Showing posts with label Imagine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Imagine. Show all posts

Sunday, January 31, 2021

BBC Radio: Top 200 Songs

BBC Radio:

Top 200 Songs

BBC Radio has operated in the UK since 1927 underneath the banner of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. They provide various radio stations. Over the years, they have presented a variety of best-of lists. This page aggregates 12 song-focused lists. Four of them are more general while the other eight are more specific, such as Motown, rap, or songs banned by the BBC. Because of that, the lists have been weighted so that the four more general lists have more impact. Links to the specific lists are at the bottom of the page.

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

1. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
2. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
3. Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)
4. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)
5. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)
6. The Beatles “Yesterday” (1965)
7. Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971)
8. Procol Harum “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (1967)
9. Eagles “Hotel California” (1976)
10. U2 “One” (1991)

11. U2 “With or Without You” (1987)
12. The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” (1966)
13. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
14. Don McLean “American Pie” (1971)
15. Bob Dylan “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965)
16. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
17. Oasis “Live Forever” (1994)
18. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
19. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
20. Robbie Williams “Angels” (1997)

21. Otis Redding “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” (1968)
22. R.E.M. “Everybody Hurts” (1992)
23. The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967)
24. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
25. The Moody Blues “Nights in White Satin” (1967)
26. Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On” (1997)
27. Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” (1991)
28. Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” (1991)
29. Gerry Rafferty “Baker Street” (1978)
30. The Beatles “Something” (1969)

31. Harry Nilsson “Without You” (1971)
32. George Michael “Careless Whisper” (1984)
33. The Stone Roses “I Am the Resurrection” (1989)
34. Fugees “Killing Me Softly” (1996)
35. Oasis” Don’t Look Back in Anger” (1995)
36. Judy Garland “Over the Rainbow” (1939)
37. Radiohead “Creep” (1992)
38. The Beatles “A Day in the Life” (1967)
39. Billie Holiday “Summertime” (1936)
40. Natalie Imbruglia “Torn” (1997)

41. The Who “My Generation” (1965)
42. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” (1983)
43. The Kinks “Lola” (1970)
44. N.W.A. “Fuck tha Police” (1988)
45. Artie Shaw “Stardust” (1941)
46. Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
47. The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” (1966)
48. The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” (1965)
49. The Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (1964)
50. Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” (1956)

51. Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers “White Christmas” (1942)
52. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
53. Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (1975)
54. Elton John “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)” (1997)
55. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
56. The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (1997)
57. Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” (1956)
58. Abba “Dancing Queen” (1976)
59. The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” (1967)
60. Louis Armstrong “What a Wonderful World” (1967)

61. Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife” (1959)
62. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (1971)
63. The Beatles “In My Life” (1965)
64. Derek & the Dominos “Layla” (1971)
65. OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003)
66. Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
67. Glenn Miller “In the Mood” (1939)
68. Bob Dylan “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963)
69. Pulp “Common People” (1995)
70. Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982)

71. The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” (2003)
72. New Order “Blue Monday” (1983)
73. Radiohead “Paranoid Android” (1997)
74. Frank Sinatra “My Way” (1969)
75. Elvis Presley “Suspicious Minds” (1969)
76. The Platters “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1958)
77. Patsy Cline “Crazy” (1961)
78. Ben E. King “Stand by Me” (1961)
79. Elton John “Your Song” (1970)
80. The Killers “Mr. Brightside” (2004)

81. Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (2006)
82. Arthur Collins with Bryon G. Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911)
83. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
84. Lynyrd Skynyrd “Free Bird” (1974)
85. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)
86. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge” (1992)
87. The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?” (1984)
88. Mariah Carey with Boyz II Men “One Sweet Day” (1995)
89. Bruce Springsteen “Thunder Road” (1975)
90. Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights” (1978)

91. David Bowie “Heroes” (1977)
92. Coldplay “Clocks” (2002)
93. George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” (1970)
94. Madonna “Like a Prayer” (1989)
95. Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (1927)
96. Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman’s Orchestra “Night and Day” (1932)
97. Arctic Monkeys “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” (2005)
98. Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here” (1975)
99. Amy Winehouse “Rehab” (2006)
100. Van Morrison “Brown-Eyed Girl” (1967)

101. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
102. Underworld “Born Slippy” (1995)
103. Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out” (2004)
104. The Stone Roses “Fools Gold” (1989)
105. The La’s “There She Goes” by (1988)
106. The Flamingos “I Only Have Eyes for You” (1959)
107. Dionne Warwick “Walk on By” (1964)
108. Johnny Cash “Hurt” (2003)
109. The Miracles “The Tracks of My Tears” (1965)
110. Cher “Believe” (1998)

111. Spice Girls “Wannabe” (1996)
112. Roberta Flack “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (1969)
113. Petula Clark “Downtown” (1964)
114. The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” (1978)
115. Elvis Presley “That’s All Right, Mama” (1954)
116. Oasis “Champagne Supernova” (1995)
117. The Prodigy “Firestarter” (1996)
118. Puff Daddy with Faith Evans & 112 “I’ll Be Missing You” (1997)
119. James Taylor “Fire and Rain” (1970)
120. Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb” (1979)

121. Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues” (1925)
122. Ray Charles “Georgia on My Mind” (1960)
123. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps” (2003)
124. Radiohead “Fake Plastic Trees” (1995)
125. Dooley Wilson “As Time Goes By” (1942)
126. Stevie Wonder “I Just Called to Say I Love You” (1984)
127. David Bowie “Life on Mars?” (1973)
128. Radiohead “Karma Police” (1997)
129. Green Day “Basket Case” (1994)
130. Blackstreet with Dr. Dre & Queen Pen “No Diggity” (1996)

131. Meat Loaf “Bat Out of Hell” (1979)
132. Manic Street Preachers “A Design for Life” (1996)
133. Barbra Streisand “The Way We Were” (1973)
134. Electric Light Orchestra “Mr. Blue Sky” (1978)
135. Artie Shaw “Begin the Beguine” (1938)
136. Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
137. The Jam “That’s Entertainment” (1981)
138. Mariah Carey “Hero” (1993)
139. 10cc “I’m Not in Love” (1975)
140. U2 “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987)

141. Madonna “Ray of Light” (1998)
142. Ray Noble “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1936)
143. Larry Clinton with Bea Wain “Deep Purple” (1939)
144. Crowded House “Don’t Dream It’s Over” (1987)
145. Queens of the Stone Age “No One Knows” (2002)
146. Depeche Mode “Enjoy the Silence” (1990)
147. Peerless Quartet “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (1911)
148. The Smiths “This Charming Man” (1983)
149. Gilbert O’Sullivan “Alone Again (Naturally)” (1972)
150. Glen Campbell “Wichita Lineman” (1968)

151. M.I.A. “Paper Planes” (2008)
152. Haydn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1904)
153. Glen Gray with Kenny Sargent “Blue Moon” (1935)
154. Fred Astaire “The Way You Look Tonight” (1936)
155. John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” (1915)
156. Alanis Morissette “Ironic” (1996)
157. Manic Street Preachers “Motorcycle Emptiness” (1992)
158. Green Day “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (1997)
159. Aretha Franklin “I Say a Little Prayer” (1968)
160. House of Pain “Jump Around” (1992)

161. Bryan Adams “Summer of ‘69” (1984)
162. Meat Loaf “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” (1993)
163. The Rapture “House of Jealous Lovers” (2002)
164. Iggy Pop “Lust for Life” (1977)
165. Kanye West “Jesus Walks” (2004)
166. The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl “Fairytale of New York” (1987)
167. Cornershop “Brimful of Asha” (1997)
168. Cliff Edwards “Singin’ in the Rain” (1929)
169. Judy Collins “Send in the Clowns” (1975)
170. Marni Nixon “Somewhere” (1961)

171. Madonna “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” (1997)
172. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972)
173. The Temptations “My Girl” (1964)
174. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five “The Message” (1982)
175. The Jackson 5 “I Want You Back” (1969)
176. Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.” (1976)
177. David Bowie “Space Oddity” (1969)
178. Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
179. Public Enemy “Fight the Power” (1989)
180. Donna Summer “I Feel Love” (1977)

