Dave's Music Database

Alternative Rock Albums – Top 100

2013-05-10T14:49:00.001-05:00

image from raisingthevolume.com

This list was created by aggregating 26 lists focused on alternative and indie rock. See links after the list.

1. Radiohead OK Computer (1997)
2. Pavement Slanted and Enchanted (1992)
3. My Bloody Valentine Loveless (1991)
4. Sonic Youth Daydream Nation (1988)
5. Pixies Surfer Rosa (1988)
6. Nirvana Nevermind (1991)
7. Pixies Doolittle (1989)
8. Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream (1993)
9. Beck Odelay (1996)
10. The Replacements Let It Be (1984)

11. Liz Phair Exile in Guyville (1993)
12. Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
13. R.E.M. Murmur (1983)
14. The Smiths The Queen Is Dead (1986)
15. The Stone Roses The Stone Roses (1989)
16. Dinosaur Jr. You’re Living All Over Me (1987)
17. Hüsker Dü New Day Rising (1985)
18. Guided by Voices Bee Thousand (1994)
19. Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral (1994)
20. Radiohead Kid A (2000)

21. Hüsker Dü Zen Arcade (1984)
22. Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
23. Soundgarden Superunknown (1994)
24. Blur Parklife (1994)
25. Joy Division Closer (1980)
26. Pearl Jam Ten (1991)
27. The Cure Disintegration (1989)
28. U2 The Joshua Tree (1987)
29. R.E.M. Automatic for the People (1992)
30. Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)

31. Radiohead The Bends (1995)
32. The Smiths The Smiths (1984)
33. Green Day Dookie (1994)
34. The Strokes Is This It (2001)
35. Elvis Costello This Year’s Model (1978)
36. Jeff Buckley Grace (1994)
37. Pulp Different Class (1995)
38. Slint Spiderland (1991)
39. Joy Division Unknown Pleasures (1979)
40. The Verve Urban Hymns (1997)

41. Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
42. Meat Puppets Meat Puppets II (1984)
43. Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994)
44. Björk Debut (1993)
45. Nirvana In Utero (1993)
46. U2 Achtung Baby (1991)
47. The Fall This Nation’s Saving Grace (1985)
48. Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
49. Talking Heads Remain in Light (1980)
50. Coldplay Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)

51. Arcade Fire Funeral (2004)
52. Belle & Sebastian If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996)
53. The Jesus & Mary Chain Psychocandy (1985)
54. PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love (1995)
55. Primal Scream Screamadelica (1991)
56. Talking Heads More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)
57. Violent Femmes Violent Femmes (1982)
58. Oasis Definitely Maybe (1994)
59. Portishead Dummy (1994)
60. New Order Power, Corruption and Lies (1983)

61. The White Stripes White Blood Cells (2001)
62. Sleater-Kinney Dig Me Out (1997)
63. Television Marquee Moon (1977)
64. The Clash London Calling (1979)
65. Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
66. Radiohead In Rainbows (2007)
67. Yo La Tengo I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One (1997)
68. The Minutemen Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
69. U2 War (1983)
70. Elliott Smith Either/Or (1997)

71. Elvis Costello Armed Forces (1979)
72. Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (1992)
73. Gang of Four Entertainment! (1979)
74. Jane’s Addiction Nothing’s Shocking (1988)
75. Alice in Chains Dirt (1992)
76. Weezer Weezer (aka “The Blue Album”) (1994)
77. Wire Pink Flag (1977)
78. Blondie Parallel Lines (1978)
79. R.E.M. Document (1987)
80. Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible (1994)

81. The Velvet Underground & Nico The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
82. Tori Amos Little Earthquakes (1992)
83. Pretenders Pretenders (1980)
84. Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs (1999)
85. Devo Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo (1978)
86. Elvis Costello My Aim Is True (1977)
87. Patti Smith Horses (1975)
88. New Order Substance (1987)
89. David Bowie Low (1977)
90. Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine (1989)

91. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill (1995)
92. The Feelies Crazy Rhythms (1980)
93. Sonic Youth Sister (1987)
94. Jane’s Addiction Ritual De Lo Habitual (1990)
95. Depeche Mode Violator (1990)
96. Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)
97. Teenage Fanclub Bandwagonesque (1991)
98. The Cure Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
99. Mission of Burma Vs. (1982)
100. Public Image Ltd. Metal Box (1979)

Resources and Related Links:

AlbumOfTheYear.org
Alternative Press
Amazon.com: Essential CDs by Style
Askmen.com
AudioOverflow.blogspot.com
Barnes & Noble: Fundamentals
Blender: 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die, April 2003
Digital Dream Door: Alternative Albums
Digital Dream Door: Indie Albums
Google: Alternative Albums Frequently Mentioned on the Web
Grammys: Alternative Album Winners
Listology: 100 Greatest Alternative Rock Albums
Listology: 20 Greatest Alternative/Punk/New Wave Albums Ever Made
Prefix: Best Indie Albums
Rate Your Music, list by Mennyekbeliremete
Rate Your Music, list by No Such Dude
TheRealMusic.net
Record Collector: Classic Albums from 21 Genres for the 21st Century, January 2000
Stereolab: Amazon’s 100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums of All Time
Dave Thompson, Alternative Rock. Backbeat Books; England: 2000. Page 817.
WBER Radio (New York): Top 100 Albums of All Time, 1999.

