THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

295-Art Shaw and his Orchestra-Begin The Beguine.

1938-It has never charted in the UK. There was no UK chart until 1952.

Best Bit-At 2.29. The songs author Cole Porter christened the dance that is performed to this song, he called it ‘The Beguine.’

Artie Shaw was born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky on May 23rd, 1910, in New York City, United States, he died on December 30th, 2004, at the age of 94, having been in ill health for sometime. The specific cause of death was never made public, but he had been a long term sufferer from diabetes. Artie Shaw who is probably best remembered as one of Jazz’s finest clarinettists, was one of the United States most popular band leaders in the late 1930’s, through to the early 1940’s. Between 1936-1946, he had 44 songs chart on Billboard, with four of them reaching the Number 1 spot, including ‘Begin The Beguine,’ Although having been successful prior to recording ‘Begin The Beguine,’ it was that song which propelled Artie Shaw to stardom. Shaw soon grew tired of of playing ‘mainstream’ music, and was keen to experiment, his blending of ‘Jazz’ and ‘Classical’ music, was later coined in 1957 by the American composer Gunther Schuller (1925-2015) as ‘Third Stream’ music. Artie Shaw eventually grew tired of being a major celebrity, and professional musician, and completely retired from music in 1954. He once said that he got sick of having to play ‘Begin The Beguine’ 500 times a year.

Artie Shaw who received a ‘Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2004, had the honorific title of ‘King of the Clarinet’ bestowed upon him by his fans in response to Benny Goodman’s (1909-1986) nickname, the ‘King of Swing.’ Artie Shaw said that the titles should be reversed, ‘Benny Goodman played clarinet. I played music,’ By his own admission Artie Shaw was a ‘very difficult man.’ He was married eight times, including to the America actress Lana Turner (1921-1995) in 1940, Betty Kern (1913-1996) the daughter of Jerome Kern between 1942-1943, and the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990) between 1945-1946. Both Lana Turner, and Ava Gardner later described Shaw as being extremely emotionally abusive. He often publicly threatened his wives, promising to ‘teach them a lesson later on’ if they did not ‘shut their yapper.’ His controlling nature and incessant verbal abuse drove Turner to have a nervous breakdown, soon after which she divorced him.

It was the American composer Cole Porter (1891-1964) (see also best songs 944-655 and 73) who wrote the music and the lyrics to ‘Begin The Beguine’ during a 1935 Pacific cruise between Kalabahi, Indonesia, and Fiji. Cole Porter got the idea for the song, and invented the word ‘Beguine’ after watching people perform a dance he had never seen before which was similar to a ‘Rhumba.’ ‘Begin The Beguine’ was first performed in October 1935 by the American actress June Knight (1913-1987) in the Broadway Musical ‘Jubilee,’ but didn’t become a major hit until Artie Shaw recorded it in 1938. The song was initially issued as the ‘B’ side to ‘Indian Love Call,’ on August 17th, 1938, as ‘Art Shaw and His Orchestra.’ and it was the songs ‘swing’ arrangement by Artie Shaw, and Jerry Gray (1915-1976) which caught the public’s imagination.

Jerry Gray was born Generoso Graziano on July 3rd, 1915, in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States, he died on August 10th, 1976, at the age of 61. In 1936 Jerry Gray joined the Artie Shaw orchestra as lead violinist, within a year under the tutelage of Shaw he had become a musical arranger. In November 1939 Artie Shaw broke up his band and moved to Mexico. The next day, Glenn Miller (1904-1944) (see also best songs 808-321 and 146) called Gray and offered him a job arranging for his band. In later years Jerry Gray said, ‘To me, Glenn’s band didn’t swing like Artie’s., but after I made up my mind to accept things as they were, things started to click. He was a businessman who appreciated music, I may have been happier musically with Artie, but I was happier personally with Glenn.’ During World War II Gray toured with Miller entertaining the troops as the chief arranger for the ‘Miller’s Band of the Training Command,’ which was later known as the ‘Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra.’ In 1953 Jerry Gray and Henry Mancini (1924-1994) (see also best songs 45) worked on the film ‘The Glenn Miller Story,’ starring James Stewart, (1908-1997) and June Allyson (1917-2006.)