181. Marvin Gaye “Let’s Get It On” (1973)
182. Eminem “Lose Yourself” (2002)
183. Chuck Berry “Maybellene” (1955)
184. Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” (1939)
185. Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (2009)
186. Olivia Newton-John “Physical” (1981)
187. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
188. The Sugarhill Gang “Rapper’s Delight” (1979)
189. Marc Ronson & Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” (2014)
190. Dr. Dre with Snoop Doggy Dogg “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” (1992)

191. Lionel Richie “All Night Long (All Night)” (1983)
192. Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011)
193. Pharrell Williams “Happy” (2013)
194. Maroon 5 with Christina Aguilera “Moves Like Jagger” (2011)
195. The Shangri-La’s “Leader of the Pack” (1964)
196. Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are (Amazing)” (2010)
197. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (1967)
198. Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe” (2011)
199. Adele “Someone Like You (2011)
200. Robin Thicke with T.I. & Pharrell Williams “Blurred Lines” (2013)

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First posted 4/10/2021; last updated 12/24/2023.

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Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Dave’s Music Database Hall of Fame: Song Inductees (January 2019)

Originally posted 1/22/2019.

January 22, 2019 marks the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog! To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announces its own Hall of Fame! The first dozen inductees are the top songs of each decade from 1900-2010.

Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka ‘The Grand Old Rag’)” (1906)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

“Perhaps no other American popular song composer did more to popularize the patriotic song than George M. Cohan.” PS “Grand Old Flag” became the first song from a musical (George Washington, Jr.) to sell more than a million copies. SB The Songwriters Hall of Fame gave the song its Towering Song Award and the version by Billy Murray, who has been called “the definitive interpreter of Cohan on record,” SS has been inducted into the National Recording Registry. Read more.

Arthur Collins and Bryon G. Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

This has been called the first ragtime song DS and “the song that most changed the direction of American popular music.” RCG It was the first big hit for Irving Berlin, LW who was “one of the great architects of popular music in the 20th century.” LW Eleven versions charted from 1911 to 1947, with the most successful being the duet by the comedy singing team of Collins & Harlan. Their version spent 10 weeks at #1 and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.

Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (1927)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

The song was introduced in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 by Eddie Cantor. JA It charted multiple times, including a #5 R&B hit from Fats Domino in 1956. However, Austin, whose tenor voice has been credited as the onset of the crooner revolution, DS had the biggest version with a five-million seller that was one of the ten best sellers of the first half of the century PM-631 and the second biggest non-holiday record seller of the pre-1955 era. PM His version was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Read more.

Judy Garland “Over the Rainbow” (1939)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

There are few songs more associated with a movie than “Over the Rainbow” is with The Wizard of Oz and then-sixteen-year-old Judy Garland’s performance of it. Surprisingly, Garland’s version was neither the first nor most successful to chart, but hers “became the most famous and beloved.” JA The Oscar-winning tune topped the American Film Institute’s list of movie songs and was named the top song of the 20th century by the RIAA. Read more.

Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers “White Christmas” (1942)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

“White Christmas” doesn’t just top the DMDB’s list of Christmas songs, but the list of top songs all time, thanks largely to its 56 million in sales, making it the biggest seller of all time. Irving Berlin wrote the Oscar-winning song for the film Holiday Inn. He was often insecure about his work, but referred to “White Christmas” not just as the best one he’d ever written, but the best anyone had ever written. LW Read more.

Bill Haley & His Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

The blues number “My Daddy Rocks Me with a Steady Roll” was reworked in 1953 as “Rock Around the Clock” by Sonny Dae & His Knights and then Haley covered it in 1954. SJ When Haley’s version was featured in the movie The Blackboard Jungle, its rioting teen audience trumpeted it as their theme for alienation and hostility. SJ As the first rock song to top the Billboard charts and the best-selling rock record of all time, KL “Clock” is generally regarded as the place keeper that separates the pre-rock era from the rock era. Read more.

