131. I Want You Back (The Jackson 5)
A 1969 debut single by The Jackson 5 under the Motown label, “I Want You Back” (from the album Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5) became a smash hit for the Jacksons and helped launch them into worldwide stardom. The song, vocally led by the fledgling, preteen Michael Jackson, was initially intended for Gladys Knight & the Pips and later for Diana Ross (as “I Wanna Be Free”), but ended up being handed to the group who would go on to make it one of the biggest hits of the entire 20th-century, and what Pitchfork Media claimed as having “possibly the best chord progression in pop music history.”
Meaning of the Song: “I Want You Back” explores the theme of a lover who decides that he was too hasty in dropping his partner.
Accolades: RS/500, No. 121; No. 9 on Rolling Stones‘ ‘100 Greatest Pop Singles’ (since 1963) chart; Grammy Hall of Fame induction; peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Soul Singles charts; Pitchfork Media‘s “second-best song of the 1960s”; has sold over six-million records (as of 1999).
132. Livin’ la Vida Loca (Ricky Martin)
“Livin’ la Vida Loca” (“Livin’ the Crazy Life”) was a chart-topping, career-defining song (for the album Ricky Martin) by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin in 1999, one that helped the Latino singer’s career blast off in the U.S. and helped pave the way for other singers’ fame–like that of Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias. Before “la Vida Loca”, most non-Latino Americans did not know Martin; it wasn’t until CNN reported on his “show shopping” performance of “La Copa de la Vida” at the 1999 Grammy Awards show that–in addition to “Livin’ la Vida Loca”–he and other Latin sensations began to emerge as superstars.
Meaning of the Song: The lyrics to “la Vida Loca” are up for interpretation. One theory, floated around the blogosphere for some time, stipulates that ‘la Vida Loca’ is about drugs–in specific, heroin. Lyrics that’ve only stoked this theory include “She’ll take away your pain, like a bullet to your brain”, and “Her lips are devil red and her skin’s the color of mocha”. That, and apparently the original songwriter had a drug problem.
Accolades: Peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining there for five consecutive weeks; RIAA-certified platinum; topped the Hot Latin Songs chart for nine consecutive weeks; No. 28 on the list of 100 Greatest Songs of the 90’s by VH1; sold over eight-million copies, making it one of the best selling singles of all time; various Grammy Awards nominations; won the Lo Nuestro Award for “Pop Song of the Year”.
133. B.O.B. (OutKast)
Bombs Over Baghdad, “B.O.B” is an alternative hip hop/funk song by the American rap duo OutKast. Produced as the lead single for their fourth studio album Stankonia (2000), it features a high-speed tempo beat consisting of “drum’n’bass” rythms, gospel vocals, organs and guitars. And although it wasn’t hugely successful commercially, musical publications such as Rolling Stone, Blender, and Pitchfork Media have oft-cited “B.O.B.” as one of the greatest songs of the 21st-century.
Meaning of the Song: Despite the title, Outkast has always maintained that there are no political statements made through “B.O.B.” Rather, it’s an affirmation of what the band is (or was) going to look like in the 21st Century. In an interview with Blender magazine, Andre 3000 explained that he got the title while on tour in London and switched on the news: “This news reporter, she said ‘Something something and bombs over Baghdad.’ It sounded good. I knew I could use it somewhere.”
Accolades: Peaked at No. 69 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, 58 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart; made No. 61 in the U.K.; ranked 21st on Rolling Stone‘s “100 Best Songs of the 2000s” list and No. 50 on its “The 50 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time” chart; Pitchfork Media ranked it No. 1 on their “The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s” compilation (beat out only by Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean); ranked No. 2 on Blender‘s “The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born” compilation.
