Yes, the song is misogynistic. The lyrics suck. That's terrible and it shouldn't be forgotten nor ignored, but I don't mean to dwell on it either. Personally, I love the song and try to ignore the lyrics. Musically, My Sharona is a very catchy piece of power pop, with great guitar work and huge hooks. It somewhat killed the original 70s wave of disco and brought back guitar music to the top of the charts, so it's interesting in the historical context too. Pretty damn good for a chart topper, with that bridge and solo at 3 minute mark being an absolute blast. I think it was James Hetfield who said that My Sharona was the only radio song at the time with a solo longer than 10 seconds.
Banger. It's an eternal debate whether the verse melody is a rip off of Sabbath's Children of the Grave or just coincidentally very similar. Either way, this is one of my favourite Blondie songs and deserves all the praise it gets. New wave, pop rock, power pop, whatever you call it. Written for mediocre noir American Gigolo, it was number one on Billboard for 6 consecutive weeks, and it's the band's biggest single. Though I think Heard Of Glass is much more popular today.
It's the third most watched YT video with 4.9 billion views. 4.9 BILLION. I might be biased since it's a recent song, but it's one of the worst chart toppers I've heard. I was tortured by its constant radio presence throughout 2017 and 2018. I just plain don't like it. It's every bit as artificial as Faith Hill's Breathe, and musically it's even more run of the mill. At least he wrote the song himself, although it's also credited to TLC members because of the similarities with TLC's song No Scrubs. I'm sure Ed is stealing a lot of his musical ideas, but that's not a crime imo unless the song (or part of the song) is a blatant copy. The whole lawsuit involving TLC was a farce. I'm on Ed's side here, but that doesn't mean the song is any good.
There are worse Ace of Base songs. I'm not a huge fan of the Europop/Eurodance/Dance Pop invasion during the 90s/00s, even though there's some good songs like Cher's Believe which I've covered earlier. Ace of Base are certainly one of the most well known bands of the time, with several huge hits in the 90s. The Sign is self-titled lead single from the album which also topped Billboard's year end albums list. They were huge. Another piece of trivia: Ace of Base have taken the name from Motörhead's classic Ace Of Spades, after using several different names (Kalinin Prospect, Computer-Aided Disco, Tech-Noir) in the late 80s and early 90s. They also started as a techno band inspired by the likes of The KLF.
Rankings:
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Blondie - Call Me (1980)
50 Cent - In Da Club (2003)
Percy Faith - Theme From "A Summer Place" (1960)
The Knack - My Sharona (1979)
Pharrell Williams - Happy (2014)
Wings - Silly Love Songs (1976)
Cher - Believe (1999)
Percy Faith - The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart) (1953)
Pee Wee Hunt - Twelfth Street Rag (1948)
Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra - Riders In The Sky (1949)
Prince - When Doves Cry (1984)
Usher - Yeah! (ft. Lil Jon, Ludacris) (2004)
Tony Orlando And Dawn - Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (1973)
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) (2012)
Kesha - Tik Tok (2010)
Perry Como - Prisoner of Love (1946)
Sam the Sham & the Pharaos - Wooly Bully (1965)
Three Dog Night - Joy To The World (1971)
Ace of Base - The Sign (1994)
Perez Prado - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White (1955)
Mr. Acker Bilk - Stranger On The Shore (1962)
Nickelback - How You Remind Me (2002)
Flo Rida feat. T-Pain - Low (2008)
Daniel Powter - Bad Day (2006)
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were (1974)
Faith Hill - Breathe (2000)
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (2017)
Dionne & Friends - That's What Friends Are For (1986)
Boyz II Men - End Of The Road (1992) _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
A damn fine R&B and rock & roll tune. Fun and simple. Bobby Lewis was an interesting guy. Raised in an orphanage until he was 12, learnt to play the piano despite the poor eyesight, ran from foster parents, became a musician and started doing carnival shows. Raised on blues and early rock. Literally a perfect rock and roll rebel.