The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

As the first single from the Beatles’ new Apple Records label, “Hey Jude” was history’s highest debut (at #10) on the U.S. charts at that time. BR1 It became the best-selling single of the sixties and the Beatles’ biggest U.S. hit. At over seven minutes, “Hey Jude” was the longest single ever released. SF This made producer George Martin wary that radio wouldn’t play it, to which John Lennon cheekily retorted, “They will if it’s us.” RS500 Read more.

John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

John Lennon considered “Imagine” to rate as high as anything he wrote with the Beatles. RS500 His “musical gift to the world” RS500 was a statement of what, as his wife Yoko Ono said, “John believed – that we are all one country, one world, one people.” RS500 The song peaked at #3 in the U.S. in 1971, but took four more years to hit in Lennon’s native England, reaching #6. It topped the UK charts after Lennon’s murder in 1980. Read more.

The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

If there was an award for misunderstood songs, “Every Breath You Take” would strongly contend for the prize. Police drummer Stewart Copeland explains, “People often choose this...as their wedding song. They think it’s a cheerful song. In fact...it’s a very dark song.’” KL Sting, the band’s primary singer and songwriter, told Rolling Stone that it is “a fairly nasty song…about surveillance and ownership and jealousy.” BR1 It was memorably sampled in “I’ll Be Missing You,” the chart-topping 1997 tribute to slain rapper the Notorious B.I.G. helmed by Puff Daddy. Read more.

Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

Dolly Parton’s original version was a #1 country song in 1974 and 1982. In 1992, Whitney Houston re-recorded the song for the soundtrack for The Bodyguard and it arguably became the biggest pop song of all time. Its 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 made it the biggest song in that chart’s history (although three songs have since passed it). Whitney also hit #1 with the song hit on the UK charts, Cashbox, and Billboard’s pop, R&B, and adult contemporary charts. Read more.

OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

The song’s rallying call for every demographic to flood the dance floor makes it, as Consequence of Sound said, “the decade’s ‘Teen Spirit,’ man.” CS PopEater.com said, “you could see yourself partying to in college just as easily as you could watch your parents sweat to it in spin class.” PE “‘Hey Ya’ exemplified something very few tunes of the time had; a sense of fun.” PE Its merge of genres suggested “the walls between rock and R&B and hip-hop were about to topple.” PE Read more.

Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)

Inducted January 2019 as a “Song of the Decade.”

Barry Walters of Rolling Stone commends “Rolling in the Deep” for its “British knack for rejiggering the sound of American roots music” WK while All Music Guide’s Matt Collar calls it a “propulsive gospel fever-blues anthem” AMG and “one of the best singles of any decade.” AMG Billboard said it was the biggest crossover tune from the last quarter century, with appearances on a dozen different charts. SF The song hit #1 in eleven countries and won Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Read more.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Phil Spector: Top 50 Songs

image from thoughtco.com

Phil Spector

Top 50 Songs

Phil Spector was born December 26, 1939 in the Bronx, New York. He is best known as a record producer who developed what has been called “the Wall of Sound,” an approach to producing a dense orchestral asthetic within studio recordings. His personal life was troubled by a history with gun violence and in 2003 he was convicted of second degree murder. In honor of his birthday, here are his 50 biggest hits as a writer and/or producer:

Click here to see other best-of lists from performers and here to see other best-of lists from songwriters and/or producers.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.

1. John Lennon “Imagine” 1971)
2. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
3. The Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (1964)
4. The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” (1965)
5. George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” (1970)
6. The Ronettes “Be My Baby” (1963)
7. Ike & Tina Turner “River Deep, Mountain High” (1966)
8. The Crystals “Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)” (1963)
9. John Lennon “Instant Karma (We All Shine On)” (1970)
10. The Dixie Cups “Chapel of Love” (1964)

11. The Crystals “He’s a Rebel” (1962)
12. The Beatles “The Long and Winding Road” (1970)
13. Ben E. King “Spanish Harlem” (1960)
14. The Teddy Bears “To Know Him Is to Love Him” (1958)
15. John Lennon “Jealous Guy” (1971)
16. John Lennon “Stand by Me” (1975)
17. The Crystals “Then He Kissed Me” (1963)
18. John Lennon “Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)” (1971)
19. George Harrison “Give Me Love, Give Me Peace on Earth” (1973)
20. George Harrison “What Is Life” (1971)