Like many songs on this ‘1000 Best Songs’ list ‘Begin The Beguine’ has been recorded numerous times by many of the worlds top artists down the decades. The song featured in the 1940 musical film ‘Broadway Melody of 1940,’ with Fred Astaire (1899-1987) (see also best songs 385) and Eleanor Powell (1912-1982) dancing to it, with a Flamenco choreography. Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) (see also best songs 877-567-469-120 and 73) took his version of the song to Number 23 on Billboard in 1946, and Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) (see also best songs 944-702-286-231 and 100) included the song on her ‘Verve’ release ‘Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook’ in 1956. The most successful charting version of ‘Begin The Beguine’ in the UK is the recording by Julio Iglesias which made Number 1 in 1981. Apart from the opening line which is sung in English, the rest of the song is sung in Spanish. Iglesias wrote new lyrics, and the music was based on a ‘Disco’ version recorded by Johnny Mathis (see also best songs 706) from 1979. When Julio Iglesias took his version to Number 1 it became the first Spanish language song to top the UK chart, and Iglesias became only the second Spanish artist to reach Number 1, the first being ‘Baccara’ in 1997 with ‘Yes Sir I Can Boogie.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

296-Pink-Get the Party Started.

2001-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 0.10. At the age of 14, she chose the stage name ‘Pink,’ she had already had that as a nickname for quite sometime, calling herself after the character ‘Mr Pink’ in Quentin Tarantino’s film ‘Reservoir Dogs’ (see also best songs 524.)

‘Pink’ was born Alecia Beth Moore on September 8th, 1979, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, United States, with sales in excess of 100 million records, she is one of the best selling artists of all time. At the age of 16 she formed an R&B girl group called ‘Choice’ with two others. A copy of their debut single ‘Key to My Heart’ was sent to L.A.Reid of ‘LaFace Records’ who signed them in 1995, but by 1998 Reid gave Pink an ultimatum, go solo or go home.’ Pink’s debut solo Album ‘Can’t Take Me Home,’ from 2000, was recorded in the R&B genre, eventually selling over two million copies in America, and producing three top 40 singles on both sides of the Atlantic. Even with this great initial success Pink wasn’t happy with the direction her career was going in, as she saw herself more of a ‘Rock’ artist that an ‘R&B’ artist. Pink has spoken about the danger of changing musical genres, ‘I knew the risk involved. I’d seen artists change styles and fail miserably, but I’ve also seen artists change and continue to do well. That’s why Madonna (see also best songs 774 and 587) has always been an inspiration for me. I told him (L.A. Reid) I had faith in my ability and I was willing to take the chance. And I have so much respect for him, [Reid] because he turned around during that meeting. By the end, he said, “OK, let’s do it” Pink obviously made the right decision as her second studio Album ‘Missundaztood’ has gone on to sell in excess of 12 million copies worldwide.

The discography of Pink includes nine studio Albums released between 2000-2023, and 59 singles released within the same time period, there are also six official compilation Albums, one live Album, and a collaborative Album called ‘You+Me,’ recorded with the Canadian musician Dallas Green as ‘Rose Ave.’ in 2014. In America on Billboard, three of her studio Albums have reached Number 1 on the ‘Billboard 200 Album’ chart, while she has had 24 top 40 hits on the ‘Billboard Hot 100,’ with four of those tracks making the Number 1 position, while ‘Get the Party Started’ reached Number 4. In the UK, Pink has achieved four Number 1 Albums, while 38 of her singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Lady Marmalade’ with Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim and Mýa, (2001) ‘Just Like a Pill,’ (2002) and ‘So What,’ (2008) all making Number 1.

‘Get the Party Started’ was the first of four singles released from ‘Missundaztood,’ the second studio Album from Pink, from November 2001, the song was written and produced by Linda Perry, who was born on April 15th, 1965, in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. In 1989 Linda Perry was asked to join the all female group (at that time) ‘4 Non Blondes,’ In 1992 they released their only studio Album ‘Bigger, Better, Faster, More!’ which included the Linda Perry penned song ‘What’s Up? which would prove a worldwide hit, reaching Number 2 in the UK, and Number 14 on Billboard in America. Perry left ‘4 Non Blondes’ in 1994 citing creative disagreements between herself and the band, and also that her sexuality had a part to play in her tensions with the group.