Everyone’s favourite black culture appropriator! Jokes aside I like Elvis, but this is not one of his better songs. Gimme In The Ghetto, Always On My Mind, Suspicious Minds, Blue Suede Shoes or Viva Las Vegas anytime. Still a cool little tune.
Rankings:
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Blondie - Call Me (1980)
50 Cent - In Da Club (2003)
Percy Faith - Theme From "A Summer Place" (1960)
The Knack - My Sharona (1979)
Pharrell Williams - Happy (2014)
Wings - Silly Love Songs (1976)
Cher - Believe (1999)
Percy Faith - The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart) (1953)
Pee Wee Hunt - Twelfth Street Rag (1948)
Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra - Riders In The Sky (1949)
Prince - When Doves Cry (1984)
Bobby Lewis - Tossin’ And Turnin’ (1961)
Usher - Yeah! (ft. Lil Jon, Ludacris) (2004)
Tony Orlando And Dawn - Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (1973)
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) (2012)
Kesha - Tik Tok (2010)
Perry Como - Prisoner of Love (1946)
Elvis Presley- All Shook Up (1957)
Sam the Sham & the Pharaos - Wooly Bully (1965)
Three Dog Night - Joy To The World (1971)
Ace of Base - The Sign (1994)
Perez Prado - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White (1955)
Mr. Acker Bilk - Stranger On The Shore (1962)
Nickelback - How You Remind Me (2002)
Flo Rida feat. T-Pain - Low (2008)
Daniel Powter - Bad Day (2006)
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were (1974)
Faith Hill - Breathe (2000)
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (2017)
Dionne & Friends - That's What Friends Are For (1986)
Boyz II Men - End Of The Road (1992) _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
I’m not a fan of Sting and The Police, but I don’t really dislike them either. In fact, before today, I’ve naturally heard Every Breath You Take a lot of times, and I thought it was an ok song. Of course there’s the cool backstory about it being a song about a stalker, people not realizing it and singing along like it’s a love song etc. But today when I went back and listened to it again, I found that I in fact like it a lot. At least comparatively. The last 45 seconds should’ve been cut, but apart from that it’s a well-written song with creepy but fantastic story, and a great vibe (instrumentally that is). But it’s not exactly a conventional pop song for that time, and it surprises me how well it was received. 5th best selling song of the decade in the USA, and the best selling song of 1983 in both the UK and the US. It’s also, per BMI, the most played song in radio history with 15 million plays (data’s from May 2019). It generates over a quarter of Sting’s income too, crazy stats. Might finally revisit Synchronicity now, I haven’t heard it in like forever.
I had a feeling that this song was waaay older. It was overplayed within a month of its release. And that’s the main reason why I don’t like it much, cause it’s a very fine song actually. I dig the modern funky vibe and the lyrics aren’t even half-bad. But those hooks are so boring after the nth listen that I just can’t love it. Also, the “doo doo”s in the background are a terrible idea, not only because it’s a cliche, but it also detracts from the song by sounding awful and occasionally out of place. As a piece of trivia, it’s the sixth most played video on YT.
