of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five includes two studio Albums, ‘The Message,’ from 1982, and ‘On the Strength,’ from 1988, they have also released 12 singles between 1979-1988, and there are 11 official compilation Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, surprisingly ‘The Message,’ which was also there only chart entry, stalled at Number 62, although six of their singles have made the Billboard ‘Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs’ top 40 chart. In the UK, the only top 40 hit single for Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is ‘The Message,’ which peaked at Number 8. The solo discography of Melle Mel includes one studio Album called ‘Muscles,’ from 2007, and a group Album called ‘On Lock,’ (2001) as part of ‘Die Hard,’ he has also been part of four collaborative Albums between 1984-2006. Melle Mel has also appeared on 48 singles between 1979-2015, either as part of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, as a solo artist, or in collaboration.

‘The Message’ was the third and final single released from the debut studio Album of the same name by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, from October 1982, the song was co-written by Duke Bootee, Melle Mel, Clifton ‘Jiggs’ Chase, and Sylvia Robinson, with the production being by Bootee and Robinson. Duke Bootee was born Edward Gernel Fletcher on June 6th, 1951, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States, he died on January 13th, 2021, of end-stage congestive heart failure, at the age of 69. Duke Bootee who wrote the majority of the lyrics for ‘The Message,’ also provided some of the Rap vocals on the track. He would later collaborate again with Melle Mel on the singles ‘Message II (Survival,’) (1982) and New York New York’ (1983.) After retiring from music in the early 1990’s Duke Bootee acquired a teaching certification and became an educator in New Jersey, and then later he became a professor of English at ‘Montclair State,’ and ‘Savannah State Universities.’ Clifton Jiggs’ Chase was born in 1940 in New Jersey, United States, he is a musician, composer, and record producer. During the 1980’s he was an in-house arranger and producer for Sugar Hill Records, (see also best songs 597-523-87 and 17) helping to propel the genre of ‘Hip-Hop’ music into the mainstream.

‘A child is born with no state of mind, blind to the ways of mankind. God is smilin’ on you, but he’s frownin’ too, because only God knows what you’ll go through.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

291-The Maytals-Monkey Man.

1969-Number 47 single.

Best Bit-At 0.47. This songs writer, and lead singer Toots Hibbert, is responsible for introducing the word ‘Reggae.’

Toots Hibbert was born Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert on December 8th, 1942, in May Pen, Colony of Jamaica, he died of COVID-19 during the pandemic in Jamaica, on September 11th, 2020, at the age of 77. In 2012 he was awarded the ‘Order of Jamaica,’ (OJ) which is the equivalent of a British Knighthood. The nickname ‘Toots’ (rhymes with newts) came from his older brother calling him ‘tuts’ when they were children. Toots Hibbert formed ‘The Maytals’ in 1962 with Henry ‘Raleigh’ Gordon, and Nathaniel ‘Jerry’ Mathias, as a vocal trio, in Kingston, Jamaica. According to Hibbert, ‘Maytals’ is a reference to the ‘Rastafari’ term for ‘do the right thing,’ but there have also been suggestions that the name was influenced by Hibbert’s hometown of ‘May Pen.’ The Maytals were initially a sought after vocal group, working with some of Jamaica’s top music producers such as Coxsone Dodd, (1932-2004) Byron Lee, (1935-2008) and Prince Buster (1938-2016) (see also best songs 734 and 139.) In the mid 1960’s the group was expanded, when musicians were added to the band, In total there have been 18 different group members come and go, with the band still active at the time of writing and performing as ‘Former members of The Maytals Band.’ They had originally started out as ‘The Maytals,’ which they were known as until 1972, when they became ‘Toots and the Maytals,’ until Hibbert’s death in 2020.

The discography of Toots and the Maytals includes 24 studio Albums released between 1964-2020, and 137 singles released between 1963-2021, there are also six extended plays, (EP’s) one box set, 21 official compilation Albums, and seven live Albums available. In the UK, they have never had a top 40 chart entry, but three of their singles have reached the top 100, ‘Monkey Man,’ (1969-Number 47) (54-46 Was My Number,’ (1970-Number 53) and ‘Reggae Got Soul’ (1976-Number 55.) Toots Hibbert has also had two solo singles chart in the UK, ‘Hard to Handle,’ (1989-Number 92) and ‘Broadway Jungle’ (2000-Number 77.)

