31. Baby It’s Cold Outside (Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan)
At least five different versions of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” (sung by over a dozen famous performers) have made at least one singles chart in the U.S. Fitzgerald and Jordan’s version, though, has endured as one of the most popular renditions of all time. Written in 1949 by Frank Loesser, “Baby” started out as a Christmas song, usually only heard around Christmas in its early years. Later, after Loesser had sold it to MGM, it was picked up by numerous adult contemporary artists–most notably, by the Fitzgerald-Jordan duo. Loesser wrote the duet in 1944 and premiered the song with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their Navarro Hotel housewarming party, performing it toward the end of the evening to signify to guests that it was nearly time to go home. Lynn considered it “their song,” and was allegedly furious when Loesser sold it to MGM.
Meaning of the Song: The lyrics in this duet are intended to represent a dialogue, employing a “mouse” and a “wolf” on the printed score. Every line includes a statement from the mouse (typically sung in a female voice) that’s followed up to by the wolf (typically done in a male voice). And even though no holidays are mentioned in the lyrics, it’s still considering by many a Christmas song thanks to its setting being in a cozy building amidst a wintry backdrop.
Accolades: Peaked at No. 17 on Billboard magazine’s Best Seller chart (1949), remaining there for seven weeks.
32. Best Of You (Foo Fighters)
Best of You was sung by the American alternative-rock band the Foo Fighters and recorded for their first single released from the their fifth album, In Your Honor. Dave Grohl, the band’s lead singer and songwriter, explains that the song was written after appearances at several of Senator and presidential candidate John Kerry’s 2004 campaign events.
Meaning of the Song: Per Dave Grohl, Best of You symbolizes “breaking away from the things that confine you.”
Accolades: Peaked at No. 18 on US charts, in the UK at No. 4; Grammy-nominated for Best Rock Song; No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for four weeks and on its Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart for seven weeks.
33. I’m a Believer (The Monkees)
“I’m a Believer”, written and originally performed by Neil Diamond (for the album Just for You), was recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with Micky Dolenz on lead vocals. The Monkey’s second single after “Last Train To Clarksville” for the album More of the Monkees, it marked the last No. 1 hit of 1966 and became the best-selling record for the entire year of 1967. Further, it went gold within two days of its debut due to some 1.1-million advance orders being placed.
Meaning of the Song: Essentially, Neil Diamond (the songwriter) wrote the song about “only believing that love existed in fairytales”; but when he saw the woman he loved, she made him a believer “without a trace of doubt” in his mind and that he “couldn’t leave her if I tried.“
Accolades: One of less than thirty all-time singles to sell 10-million (or more) copies worldwide; No. 1 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks beginning December 31, 1966; No. 1 in the U.K. for four weeks beginning January 1967; No. 48 on Billboard‘s All Time Top 100 chart.
34. I Want to Hold Your Hand (The Beatles)
Recorded in October of 1963 and a signature product of the John Lennon-Paul McCartney songwriting machine , “I Want to Hold Your Hand” debuted in 1963 and marked the Beatles’ first record made with four-track equipment. Following the Beatle’s prior million-album hit “She Loves You”, advance orders surpassed the one-million copy mark in the U.K., . When it hit American shores, most experts generally recognize ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ as the phenomenon known as the British invasion of American music.
Meaning of the Song: A guy takes a liking to a girl; translated differently, the song is (possibly) about Lennon proposing to a girl he loves, wanting to hold her hand while doing so.
Accolades: No. 1 for five weeks in the UK top fifty songs, remaining in the top fifty for twenty-one weeks; the Beatles’ first American number one, making the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1964 at No. 45; the Beatles’ best-selling single worldwide.
35. Marilyn Manson – (This Is The New Shit)
“This Is the New Shit” was heavy-metal rocker Marilyn Manson’s second single from the album The Golden Age of Grotesque. In addition to “mOBSCENE”, it became one of the most successful of both the album and Manson’s career overall. “New Shit” was also featured in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (“Suckers”), in Bioware’s Dragon Age trailers (2009), and appears on the soundtracks to the The Matrix Reloaded and Hatchet.
Meaning of the Song: It’s been interpreted as mocking the modern mainstream music industry. Manson seemingly implies that music has devolved into a product of the sex-crazed, party-driven society we live in. Put another way, the lyrics “…bitch bitch rebel rebel party party sex sex sex and don’t forget the violence” essentially summarize the feeling of much of today’s music.
Accolades: Peaked on Germany’s singles charts at No. 25, in the U.K at 29.
36. What’d I Say (Ray Charles)
“What’d I Say” was created one late evening in 1958 after Charles and his band had played their whole set list at a concert and had ample downtime. After previewing it to the crowd, and to Charles’ shock, the response was so wild that Charles announced to his producer that he wanted to record it. Thus, it debuted in 1959 and became nationally-popular almost instantly. Not only did it help usher Ray Charles’ entrance into the mainstream pop scene, it earned him his first gold record and is oft cited as one of the most influential songs in rock & roll and R&B history. For the rest of his career, Charles closed every concert with What’d I Say.
Charles later acknowledged in an interview that “the beat was catchy”, but that it was indeed “the suggestive lyrics that attracted listeners.”