Rankings:
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Blondie - Call Me (1980)
50 Cent - In Da Club (2003)
Percy Faith - Theme From "A Summer Place" (1960)
The Knack - My Sharona (1979)
The Police - Every Breath You Take (1983)
Pharrell Williams - Happy (2014)
Wings - Silly Love Songs (1976)
Cher - Believe (1999)
Percy Faith - The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart) (1953)
Pee Wee Hunt - Twelfth Street Rag (1948)
Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra - Riders In The Sky (1949)
Prince - When Doves Cry (1984)
Bobby Lewis - Tossin’ And Turnin’ (1961)
Usher - Yeah! (ft. Lil Jon, Ludacris) (2004)
Tony Orlando And Dawn - Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (1973)
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) (2012)
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk (2015)
Kesha - Tik Tok (2010)
Perry Como - Prisoner of Love (1946)
Elvis Presley- All Shook Up (1957)
Sam the Sham & the Pharaos - Wooly Bully (1965)
Three Dog Night - Joy To The World (1971)
Ace of Base - The Sign (1994)
Perez Prado - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White (1955)
Mr. Acker Bilk - Stranger On The Shore (1962)
Nickelback - How You Remind Me (2002)
Flo Rida feat. T-Pain - Low (2008)
Daniel Powter - Bad Day (2006)
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were (1974)
Faith Hill - Breathe (2000)
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (2017)
Dionne & Friends - That's What Friends Are For (1986)
Boyz II Men - End Of The Road (1992) _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
The music was written by Sidney Lippman, the lyrics by Sylvia Dee, but the best performance is obviously Cole's 1951 version. And what a version it is! The best traditional pop/easy listening and vocal jazz song I've heard in this game. Fantastic piano melodies, beautiful chord progression and orchestration (which might not be for everybody, but I like this maximalist 50s pop sound when done right). Probably the best 50s song I've heard so far.
A solid piece of 60s pop with orchestral additions. I'm not head over heels, but it's listenable. Lulu Kennedy-Cairns is a Scottish actress and singer, and this song was composed by Don Black and Mark London for the movie To Sir, With Love, in which Lulu starred. Interesting to note that she was only the third woman to perform the Billboard chart topping song and the second British woman (along with Petula Clark for "Downtown") since the inception of the chart.
Rankings:
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Blondie - Call Me (1980)
50 Cent - In Da Club (2003)
Percy Faith - Theme From "A Summer Place" (1960)
The Knack - My Sharona (1979)
The Police - Every Breath You Take (1983)
Pharrell Williams - Happy (2014)
Wings - Silly Love Songs (1976)
Cher - Believe (1999)
Nat King Cole - Too Young (1951)
Percy Faith - The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart) (1953)
Pee Wee Hunt - Twelfth Street Rag (1948)
Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra - Riders In The Sky (1949)
Prince - When Doves Cry (1984)
Bobby Lewis - Tossin’ And Turnin’ (1961)
Usher - Yeah! (ft. Lil Jon, Ludacris) (2004)
Tony Orlando And Dawn - Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (1973)
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) (2012)
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk (2015)
Kesha - Tik Tok (2010)
Perry Como - Prisoner of Love (1946)
Elvis Presley- All Shook Up (1957)
Sam the Sham & the Pharaos - Wooly Bully (1965)
Three Dog Night - Joy To The World (1971)
Ace of Base - The Sign (1994)
Lulu - To Sir With Love (1967)
Perez Prado - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White (1955)
Mr. Acker Bilk - Stranger On The Shore (1962)
Nickelback - How You Remind Me (2002)
Flo Rida feat. T-Pain - Low (2008)
Daniel Powter - Bad Day (2006)
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were (1974)
Faith Hill - Breathe (2000)
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (2017)
Dionne & Friends - That's What Friends Are For (1986)
Boyz II Men - End Of The Road (1992) _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
YES. Italian 50s pop is fantastic, and even if this is not my favourite song from the era, it's still good. A piece of trivia for pub quiz nights: in 1959, this song won both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards. The song's apparently a basis for some football chants, though I guess that's just in Italy since I've never heard of that.
Ugh. I've heard a lot about Chicago, but I've never heard any of their songs before. This is a sleazy, bland 80s power ballad, my absolutely least favourite rock music style ever. I guess it's not the worst songs I've heard in the game, and the very brief 5-second guitar solo is solid. That's about the only positive here.