In 1968 Toots Hibbert wrote a song called ‘Do the Reggay,’ which is widely credited as the genesis of the genre name ‘Reggae.’ Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960’s, strongly influenced by traditional Jamaican Folk music, as well as American Jazz, and R&B. Reggae evolved out of the earlier genres of ‘Mento,’ (see also best songs 390) ‘Ska’ (see also best songs 139) and ‘Rocksteady’ (see also best songs 420.) Toot Hibert has said, ‘There’s a word we used to use in Jamaica called ‘streggae.’ If a girl is walking and the guys look at her and say ‘Man, she’s streggae,’ it means she don’t dress well, she look raggedy. The girls would say that about the men too. This one morning me and my two friends were playing and I said, OK man, let’s do the reggay. It was just something that came out of my mouth. So we just start singing do the reggay, do the reggay, and created a beat. People tell me later that we had given the sound its name. Before that people had called it blue-beat and all kind of other things. Now it’s in the Guinness World of Records.’ Bob Marley (1945-1981) (see also best songs 618 and 56) said that the word Reggae came from a Spanish term for ‘the king’s music.’ In the liner notes of ‘To the King,’ which is a compilation of Christian Gospel Reggae, it suggests that the word Reggae was derived from the Latin ‘regi,’ meaning ‘to the king.’

‘Monkey Man’ was written by Toots Hibbert in 1969, with the production being by Leslie Kong, (1933-1971) (see also best songs 122) the song was recorded at the ‘Dynamic Studios,’ in Kingston, Jamaica, and issued on ‘Beverley’s Records’ in Jamaica, and ‘Trojan Records’ in the UK. Toots Hibbert who was a a multi-instrumentalist, is not only remembered as one of Reggae’s greatest artists, he was also ranked Number 71 in the American magazine ‘Rolling Stone’s’ ‘100 Greatest Singers of All Time’ in 2010. In his 2016 ‘The Rise of Reggae and the influence of Toots and the Maytals,’ Matthew Sherman wrote, ‘In the winter of 1968, the cool rocksteady beat gave way to a faster, brighter, more danceable sound. Reggae was born. Toots heralded the new sound with the seminal, complex groove monster ‘Do the Reggay’ advertising ‘the new dance, going around the town.’ Toots wanted ‘to do the Reggae, with you!’ From ’69 to ’71, Toots could do no wrong recording for Leslie Kong. With the consistent nucleus of musicians, the Beverley’s All-Stars (Jackie Jackson, Winston Wright, Hux Brown, Rad Bryan, Paul Douglas, and Winston Grennan) and The Maytals’ brilliant harmonising, Toots wrote and sang his unmistakable voice about every subject imaginable.’

‘Monkey Man’ has notable cover versions. There are two other charting versions in the UK, General Levy, (1993-Number 75) and Reel Big Fish (2003-Number 86.) In 1979 the British Ska revival band the Specials (see also best songs 924 and 372) recorded a version for their self titled debut studio Album, and in 2006 the British singer Amy Winehouse (1983-2011) (see also best songs 806) recorded the song for the Japanese edition of her second and final studio Album ‘Back to Black.’ In 2009, the Australian singer Kylie Minogue (see also best songs 928) and the Australian children’s music group the Wiggles recorded a version of the song to raise funds for ‘UNICEF.’

Monkey Man tells the tale of someone who has been dumped by his girlfriend, and has taken up with a big ugly brute of a man. In Jamaica a ‘Monkey Man’ is a slang word for a doorman, or a bouncer.

‘I see no sign of you, I only heard of you hugging up the big monkey man. Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, tell you baby, you’re hugging up the big monkey man.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

292-Foo Fighters-Everlong.

1997-Number 18 single.

Best Bit-At 1.29. David Grohl (see also best songs 999-788 and 9) is down on record as saying that one of his musical influences was the Scottish boy band ‘The Bay City Rollers.’ I honestly don’t know if he is pulling our legs or not.

David Eric Grohl was born on January 14th, 1969, in Warren, Ohio, United States. At the age of 13 he attended his first concert, where he was totally converted to ‘Punk Rock’ music, after seeing the American Punk band ‘Naked Raygun’ play live. While in high school he played guitar in several local bands, but switched to percussion, after teaching himself to play the drums. Grohl has said that he learned to play the drums by listening to the Canadian Rock band ‘Rush,’ of whom he names ‘Rush’ drummer Neil Pearl (1952-2020) as an early influence. He has also stated that Led Zeppelin (see also best songs 135 and 66) drummer John Bonham (1948-1980) is his greatest influence, and has Bonham’s ‘three-rings symbol’ tattooed on his right shoulder.