Before meeting Pink, Linda Perry released two solo studio Albums in 1996, and 1999, there has since been a further one in 2015. In 2000 she changed her style of songwriting, acquiring recording equipment, including a ‘TASCAM DA-88’ recorder, and ‘Roland and Korg Triton’ synthesizers, and taught herself to use them, writing her first dance song, ‘Get the Party Started,’ in the process. She sent the song to Madonna’s manager Guy Oseary, who turned it down. Shortly after, Pink who had as a teenager been a big fan of ‘4 Non Blondes’ approached Perry for assistance in her change of musical style, seeking production and songwriting assistance on her second Album, ‘Missundaztood.’ Linda Perry co-wrote and produced much of the Album, including full writing credits for the songs ‘Lonely Girl,’ and ‘Get the Party Started.’ In 2015 Linda Perry was inducted into the ‘Songwriters Hall of Fame.’

‘Get the Party Started’ was written by Linda Perry as an experiment to see if she could write something in a completely different style to what she had previously done. As well as using different instruments, she also wrote the songs lyrics, deliberately using every party cliche she could think of. In 2006 the Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey (see also best songs 441) covered the song for the Marks & Spencer Christmas television advertising campaign. It was later released as a single in 2007, and reached Number 47 in the UK, giving Bassey her 33rd charting song since ‘The Banana Boat Song (Day-O’) had made Number 8 in 1957. This made Shirley Bassey the first female artist in the UK chart to have had chart entry’s spanning over a 50 year period.

‘Pumpin’ up the volume, breakin’ down to the beat, cruisin’ through the Westside, we’ll be checkin’ the scene.Boulevard is freakin’ as I’m comin’ up fast, I’ll be burnin’ rubber, you’ll be kissin’ my ass.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

297-Swing Out Sister-Where in the World.

1989-Number 47 single.

Best Bit-At 4.14. They took their name from the title of an obscure 1945 musical movie called ‘Swing Out Sister,’ They claim they chose the name because it was the only one they could all agree on, in that they all hated it.

Swing Out Sister are a ‘Pop,’ ‘Jazz,’ and ‘Sophisti-Pop’ group who were formed in 1985, in Manchester, England, by Andy Connell, (keyboards) and Martin Jackson, (drums) prior to joining forces Andy Connell had performed in other bands, with the highest profile being the Manchester based Post Punk band ‘A Certain Ratio.’ Martin Jackson had also been in other bands, most notably ‘Magazine,’ who were another Post Punk band, also from the Manchester area. The pair recorded demo’s for ‘Phonogram Records,’ who insisted that they added vocals to their Electronic based music, and they turned to the Soul singer Diane Charlemagne (1964-2015.) Due to contractual problems Charlemagne was unable to officially work with the pair, so they approached Corinne Drewery whom they had first met in 1984, to become the groups vocalist, Drewery had previously been a fashion designer. Martin Jackson stayed with Swing Out Sister for the release of their debut Album ‘It’s Better to Travel,’ although he is credited with co-writing two of the tracks on the bands second Album ‘Kaleidoscope World’. Since Jackson’s departure Swing Out Sister have been a duo, but have brought in several high profile musicians to perform with them in the studio, and when performing live.

The discography of Swing Out Sister includes 10 studio Albums released between 1987-2017, and 23 singles released between 1985-2007, there are also 13 official compilation Albums and two live Albums available. In the UK, all of the first three of their studio Albums have reached the top 40, with their debut ‘It’s Better to Travel’ making the Number 1 position, also in the UK, six of their singles have made the top 40, with ‘Breakout,’ from 1986, peaking the highest at Number 4. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, two of their singles have reached the top 40, ‘Breakout,’ (1986-Number 6) and ‘Twilight World,’ (1987-Number 31) while ‘Where in the World’ failed to chart within the top 100. Swing Out Sister have also released other various live, compilation, or remix albums, some of which are only available in certain regions of the world.

‘Where in the World’ was the second of four singles released from Swing Out Sister’s second studio Album ‘Kaleidoscope World,’ from May 1989, the song was co-written by Corinne Drewery, and Andrew Connell, with the production being by Paul Staveley O’Duffy. Their debut studio Album ‘It’s Better to Travel’ had been recorded with mainly Electronic instruments, but ‘Kaleidoscope World’ was recorded with the addition of an Orchestra, making for a retro sounding sophisticated ‘Easy Listening’ sound. This sound would be continued throughout the duo’s career. Their music is heavily influenced by the ‘Easy Listening’ genre of the 1960’s, (see also best songs 419) you could say they were the Burt Bacharach and Hal David of the 1980’s (see also best songs 902-832-815-740-644 and 224.) Notable musicians who performed on ‘Where in the World’ include, Vini Reilly, who played the Spanish guitar on the surprise ending to the song. Reilly also features in this ‘1000 Best Songs’ list, having played guitar and keyboards on the Morrissey song ‘Suedehead’ (see also best songs 940.) The drummer on this song is Chris Whitten, who was also the drummer on ‘The Whole of the Moon’ by the Waterboys (see also best songs 755.)