21. John Lennon “Mother” (1970)
22. John Lennon “Working Class Hero” (1970)
23. Paris Sisters “I Love How You Love Me” (1961)
24. John Lennon “God” (1970)
25. Ramones “Rock and Roll High School” (1979)
26. The Beatles “Across the Universe” (1970)
27. The Ronettes “Baby I Love You” (1963)
28. John Lennon “Power to the People” (1971)
29. The Ronettes “Walking in the Rain” (1964)
30. Curtis Lee & the Halos “Pretty Little Angel Eyes” (1961)

31. The Crystals “There’s No Other Like My Baby” (1961)
32. The Righteous Brothers “Just Once in My Life” (1965)
33. The Crystals “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” (1962)
34. Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” (1962)
35. Sonny Charles & the Checkmates Ltd. “Black Pearl” (1969)
36. The Ronettes “Do I Love You?” (1964)
37. The Righteous Brothers “Ebb Tide” (1965)
38. Connie Francis “Second Hand Love” (1962)
39. Ray Peterson “Corrine, Corrina” (1960)
40. The Crystals “Uptown” (1962)

41. George Harrison “Bangla-Desh” (1971)
42. The Ronettes “Born to Be Together” (1965)
43. Darlene Love “Today I Met the Boy I’m Gonna Marry” (1963)
44. Darlene Love “A Fine, Fine Boy” (1963)
45. John Lennon “Woman Is the Nigger of the World” (1972)
46. Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans “Why Do Lovers Break Each Others’ Hearts” (1963)
47. Gene Pitney “Every Breath I Take” (1961)
48. Ramones “Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio” (1980)
49. George Harrison “Isn’t It a Pity” (1970)
50. The Ronettes “The Best Part of Breakin’ Up” (1964)

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First posted 12/26/2017; updated 7/19/2021.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

John Lennon was born: October 9, 1940 / His Top 40 Songs

image from musicwallpapers.net

With the Beatles and as a solo artist, John Lennon is one of the most significant contributors to rock ‘n’ roll in music history. In honor of his birth on this date in 1940, Dave’s Music Database presents its list of Lennon’s top 40 songs with and without the Beatles (songs marked by *). Only Beatles’ songs which featured Lennon as the prominent vocalist and/or songwriter are featured on this list.

As with all DMDB lists, this list was created by aggregating multiple best-of lists with sales figures, chart data, and awards.

John Lennon’s Top 40 Songs
1. Imagine (1971)
2. Strawberry Fields Forever (1967) *
3. Help! (1965) *
4. Just Like Starting Over (1980)
5. Come Together (1969) *
6. In My Life (1965) *
7. Instant Karma (We All Shine On) (1970)
8. All You Need Is Love (1967) *
9. Twist and Shout (1963) *
10. Woman (1980)
11. Ticket to Ride (1965) *
12. Revolution (1968) *
13. Working Class Hero (1970)
14. Jealous Guy (1971)
15. Watching the Wheels (1980)
16. I Am the Walrus (1967) *
17. Give Peace a Chance (1969)
18. #9 Dream (1974)
19. Happy X-Mas (War Is Over) (1971)
20. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (1965) *

21. Nobody Told Me (1984)
22. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (1967) *
23. Nowhere Man (1966) *
24. Mind Games (1973)
25. Whatever Gets You Through the Night (1974)
26. God (1970)
27. Love (1970)
28. Mother (1970)
29. Cold Turkey (1969)
30. Oh Yoko! (1971)
31. Happiness Is a Warm Gun (1968) *
32. Stand by Me (1975)
33. The Ballad of John and Yoko (1969) *
34. Real Love (1996) *
35. Rain (1966) *
36. Across the Unverise (1970) *
37. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) (1980)
38. Power to the People (1971)
39. You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (1965) *
40. Tomorrow Never Knows (1966) *

* songs by The Beatles which featured Lennon as the predominant vocalist and/or songwriter

Awards:

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Thursday, October 14, 2010

XFM: Top 100 Songs

XFM:

Top 100 Songs

XFM is an alternative-oriented radio station out of London. Their top 1000 songs of all time list was presented online on 10/14/2010 and turned into a book. The list was based on an annual listeners’ poll, most requested songs, and suggestions from radio DJs and celebrity guests. However, since the list was unranked, the DMDB has taken the liberty of ranking the list for them.