It was in 1990 that Dave Grohl was mutually introduced to Kurt Cobain, (1967-1994) and Krist Novoselic, of the ‘Grunge Rock’ group Nirvana, (see also best songs 788 and 9) Grohl has recalled, ‘I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks. I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherf#cker? You’re kidding me.’ Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic were looking for a drummer and Grohl soon joined them. It was during his four year tenure with Nirvana that Grohl wrote the songs that would eventually become the Foo Fighters debut self titled studio Album, Grohl has said that he was in awe of Kurt Cobain’s songwriting and felt that the songs that he had written were not suitable to the sound that Nirvana were recording, which is why he didn’t record and release them until after the demise of Nirvana.

Post Nirvana, David Grohl went into the studio and recorded a 15 track demo, on which he played every instrument, with the exception of a single guitar part on the song ‘X-Static,’ which was played by Greg Dulli of the American Rock band ‘Afghan Whigs.’ After passing the demo around a bidding war began, with Grohl signing to ‘Capitol Records’. Grohl did not wish to be known as a solo artist so recruited three band members, but the debut studio Album called ‘Foo Fighters’ from 1995, only featured the playing on it of Grohl. David Grohl chose the bands name from the UFO’s, and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II. In total there have been nine different official members of the Foo Fighters come and go since their forming in 1994, and at the time of writing they remain active.

The discography of the Foo Fighters includes 11 studio Albums released between 1995-2023, and 57 singles released within the same time period, there are also 14 extended plays, (EP’s) four official compilation Albums, and one live Album available. In America on the Billboard 200 Album chart all of their studio Albums have reached the top 40, with ‘Wasting Light,’ (2007) and ‘Concrete and Gold,’ (2017) both making the Number 1 position, while three of their singles have reached the Billboard Hot 100, with ‘Best of You’ peaking the highest at Number 18 in 2005. ‘Everlong’ failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but several of their singles have charted on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, and the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. In the UK all of the Foo Fighters studio Albums have reached the top 10, with six of them making the Number 1 position, while they have had 20 top 40 hit singles, with ‘Best of You’ peaking the highest at Number 4.

‘Everlong’ was the second of three singles released from the Foo Fighters second studio Album ‘The Colour and the Shape,’ (see also best songs 999) from May 1997, the song was written by Dave Grohl, and produced by Gil Norton (see also best songs 904 and 490.) ‘Everlong’ was written soon after the breakup of Grohl’s first marriage to Jennifer Youngblood. He wrote the lyrics after falling for Louise Post of the American Alternative Rock band Veruca Salt, she can be heard singing backing vocals on the track. Grohl wanted Louise Post to sing the ‘doo-doos,’ which were inspired by Veruca Salt’s 1996 track ‘Shimmer Like A Girl,’ As Post was in Chicago at the time, her vocals were done through two different telephone lines in the studio calling her, one connected as her monitor, the other for recording. Louise Post has said, ”I sang these back-ups over the phone at 2.0 a.m, after being woken up from a deep sleep in Chicago by DG who was tracking the vocals for ‘Everlong’ in L.A. He wanted me to sing the doo-doo’s. While I was at it, I wrote a harmony for the chorus and sang that too.’

On the songs meaning David Grohl has said, ‘It’s about a girl that I’d fallen in love with, and it was basically about being connected to someone so much, that not only do you love them physically and spiritually, but when you sing along with them you harmonise perfectly.’

‘And I wonder when I sing along with you, if everything could ever feel this real forever. If anything could ever be this good again. The only thing I’ll ever ask of you, you’ve got to promise not to stop when I say when.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

293-Hank Mizell-Jungle Rock.

1958-It did not chart until it was re-released in 1976, when reaching Number 3.

Best Bit-At 0.10. It took 18 years for this song to become a hit, so it appears that the ‘Jungle Drums’ were communicating very slowly.

Hank Mizell was born William M. Mizell, on November 9th, 1923, in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, he died on December 23rd, 1992, at the age of 69. After joining the United States Army, and serving in the Second World War, Mizell decided to take up singing professionally in a band that included a guitarist named Jim Bobo. Mizell got a job in Montgomery, Alabama, singing regularly on a local radio station, which was where one of the presenters nicknamed him ‘Hank,’ after the Country singer Hank Williams (1923-1953) (see also best songs 555.) In 1958 Hank Mizel and Jim Bobo were approached by a local Country vocalist called Gene Parsons, (not to be confused with the drummer in the Byrds) who had just set up his own record label called ‘Eko Records,’ the duo recorded three songs for the label, including ‘Jungle Rock.’ Although ‘Jungle Rock’ made no impression with the record buying public, it did receive favourable reviews from the Billboard magazine which wrote, ‘A persistent jungle blues item, would make good swingin’ dance fare.’ Some eight months later after the song had come to the attention of an employee at the ‘King Records’ label, the song was re-issued, but once again failed to make any real impact. Hank Mizel and Jim Bobo continued playing live together until 1962, until it was no longer financially viable. Mizel was now married, and also had four children to support, and he took the decision to give up music, and become a preacher for the Church of Christ.