Rolling Stone Magazine’s Top 100 Songs

2013-05-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

image from myfonts.com

Rolling Stone magazine has published numerous best-of lists over the years. Below is an exclusive Dave’s Music Database in which various lists from Rolling Stone have been consolidated into an aggregate list.

Aretha Franklin…Respect (1967)
Eagles…Hotel California (1977)
The Police…Every Breath You Take (1983)
Prince…Little Red Corvette (1983)
Marvin Gaye…What’s Going On (1971)
Bruce Springsteen…Born to Run (1975)
Michael Jackson…Billie Jean (1983)
Prince…When Doves Cry (1984)
Nirvana…Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
The Beatles…Hey Jude (1968)
John Lennon…Imagine (1971)
The Beach Boys…Good Vibrations (1966)
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five…The Message (1982)
The Miracles…The Tracks of My Tears (1965)
The Jackson 5…I Want You Back (1969)
Al Green…Let’s Stay Together (1971)
Fleetwood Mac…Go Your Own Way (1977)
Elton John…Your Song (1970)
Marvin Gaye…I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1968)
Sinead O’Connor…Nothing Compares 2 U (1990)
Creedence Clearwater Revival…Proud Mary (1969)
Bee Gees…Stayin’ Alive (1977)
Joy Division…Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980)
Rod Stewart…Maggie May (1971)
Chic…Good Times (1979)
The Rolling Stones…Brown Sugar (1971)
The Rolling Stones…(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (1965)
Bob Dylan…Like a Rolling Stone (1965)
The Beatles…I Want to Hold Your Hand (1963)
The Who…My Generation (1966)
Otis Redding…(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay (1968)
Bob Dylan…Tangled Up in Blue (1975)
Stevie Wonder…Superstition (1972)
The Doors…Light My Fire (1967)
The Ronettes…Be My Baby (1963)
Ike & Tina Turner…River Deep, Mountain High (1966)
U2…With Or Without You (1987)
Van Morrison…Brown-Eyed Girl (1967)
The Rolling Stones…Honky Tonk Women (1969)
Sex Pistols…Anarchy in the U.K. (1976)
The Clash…London Calling (1980)
Buffalo Springfield…For What It’s Worth (1967)
R.E.M….Losing My Religion (1991)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience…All Along the Watchtower (1968)
The Beatles…Strawberry Fields Forever (1967)
OutKast…Hey Ya! (2003)
Elvis Presley…Suspicious Minds (1969)
Wilson Pickett…In the Midnight Hour (1965)
David Bowie…Changes (1972)
The Who…Won’t Get Fooled Again (1971)
The Rolling Stones…Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1968)
Guns N’ Roses…Sweet Child O’ Mine (1988)
Roy Orbison…Oh, Pretty Woman (1964)
Tom Petty…Free Fallin’ (1989)
Four Tops…Reach Out (I’ll Be There) (1966)
Ramones…I Wanna Be Sedated (1978)
The B-52’s…Love Shack (1989)
Michael Jackson…Beat It (1983)
Jefferson Airplane…Somebody to Love (1967)
Aretha Franklin…Chain of Fools (1967)
Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry…Walk This Way (1986)
U2…Pride (In the Name of Love) (1984)
The Rolling Stones…Miss You (1978)
Blue Oyster Cult…Don’t Fear the Reaper (1976)
Eric Clapton…Tears in Heaven (1992)
Foreigner…I Want to Know What Love Is (1984)
Al Green…Tired of Being Alone (1971)
The Temptations…Just My Imagination Running Away with Me (1971)
The Beatles…Yesterday (1965)
The Rolling Stones…Sympathy for the Devil (1968)
The Beatles…In My Life (1965)
The Rolling Stones…Gimme Shelter (1968)
U2…One (1992)
The Righteous Brothers…You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (1964)
The Beatles…A Day in the Life (1967)
Van Halen…Jump (1984)
Gnarls Barkley…Crazy (2006)
The Beatles…Help! (1965)
The Band…The Weight (1968)
The Kingsmen…Louie Louie (1963)
Percy Sledge…When a Man Loves a Woman (1966)
The Impressions…People Get Ready (1965)
Derek and the Dominos…Layla (1971)
Simon & Garfunkel…Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Beyonce with Jay-Z…Crazy in Love (2003)
The Kinks…You Really Got Me (1964)
Chuck Berry…Johnny B. Goode (1958)
Procol Harum…A Whiter Shade of Pale (1967)
Sam Cooke…A Change Is Gonna Come (1965)
The Temptations…My Girl (1965)
Creedence Clearwater Revival…Fortunate Son (1969)
James Brown…Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag (1965)
Jay-Z…99 Problems (2003)
The Mamas & the Papas…California Dreamin’ (1966)
The Byrds…Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)
U2…Moment of Surrender (2009)
Led Zeppelin…Whole Lotta Love (1969)
The Kinks…Waterloo Sunset (1967)
Elvis Presley…Heartbreak Hotel (1956)
Eminem…Lose Yourself (2002)

