Monday, December 31, 2007

2007: Top 25 Albums

First posted 1/8/2021.

Dave’s Music Database:

Top Albums of 2007

Based on a combination of year-end lists and overall status in Dave’s Music Database, these are the top 25 albums of 2007:

  1. Radiohead In Rainbows
  2. LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver
  3. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raising Sand
  4. Rihanna Good Girl Gone Bad
  5. Bruce Springsteen Magic
  6. Kanye West Graduation
  7. High School Musical 2 (TV soundtrack)
  8. M.I.A. Kala
  9. Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare
  10. Alicia Keys As I Am

  11. Arcade Fire Neon Bible
  12. Eagles Long Road Out of Eden
  13. Foo Fighters Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
  14. Norah Jones Not Too Late
  15. Burial Untrue
  16. The White Stripes Icky Thump
  17. The National Boxer
  18. Leona Lewis Spirit
  19. Miranda Lambert Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
  20. Britney Spears Blackout

  21. Michael Bublé Call Me Irresponsible
  22. Linkin Park Minutes to Midnight
  23. Mika Life in Cartoon Motion
  24. Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
  25. Josh Groban Noel

Resources and Related Links:

Don Tyler: Top 1000+ Songs, 1900-1955

The Top 1000+ Songs
from 1900 to 1955

According to Don Tyler

Author Don Tyler published Hit Parade 1920-1955 in 1985. It featured more than 800 songs, organized by year and listed by song title with the songwriters indicated. In 2007, he expanded the work in Hit Songs, 1900-1955 – this time with over 1200 titles. Between the two works, he cited more than 1400 titles. They are listed here in alphabetical order by song titles followed by the songwriters, the highest-ranked version of the song in Dave’s Music Database, and the year of its release.

Click here to see other lists from critics and individuals and here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

A

SONG

WRITER(S),
m = music, w = words

Performer with
Highest Rated Version

Year

A – You’re Adorable (The Alphabet Song)Sid Lippman, Buddy Kaye, Fred WisePerry Como & the Fontane Sisters with Mitchell Ayres Orchestra1949
B

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C

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D

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E

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F

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G

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H

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J

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K

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L

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M

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N

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O

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R

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S

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T

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U

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V

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W

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X

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Y

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Z

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Resources/Related Links:


First posted 12/3/2022.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

50 years ago: The Music Man opened on Broadway

The Music Man

Meredith Willson (music & lyrics)

The Musical

Opened on Broadway: December 19, 1957


Number of Performances: 1375


Opened at London’s West End: March 16, 1961


Number of Performances: 395

Cast Album


Charted: February 24, 1958


Peak: 112 US


Sales (in millions): 1.0 US


Genre: show tunes


Soundtrack


Charted: August 11, 1962


Peak: 2 US, 14 UK


Sales (in millions): 0.5 US


Genre: show tunes


Songs on Cast Album:

  1. Main Title/ Rock Island
  2. Iowa Stubborn
  3. Ya Got Trouble
  4. Piano Lesson
  5. If You Don’t Mind My Saying So s
  6. Goodnight, My Someone
  7. Ya Got Trouble s
  8. Seventy Six Trombones
  9. Sincere
  10. The Sadder But Wiser Girl for Me
  11. Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little
  12. Goodnight Ladies c
  13. Marian the Librarian
  14. My White Knight c
  15. Being in Love s
  16. Gary, Indiana s
  17. The Wells Fargo Wagon
  18. It’s You c
  19. Shipoopi *
  20. Lida Rose/ Will I Ever Tell You?
  21. Gary, Indiana
  22. Till There Was You
  23. Goodnight, My Someone s
  24. Seventy Six Trombones s
  25. Finale c
* Track comes right before “Till There Was You” on soundtrack.
c indicates song that appears only on cast album.
s indicates song that appears only on soundtrack.


Singles/Hit Songs:

As was common in the pre-rock era and early days of rock and roll, songs from musicals were often recorded by artists not associated with the musical and released as singles. Here are some of the most notable hit singles resulting from the show:

  • “Till There Was You” – Anita Bryant (#30, 1959), Valjean (#100, 1962)

Rating:

4.478 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings for cast album and soundtrack combined)


Awards (Cast Album and Soundtrack): (Click on award to learn more).

About the Show:

“The original Broadway cast of Meredith Willson’s most successful musical was headed by Robert Preston, who played the part of Harold Hill, a conman” R-C “intent on swindling the good people of River City, IA, by selling them on a fictitious boys' band.” R-S

“Willson concentrates on percussive effects and rapid-fire spiels for Preston, though the musical standout is Barbara Cook as Marian the Librarian. Highlights of this perennial hit show include Seventy-Six Trombones and Till There Was You.” R-S

“Coming along in the summer of 1962, four and a half years after the Broadway opening, the film version of The Music Man appeared in an era when Hollywood was more likely to be faithful to stage musicals, rather than dramatically altering them, as had been the practice in the past. R-S