‘Where in the World’ was produced by Paul Staveley O’Duffy who was born on December 31st, 1963, in London, England. At the age of 17 he began his music career as an engineer in London, before moving to New York in 1984, where he establishing himself as a club re-mixer, working on remixes for artists such as KC and the Sunshine Band, (see also best songs 893) and Freeez (see also best songs 825.) On returning to London in the late 1980’s, O’Duffy earned a ‘BMI’ nomination for ‘Producer of the Year’ in 1987, for his work on the multi-platinum debut Album ‘It’s Better to Travel,’ by Swing Out Sister, he would continue to collaborate with Swing Out Sister on a further four of their studio Albums as a producer and songwriter. Paul Staveley O’Duffy is also a well known composer for television, having composed the themes and incidental music for ‘The Team – A Season with Mclaren,’ (BBC2 series) The Great Outdoors,’ (Channel 4 series) ‘The Big Elsewhere,’ (with Swing Out Sister, NHK Japan series) and ‘London Bridge’ (Carlton TV drama series.)

Swing Out Sister are one of the prominent artists in the musical genre of ‘Sophisti-pop,’ which is a Pop music sub-genre that developed during the mid-1980’s out of the British ‘New Wave’ era. It originated with acts who blended elements of ‘Jazz,’ ‘Soul,’ and ‘Pop’ with lavish production. The term ‘Sophisti-pop’ was coined only after the genre’s peak in the mid-late 1980’s. Sophisti-pop is characterised by its extensive use of electronic keyboards, synthesizers, and polished arrangements, with artists often adopting a sharp, well-dressed and well-groomed visual presentation. The American online music and film magazine ‘Stylus Magazine’ suggested that acts had been influenced by the work of Roxy Music, (see also best songs 316 and 57) such as their 1982 Album ‘Avalon,’ often cited as the first ‘Sophisti-pop’ Album, and Bryan Ferry’s (see also best songs 721) 1985 Album ‘Boys and Girls.’

‘Where in the World’ was co-written by Andy Connell, (music) and Corinne Drewery, (lyrics) and tells the tale of a woman who for whatever reason has parted from her lover. She is making herself physically and mentally ill because she is missing this person so much.

‘Keep telling me my condition hasn’t changed, can’t appreciate there’s no one but myself to blame.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

298-Dire Straits-Romeo and Juliet.

1981-Number 8 single.

Best Bit-At 2.23. Romeo and Juliet is Mark Knopfler’s ‘Play’ on words.

Mark Knopfler OBE was born Mark Freuder Knopfler, on August 12th, 1949, in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, in 1956 he moved to Blyth, near Newcastle, England, with his parents, and his younger brother and older sister. Dire Straits (see also best songs 829) were formed in Deptford, London, England, in 1977, by Mark Knopfler, (lead vocals, and lead guitar) his younger brother David, (born 1952) (rhythm guitar) John Illsley, (bass) and David ‘Pick’ Withers (drums.) Dire Straits were active between 1977-1988, they then went on hiatus, before reforming in 1990, until finally retiring the band in 1995, Mark Knopfler has often been quoted as saying that he will never play in Dire Straits again.

With record sales estimated between 100-120 million, Dire Straights are one of the best selling artists of all time, their fifth studio Album ‘Brothers in Arms’ from 1985 became the first Album on Compact Disc to sell one million copies in the UK, where it is currently the eighth best selling Album of all time in that country. The discography of Dire Straits includes six studio Albums released between 1978-1991, and 31 singles released between 1978-2005, there are also four extended plays, (EP’s) two box sets, three official compilation Albums, and four live Albums available. In the UK all six of their studio Albums have made the top 5, with three of those Albums making the Number 1 position, while 11 of their singles have reached the UK top 40, with ‘Private Investigations,’ (1982) and ‘Walk of Life, (1985) both peaking the highest at Number 2. In America all six of their studio Albums have made the ‘Billboard 200 Album’ chart, with ‘Brothers in Arms,’ (1985) peaking the highest at Number 1, while four of their singles have reached The ‘Billboard Hot 100,’ top 40, with ‘Money for Nothing’ peaking the highest at Number 1, and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ failing to chart.