Resources and Related Links:

The 100 Best Singles of the Last 25 Years. New York, NY; Straight Arrow Publishing Company. (9/8/88; issue 534)
The Best Records of 5 Decades (8/97)
MTV’s “Pop 100” (12/7/00) – see MTV
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (12/04)
Songs of the Decade (2000-2009) (?)
500 Greatest Songs of All Time (4/10)
Rolling Stone Top 500: Critics and Reader Polls, 1967-2012 (5/7/13). Compiled by Steve Sullivan.

Happy 80th Birthday Willie Nelson! / His Top 80 Songs

2013-04-30T23:59:00.000-05:00

image from michaelcorcoran.net

Dave’s Music Database initially posted its ranking of the top 10 Willie Nelson songs on its Facebook page in response to a July 12, 2010, Paste magazine list of The 10 Best Willie Nelson Songs. That list has been updated and expanded to a top 80 list here in honor of Nelson’s 80th birthday. Included are songs written by Nelson but performed by others (noted in parentheses) and songs Nelson covered which have DMDB higher-ranked versions by other artists (*).

Crazy (live with Diana Krall & Elvis Costello,
in honor of Nelson’s 70th birthday)

1. Crazy (recorded by Patsy Cline, written by Willie Nelson; 1961)
2. Always on My Mind (1982)
3. On the Road Again (1980)
4. Good Hearted Woman (live with Waylon Jennings, 1975)
5. Georgia on My Mind (1978) *
6. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (1975)
7. Hello Walls (recorded by Faron Young, written by Willie Nelson; 1961)
8. Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys (with Waylon Jennings, 1978)
9. To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before (with Julio Iglesias, 1984)
10. Funny How Time Slips Away (recorded by Billy Walker, written by Nelson, 1961)

Always on My Mind

11. My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1980)
12. Blue Skies (1978) *
13. Pancho and Lefty (with Merle Haggard, 1983) *
14. Beer for My Horses (with Toby Keith, 2002)
15. Angels Flying Too Close to the Sun (1981)
16. Night Life (recorded by Paul Buskirk, written by Nelson, 1959)
17. City of New Orleans (1984)
18. Mona Lisa (1981) *
19. Heartbreak Hotel (with Leon Russell, 1979) *
20. If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time (1976) *

On the Road Again (live with various artists at the 2012 CMA Awards)

21. Whiskey River (live, 1978)
22. Help Me Make It Through the Night (1979) *
23. Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning (1982)
24. Me and Paul (1971, re-recorded in 1985)
25. The Highwayman (with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, & Kris Kristofferson; 1985)
26. Let It Be Me (1982)
27. Uncloudy Day (1976)
28. Nothing I Can Do About It (1989)
29. Fire and Rain (1975) *
30. Seven Spanish Angels (with Ray Charles, 1984)

Good Hearted Woman (live with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, & Kris Kristofferson)

31. Living in the Promiseland (1986)
32. Forgiving You Was Easy (1985)
33. Remember Me When the Candle Lights Are Gleaming (1976)
34. Just to Satisfy You (with Waylon Jennings, 1982)
35. Bloody Mary Morning (1974)
36. All of Me (1978) *
37. Faded Love (with Ray Price, 1980) *
38. Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer) (1973)
39. Yesterday’s Wine (1971)
40. Everything’s Beautiful in Its Own Way (with Dolly Parton, 1982)

41. The Party’s Over (1967)
42. I’d Have to Be Crazy (1976)
43. My Own Peculiar Way (1965)
44. Mr. Record Man (1962)
45. Good Times (1968)
46. Bring Me Sunshine (1968)
47. Sweet Memories (1979)
48. If You Can Touch Her at All (1978)
49. Touch Me (1962)
50. Something to Brag About (with Mary Kay Place, 1977)

Georgia on My Mind (live with Ray Charles)

51. Baby It’s Cold Outside (with Norah Jones, 2009) *
52. She’s Not for You (1965)
53. If I Were a Carpenter (with Sheryl Crow, 2007) *
54. Half a Man (1963)
55. Take It to the Limit (with Waylon Jennings, 1983) *
56. Heartaches of a Fool (1981)
57. America the Beautiful (2001) *
58. Healing Hands of Time (1965)
59. Without a Song (1983)
60. Crazy Arms (1979) *

Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (live with Shania Twain)

61. I’m a Memory (1971)
62. Mendocino County Line (with Lee Ann Womack, 2002)
63. Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other (2006)
64. Midnight Rider (1979) *
65. There You Are (1989)
66. I Loe You a Thousand Ways (1977)
67. Why Do I Have to Choose (1983)
68. I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone (1974)
69. One in a Row (1966)
70. You Ought to Hear Me Now (1977)