The movie version “found Robert Preston re-creating his starring role as conman Professor Harold Hill…and some minor roles were also filled by the Broadway originals. More important, Meredith Willson’s score was rendered intact, the only change being a revision of the song My White Knight into Being in Love.” R-S

“The major casting change was the substitution of Shirley Jones, who had a box-office track record, for Barbara Cook, who did not, in the role of Marian the librarian. Cook may have been preferable, but Jones handled the part well, too.” R-S

“Musically, the big change had to do with scale; the Broadway pit orchestra and original cast were replaced by a vast Hollywood orchestra and chorus, and musical director Ray Heindorf made the most of the larger effects on songs like ‘Seventy Six Trombones’.” R-S

“Still, the music fan who already owned a copy of the original Broadway cast recording didn’t really need to plump for the original motion picture soundtrack, which didn’t keep the album from racing up the charts…as the film became one of the year’s top grossers. But it remains true; unless you are a Shirley Jones fan or want to hear future Andy Griffith Show co-star and film director Ronnie Howard sing Gary, Indiana with a lisp, stick to the Broadway version.” R-S

Resources and Related Links:


First posted 5/19/2011; last updated 12/23/2021.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Alicia Keys hit #1 with “No One”

Last updated 3/28/2020.

No One

Alicia Keys

Writer(s): Alicia Keys, Kerry Brothers Jr., George M. Harry (see lyrics here)


Released: September 11, 2007


First Charted: September 8, 2007


Peak: 15 US, 16 RR 9 AC, 9 A40, 110 RB, 6 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.)


Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 0.6 UK, 5.6 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.8 radio, 395.93 video, -- streaming

Awards:

About the Song:

Keys told Billboard magazine “This is one song that just wrote itself. A lot of the snogs didn’t happen like that. It was one of the last songs I wrote. I needed to say this. It’s full force, classical yet vintage, desperate yet triumphant. I want people to feel my soul.” BB100 She told MTV News Canada that the song is about “the way that so many things are around you all time to try to distract you” WK in relationships.

While Keys sometimes had a tendency “towards bloat, overstuffing her songs and albums with not particularly original ideas; she’s pared down her vision since, becoming both more disciplined and more eccentric.” DS With “No One,” however, she created “perhaps the most straightforward, even basic pop this decade has seen, are so obvious as to convert even the most chart-skeptical.” DS

Popjustice called it one of her best singles to date. WK Digital Spy’s Alex Fletcher called it a “simplistic yet beautiful, fluttering, piano-tinkling ballad.” WK Paste’s David Mead said it “showcases a new depth and width to the tone of her voice.” WK

It was the most-listened-to song on American radio in 2008 with 3.08 billion listeners, SF as evidenced by the song topping multiple Billboard pop and R&B-oriented charts. For the week ending December 29, 2007, Keys became the first artist in the history of the R&B/hip-hop charts to have songs at #1 and #2 (“Like You’ll Never See Me Again”) without help from any duet partners or featured artists. SF The song did well internationally as well, hitting #1 in Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey. SF


Resources and Related Links:

Friday, November 30, 2007

The Guardian – Top 100 Albums

First posted 11/30/2007; updated 8/5/2020.

The Guardian:

The Top 100 Albums

The Guardian is a UK newspaper which has published a few best-of lists over the years. Below are their top 100 albums, as determined by aggregating five album-focused lists published from 1997 to 2007. See links to those lists at bottom of page.

Also, check out annual picks for album of the year.

1. John Coltrane A Love Supreme (1965)
2. The Stone Roses The Stone Roses (1989)
3. Radiohead The Bends (1995)
4. Oasis Definitely Maybe (1994)
5. Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
6. Marvin Gaye What’s Going On (1971)
7. Massive Attack Blue Lines (1991)
8. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? (1967)
9. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run (1975)
10. Primal Scream Screamadelica (1991)

11. Jeff Buckley Grace (1994)
12. Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977)
13. Patti Smith Horses (1975)
14. The Doors The Doors (1967)
15. Joy Division Closer (1980)
16. Pulp Different Class (1995)
17. Paul Simon Graceland (1986)
18. Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
19. Dexy’s Midnight Runners Searching for the Young Soul Rebels (1980)
20. Nirvana Nevermind (1991)

21. The Beatles Revolver (1966)
22. The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
23. The Beatles The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (1968)
24. Oasis What’s the Story Morning Glory (1995)
25. R.E.M. Automatic for the People (1992)
26. The Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
27. David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
28. The Smiths The Queen Is Dead (1986)
29. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds (1966)
30. Velvet Underground & Nico Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

31. U2 The Joshua Tree (1987)
32. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill (1995)
33. The Clash London Calling (1979)
34. The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (1972)
35. Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks (1975)
36. The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed (1969)
37. Lou Reed Transformer (1972)
38. Joni Mitchell Blue (1971)
39. Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
40. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

41. The Pixies Doolittle (1989)
42. John Lennon Imagine (1971)
43. Neil Young After the Gold Rush (1970)
44. Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956)
45. Prince Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987)
46. Miles Davis Kind of Blue (1959)
47. Portishead Dummy (1994)
48. Michael Jackson Thriller (1982)
49. Blur Parklife (1994)
50. Michael Jackson Off the Wall (1979)

