41. Love the Way You Lie (Eminem ft. Rihanna)
“Love the Way You Lie” hales from Eninem’s (ft. Rihanna) studio album Recovery (2010) . It marks the second single from the album and was influenced by songwriter Skylar Grey’s notion of staying in a relationship with an often abusive+romantic music industry. After British producer Alex da Kid listened to a demo, Eminem went to work on the lyrics and asked Rihanna to provide the voice for the the chorus of this mid-tempo hip-hip ballad. It was received favorably by critics for its lyrics and melody, sold more than five million copies, and garnered five Grammy Awards nominations.
Meaning of the Song: The words refer to two people (one being artists in general, the other, a personified music industry) yearning to end their abusive relationship but love each other anyways. Some have suggested that the song was influenced by Eminem’s ex-wife (Kimberly Scott) and/or Rihanna’s ex, Chris Brown. In interviews, Rihanna has conceded that (while not mutually exclusive things) it’s part metaphor and partly about theme of domestic violence, a topic that she claims most people aren’t overly familiar with–that making the song “effective”.
Accolades: Teen Choice Award; Billboard Music Award; two People’s Choice Awards; reached number one on 25 weekly charts worldwide, including the United States Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks; sold more than five million copies; five Grammy nominations; No. 1 on the US Digital Songs after selling 338,000 digital copies in its first week; became Eminem’s first No. 1 hit on the Rap Songs chart since “The Real Slim Shady”; Eminem’s seventh best-selling U.S. single of 2010; 9.3 million copies worldwide by 2010, thus certified as Eminem’s best-selling single of all time.
42. One (U2)
In March of 1992, tensions among the U2 group threatened defection of its members; however, surprisingly to almost everyone, the group achieved a breakthrough with “One”–which was written after guitarist ‘The Edge’ inspired the group with a particular chord progression. Written by Bono, “One” was released as a benefit single, with proceeds going towards AIDS research, and has oft been cited as one of the greatest songs of all time. U2 has subsequently performed “One” at every tour concert. And in 2006, U2 re-recorded the song as a duet with R&B singer Mary J. Blige for her album, The Breakthrough.
Meaning of the Song: “One” was inspired by the band members’ then-damaged relationships and their subsequent reunification in Germany. Although the lyrics ostensibly describe “disunity”, they’ve been deciphered in dozens of other ways.
Accolades: No. 1 on the Irish Singles charts in March of 1992; peaked at No. 7 in the UK Singles charts, No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100; topped the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts.
43. I’ll Be There (The Jackson 5)
The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” was a song recorded for Motown Records, and released as the first single from their 1969 album, Third Album. It marked The Jackson 5’s fourth consecutive No. 1 hit (after “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, and “The Love You Save”) and their most successful single ever–making them the first black male group to achieve four consecutive No. 1 pop chart-toppers. Jackson 5 lead singers Michael Jackson and his older brother Jermaine share the lead vocals on this song.
“I’ll Be There” was the song that solidified The Jackson 5’s careers and showed audiences that the group had potential far beyond the bubblegum pop genre. “I’ll Be There” knocked Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” from the top of the charts and held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Pop Singles chart for five weeks from October to November 14.
Meaning of the Song: The singer asks his lover to commit to a special vow (a ‘pact’), one that could bring “salvation back,” summarized in the phrase “where there is love, I’ll be there,”–which also references Matthew 18:20, where Jesus says “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Jesus guarantees that he will always be there to comfort you, regardless of whether she finds a new love.
Accolades: The most successful Motown single in the U.S until the debut of Lionel Richie’s 1981 hit,”Endless Love”, a collaboration with Diana Ross; No. 1 hit on the Billboard Black Singles Chart for six weeks; No. 4 hit in the United Kingdom; Jackson 5’s final No. 1 Hot 100 hit as a group; sold 4.2 million copies in the United States, 6.1 million copies worldwide.
44. Walk This Way (RUN-DMC)
Originally written and performed by Aerosmith (chiefly by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry) for the 1975 album Toys in the Attic–which also made the Billboard Hot 100 top 10—RUN-DMC made “Walk This Way” into the first rap song that ever climbed to the top five in the prestigious Hot 100. In their version, a “rap-rock” remake–with turntable-style dubs added to the original–RUN demonstrated how elements of rap music can be part of rock and pop songs. What’s more, the RUN-DMC version charted higher on the Hot 100 (No. 4) than Aerosmith’s version. It was also one of the first big rap singles in the UK, reaching number eight there.
This signature collaboration by Run–D.M.C. helped propel the then-fledgling band into musical stardom and would influence rap music for years to come.
Meaning of the Song: “Walk This Way” was inspired from an oft-spoken line and gag (‘walk this way’) from the Mel Brooks movie, Young Frankenstein, which the band watched late on night while trying to conceive of a new song for their album. The fast-paced lyrics describe a high school boy who loses his virginity, with heavy emphasis on rhyming words.
Accolades: RS/500, No. 336 (original song), (Run-D.M.C. version at No. 287); VH1 ranked the version by Run–D.M.C. at No. 4 on its 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs chart; MTV‘s 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made, No. 5 (1999); largely considered the song that helped pioneer the fusion of rap, hip hop, and rock (a.k.a. ‘rap rock’); Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap – Single.
45. Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers)
“Unchained Melody”, by Alex North and Hy Zaret, eventually become one of the most re-recorded songs of the 20th-century. Some music aficionados have even pinned down as many as 500 versions of the song in dozens of languages. But it was really the July, 1965 recording by The Righteous Brothers, though–along with a high-profile reemergence in the 1990 blockbuster “Ghost”–that helped seal the song’s timelessness and legacy.