Willie Nelson and Faron Young discuss “Hello Walls”

71. Little Old Fashioned Karma (1983)
72. Blackjack County Chain (1967)
73. It’s Not Supposed to Be That Way (1976)
74. Time of the Preacher (1975)
75. Little Things (1968)
76. Family Bible (1971)
77. Shotgun Willie (1973)
78. Sad Songs and Waltzes (1973)
79. It Was a Very Good Year (with Ray Charles, 2004) *
80. Reasons to Quit (with Merle Haggard, 1983)

Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys (live with Matchbox 20)

Awards:

Funny How Time Slips Away/Night Life

Resources and Related Links:

Willie Nelson’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry

Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon hit #1: April 28, 1973

2013-04-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

Charted: 17 March 1973

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Speak to Me / Breathe / On the Run / Time (live – 12/10/88, #34 AR) / Breathe Reprise / The Great Gig in the Sky / Money (5/19/73, #13 US, #37 AR) / Us and Them / Any Colour You Like / Brain Damage / Eclipse

Sales (in millions): 18.0 US, 3.91 UK, 45 world (includes US and UK)

Peak: 1¹ US, 2 UK

Rating:

Review: Dark Side of the Moon is that rare album to garner astronomical sales (45 million worldwide, making it one of the top three best-selling albums of all time), staggering chart success (a record-setting 14 years+ on the Billboard album chart and 294 weeks on the UK album chart), ^CA and near-reverential critical acclaim.

No one could have predicted Pink Floyd’s success based on their first five years. They burst out of the gates with 1967’s Piper at the Gates of Dawn, an album spearheaded by then-leader Syd Barrett. When he was overcome by psychedelic drugs and mental instability, the band struggled to find its identity, ironically finding commercial success with “an album whose central theme is madness,” ^CRS tackling topics like “death, violence, and paranoia” ^SM as well as “alienation, insanity and the tragedy of the human condition.” ^RV

It “isn’t as much a concept album as a continuous, masterful” ^RV suite. While bassist and chief songwriter Roger Waters possesses an “almost peerless genius for writing profoundly evocative, yet unforced lyrical metaphors,” ^RV Dark Side also “exemplifies Pink Floyd’s musical range and technical virtuosity.” ^RV “The sound is lush and multi-layered” ^RS but “the songs are mainly slow to mid-tempo” ^AZ “creating its own dark, haunting world.” ^AMG

Moon became “one of the great headphone albums;” ^SM “copies…could always be found in hi-fi stores.” ^CA The album was loaded with special effects like “stereophonically-projected footsteps and planes flying overhead (On the Run).” ^AZ

Time

Other highlights include Time, whose ringing clocks “leap out and grab your ears and tear them from the side of your head.” ^AD On Money, “cash registers rattle and coins chink from left speaker to right speaker on the introduction.” ^CA The latter became the group’s breakthrough single in the U.S.

Money

Resources and Related Links:

Pink Floyd’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
album page on DMDB website (even more in-depth look at album)
^AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
^AZ Amazon.com essential recording; review by Genevieve Williams
^BN Barnes & Noble review by Bill Wyman
^CD CD Universe
^RC Robert Christgau
^CA ClassicAlbums.co.uk
^DD Darryl Denham, Virgin Radio’s “Great Albums You Really Should Own”
^AD Adrian Denning
^SM Stuart Maconie, BBC2’s “Critical List.”
^CRS Tim Morse (1998). Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Rock Songs of All Time. New York, NY: St. Martin's Griffin.
^PK Pop Kulcher 50 Greatest Rock & Roll Albums of All Time
^Q Q4music.com review by Dave Henderson. No longer posted online.
^RV The Review “100 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Clarke Speicher (October – November 2001; Vol. 128: numbers 12-23).
^RS Rolling Stone review by Loyd Grossman. Originally from RS 135 print issue.
^GS George Starostin

Award(s):

The Death Knell Sounds Again: The History of Music Industry Whining

2013-04-26T09:35:00.001-05:00

Originally published in my "Aural Fixation" column on PopMatters.com on April 25, 2013. See original post here.

image from tumblr.com

If the Chicken Little music industry pundits are to be believed, the sky is falling. A business which makes billions of dollars a year can’t stop whining about how illegal downloading, streaming, and Internet radio are sending them to the poor house. There’s one problem with their complaints – we’ve been hearing them since the beginning of recorded music history more than a century ago.

I blame Thomas Edison. Thanks to his indefatigable curiosity and perpetual instinct to invent, he steered the world into the dawn of a new age: recorded music history. In 1877, he laid down a recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, and shortly thereafter, we fell down the rabbit hole.

If it weren’t for his voice-recording phonograph, we might not presently be enduring the horrible curse of being able to listen to any music we want anytime, anywhere, and any way we choose. Damn you, Mr. Edison! Look what fury you hath wrought!