The solo discography of Mark Knopfler includes 10 studio Albums released between 1996-2024, and 26 singles released between 1983-2024, there are also three extended plays, nine soundtrack Albums, and two official compilation Albums available. In the UK three of his singles have reached the top 40, with his 2006 duet with Emmylou Harris, ‘All the Roadrunning,’ peaking the highest at Number 8, while none of his solo singles have reached the American Billboard Hot 100. Mark Knopfler has remained busy following the demise of Dire Straits, as he has also released two collaborative Albums, with Chet Atkins (1924-2001) in 1990, and with Emmylou Harris in 2006, he has also released an Album in 1986 with ‘The Notting Hillbillies,’ a Country Rock group he formed in that year. Mark Knopfler has several production credits for other artists, including Bob Dylan ‘Infidels,’ (1983) and ‘Knife’ for Aztec Camera (1984.) He has played as a session musician on dozens of tracks for other artists, including ‘Gotta Serve Somebody,’ for Bob Dylan, (1979) and ‘Foreign Affair’ for Tina Turner, (1989) he had previously written Turner’s hit single ‘Private Dancer’ (1984-Billboard Number 7 & UK Number 26.)

‘Romeo and Juliet’ was the third and final single released from ‘Making Movies,’ which is the third studio Album from Dire Straits, from October 1980, the song was written by Mark Knopfler, with the production being by Knopfler, and Jimmy Lovine (see also best songs 84.) Jimmy Lovine was born James Lovine, on March 11th, 1953, in New York City, United States, as well as being involved in the engineering, mixing, and production of more than 250 Albums between 1973-2014, he was the co-founder of ‘Interscope Records,’ In 2006, along with Dr. Dre (see also best songs 564-544-482-189-128 and 48) he co-founded ‘Beats Electronics.’ In 2008, the brand launched its first set of headphones, and in 2013, they began the development for ‘Beats Music,’ and released it in 2014, which went on to become the framework for ‘Apple Music.’ The company was purchased by ‘Apple Inc.’ for $3 billion in May 2014. Jimmy Lovine has worked on some of the most iconic Albums of all time including ‘Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run,’ (1975) Meatloaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell,’ (1977) and ‘U2’s ‘Rattle and Hum’ (1988.)

‘Romeo and Juliet’ is based on Mark Knopfler’s own real life experience of falling in love as a young man. He was dating the American singer/songwriter Holly Vincent, and he felt he was being used by her so that she could further her own musical career. The line in the song, ‘Now you just say, oh Romeo, yeah, you know I used to have a scene with him,’ refers to an interview with Holly Vincent where she said, ‘What happened was that I had a scene with Mark Knopfler, and it got to the point where he couldn’t handle it, and we split up.’

In the song the couple are referred to as Romeo and Juliet, which of course is a reference to the William Shakespeare (1564-1616) play which was first premiered in 1597. Mark Knopfler also makes a point of mentioning other works involving young love, including the song ‘Somewhere’ from ‘West Side Story,’ (1957) which itself is based on the Shakespeare play, and also the song ‘My Boyfriends Back,’ (1963-Billboard Number 1 & UK Number 50) from the American girl group ‘The Angels.’

‘Juliet when we made love you used to cry. You said I love you like the stars above, said I’ll love you baby till I die, and there’s a place for us, you know the movie song. When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong Juliet.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

299-Judy Collins-Both Sides Now.

1968-It didn’t chart in the UK until 1970, when reaching Number 14.

Best Bit-At 1.36. It’s one of Pop Music’s most thought provoking songs, but the great mystery is how a 22 year old could have acquired the knowledge to write about life’s experiences, so accurately, without having lived through them yet.

‘Both Sides Now’ was written in 1966 by Joni Mitchell, (see also best songs 637 and 558) who was born Roberta Joan Mitchell on November 7th, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada. The exact date she actually wrote the the song is unknown, but it was definitely before November 17th, 1966, because that was when she first performed it live at ‘The Second Fret,’ Folk club, in Philadelphia, the song and the rest of her performance was finally released in 2014 on ‘All Access Records,’ as the Album ‘Joni Mitchel: Live at the Second Fret 1966.’ Mitchell has said that ‘Both Sides Now’ was inspired by a passage in ‘Henderson the Rain King,’ which is a 1959 novel by Saul Bellow (1915-2005.) Mitchell has said, ‘I was reading ‘Henderson the Rain King’ on a plane, and early on in the book Henderson is also up in a plane. He’s on his way to Africa and he looks down and sees these clouds too, and I immediately started writing the song. I had no idea that the song would become as popular as it did.’