51. Nick Drake Five Leaves Left (1969)
52. Talking Heads Fear of Music (1979)
53. Björk Debut (1993)
54. U2 Achtung Baby (1991)
55. Love Forever Changes (1967)
56. Television Marquee Moon (1977)
57. Various artists (Bee Gees et al) Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack, 1977)
58. Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell (1977)
59. Rod Stewart Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)
60. The Verve A Northern Soul (1995)

61. Tricky Maxinquaye (1995)
62. Kate Bush Hounds of Love (1985)
63. Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
64. Prefab Sprout Steve McQueen (aka “Two Wheels Good”) (1985)
65. Radiohead OK Computer (1997)
66. Van Morrison Astral Weeks (1968)
67. The Beatles Abbey Road (1969)
68. Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
69. Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde (1966)
70. David Bowie Hunky Dory (1971)

71. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland (1968)
72. Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
73. The Band The Band (1969)
74. The Prodigy Fat of the Land (1997)
75. The Verve Urban Hymns (1997)
76. Public Enemy Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
77. Queen A Night at the Opera (1975)
78. The Clash The Clash (1977)
79. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band Trout Mask Replica (1969)
80. Bob Marley & The Wailers Exodus (1977)

81. Dire Straits Brothers in Arms (1985)
82. The Jam All Mod Cons (1978)
83. Bob Marley & the Wailers Legend (compilation: 1973-83, released 1984)
84. Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis (1969)
85. Joy Division Unknown Pleasures (1979)
86. Happy Mondays Pills ‘N’ Thrills and Bellyaches (1990)
87. Iggy & the Stooges Raw Power (1973)
88. The Specials The Specials (1979)
89. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II (1969)
90. The Beach Boys Sunflower (1970)

91. Beck Odelay (1996)
92. The Smiths The Smiths (1984)
93. Velvet Underground Loaded (1970)
94. R.E.M. Out of Time (1991)
95. Eagles Hotel California (1976)
96. Madonna Like a Prayer (1989)
97. Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987)
98. Todd Rundgren Something/Anything? (1972)
99. Big Star Radio City (1974)
100. My Bloody Valentine Isn’t Anything (1988)


Resources and Related Links:

Friday, November 23, 2007

50 years ago: “Great Balls of Fire” charted

Great Balls of Fire

Jerry Lee Lewis

Writer(s): Otis Blackwell, Jack Hammer (see lyrics here)


First Charted: November 23, 1957


Peak: 2 US, 2 CB, 2 HR, 12 CW, 3 RB, 12 UK, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 5.0 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 0.51 video, 98.8 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Some of rock ‘n’ roll’s earliest architects walked a fine line between their religious Southern upbringings and the shockingly sexual and aggressive style that defined early rock music. With a musical prowess birthed as much from the black honky-tonks as the Assembly of God Church, AC Lewis concocted an uncomfortable blend of music inspired by God and the devil. He got booted from Bible college AC for “playing hymns boogie-woogie style.” TB His “onstage terrorization of the piano” FR earned him the nickname “The Killer.”

Nowhere was Lewis’ musical dichotomy more on display than with “Great Balls of Fire,” a song that “transcends everything doctrinaire and theoretical.” DM This is “nerve shaking, frame rattling, brain charring – rock ‘n’ roll at its most primal.” DT Jerry Lee’s signature song was “full of Southern Baptist hellfire turned into a near-blasphemous ode to pure lust.” RS500 Lewis realized the shock in 1957 of such sexual innuendo coming from a Southern music man SF and initially refused to sing the song. RS500 He argued with Sun Records’ founder Sam Phillips that “recording the song would send him straight to hell.” SS Phillips eventually won out, thanks to the ever-flowing liquor during the session. RS500

The song came to Lewis via songwriter Otis Blackwell. He was a poor kid from Brooklyn, New York, the first black man to really tap into the Nashville sound, dominating the country and rock charts in the mid to late-‘50s. AC He wrote “Don’t Be Cruel” and “All Shook Up” for Elvis Presley. After seeing Lewis perform on TV, he sent a demo of “Great Balls of Fire” to Sun Records. Both Phillips and Lewis knew it was a hit AH worthy of following Lewis’ breathrough hit “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Regarding Blackwell’s writing partner, Jack Hammer, several accounts say his sole contribution is coming up with the title and selling it to Blackwell. LW

The song was a “refinement of the ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’’ formula but it has a few differences that give the song far more impact.” AH “Great Balls of Fire” “has a much more dynamic opening, one that sets the tone for the whole record with its stop-start exclamations” AH that are reminiscent of Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes.”

It wouldn’t be much longer before Lewis’ career would come crashing down in flames. In May 1958, he was in the UK for a tour and the press asked who the girl was with him. It emerged that it was his thirteen-year-old cousin Myra – and his bride. The tour was cancelled and Lewis returned home in disgrace. He would revive his career years later on the country charts, but would never again reclaim the pop and rock glory he had in the 1950s.


Resources:


Last updated 3/30/2023.