Edison ruined the music industry – or at least how the form in which it was known 136 years ago. Before the invention of sound recording, the music business was built on sheet music sales. Once Edison let the cat out of the bag, the big bucks moved to recording music, away from sheet music distribution.

image from heykiki.com

Stuart Banner wrote a piece for Bloomberg.com (“The First Time Tech Ruined the Music Business”, 14 December 2012) stating:

“The music business was in turmoil at the turn of the century. Technological innovation had made songs much easier to copy, and established artists foresaw their sales plummeting. The companies that had once dominated the industry were rapidly losing ground to upstarts who produced new devices for playing music. The established companies urged Congress to tighten up the law to prohibit copying, while the innovators argued that any such change would only harm consumers.”

Here’s the kicker. While this sounds like a modern assessment of the music industry, it actually describes the state of the business in 1900. Record execs haven’t stopped griping since.

So let’s take a look at the current reasons why a multi-billion-dollar industry would have the public belief the whole system is falling apart – and when these supposedly new problems first surfaced.

The music industry can’t survive with competing formats or delivery systems.

We’ve heard for more than a decade how the compact disc is suffering a slow death at the hands of the MP3. Clearly this is a late-20th/early-21st century development, right? Uh, no. Try 19th century.

Edison's phonograph, image from wikipedia.org

Within roughly a decade of Edison’s invention of the phonograph, Emile Berliner thrust his alternative, the gramophone, upon the world in 1888. It relied on a disc instead of a cylinder, thus introducing the first “my format’s better than your format” battle.

Thankfully, the dilemma never reared its ugly head again – except for the introduction of piano rolls (1896), 78 RPM records (1906), 33 1/3 RPM records (1928), the LP (1948), the 7” single (1951), the cassette (1964), the 8-track (1966), the compact disc (1978), MTV (1981), the MP3 (1990), streaming (1995), Napster (1999), Pandora (2000), iTunes (2003), YouTube (2005), and Spotify (2008). If some of these dates sound earlier than you expected, well, let that be a lesson to you. These formats did not storm the industry and decimate them overnight. (Source: PBS.org (““Chronology: Technology and the Music Industry”, 24 May 2004).

image from rateyourmusic.com

The industry can’t compete with free, or nearly free distribution of music.

Record companies have lobbed their legal heft at Internet radio and streaming services like Pandora and Spotify in the claim that such services are ruining the recording industry. However, radio first “threatened” the music business over 80 years ago.

image from thesociety.org.au

The ‘20s saw the mass-production of commercial radio. Record companies were so terrified of the new medium that they signed their major artists to contracts forbidding them from doing radio work. As we all know, once every household in America had a radio, recorded music went away forever.

image from sheltonstella.files.wordpress.com

Oh, wait. It didn’t. As has happened dozens of times, the music industry adapted – even if it had to get over its initially panicked reaction, first – and transformed radio into a means to promote music sales.

As for the effect of modern-day services like Pandora and Spotify, Hugo Vanessen notes in a Storify.com article (“The Effect of Spotify and Pandora on the Music Industry”, March 2013) that the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said sales actually saw a slight rise in 2012 after 14 years of decline. The article suggests the industry may owe the turn of fortune to Spotify and Pandora. Spotify founder Daniel Ek is quoted in the article as saying, “Old media are always afraid of new media… because when a new media appears on the scene you have to change in order to keep up.” In other words, if the industry would stop panicking and embrace progress, it would be much better off.

No one will buy music if they can listen and share for free.

This brings us to the dumbest move in the music business in recent memory. After Napster hit in 1999, peer-to-peer file sharing exploded. Convinced illegal downloading would bring the industry to its knees, record companies screamed bloody murder and got the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to take on the image-shattering move of suing everyday music fans. After all, if your customer is fleeing from your company, the best way to woo them back is to chase them down with a legal machete and mercilessly (and publicly) flog them, right?

image from news.cnet.com

As far back as the 1890s, the invention of the jukebox meant no one needed to buy music for their home ever again. At the height of its popularity in the ‘50s, the jukebox was a staple at diners and drive-ins. Teens could hang out with friends at the local burger joint and wait for someone else to drop a dime to listen to the latest rock ‘n’ roll chartbuster. Ah, that fateful day when the record companies announced they were closing up shop for good because no one was buying music, anymore.

Oh wait. That didn’t happen? Well, at least not until blank cassettes threatened to destroy the sale of the beloved LP. The record honchos got the 1909 Copyright Statute amended in 1971 so that those horrible teens who swapped albums with friends could be chased down with legal machetes and mercilessly (and publicly) flogged. Wait – is anyone else experiencing déjà vu?

image from theocmd.com

Don’t shed too many tears for those poor record execs. In the ‘80s, they pulled off a major coup: a percentage of the profits from the sale of every blank tape. Once again, they managed to weather the storm.

The availability of individual songs will kill the album.