‘Both Sides Now’ was first released by the American Folk singer Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) and the Hudson Dusters under the title ‘Clouds’ in June 1967. The songs author Joni Mitchell included the song on her second studio Album ‘Clouds,’ from May 1969. The most commercially successful version of the song is this recording from Judy Collins, who recorded it for her sixth studio Album ‘Wildflowers,’ from October 1967. It was released with the title ‘Both Sides Now,’ and was the only single issued from the Album. The song was produced by Mark Abramson, (1934-2007) and arranged by Joshua Rifkin.

Judy Collins was born Judith Marjorie Collins on May 1st, 1939, in Seattle, Washington, United States, this song, along with her renditions of ‘Amazing Grace’, (1970) and ‘Send in the Clowns’ (1975) are considered her signature songs. As a teenager Judy Collins studied Classical piano under the tutelage of Antonia Brico, (1902-1989) Brico took a dim view when Collins developed an interest in Folk music. Years later after she became internationally known, she invited Brico to one of her concerts in Denver. When they met after the performance, Brico took both of Collin’s hands into his, looked wistfully at her fingers and said, ‘Little Judy- you really could have gone places.’ In the 1960’s Judy Collins would perform many songs by aspiring Folk music writers such as Eric Anderson, Fred Neil, (1936-2001) (see also best songs 388) and Joni Mitchel, well before they became famous. It was Collins who introduced a then unknown Mitchell to the crowd at the 1966 ‘Newport Folk Festival’. Judy Collins version of ‘Both Sides Now’ reached Number 8 in America on Billboard, Number 6 in Canada, and Number 7 in New Zealand, in 1968, and Number 14 in the UK in 1970.

The discography of Judy Collins includes 36 studio Albums released between 1961-2022, and 21 singles released between 1963-2014, there are at least 24 official compilation Albums and nine live Albums available. In America ‘Wildflowers’ is her most commercially successful Album reaching Number 5 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, while four of her singles have made the Billboard Hot 100, with ‘Both Sides Now’ peaking the highest at Number 8. In the UK, Judy Collins’ most successful Album is her 10th studio Album ‘Judith’ from 1975, which peaked at Number 7, while three of her singles have reached the UK top 40, with ‘Amazing Grace’ from 1970, charting the highest at Number 5.

Joni Mitchell re-recorded ‘Both Sides Now’ in 2000 in an Orchestral fashion, for her 17th studio Album ‘Both Sides Now.’ She has also performed the song on numerous occasions, notably on July 24th, 2022, when at age of 78 she performed it with the American singer Brandi Carlile. With her voice shaken by age and the after-effects of a 2015 brain aneurysm, it is said that Joni Mitchell turned back the clock and delivered a powerfully emotional performance imbued with the wisdom of her life experience, punctuated with the last line of the song, ‘I really don’t know life at all.’ ‘Both Sides Now’ has been covered on numerous occasions down the years by dozens of different artists, including notable versions by Frank Sinatra, (1968) Clannad, as a duet with Paul Young, (1991) and Herbie Hancock (2007.)

‘Both Sides Now’ is about how your views, and the views and expectations of people you know change as you experience events that happen in your life. The wonderful future you imagined as a youngster may not have turned out as you expected. What seemed a simple path to follow at 16, proved to be fraught with dangers at 66.

‘Bows and flows of angel hair, and ice cream castles in the air, and feathered canyons everywhere, I’ve looked at clouds that way.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

300-Chemical Brothers-Block Rockin’ Beats.

1997-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 3.10. Ed Simons left school with 11 ‘O’ levels, and three ‘A’ levels, Tom Rowlands achieved nine ‘O’ levels, and three ‘A’ levels, but I don’t know if any of them were for Chemistry.

