141. How Do You Like Me Now?! (Toby Keith)
Released in November 1999 and Toby Keith’s first major crossover hit that , “How Do You Like Me Now?!” is the second single released from the album of the same name. It was written by Keith and Chuck Cannon, Toby explained that one of his catch-phrases (as well as the song’s initial title) was “Initially, I said, ‘Here’s my title, “You Never Loved Me Before, So How Do You Like Me Now?'” and that “a lot of people become successful after they’ve been told they won’t ever be, so people can relate to this. It can be about an old flame or a boss or a teacher: Whatever it means to each individual.”
Meaning of the Song: “How Do You Like Me Now?!” illustrates the singer’s attraction to a popular, beautiful female in high school who ignored him at the time. Keith can’t help but wonder in the song whether or not that girl still remembers him now that he’s rich and famous.
Accolades: Spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart in 2000; peaked at No. 31 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100; the first number-one single for the DreamWorks Nashville label (now defunct); nominated for Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2001 Country Music Awards; peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks, as well as No. 1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
142. Achy Breaky Heart (Billy Ray Cyrus)
A country song written by Don Von Tress and originally dubbed “Don’t Tell My Heart”, “Achy Breaky Heart” was first recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys as well as The Marcy Brothers in 1991. Less than a year later, Billy Ray Cyrus picked it up and changed it to “Achy Breaky Heart”; it appeared on the album Some Gave All. His debut single and signature song, “Achy” became Australia’s first single ever to reach triple Platinum status and became 1992’s best selling single there, too. It also became a crossover sensation on pop and country radio stations in the U.S., where it peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped-out the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and –thanks largely to its music video counterpart–helped bring line dancing into the mainstream.
Meaning of the Song: In “Achy Breaky Heart”, the narrator knows that he’s about to be canned by his girl and is afraid that when she tells him, his heart will be crushed and “won’t understand.”
Accolades: About.com (Shelly Fabian, 2002) ranked the song No. 249 on its Top 500 Country Music Songs list; No. 87 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the ’90s (2007); became the first country single to be certified Platinum since Dolly Parton’s 1983 “Islands in the Stream”; peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart; remains Cyrus’s biggest hit single, as well as his only song to break the Hot 100 Top Ten, in the US; No. 2 on both VH1’s 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs and Blender magazine’s 50 Worst Songs Ever.
143. Stayin’ Alive (BeeGees)
“Stayin’ Alive” was is a smash, 1977 disco song by the Bee Gees for the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever; it was written by the Bee Gees (Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb) themselves and released in late 1977 as the second single from the soundtrack. And during its climb in the charts, due largely to its prominence in the film Saturday Night Fever, it became not only one of the group’s most instantly recognizable, signature, most enduring songs, but as one eternally of the disco scene.
Meaning of the Song: According to the late Robin Gibb, who garnered massive popularity within the group as the one with the “impossibly high”, unmistakable voice, “‘Stayin’ Alive’ is about surviving in the big city, any big city, but especially New York.”
Accolades: RS/500, No. 191; peaked at No. 1on the Billboard Hot 100 upon release, staying there for four weeks; topped British national charts at No. 4; became a permanent staple of disco music.
144. (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding)
“Sitten’ On The Dock of the Bay” is a 1967 R&B/soul song that was by soul artist Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper at the famed Stax Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Recorded just days before Redding’s untimely death, “Sittin’ On” was posthumously released on Stax Records’ Volt label in 1968 and became the first posthumous single to ever top the U.S. charts. “Dock” is one of Redding’s finest and most celebrated works, enjoying immense success after selling more than four-million records and being played on the air over eight-million times. It also did extremely well in the U.K, eventually peaking at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.
Meaning of the Song: Otis was one of those kind of guys who had 100 ideas. Anytime he came in to record he always had 10 or 15 different intros or titles, or whatever. He had been at San Francisco playing The Fillmore, and he was staying at a boathouse, which is where he got the idea of the ship coming in. That’s about all he had: “I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again.” I took that and finished the lyrics. If you listen to the songs I wrote with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him. He didn’t usually write about himself, but I did. “Mr. Pitiful,” “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)”; they were about Otis’ life. “Dock Of The Bay” was exactly that: “I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay” was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform
Accolades: Peaked at No. 3 in the U.K.; topped U.S. charts (No. 1 on both the Hot 100 and Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles charts); named the song as the sixth-most performed song of the 20th century, with about six million performances; RS/500, No. 28; has sold more than four-million records; won two Grammys for Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
145. Layla (Derek and the Dominos)
Co-written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, “Layla” was originally released by Clapton’s blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos as the thirteenth track from the 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. A definitive Rock N’ Roll’s love song of the 1970s, the contrasting-movements song features legendary guitarists Eric Clapton and Duane Allman and relies on a unique piano coda that makes up its second half. “Layla” was inspired by Clapton’s then-unrequited love for Pattie Boyd; it’s since been heralded by the lion’s share of music critics as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. In 1993, Clapton also released a live, acoustic “Unplugged” version which, again, enjoyed near global success.
Meaning of the Song: The title, “Layla,” was inspired by The Story of Layla (Layla and Majnun) by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi of the Ganja (present day Azerbaijan) Seljuq empire. It is based on the true story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mulawwah from the northern Arabian Peninsula, in the Umayyad Caliphate during the 7th century. When he wrote “Layla,” Clapton had been told the story by his friend Ian Dallaswho was in the process of converting to Islam. Nizami’s tale, about a moon princess who was married off by her father to someone other than the one who was desperately in love with her, resulting in Majnun’s madness, struck a deep chord with Clapton.