In 1948, the 12” disc, better known as the LP, was introduced. Within three years, a 7” format – the single – hit the market. The funeral procession for the death of the music industry began immediately.

image from microcosmologist.com

Yeah, yeah. I think you see the pattern by now. The reality was that both formats stuck around for decades and gave customers choices. Of course, with billions of potential bucks to be made, the record company fat cats considered customer choice a negative factor on their bottom lines and set out to destroy the single.

In the ‘80s, blockbuster albums like Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., and Prince’s Purple Rain generated hit after hit and sent fans to record stores in droves. By the ‘90s, record company execs made a concentrated effort to squash the single, often creating massive radio hits (No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak”, Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris”) which weren’t available as commercially available singles. Fans had no choice but to buy the more expensive album.

The CD Era: Death of the Single,
image from blogs.houstonpress.com

Think of it like this. If you go to the grocery store to buy potatoes, they are available individually or by the bag. In the digital age, the return of customer choice – and the ability to buy one song at a time – sent the music biz into a tizzy because it can no longer sell you a sack of potatoes when you only want one. Let the violins play.

* * *

I won’t deny that record companies have taken a hit in the 21st century. However, for all their finger-pointing, they may be pointing at the wrong culprits. In an ABC.net article (“The real reason why the music industry collapsed”, 25 May 2012), Nick Ross graphs the number of albums sold per person from 1973 to 2009. There’s an obvious spike in the ‘90s to more than five album purchases per person. The number peaked in 1994, so when Napster launched five years later, the numbers were already in decline. Numbers dipped back to pre-‘90s levels of two to four album purchases per person. The record industry didn’t so much tank as return to normalcy.

Matthew Lasar acknowledges in an arstechnica.com article (“Did file-sharing cause recording industry collapse? Economists say no”, 23 March 2011) that global recorded music sales had dropped to about $15 billion in 2010 after being just shy of $27 billion in 2000. However, he argues, these numbers coincide with a global economic downturn in the ‘00s.

image from arstechnica.net

A graph at Ultimate-Guitar.com (“Why Music Industry Observations Suck”, 1 November 2011) looks at US sales dating back to 1999 up to projected sales for 2014. It suggests that since 2009, sales have practically leveled off to just shy of $6 billion a year.

Wake up, music industry folks. Technology and consumers are constantly evolving. Instead of fighting to derail technological advances in the music industry you are certain will destroy your livelihood. Figure out how to embrace change. Or don’t. It doesn’t matter. Music, and the way it is delivered and heard, will change whether you like it or not. If you want to blame anyone, though, I say it’s that evil Thomas Edison’s fault.

Thomas Edison with - an iPopd?,
image from farm4.staticflickr.com

People’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame

2013-04-23T23:59:00.000-05:00

The most recent class was inducted on April 23, 2013. In all, there have been 16 induction classes since the People’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame was founded in 2010 by Ted Cogswell. It is really just his pet project and not an official organization. The concept was to announce a ballot of eligible performers once a month to align with the eligibility period of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Consequently, those up for consideration on the first ballot had to be eligible for the Rock Hall in 1986 (meaning they had to have a record at least 25 years old at that time). The second ballot was for the 1987 eligibility year and so on. The general public was then allowed to vote on the nominees and those who received more than 50% of the popular vote were inducted. The Hall appears to have been put on hold since the 15th class. Here are the inductees thus far, with the number of their classes in parentheses:

AC/DC (15)
Aerosmith (14)
The Allman Brothers Band (10)
The Animals (5)

Badfinger (11)
Hank Ballard & the Midnighters (6)
The Band (9)
The Beach Boys (3)
The Beatles (3)
Jeff Beck (8)
The Bee Gees (8)
Chuck Berry (1)
Black Sabbath (12)
Bobby “Blue” Bland (11)
Blue Oyster Cult (13)
Booker T. & the M.G.s (3)
David Bowie (7)
James Brown (1)
Buffalo Springfield (7)
Solomon Burke (11)
Johnny Burnette & the Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio (6)
The Byrds (6)

Dick Dale (5)
Bobby Darin (7)
Deep Purple (9)
Bo Diddley (1)
Dion & the Belmonts (4)
Fats Domino (2)
Donovan (6)
The Doobie Brothers (15)
The Doors (8)
The Drifters (4)
Bob Dylan (3)

E-F

Eagles (16)
Duane Eddy (7)
Electric Light Orchestra (12)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (16)
The Everly Brothers (2)
The Faces (10)
Fleetwood Mac (9)
The Four Seasons (4)
The Four Tops (4)
Aretha Franklin (3)
Free (13)

Marvin Gaye (3)
The J. Geils Band (13)
Genesis (12)
Grand Funk Railroad (13)
The Grateful Dead (8)
Al Green (12)
The Guess Who (6)

Bill Haley (3)
George Harrison (10)
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (6)
Jimi Hendrix (7)
The Hollies (5)
Buddy Holly (1)
John Lee Hooker (5)
Howlin’ Wolf (2)
Humble Pie (15)

I-J

B.B. King (5)
Carole King (16)
Freddie King (11)
King Crimson (12)
The Kinks (5)
Gladys Knight & the Pips (11)