134. Walking In Memphis (Marc Cohn)
“Walking In Memphis” was the signature song and biggest hit of American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn and is found on his self-titled 1991 album; it also helped Cohn garner the 1992 Grammy for Best New Artist ….The reference to “Blue Suede Shoes” is not about Elvis Presley, but about Carl Perkins who recorded the song in Memphis for Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Perkins’ ill luck in a car wreck stopped him touring to promote the record, allowing Elvis’ cover version to become a massive hit. Presley’s copy was done at RCA studios in Nashville. It also helped Elvis’ version that he substituted for Carl Perkins on Ed Sullivan and sang the song. The narrator tells of seeing “The ghost of Elvis on Union Avenue” and following him up to the gates of Graceland. Sam Phillips’ studios were called Memphis Recording Service and were at 706 Union Avenue.
Meaning of the Song: “Walking In Memphis”, according to Marc Cohn, is about a spiritual awakening. Cohn has explained that this song is a journey to be baptized in the world of Blues music.
Accolades: Peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100; on its 1991 re-release, it reached No. 22 in the UK; won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1992.
135. Straight Up (Paula Abdul)
“Straight Up” is is a mid-tempo dance song a 1988 hit single by American singer Paula Abdul, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and brought her widespread public attention. It was the best-selling song of 1989…It was written and produced by Elliot Wolff. “Straight Up” was the third single released from her debut album Forever Your Girl, after “Knocked Out” and “(It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me”. The black and white video, directed by David Fincher and choreographed by Paula herself in mid-January 1989, won four 1989 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video, Best Editing, Best Choreography, and the first Best Dance Video. The video features a special appearance by Paula’s friend, comedian Arsenio Hall, whose popular talk show had premiered a few weeks prior to the video shoot. Fun fact: In 2005, Paula Abdul was caught in an actual hit-and-run on the Los Angeles freeway. Were the lyrics in “Straight Up”–“Do you really wanna love me forever, Oh, oh, or am I caught in hit and run?”–a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy?
Meaning of the Song: “Straight Up” was a popular phrase at the time that could be dropped into just about any conversation – “I’ll meet you at 6pm, straight up” or “That was straight up the worst Rocky movie ever.”
Accolades: Climbed to No. 1 (for three weeks) on the Billboard Hot 100; peaked at No. 3 in the UK (Official Charts Company) and Germany (Media Control AG); ranked No. 4 of the Top 100 hits of 1989; RIAA-certified platinum with sales of more than one million; its 1989 music video won four MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video, Best Editing, Best Choreography, and the first Best Dance Video.
136. In Da Club (50 Cent)
American rapper/hip hop artist 50 Cent–a rap icon discovered by Eminem not long before Get Rich or Die Tryin’–recorded “In Da Club” for his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’; it was first performed live in 2003. A collaboration between Dr. Dre and co-producer Mike Elizondo, it was the first of seven tracks 50 cent recorded in the 5-day sessions with Dr. Dre. Became 50 Cent’s first number one single, and has since sold a staggering 7-million records. At the 46th Grammy Awards, “In Da Club” was nominated for Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song. In 2009, the single was listed at number 24 in Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs of the Decade listed at number 13 in Rolling Stone‘s “Best Songs of the Decade.
Meaning of the Song: Because the lion’s share of the content on Get Rich or Die Tryin‘ seemed negative, 50 Cent wanted a song on it that conveyed, in his words, “the exact opposite”. He dubbed the song a “celebration of life” and that it’s relevant “cause every day is someone’s birthday.”
Accolades: No. 10 on Blender magazine’s “The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born” chart; RS/500, No. 448; ranked at No. 18 on VH1‘s “100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs” (2008); peaked at No. 1 for 8 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 100 weeks; broke Billboard’s record as the “most listened-to” song in radio history within one week (March, 2003); RIAA-certified gold; certified Gold in Australia, where the single also peaked at No. 1 and was certified 2x Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association; its music video companion won the Best Rap Video and Best New Artist awards at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
137. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin (Righteous Brothers)
Recorded in Studio A of the famed Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin” is a 1964, number-one hit song (U.S. and U.K.) by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield duo, best known as The Righteous Brothers. In 1999, the performing-rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) ranked it as having had more radio and television appearances in the United States than any other song of the 20th century. In addition, it’s also one of the most cited examples of Phil Spector’s infamous “Wall of Sound” method. “Lovin’ Feelin” enjoyed two successful re-releases in 1969 (at No. 10) and 1990 (No. 3), the latter due to the re-release of “Unchained Melody” (itself hitting No. 1 again due hugely to being featured in the film Ghost).