In 1971 unbeknown to Hank Mizell, ‘Jungle Rock’ was one of the tracks reissued on a Dutch bootleg compilation Album called ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll, Vol 1,’ it had been issued by the Dutchman Cees Klop (-2017) who was a collector of rare 1950’s Rock ‘N’ Roll. Some of the early ‘Eko Records’ recordings of ‘Jungle Rock’ has mistakenly credited Jim Bobo with being the songs writer, and Klop took that information, and Bobo was credited as the songs writer on the Album. The Album came to the attention of the British DJ Roy Williams, who started playing ‘Jungle Rock,’ this led to ‘Charly Records’ who specialised in reissuing old songs releasing it in the UK in 1976. The song went on to reach Number 3 in the UK, Number 27 in Germany, Number 9 in Sweden, Number 2 in Belgium, Number 1 in the Netherlands. Hank Mizell who was now 53 years old had no idea that ‘Jungle Rock’ had become a European hit some 18 years after he first recorded it. The British flagship music programme ‘Top of the Pops,’ had to use their in house dancers ‘Pans People’ to perform the song when it first charted, but Mizell was finally tracked down in Tennessee, and was persuaded to come over to England and perform the song on the show, he also appeared on the Dutch music programme ‘Toppop.’

The discography of Hank Mizell includes one Album called ‘Jungle Rock,’ released in 1976, which only charted in Sweden, reaching Number 36, the Album was hastily put together from Mizell’s old material, and some covers. There are also 14 single available, (including four re-issues of Jungle Rock) released between 1958-2014, of which only ‘Jungle Rock’ has charted within any top 40 chart, although that songs follow up release ‘Kangaroo Rock,’ also in 1976, did reach Number 59 in the UK.

‘Jungle Rock’ is a ‘Rockabilly’ track. ‘Rockabilly’ (see also best songs 664) is one of the earliest styles of ‘Rock and Roll’ music. It dates back to the early 1950’s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as ‘Country’ with that of ‘Rhythm and Blues,’ The term ‘Rockabilly’ is a blend of the word ‘Rock’ from ‘Rock ‘N Roll,’ and ‘Hillbilly,’ which is a reference to the ‘Country music’ often called ‘Hillbilly music’ from the 1940’s and 1950’s, that contributed strongly to the style. Defining features of the ‘Rockabilly’ sound included strong rhythms, boogie woogie piano riffs, vocal twangs, doo-wop acapella singing, and common use of the tape echo. The genre peaked in popularity in the late 1950’s, due to artists of the calibre of Carl Perkins, (1932-1998) (see also best songs 664) Elvis Presley, (1935-1977) (see also best songs 954-664-442 and 194) Johnny Burnette, (1934-1964) and Jerry Lee Lewis (1935-2022) (see also best songs 362 and 99.) There were numerous amounts of musicians who recorded songs in the Rockabilly style, and many record companies were eager to release Rockabilly records. Some enjoyed major chart success and were important influences on future Rock musicians.

On March 21st, 1997 the ‘Rockabilly Hall of Fame’ was established by Bob Timmers, to present early Rock and Roll history and information relative to the original artists and personalities involved in the ‘Rockabilly’ music genre. It was headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2000 an International ‘Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame’ and Museum’ was established in Jackson, Tennessee, and in recent years, the works of both ‘Halls of Fame’ have been absorbed.

‘Oh well the fox grabbed the rabbit and they hit the bunny hug, and all the beasts that fly was a cutting the rug.Oh well the camel was a jitter buggin’ with a kangaroo, and the elephant, the mover with the ring-ding-oo.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

294-Clash-The Call Up.

1980-Number 40 single.

Best Bit-At 0.16. The song opens and closes with a U.S. Marines traditional call and response marching, or running song, which was provided by Band Sgt. Dave Yates, who was drafted in for his appearance.

The Clash (see also best songs 638) were formed in 1976, in London, England, before coming together the bands future members had been active in the London music scene. The classic line up of the Clash, three of whom played on this track, were Joe Strummer, (1952-2002) (lead vocal, and rhythm guitar) Mick Jones, (lead guitar) (see also best songs 867) and Nicky ‘Topper’ Headon, (drums) Paul Simonon (bass guitar) wasn’t available at the time, and the bass guitar on the track was played by Norman Watt-Roy (see also best songs 150.) Headon left the band in 1982, and Mick Jones left in 1983, the group remained active until 1986, with six other members coming and going in that 10 year period.