Meaning of the Song: Alex North and lyricist Hy Zaret were contracted in 1955 to produce a theme song for the obscure prison film Unchained; the tune eventually became known as the “Unchained Melody”. Ironically, it doesn’t even include the word “unchained”, supposedly at Zaret’s choosing to instead focus the lyrics on “someone who pines for a lover that he has not seen in a long, lonely time”. The 1955 movie Unchained focuses on a man who contemplates either escaping from prison to live life on the lam or finishing his sentence and returning to his family.
Accolades: The song has been No. 1 on several love song lists featured in the United Kingdom; RS/500, No. 365; No. 1 on the Magic 1278′s 500 greatest songs of all time compilation.
46. The Way You Look Tonight (Frank Sinatra)
Originally sung by the Bing Crosby-Dixie Lee (husband and wife) duo, “The Way You Look Tonight” was performed by Fred Astaire in the movie Swing Time (1936)–with John ‘Lucky’ Garnett (Astaire) serenading Penelope “Penny” Carroll (Ginger Rogers) with it. “The Way You Look Tonight” was picked up and re-popularized by Frank Sinatra in 1964 .
Meaning of the Song: The song was first used in the 1936 movie Swing Time. Dorothy Fields, one of the music producers, one said that “the first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me; I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.”
Accolades: Academy Award for Best Original Song (1936).
47. Rock Me Gently (Andy Kim)
Andy Kim, who also made “Sugar, Sugar” (see No. 50) into a smash hit, produced and sung “Rock Me Gently” (whose B-side is an instrumental of the same name), for his own record label, Ice Records. A genre known as “bubblegum” music–fun and bouncy–it marked one of several hits for Kim from 1968 to 1974, but would be his last top 10 (even Hot 100 ranking) hit in either the U.S. or the U.K.
Meaning of the Song: Andy Kim’s “Rock Me Gently“ is a classic, albeit generic, love song that Kim wrote in his later career.
Accolades: Peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the UK Singles chart.
48. Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)
“Brown Eyed Girl” was written and recorded in 1967 by Van Morrison for the album Blowin’ You Away. It was Morrison’s first single after he defected from the Belfast-originated band ‘Them’, and features the Sweet Inspirations on back-up vocals. Brown would eventually prove to be the impetus for Morrison’s career as a solo artist, to his relocation to the U.S., and for the artist to sign with Warner Bros. Records where, subsequently, he produced his career-defining album, “Astral Weeks”.
Ironically, Morrison stated that “Brown Eyed Girl” wasn’t even among his favorite songs, claiming, “It’s not one of my best. I mean I’ve got about 300 songs that I think are better.”
Meaning of the Song: “Brown Eyed Girl”‘s lyrics, although originally socially taboo, refer to a former love who, according to Eric Hage, “shows early hints of the idealized pastoral landscapes that would flow through his songs through the decades, a tendency that links him to the Romantic poets, whom Morrison has cited as an influence”.
Accolades: Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted in 2007 and in 2003 declared “one of the 365 Top Selling Songs of the 20th Century” by the RIAA; widely considered one of the greatest songs ever written; considered to be Van Morrison’s signature piece; covered by hundreds of prominent labels over several decades; reached No. 8 on the Cashbox charts; peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
49. Maybellene (Chuck Berry)
A song that Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed “Rock & roll guitar starts here” of, “Maybellene” (1955) was adapted from the vintage-era “Ida Red”, a Chess Records original. It marked Berry’s first single release as well as hit. An early example of the complete “rock & roll package”, “Maybellene” ostensibly had it all: A youthful topic, unbridled excitement, guitar riffs and clear, unmistakable direction.
Meaning of the Song: “Maybellene”, most agree, was adapted from the older fiddle tune “Ida Red”, which describes the story of a hot rod race and love affair gone awry.
Accolades: Grammy Hall of Fame induction for its influence as a “rock and roll single” (1988); RR/HoF induction for “Maybellene” (plus “Rock and Roll Music” and “Johnny B. Goode”); one of NPR‘s 100 Most Important American Musical Works of the 20th-Century; ranked 81st-greatest song of all time–No. 2 of 1955–by Acclaimed Music.
50. Sugar, Sugar (The Archies)
Initially released in 1969 for the album Everything’s Archie, “Sugar, Sugar” was a massive bubble gum-pop hit by Ron Dante and Andy Kim. To everyone’s shock, including Dante and Kim, it was one of the group’s biggest number-one hits of the year in America and Great Britain. This was in no small part thanks to its relationship to the hit CBS morning cartoon series.
Meaning of the Song: “Sugar, Sugar” was originally intended as a soundtrack for the Saturday-morning cartoon series “The Archies”. In “band” member Toni Wine’s words:
“We went in, we did the record. It was a fun session, it was a blast, and at the session we just knew that this was something, and something huge was going to happen. We didn’t really know how huge, but it was huge. In fact, a friend of mine had been in town, Ray Stevens, who’s an incredible songwriter, singer, producer, musician, and we were going to just grab a bite to eat, so I told him to meet me at the studio, pick me up, and then we’ll go eat. And he wound up handclapping on ‘Sugar, Sugar.”
Accolades: No. 1 single of 1969; topped RPM 100 national singles chart (Canada) for three weeks; four weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100; Billboard‘s Greatest Songs of All Time, No. 63; certified-gold (August 1969); inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2006).