Accolades: One of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”; RS/500, No. 27; No. 16 on VH1‘s 100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll compilation; Clapton’s and Allman’s guitar solos also earned “Layla” a spot (No. 14) on Guitar World‘s list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos; won a Grammy for Best Rock Song (1993 acoustic version).
146. The Tracks of My Tears (The Miracles)
“The Tracks of My Tears” is a definitive 1960s love song by The Miracles (via Motown’s Tamla label) that’s usually cited as the band’s very finest, signature songs. “The Tracks of My Tears” was written by lead vocalist Smokey Robinson, bass vocalist Pete Moore and guitarist Marv Tarplin–the latter member whose intro guitar licks are some of the most recognizable in pop history. And selling sold over a million records in two years, it became The Miracles’ fourth million-selling record in less than a decade and has since been drafted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Meaning of the Song: In the five-LP publication The Motown Story, by Motown Records, Robinson explained the origin of this song in these words: “‘Tracks of My Tears’ was actually started by Marv Tarplin, who is a young cat who plays guitar for our act. So he had this musical thing [sings melody], you know, and we worked around with it, and worked around, and it became ‘Tracks of My Tears’.”
Accolades: RS/500, No. 50; Grammy Hall of Fame induction; peaked at No. 2 on Billboard‘s R & B chart, No. 16 on the Hot 100; peaked at No. 9 in the U.K.
147. When I Come Around (Green Day)
By American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the fourth single from their third album, Dookie. “When I Come Around” was Green Day’s most popular radio single in their early career, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. This was their highest charting radio single until 2004’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” peaked at number 2. It was one of the most successful alternative rock songs of 1995. It topped the Modern Rock Tracks for seven weeks, and also hit number two on the Mainstream Rock Tracks…..the band’s second best-selling single of the 1990s, only behind the 1997 hit “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”…also heavily remembered for its pre-mud-fight at the 1994 Woodstock Festival.
Meaning of the Song: Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the song after breaking up with his girlfriend, Adrienne Nesser (whom he later married).
Accolades: has sold 639,000 copies as of August, 2010,which makes it the band’s second best-selling single of the 1990s; peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart; Green Day’s highest charting single until “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (peaked at No.2) released in 2004; No. 2 on U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream; No. 1 U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.
148. Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)
The alternative rock White Stripes’ first track on its album Elephant, “Seven Nation Army” was released in 2003 to relatively epic success. The song is known for its underlying riff, which plays throughout most of the song. Although it sounds like a bass guitar (an instrument the group had never previously used), the sound is actually created by running Jack White’s semi-acoustic guitar (a 1950s style Kay Hollowbody) through a DigiTech Whammy pedal set down an octave. According to White, “Seven Nation Army” is what he used to call the Salvation Army as a child.
Meaning of the Song: The title allegedly refers to what Jack White thought the Salvation Army was called when he was a child, and the song deals with The White Stripes’ rise to stardom and the cons that often proceed it. White developed a storyline around a character that comes into town, but with all of his friends gossiping about him, hence “He feels so bad he has to leave town, but you get so lonely you come back.” “The song’s about gossip. It’s about me, Meg and the people we’re dating”, White stated.
Accolades: Peaked at No. 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart for three weeks; won a Grammy for Best Rock Song; No. 6 on Rolling Stone‘s 2009 The 50 Best Songs of the Decade compilation; NME placed “Seven Nation Army” at No. 5 on its 2005 50 Greatest Tracks Of The Decade list; placed No. 21 on Rolling Stone‘s The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time chart; RS/500, No. 286.
149. What’s My Age Again? (Blink-182)
By American pop punk band Blink-182. It was the first single released from the band’s third album Enema of the State. Released in November 1999, “What’s My Age Again?” became Blink-182’s second hit single, setting a precedent for most of the band’s further career. The album version continues the guitar outro from the previous track, “Going Away to College”, whereas the single version cuts the fadeout and simply opens with the song’s trademark opening notes. The single version appears on the band’s Greatest Hits
Meaning of the Song: The song, written by bassist Mark Hoppus, carries a theme about a protagonist who, despite being an adult, still behaves like a prepubescent child.
Accolades: Reached No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, No. 19 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks;No. 117 on NME‘s 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years.
150. House of the Rising Sun (The Animals)
“The House of the Rising Sun” (a.k.a. “Rising Sun Blues”) is a 1964 traditional folk song that was recorded by the British band The Animals. Like many songs of this genre, the person(s) who wrote the original remains a mystery, but experts generally concur that “House” was inspired by British “broadside ballads” (e.g. Unfortunate Rake of the 1700s), and was subsequently brought to America and changed to fit the New Orleans’ setting. The BBC’s Ralph McLean even claimed that “it was arguably the first folk rock tune”, dubbing it “a revolutionary single after which the face of modern music was changed forever.” The Animal’s version is also widely cited as one of the classics of the British Invasion era.
Meaning of the Song: Although most musical authorities agree that “House” is about the lives of both a woman and man gone awry in New Orleans, there have been many prominent interpretations about its origin and/or meaning. Many people say that the title refers to drugs. Alan Price himself (of The Animals) once even referred to it as a 1500s English folk song about a Soho brothel.
Accolades: Hit No. 1 in the U.S., U.K., and Canada in 1964; RS/500, No. 122; one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll; the RIAA’s No. 240th Songs of the Century list; recipient of a 1999 Grammy Hall of Fame Award; Britons’ fourth-favorite No. 1 song of all time (via a 2005 poll).