To try to capture the distinct British flavor of the list (which means mostly, but not all, British-based acts), the DMDB averaged all British-based lists together, weeded out any songs not appearing on the XFM list, and then ranked the songs from most points on down. Here’s the resulting top 100 list:

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

1. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
2. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)
3. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
4. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
5. The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (1997)
6. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
7. Oasis “Don’t Look Back in Anger” (1996)
8. The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” (1967)
9. Pulp “Common People” (1995)
10. U2 “One” (1992)

11. Oasis “Live Forever” (1994)
12. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
13. The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967)
14. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
15. R.E.M. “Everybody Hurts” (1992)
16. Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
17. The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” (1978)
18. Radiohead “Creep” (1993)
19. David Bowie “Heroes” (1977)
20. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)

21. U2 “With Or Without You” (1987)
22. New Order “Blue Monday” (1983)
23. The Who “My Generation” (1966)
24. David Bowie “Space Oddity” (1969)
25. The Stone Roses “Fools Gold” (1989)
26. The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?” (1985)
27. Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” (1991)
28. The Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K. ” (1976)
29. David Bowie “Life on Mars? ” (1973)
30. The Verve “The Drugs Don’t Work” (1997)

31. The Jam “Going Underground” (1980)
32. The Smiths “This Charming Man” (1983)
33. Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1988)
34. The La’s “There She Goes” (1989)
35. The Clash “London Calling” (1979)
36. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
37. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)” (1968)
38. The Stone Roses “I Am the Resurrection” (1989)
39. Oasis “Champagne Supernova” (1996)
40. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge” (1992)

41. The Rolling Stones “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1968)
42. Coldplay “Yellow” (2000)
43. The Rolling Stones “Paint It Black” (1966)
44. The Jam “A Town Called Malice” (1982)
45. The Kinks “Lola” (1970)
46. Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here” (1975)
47. The Kinks “You Really Got Me” (1964)
48. Radiohead “Paranoid Android” (1997)
49. The Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
50. Radiohead “Fake Plastic Trees” (1995)

51. Manic Street Preachers “Motorcycle Emptiness” (1992)
52. Underworld “Born Slippy” (1995)
53. The Doors “Light My Fire” (1967)
54. U2 “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987)
55. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (1972)
56. The Specials “Ghost Town” (1981)
57. The Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” (1968)
58. The Jam “That’s Entertainment” (1981)
59. The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” (1969)
60. Manic Street Preachers “A Design for Life” (1996)

61. Paul Weller “Wild Wood” (1993)
62. Green Day “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (1997)
63. Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb” (1979)
64. Oasis “Supersonic” (1994)
65. The Killers “Mr. Brightside” (2004)
66. The Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen in Love” (1978)
67. The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971)
68. James “Sit Down” (1991)
69. The Strokes “Last Nite” (2001)
70. The Smiths “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” (1986)

71. Radiohead “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” (1996)
72. Radiohead “Karma Police” (1997)
73. The Who “Substitute” (1996)
74. The Prodigy “Firestarter” (1996)
75. Manic Street Preachers “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next” (1998)
76. The Rolling Stones “Brown Sugar” (1971)
77. The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” (1969)
78. Depeche Mode “Enjoy the Silence” (1990)
79. U2 “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987)
80. Oasis “Some Might Say” (1995)

81. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Hey Joe” (1966)
82. Primal Scream “Loaded” (1990)
83. Blur “Parklife” (1994)
84. The Clash “White Man in Hammersmith Palais” (1978)
85. Oasis “Whatever” (1994)
86. Green Day “Basket Case” (1994)
87. The Killers “All These Things That I’ve Done” (2004)
88. The Rolling Stones “Get Off of My Cloud” (1965)
89. Oasis “Cigarettes and Alchol” (1994)
90. David Bowie “Starman” (1972)

91. The Beatles “Day Tripper” (1965)
92. Blur “Girls and Boys” (1994)
93. Snow Patrol “Run” (2004)
94. The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” (1966)
95. Coldplay “The Scientist” (2002)
96. Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love” (1969)
97. The Jam “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight” (1978)
98. New Order “True Faith” (1987)
99. Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986)
100. John Lennon “Instant Karma (We All Shine On)” (1970)

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First posted 10/17/2010; last updated 3/31/2021.