The Chemical Brothers (see also best songs 53) are the ‘Electronic Music’ duo of Ed Simons, who was born on June 9th, 1970, in Herne Hill, Lambeth, London, England, and Tom Rowlands, who was born on January 11th, 1971, in Kingston upon Thames, London, England, the pair first met when both were studying at the University of Manchester in 1989. Prior to meeting Simons, Rowlands had been in a band called ‘Ariel’ who had issued a few tracks with little success, and Rowlands felt that the quality of their output was deteriorating. One of the last songs Ariel recorded was a song called ‘T Baby,’ which became the first joint remix by Simons and Rowlands, this was remixed by the duo using the name ‘Dust Brothers,’ in tribute to the American trio of E Z Mike, King Gizmo, and Matt Dike, (1961-2018) who were the original ‘Dust Brothers,’ famed for their work with artists such as the Beastie Boys, (see also best songs 610) and Beck (see also best songs 879 and 230.) The Dust Brothers were not happy with Simons and Rowlands taking their name, but eventually came to an agreement. Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands officially formed in 1992, calling themselves ‘237 Turbo Nutters, then later that year they became ‘The Dust Brothers.’ In 1995 they changed to ‘Chemical Bros.’ then ‘Chemical Ed & Chemical Tom, before eventually deciding on ‘Chemical Brothers,’ which was taken from the title of one of their early songs called ‘Chemical Beats.’ For the discography of the Chemical Brothers see best songs 53.

‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ was the second of three singles released from ‘Dig Your Own Hole,’ which was the second studio Album by the Chemical Brothers, from April 1997, the Albums title was taken from some graffiti that was written on a wall near the studio where the Album was recorded. ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ was co-written, and co-produced by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Jesse Weaver, who is better known by his stage name ‘Schooly D’ also receives writing credit, as his vocals, and lyrics are used on the track. Although many other samples are used only Weaver is credited as an extra songwriter. ‘Dig Your Own Hole’ was the first of six studio Albums by the Chemical Brothers to reach Number 1 in the UK, and ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ was their second and final UK Number 1 singles. The Albums first single release ‘Setting Sun’ featuring the vocals of Noel Gallagher (see also best songs 1006-758 and 15) being the first. In America on Billboard ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ failed to reach the Hot 100 singles chart, but did make Number 40 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, and Number 11 on the Billboard Dance singles chart.

‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ can be filed under the genre of ‘Big Beat,’ which is music that normally consists of heavy and distorted drum beats, as well as synthesizers, and sampled loops of 1960’s, and 1970,’s ”Funk,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Jazz,’ and ‘Rock’ music. The genre was at it’s most popular during the later part of the 1990’s, and early part of the 2000’s. Other notable acts of the genre include The Prodigy, (see also best songs 925 and 151) and Fatboy Slim (see also best songs 760 and 95.) The term ‘Big Beat’ traces its roots to the Eastern Bloc in the 1960’s. Unlike the 1990’s genre, it did not cover Electronic music, rather it was used to cover Rock and Roll and its related genres as the terms were not approved by the authorities in the Eastern Bloc countries who were the USSR and its satellite states in the Warsaw Pact. By the 1980’s, Rock and Roll and related terms were already accepted by the authorities, so the term fell into obscurity until its 1990’s name revival. Fatboy Slim has said, ‘The name came from our club, the Big Beat Boutique, which I’m tremendously proud of. I always thought the formula of Big Beat was the breakbeats of Hip-Hop, the energy of Acid House, and the pop sensibilities of the Beatles, with a little bit of Punk sensibility, all rolled into one. People like the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers, we saw it as very similar to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, who grew up listening to Soul records and Blues records, and then sold an English version of it back to America.

‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ was put together from many clever samples. The drums are sampled from a 1973 song called ‘Changes’ by the American drummer Bernard Purdie, which is a track on the ‘Shaft’ soundtrack, (see also best songs 398.) The vocals ‘Back with another one of those block rockin’ beats’ was lifted from the 1989 ‘Hip-Hop’ song ‘Gucci Again,’ by the American Rapper Schooly D, of whom fellow Rapper ‘Ice T’ has credited as a major influence on the development of ‘Gangsta Rap.’ Another prominent sample is the tracks bass line which was taken from the British band ’23 Skidoo’s song ‘Coup,’ from 1983. The opening bass riff on ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ resembles the intro to Pink Floyd’s (see also best songs 992 and 280) 1968 song ‘Let There Be More Light,’ while the bass sound has been sampled from The Crusaders (see also best songs 588) 1974 song ‘The Well’s Gone Dry.’

‘Back with another one of those block rockin’ beats. We’re ’bout ready to rock steady.’

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

301-Link Wray & His Ray Men-Rumble.

1958-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 0.01 Sometimes fact can be stranger than fiction. This song was banned from being played on the radio. ‘IT’S AN INSTRUMENTAL!’