Led Zeppelin (10)
Brenda Lee (7)
John Lennon (10)
Jerry Lee Lewis (1)
Little Richard (1)
Love (15)
The Lovin’ Spoonful (6)
Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers (11)
Lynyrd Skynyrd (14)

Bob Marley & the Wailers (11)
The Mamas and the Papas (7)
Paul McCartney (11)
The MC5 (7)
The Steve Miller Band (13)
The Miracles (3)
Joni Mitchell (12)
The Monkees (7)
The Moody Blues (6)
Van Morrison (8)
Mott the Hoople (10)

N-O-P

Rick Nelson (3)
Roy Orbison (2)
Parliament-Funkadelic (12)
Les Paul (6)
Carl Perkins (2)
Wilson Pickett (4)
Pink Floyd (8)
Gene Pitney (7)
The Platters (6)
Elvis Presley (1)

Q-R

Queen (14)
The Rascals (6)
Otis Redding (2)
Lou Reed (14)
Jimmy Reed (11)
Paul Revere & the Raiders (4)
The Righteous Brothers (6)
The Rolling Stones (4)
The Ronettes (4)
Roxy Music (16)
Todd Rundgren (14)
Rush (14)

Sam and Dave (5)
Santana (10)
Bob Seger (11)
Del Shannon (6)
The Shirelles (7)
Simon and Garfunkel (5)
Paul Simon (15)
Sly & the Family Stone (8)
The Small Faces (10)
Dusty Springfield (6)
Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band (14)
The Staple Singers (11)
Steely Dan (14)
Steppenwolf (14)
Rod Stewart (12)
The Stooges (11)
The Supremes (4)

The Temptations (4)
Thin Lizzy (12)
Traffic (8)
T. Rex (9)
Ike & Tina Turner (3)
Big Joe Turner (6)

U-V

Ritchie Valens (3)
The Velvet Underground (7)
The Ventures (4)
Gene Vincent (2)

W-X

T-Bone Walker (11)
Muddy Waters (2)
Johnny “Guitar” Watson (11)
The Who (5)
Hank Williams (5)
Jackie Wilson (3)
Johnny Winter (13)
Stevie Wonder (3)
Link Wray (11)

Y-Z

The Yardbirds (5)
Yes (10)
Neil Young (9)
Warren Zevon (12)
Frank Zappa (7)
The Zombies (5)
ZZ Top (11)

Resources:

People’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame

Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” named a Songwriter Hall of Fame Towering Song

2013-04-22T23:59:00.000-05:00

image from blackenterprise.com

Writer(s): Sam Cooke (see lyrics here)

First charted: 9 January 1965

Peak: 31 US, 46 CB, 9 RB (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK)

Radio Airplay (in millions): -- Video Airplay (in millions): --

Review: On April 22, 2013, Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" joined an elite group when it became only the 18th song given the Towering Song award by the Songwriter Hall of Fame. The song which “became an anthem of the civil rights movement in the United States” ^NRR owed its existence to a black man determined to outdo a white man’s commentary on racism. Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” “profoundly inspired and disturbed” ^RS500 Sam Cooke, who said at the time, “Jeez, a white boy writing a song like that?” ^RS500

Cooke responded with an introspective protest song which tapped into his personal experiences and captured the pain and suffering of a greater whole. He gave first-person accounts of segregation and an event in which he and members of his entourage were arrested for disturbing the peace at a white motel in Shreveport, Louisiana, ^RS500 while also mourning the accidental drowning death of his infant son. ^RS500

Despite its “weary tone” ^WK and the negative circumstances which birthed the song, it is a “hopeful tome and vision for a multi-cultural society” ^SH which has been called the soul singer’s “most significant and enduring composition.” ^SH It also served as “Cooke’s farewell address and final hit.” ^RS500 He recorded “Change” in December 1963, ^WK but it wasn’t until after he was fatally shot a year later at a Los Angeles motel that the song was released as a single.

Its reach is demonstrated by the myriad of artists who have covered the song. Among the 500+ versions are those by The Band, Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Bragg, Terence Trent D’Arby, Bob Dylan, Gavin DeGraw, Aretha Franklin, the Fugees, Al Green, R. Kelly, Otis Redding, the Righteous Brothers, Seal, The Supremes, Three Dog Night, Tina Turner, and Bobby Womack.

Resources and Related Links:

original page on DMDB website
Sam Cooke’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
^NRR National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress The Full National Recording Registry
^RS500 Rolling Stone (12/04). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.
^SF Songfacts.com
^SH Songwriters Hall of Fame Towering Song Award
^WK Wikipedia.org

Award(s):

The Guardian – Top 100 Albums

2013-04-19T01:51:00.000-05:00

image from poverty-action.org

The Guardian is a UK newspaper which has published a few best-of lists over the years. Below are their top 100 albums, as determined by aggregating four album-focused lists published from 1997 to 2007. See links to those lists at bottom of page.