Meaning of the Song: Blending gospel elements with sexual innuendo (very taboo in the late 50s/early 60s), “What’d I Say” prompted one critic to note that “the dialogue between himself and his backing singers started in church and ended up in the bedroom.”
Accolades: National Recording Registry induction in 2002; RS/500, No. 10; number one on Billboard’s R&B singles chart, number six on the Billboard Hot 100; marked Charles’ first gold record; became Atlantic Records’ best-selling song ever.
37. I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston)
Originally released in 1974 for Dolly Parton’s thirteenth studio (country) album Jolene, Whitney Houston her own version as a soul ballad for the 1992 film, “The Bodyguard”. Needless to say, its success was nothing short of tremendous–proceeding to become the best selling single of all time by a female artist. “I Will Always Love You” has garnered more awards, honorable mentions, and spots on prestigious lists than practically any other song in music history.
The song was played at Houston’s funeral as her casket exited the church, after which Parton said about Houston “I was brought to tears again last night, as I’m sure many were, when Jennifer Hudson sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ on the Grammys in memory of Whitney.”
Meaning of the Song: Curtis W. Ellison on the Dolly Parton version: “[I Will Always Love You] speaks about the breakup of a relationship between a man and a woman that does not descend into unremitting domestic turmoil, but instead envisions parting with respect — because of the woman’s great initiative.the singer wrote the song for her one-time partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, from whom she was professionally splitting at the time.
Accolades: Broke the then-record 14 weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100; was the longest-running number one single from a soundtrack album; marked the singer’s 1oth No. 1 hit; 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and No .1 for five weeks on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks; certified 4× platinum–making Whitney the first female singer with a single to reach that level in the history of the RIAA (2009); sold 4,591,000 copies, becoming the second best-selling (only behind Elton John’s 1997 single Candle in the Wind) single in U.S. ever; scored No. 68 on Billboard’s “Greatest Songs of All Time.”
38. My Generation (The Who)
“My Generation”, by the British group The Who, almost immediately became a hit and one of the band’s signature, most recognizable songs. A long-running rumor has it that Townshend reportedly wrote the song on a train and that it was possibly inspired by the Queen Mother (who is alleged to have had Townshend’s 1935 Packard hearse towed off a street in Belgravia because she was offended by the sight of it).
Meaning of the Song: “My Generation” was composed by 20-year old Pete Townshend in 1965; it was written for rebellious British youths dubbed ‘Mods’, who expressed their feelings that older people “just don’t get it”. Townshend later explained to Rolling Stone Magazine (in 1985) that “‘My Generation’ was very much about trying to find a place in society”.
Accolades: Grammy Hall of Fame for “historical, artistic and significant value”; RS/500, No. 11; No. 13 on VH1‘s 100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll; RR/HoF induction; peaked at No. 2 in the U.K, No. 74 in the U.S.; 37th Greatest Hard Rock Song per VH1.
39. Empire State Of Mind (Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys)
“Empire State of Mind” debuted as the third single from Jay-Z’s 11th album called The Blueprint 3 (2009). Perceived as being an ‘orchestral rap ballad’ with pop-rap overtones, it alludes to aspects such as drugs, places in New York and famous people there, and the very essence of the Big Apple. “Empire” was created by singer-songwriter and Brooklynite Angela Hunte with her partner Jane’t ‘Jnay’ Sewell-Ulepic. Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic tapped Jay-Z and Alicia Keys to perform the now-iconic song.
Meaning of the Song: “Empire State of Mind” was reportedly inspired during an international trip where Angela Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic went to London in February 2009, whereby both became homesick, saying “We said to ourselves, ‘we complain so much about New York—about the busy streets, about the crowds and the pushing, about the subway system—but I would trade that for anything right now.’ Before we left the hotel that night, we knew we would write a song about our city.'” “Empire” is also widely recognized as a symbolic ode to the Hunte-Sewell-Ulepic singer-songwriter duo.
Accolades: Nominated for three Grammy Awards, won Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration; Jay-Z’s first No. 1 single on charts as a lead artist; the last number one hit of the 20th-century; peaked within the top 10 in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Italy and Sweden; peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks.
40. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (The Andrews Sisters)
An iconic World War II tune and a major hit for The Andrews Sisters, “Boogie Woogie” is often considered an early ‘jump blues’ variety. The song, written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince, was recorded at Decca’s Hollywood studios in January of 1941, almost a year before the U.S. joined World War II as the Allies. Based on an earlier Raye-Prince hit, “Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar,” which referred to a ‘boogie-woogie’ piano-player extraordinaire.
Meaning of the Song: This Andrews Sisters classic describes a locally-renowned street musician from Chicago that’s drafted into the U.S. Army during the Roosevelt Administration. A proclaimed “top man at his craft,” this bugler found that the Army did not appreciate his talents, thus being reduced to blowing the morning rendition of Reveille. The Cap (Army Captain—the “Company Commander”) noticed the musician’s blues and went to find more musicians to help him form a band. It’s a success and before long, he becomes so dependent on his comrades that “he can’t blow a note if the bass and guitar isn’t with him.”
Accolades: Academy Award-nominated for Best Song; No. 6 on the Songs of the Century chart by the RIAA and National Endowment For the Arts.