Meaning of the Song: In “That Lovin’ Feelin”, the narrator realizes that his girl no longer loves him like she did before. And despite how hard he tries to make the relationship work, his lady has still “lost that loving feeling”; because of this, he feels dead inside.
Accolades: Hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of 1965 and remained in that position for one week; crossed over to the R&B charts, where it peaked at No. 2; chosen as one of the Songs of the Century by RIAA; RS/500, No. 34; the only single to ever enter the UK Top 10 three times.
138. Dude (Looks Like a Lady) (Aerosmith)
Released in 1987 as the first of three singles from the album Permanent Vacation, “Dude”has since been a staple of both the rock airwaves and of Aerosmith’s concerts. written by lead singer Steven Tyler, lead guitarist Joe Perry and professional songwriter Desmond Child.
Meaning of the Song: Initially dubbed “Cruisin’ for a Lady”, “Dude” describes an effeminate-looking male (or drag queen) who’s mistaken for a lady. Per Steven Tyler in the book Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith: “One day we met Mötley Crüe, and they’re all going, ‘Dude!’ Dude this and Dude that, everything was Dude. ‘Dude (Looks Like a Lady)’ came out of that session.”. And in the book The Heroin Diaries, Nikki Sixx asserts that “Dude” was specifically inspired by Mötley Crüe’s own singer, Vince Neil.
Accolades: Attained No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart; peaked at No. 20 (upon its 1990 re-release) on the UK Singles chart; nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards (for Best Group Video and Best Stage Performance); won 4 Grammys in the 1990s.
139. Lucky (Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat)
“Lucky”, a collaboration between Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat, is the third single from Jason Mraz’s third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Mraz also recorded a Spanish version of the song, dubbed “Suerte”, with Latin singer Ximena Sariñana for the Latin American and Spanish version of the album–as well as with Lil Wayne, the latter released on Z100. Mraz became a fan of Caillat after hearing her music on MySpace. He then called her to see if she’d want to write and sing together. In an interview with VH1, Mraz stated that he “played a songwriting game” with friends to see how the lyrics would go.Mraz and Caillat performed the song on Saturday Night Live.
Meaning of the Song: “Lucky”, loosely translated, tells the story of two separated lovers; the narrator remarks that “she is like his best friend” as the two sing about feeling one another from across the deep, blue ocean.
Accolades: Won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals; debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 96 for the issue dated January 31, 2009 and on the Pop 100 chart at No. 84, where it peaked at No. 48; peaked at No. 9 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks; made the Dutch Top 40 at No. 27 and moved up to 8; peaked at No. 56 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.
140. Baby Got Back (Sir Mix-a-Lot)
Written and recorded by rap/hip hop artist artist Sir Mix-a-Lot (for the album Mack Daddy), “Baby Got Back” debuted in 1992 and took the rap and mainstream radio world by storm. Initially, the song prompted waves of controversy with its taboo and obviously sexual lyrics about women, as well as references to parts (i.e. buttocks) of their anatomy. MTV even blocked it from its channel briefly. Sir Mix-a-Lot later stated that most women, especially black ones, have generally responded positively to “Baby”, saying “They all say, ‘About time.'”because it challenges white peoples’ general conception of what a beautiful body looks like—that is a skinny body with no voluptuous curves. And much like Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice Baby”, the general consensus is that “Baby” was a one hit wonder for Sir Mix-a-Lot.
Meaning of the Song: “Baby Got Back” challenged then-mainstream concepts of what a beautiful woman should look like. In 1992, the rapper summed it up pretty accurately in an interview in saying “The song doesn’t just say I like large butts, you know? The song is talking about women who damn near kill themselves to try to look like these beanpole models that you see in Vogue magazine.”
Accolades: No. 17 on VH1‘s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop, No. 6 on its Greatest Songs of the ’90s, and No. 1 on its Greatest One Hit Wonders of the ’90s compilation; hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, staying there for five weeks during the summer of 1992; won a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance.