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Monday, December 31, 1979

Top Songs from 1970-1979

Top 100 Songs of the Decade:

1970-1979

These are the top 100 songs from the 1970s according to Dave’s Music Database. Rankings are figured by combining sales figures, chart data, radio airplay, video airplay, streaming figures, awards, and appearances on best-of lists.

Check out other “songs of the decade” lists here.

1. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
2. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
3. Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1977)
4. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)
5. Eagles “Hotel California” (1976)
6. Don McLean “American Pie” (1971)
7. Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971)
8. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
9. Derek & the Dominos “Layla” (1970)
10. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972)

11. Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” (1978)
12. Abba “Dancing Queen” (1976)
13. Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II” (1979)
14. Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (1975)
15. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (1971)
16. Rod Stewart “Maggie May” (1971)
17. Elton John “Your Song” (1970)
18. Al Green “Let’s Stay Together” (1971)
19. Blondie “Heart of Glass” (1979)
20. Chic “Le Freak” (1978)

21. George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” (1970)
22. The Clash “London Calling” (1979)
23. Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama” (1974)
24. Village People “Y.M.C.A.” (1978)
25. Marvin Gaye “Let’s Get It On” (1973)
26. Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Love” (1977)
27. Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta “You’re the One That I Want” (1978)
28. Bee Gees “Night Fever” (1978)
29. The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971)
30. Roberta Flack “Killing Me Softly with His Song” (1973)

31. Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (1977)
32. David Bowie “Heroes” (1977)
33. Lynyrd Skynrd “Free Bird” (1973)
34. Sister Sledge “We Are Family” (1979)
35. Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K.” (1976)
36. Roberta Flack “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (1969/1972)
37. The Knack “My Sharona” (1979)
38. Wild Cherry “Play That Funky Music” (1976)
39. Bob Marley & the Wailers “No Woman, No Cry” (1974)
40. Michael Jackson “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (1979)

41. Tony Orlando & Dawn “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” (1973)
42. Queen “We Will Rock You” / “We Are the Champions” (1977)
43. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (1972)
44. Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb” (1979)
45. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” (1976)
46. The Rolling Stones “Brown Sugar” (1971)
47. Chic “Good Times” (1979)
48. Barbra Streisand “The Way We Were” (1973)
49. Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
50. Dire Straits “Sultans of Swing” (1978)

51. Boston “More Than a Feeling” (1976)
52. The Sugarhill Gang “Rapper’s Delight” (1979)
53. Neil Young “Heart of Gold” (1972)
54. Harry Nilsson “Without You” (1971)
55. Black Sabbath “Paranoid” (1970)
56. Carly Simon “You’re So Vain” (1972)
57. Terry Jacks “Seasons in the Sun” (1974)
58. The Jackson 5 “I’ll Be There” (1970)
59. Queen “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (1979)
60. The Who “Baba O’Riley” (1971)

61. Led Zeppelin “Kashmir” (1975)
62. Aerosmith “Dream On” (1973)
63. Fleetwood Mac “Dreams” (1977)
64. Commodores “Three Times a Lady” (1978)
65. James Taylor “Fire and Rain” (1970)
66. Billy Joel “Piano Man” (1974)
67. Isaac Hayes “Theme from Shaft” (1971)
68. Deep Purple “Smoke on the Water” (1973)
69. Rod Stewart “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” (1976)
70. The Kinks “Lola” (1970)