Rankings:
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Blondie - Call Me (1980)
50 Cent - In Da Club (2003)
Percy Faith - Theme From "A Summer Place" (1960)
The Knack - My Sharona (1979)
The Police - Every Breath You Take (1983)
Pharrell Williams - Happy (2014)
Wings - Silly Love Songs (1976)
Cher - Believe (1999)
Nat King Cole - Too Young (1951)
Percy Faith - The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart) (1953)
Pee Wee Hunt - Twelfth Street Rag (1948)
Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra - Riders In The Sky (1949)
Prince - When Doves Cry (1984)
Bobby Lewis - Tossin’ And Turnin’ (1961)
Domenico Modugno - Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu) (1958)
Usher - Yeah! (ft. Lil Jon, Ludacris) (2004)
Tony Orlando And Dawn - Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (1973)
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) (2012)
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk (2015)
Kesha - Tik Tok (2010)
Perry Como - Prisoner of Love (1946)
Elvis Presley- All Shook Up (1957)
Sam the Sham & the Pharaos - Wooly Bully (1965)
Three Dog Night - Joy To The World (1971)
Ace of Base - The Sign (1994)
Lulu - To Sir With Love (1967)
Perez Prado - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White (1955)
Mr. Acker Bilk - Stranger On The Shore (1962)
Nickelback - How You Remind Me (2002)
Chicago - Look Away (1989)
Flo Rida feat. T-Pain - Low (2008)
Daniel Powter - Bad Day (2006)
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were (1974)
Faith Hill - Breathe (2000)
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (2017)
Dionne & Friends - That's What Friends Are For (1986)
Boyz II Men - End Of The Road (1992) _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
This is some kind of a populist/nationalist US song from 1966 about the army in the Vietnam war. Instrumentally, it sounds like a bit of a novelty to me, and the lyrics are pretty cringe. But that might be just because I'm not an American. However lyrics like "Back at home a young wife waits / Her Green Beret has met his fate / He had died for those oppressed / Leaving her this last request" are morally questionable and stupid at best.
The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin' (1966)
For some reason 1966 had 2 best selling songs according to Billboard. In juxtaposition with the first 1966 chart topper, California Dreamin' is one of the anthems of the 60s counterculture movement. Without getting too much into the politics, I'll just say that musically, I much prefer the counterculture of the 60s to the nationalism. I cannot listen to this song anymore without remembering Chungking Express and Faye Wong. It's not one of my favourite movies, but the song's use is iconic.
Rankings:
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Blondie - Call Me (1980)
50 Cent - In Da Club (2003)
The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin' (1966)
Percy Faith - Theme From "A Summer Place" (1960)
The Knack - My Sharona (1979)
The Police - Every Breath You Take (1983)
Pharrell Williams - Happy (2014)
Wings - Silly Love Songs (1976)
Cher - Believe (1999)
Nat King Cole - Too Young (1951)
Percy Faith - The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart) (1953)
Pee Wee Hunt - Twelfth Street Rag (1948)
Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra - Riders In The Sky (1949)
Prince - When Doves Cry (1984)
Bobby Lewis - Tossin’ And Turnin’ (1961)
Domenico Modugno - Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu) (1958)
Usher - Yeah! (ft. Lil Jon, Ludacris) (2004)
Tony Orlando And Dawn - Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (1973)
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) (2012)
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk (2015)
Kesha - Tik Tok (2010)
Perry Como - Prisoner of Love (1946)
Elvis Presley- All Shook Up (1957)
Sam the Sham & the Pharaos - Wooly Bully (1965)
Three Dog Night - Joy To The World (1971)
Ace of Base - The Sign (1994)
Lulu - To Sir With Love (1967)
Perez Prado - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White (1955)
Mr. Acker Bilk - Stranger On The Shore (1962)
Nickelback - How You Remind Me (2002)
Chicago - Look Away (1989)
Flo Rida feat. T-Pain - Low (2008)
Daniel Powter - Bad Day (2006)
SSgt Barry Sadler - The Ballad Of The Green Berets (1966)
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were (1974)
Faith Hill - Breathe (2000)
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (2017)
Dionne & Friends - That's What Friends Are For (1986)
Boyz II Men - End Of The Road (1992) _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
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