Link Wray was born Fred Lincoln Wray Jr. on May 2nd, 1929, in Dunn, North Carolina, United States, he died on November 5th, 2005, of heart failure at the age of 76. Wray’s mother was descended from ‘Shawnee,’ who are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands, and as a result of being indigenous, Wray and his family were always in fear of their lives from the ‘Ku Klux Klan,’ Wray has said, ‘The cops, the sheriff, the drugstore owner, they were all Ku Klux Klan. They put the masks on and, if you did something wrong, they’d tie you to a tree and whip you or kill you,’ his family listed themselves as White on census records. Between 1942-1955 Link Wray lived with his family in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he and his brothers Ray, and Doug (1933-1984) drove taxi cabs during the day, while working at night clubs in the Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia area. Wray’s first bands, ‘The Lucky Wray Band,’ and ‘The Palomino Ranch Gang,’ were formed in Portsmouth, and included brothers Ray, Doug, and Vernon (1924-1979.) Link Wray served in the United States Army during the Korean War between 1950-1953, where he contracted tuberculosis, leading to him having a lung removed, and doctors telling him that they thought he would never be able to sing again.

Link Wray is considered one of the most influential guitarists of all time for his groundbreaking use of ‘distortion,’ and ‘tremolo’ on this track ‘Rumble,’ which enhanced ‘Rock N’ Roll,’ and if not giving birth to ‘Rock’ music, then it certainly gave it a big push. Among the many greats who have acknowledged this are Pete Townshend (see also best songs 926-891-306 and 265) who has said, ‘He is the king, if it hadn’t been for ‘Rumble’ I would have never picked up a guitar.’ Jimmy Page (see also best songs 135 and 66) said that as a kid he used to listen to anything with a guitar on, ‘But the first time I heard ‘Rumble’ that was something that had so much profound attitude to it,’ and Bob Dylan (see also best songs 792-621-358-103-36 and 7) has called ‘Rumble’ The best instrumental ever.’

The discography of Link Wray includes 24 Albums released between 1960-2019, and 40 singles released between 1958-2019, he has also released three Albums in collaboration with the American Rockabilly singer Robert Gordon (1947-2022) between 1977-2014, and there are also a further 23 official compilation Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, both of Link Wray’s first two singles charted within the top 40, ‘Rumble’ made Number 16 in 1958, and ‘Raw-Hide’ reaching Number 23 in 1959. Link Wray has never had a charting single in the UK.

‘Rumble’ was officially written by Link Wray, and Milt Grant, (1923-2007) but the chances are Grant had nothing to do with the composing of the song. Grant was a radio and television presenter who probably had his name added to the credits in return for commercial exposure. When Link Wray first came up with the instrumental he called it ‘Oddball,’ and was pleased with the reaction when performing it live. The song was brought to the attention of Archie Bleyer (1909-1989) of the ‘Cadence Records’ label, who being from a previous generation had a very low tolerance when it came to ‘Rock N’ Roll,’ he only agreed to the record being released due to his step-daughters fascination with the song. It was also Bleyer’s step-daughter who suggested the songs title ‘Rumble.’ as it reminded her of the ‘rumble’ scenes in ‘West Side Story, although there is another story which suggests that it was Phil Everly (1939-2014) (see also best songs 799) who suggested the songs title, the Everly Brothers were also signed to ‘Cadence Records’ at that time. The title made the song somewhat controversial because it implied gang violence, with ‘rumble’ being a slang name for street fighting among gangs of youths in America. This led to some radio stations refusing to play it for fear of glorifying juvenile delinquency. The song can be heard at it’s most ‘menacing’ in a scene from the 1994 film ‘Pulp Fiction,’ between John Travolta, (see also best songs 768) and Uma Thurman.

‘Rumble’ is considered a groundbreaking song for it’s utilising techniques of ‘distortion,’ and ‘tremolo,’ which in 1958 was largely unexplored in ‘Rock N’ Roll.’ Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a ‘fuzzy,’ ‘growling,’ or ‘gritty’ tone. Distortion is most commonly used with the electric guitar, but may also be used with other electric instruments such as electric bass, electric piano, synthesizer and Hammond organ. What Link Wray achieved with his experimentation of the electric guitar by distorting it’s output led to being a key part in future genres of music, notably ‘Hard Rock,’ ‘Punk Rock,’ ‘Hardcore Punk,’ ‘Acid Rock, ‘Grunge,’ and ‘Heavy Metal.’