The discography of the Clash includes six studio Albums released between 1977-1985, and 31 singles released between 1977-1991, there are also two extended plays, (EP’s) four box sets, nine official compilation Albums, and two live Albums available. In the UK, all of their studio Albums have reached the top 20, with ‘Give ‘Em Enough Rope,’ (1978) and ‘Combat Rock,’ (1982) both peaking the highest at Number 2, while 16 of their singles have made the top 40, with the 1991 re-release of their 1982 Number 17 hit ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ reaching the Number 1 position. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, three of their studio Albums have reached the top 40, with ‘Combat Rock’ peaking the highest at Number 7, while two of their singles have made the Billboard Hot 100 top 40, ‘Train in Vain,’ (1979-Number 23) and ‘Rock the Casbah’ (1982-Number 8.)

‘The Call Up’ was the first of three singles released from ‘Sandinista!’ the fourth studio Album by the Clash, from December 1980. ‘The Call Up’ like all the other original tracks on ‘Sandinista!’ has the songwriting credited to all four members of the Clash at that time, their three previous Albums had just credited only Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. ‘Sandinista!’ was a triple Album containing 36 tracks, with six on each side. In order for the record label to agree to such a large release, the Clash had to compromise by forgoing any royalties on the first 200,000 copies sold in the UK, and a 50% cut in royalties elsewhere. Joe Strummer had been unhappy that ‘CBS’ records had rejected their previous Album ‘London Calling’ (1979) being released as a double Album, and said, ‘It was doubly outrageous, actually it was triply outrageous.’ Mick Jones said, ‘I always saw it as a record for people who were, like, on oil rigs, or Arctic stations, people that weren’t able to get to the record shops regularly.’ The Albums title ‘Sandinista!’ refers to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, who are a socialist political party. Its members are called Sandinistas. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, (1895-1934) who led the Nicaraguan resistance against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930’s. On ‘Sandinista!’ The Clash continued to expand their exploration of musical genres including ‘Funk,’ ‘Reggae,’ ‘Jazz,’ ‘Gospel’ ‘Rockabilly ‘Folk,’ ‘Dub,’ ‘Rhythm and Blues,’ ‘Calypso,’ ‘Disco,’ and ‘Rap.’ In 2020 it was ranked Number 323 on the American monthly music magazine ‘Rolling Stone’ list of ‘The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.’

Joe Strummer was born John Graham Mellor, in Ankara, Turkey, on August 21st, 1952, he died of a heart attack due to an undiagnosed congenital defect, on December 22nd, 2002, at the age of 50. In January 2003 he was posthumously inducted into the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ along with four other members of the Clash. In his remembrance, his friends and family established the ‘Joe Strummer Foundation’ a non-profit organisation that gives opportunities to musicians, and supports projects around the world that create empowerment through music. It was in 1975 that he adopted the stage name ‘Joe Strummer,’ subsequently insisting that his friends call him by that name. The surname ‘Strummer’ apparently referred to his role as a rhythm guitarist in a self-deprecating way. Joe Strummer has said that he developed a love of ‘Rock’ music by listening to records by Little Richard, (1932-2020) (see also best songs 521) the Beach Boys, (see also best songs 930-811-180 and 74) and Woody Guthrie (1912-1967.)

On April 3rd, 1976, the then-unknown Sex Pistols (see also best songs 576-92 and 27) opened for the ‘101ers,’ who Joe Strummer was a member of, at a venue called the ‘Nashville Room’ in London. Strummer recalled, ‘I knew something was up, so I went out in the crowd which was fairly sparse. And I saw the future, with a snotty handkerchief, right in front of me. It was immediately clear. Pub rock was, ‘Hello, you bunch of drunks, I’m gonna play these boogies and I hope you like them.’ The Pistols came out that Tuesday evening and their attitude was, ‘Here’s our tunes, and we couldn’t give a flying fu#k whether you like them or not. In fact, we’re gonna play them even if you fu#king hate them.’ Within three months the Clash had been formed, and made their debut performance on July 4th, 1976, supporting the Sex Pistols at the ‘Black Swan’ nightclub in Sheffield, England.

‘The Call Up’ is a song about ‘The Draft,’ and war in general. It also tells of things that a soldier may miss out on, ‘There is a rose that I want to live for.’

‘All the young people down the ages, they gladly marched off to die. Proud city fathers used to watch them, tears in their eyes.’