71. Carole King “It’s Too Late” (1971)
72. Gladys Knight & the Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia” (1973)
73. Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here” (1975)
74. The Jackson 5 “ABC” (1970)
75. Captain & Tennille “Love Will Keep Us Together” (1975)
76. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” (1972)
77. David Bowie “Changes” (1971)
78. Commodores “Brick House” (1977)
79. Olivia Newton-John “I Honestly Love You” (1974)
80. The Police “Roxanne” (1978)

81. Gerry Rafferty “Baker Street” (1978)
82. The Rolling Stones “Angie” (1973)
83. Pretenders “Brass in Pocket (I’m Special)” (1979)
84. Andy Gibb “Shadow Dancing” (1978)
85. T-Rex “Get It On (Bang a Gong)” (1971)
86. Stevie Wonder “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (1972)
87. Donna Summer “I Feel Love” (1977)
88. The Temptations “Just My Imagination Running Away with Me” (1971)
89. Glen Campbell “Rhinestone Cowboy” (1975)
90. Three Dog Night “Joy to the World” (1971)

91. Bill Withers “Lean on Me” (1972)
92. Gilbert O’Sullivan “Alone Again (Naturally)” (1972)
93. Free “All Right Now” (1970)
94. The Emotions “Best of My Love” (1977)
95. Billy Joel “Just the Way You Are” (1977)
96. Edwin Starr “War” (1970)
97. Donna Summer “Hot Stuff” (1979)
98. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band “Old Time Rock and Roll” (1978)
99. Rod Stewart “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” (1978)
100. Elton John “Bennie and the Jets” (1974)

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First posted 3/4/2011; last updated 11/27/2022.

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Saturday, October 16, 1971

John Lennon charted with “Imagine”

Imagine

John Lennon

Writer(s): John Lennon (see lyrics here)

Released: October 11, 1971

First Charted: September 24, 1971

Peak: 3 US, 2 CB, 2 GR, 11 HR, 7 AC, 1 CL, 20 AR, 14 UK, 12 CN, 15 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): -- US, 1.79 UK, 1.96 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 5.0 radio, 331.37 video, 338.98 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

One morning early in 1971, Lennon sat at the white grand piano in his bedroom and virtually completed “his greatest musical gift to the world.” RS500 He considered “Imagine” to rate as high as anything he wrote with the Beatles. RS500 He wasn’t wrong. It was “a sweetened variant of the political songwriting that Lennon engaged in before and after.” TB This “is the record that saved John Lennon’s post-Beatles reputation.” TB

It “became something more than a pop song. It has become an anthem that people sing when they need hope for mankind.” TC It was “a simple but moving hymn-like creation” SS “geared to…people’s utopian ideals but designed to be palatable to the masses.” TB His wife Yoko Ono told Rolling Stone that it was “just what John believed – that we are all one country, one world, one people.” RS500 While Lennon is “advocating an atheistic, anarchist utopia,” TC he had the foresight to soften the message via his approach. Poetic lyrics, intimate instrumentation, and a heartfelt vocal provided an accessibility that “emphasized the song’s fundamental humanity.” RS500

Lennon told broadcaster Andy Peebles, that the song “should be credited as a Lennon/Ono song. A lot of it, the lyric and the concept, came from Yoko, but those days I was a bit more selfish…and I omitted to mention her contribution, which was right out of Grapefruit.’” HL That book of poems, published by Ono in 1964, used “imagine” as a recurrent word.

The song was produced by Phil Spector, known for his legendary “Wall of Sound” layering technique. SS However, for the “Imagine” song and album, he showed uncharacteristic restraint, because he trusted Lennon’s musical sense. It was recorded at Lennon’s home studio in his mansion just outside of London. Lennon sings and plays the grand piano while accompanied by Klaus Voorman on bass and Alan White on drums. Spector later added strings. SS

The song had an interesting chart life. It went to #3 on the U.S. charts in 1971, but took four more years to hit in Lennon’s native England, reaching #6. In the wake of Lennon’s murder on December 8, 1980, “Imagine” stormed the U.K. charts once again, this time going all the way to the top. In fact, as is more common on the other side of the pond, Lennon’s ode to the power of possibilities has been released a couple more times, landing in or just outside the top ten.

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First posted 7/12/2014; last updated 4/14/2023.

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