1. John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (1965)
2. The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses (1989)
3. Radiohead: The Bends (1995)
4. Oasis: Definitely Maybe (1994)
5. Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
6. Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On (1971)
7. Massive Attack: Blue Lines (1991)
8. The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced? (1967)
9. Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run (1975)
10. Primal Scream: Screamadelica (1991)

11. Jeff Buckley: Grace (1994)
12. Fleetwood Mac: Rumours (1977)
13. Patti Smith: Horses (1975)
14. The Doors: The Doors (1967)
15. Joy Division: Closer (1980)
16. Pulp: Different Class (1995)
17. Paul Simon: Graceland (1986)
18. Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
19. Dexy’s Midnight Runners: Searching for the Young Soul Rebels (1980)
20. Nirvana: Nevermind (1991)

21. The Beatles: Revolver (1966)
22. The Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
23. The Beatles: The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (1968)
24. Oasis: What’s the Story Morning Glory (1995)
25. R.E.M.: Automatic for the People (1992)
26. The Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
27. David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
28. The Smiths: The Queen Is Dead (1986)
29. The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (1966)
30. Velvet Underground & Nico: Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

31. U2: The Joshua Tree (1987)
32. Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill (1995)
33. The Clash: London Calling (1979)
34. The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street (1972)
35. Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks (1975)
36. The Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed (1969)
37. Lou Reed: Transformer (11/72) 38. Joni Mitchell: Blue (1971)
39. Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
40. Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

41. The Pixies: Doolittle (1989)
42. John Lennon: Imagine (1971)
43. Neil Young: After the Gold Rush (1970)
44. Frank Sinatra: Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956)
45. Prince: Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987)
46. Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (1959)
47. Portishead: Dummy (1994)
48. Michael Jackson: Thriller (1982)
49. Blur: Parklife (1994)
50. Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (1979)

51. Nick Drake: Five Leaves Left (1969)
52. Talking Heads: Fear of Music (1979)
53. Björk: Debut (1993)
54. U2: Achtung Baby (1991)
55. Love: Forever Changes (1967)
56. Television: Marquee Moon (1977)
57. Bee Gees/Various Artists: Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack, 1977)
58. Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell (1977)
59. Rod Stewart: Every Picture Tells a Story (1971) 60. The Verve: A Northern Soul (1995)

61. Tricky: Maxinquaye (1995)
62. Kate Bush: Hounds of Love (1985)
63. Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
64. Prefab Sprout: Steve McQueen (aka “Two Wheels Good”) (1985)
65. Radiohead: OK Computer (1997)
66. Van Morrison: Astral Weeks (1968)
67. The Beatles: Abbey Road (1969)
68. Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
69. Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde (1966)
70. David Bowie: Hunky Dory (1971)

71. The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland (1968)
72. Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
73. The Band: The Band (1969)
74. The Prodigy: Fat of the Land (1997)
75. The Verve: Urban Hymns (1997)
76. Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
77. Queen: A Night at the Opera (1975)
78. The Clash: The Clash (1977)
79. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band: Trout Mask Replica (1969)
80. Bob Marley & The Wailers: Exodus (1977)

81. Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms (1985)
82. The Jam: All Mod Cons (1978)
83. Bob Marley & the Wailers: Legend (compilation, 1984)
84. Dusty Springfield: Dusty in Memphis (1969)
85. Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures (1979)
86. Happy Mondays: Pills ‘N’ Thrills and Bellyaches (1990)
87. Iggy & the Stooges: Raw Power (1973)
88. The Specials: The Specials (1979)
89. Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin II (1969)
90. The Beach Boys: Sunflower (1970)

91. Beck: Odelay (1996)
92. The Smiths: The Smiths (1984)
93. Velvet Underground: Loaded (1970)
94. R.E.M.: Out of Time (1991)
95. Eagles: Hotel California (1976)
96. Madonna: Like a Prayer (1989)
97. Guns N’ Roses: Appetite for Destruction (1987)
98. Todd Rundgren: Something/Anything? (1972)
99. Big Star: Radio City (1974)
100. My Bloody Valentine: Isn’t Anything (1988)

Resources and Related Links:

Guardian’s Albums of the Millenium (autumn 1997).
List created by Guardian, BBC Channel 4, and HMV. Ranked list with no commentary.
Guardian’s 100 Best Albums Ever (9/19/97)
Ranked list as voted on by artists, critics, and DJs around the world. No commentary.
Guardian’s Alternative Top 100 Albums Ever. (1/29/99)
Ranked list with commentary.
Guardian’s 100 Best Albums of All Time (4/17/05)
Ranked list. No commentary. Broadcast on BBC 4 on 4/17/05.
Guardian’s 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die (11/07)
Unranked list. One album per artist.

The Top 100 Country Acts of All Time

2013-04-11T14:02:00.000-05:00

image from newsgenerationcom

This list was compiled by averaging 11 lists of the best country acts of all-time and adding in points accrued on the Billboard country singles charts along with induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In addition, a percentage of the acts’ overall points in Dave’s Music Database were factored in. Click on a link to see the act’s DMDB music encyclopedia entry.

Johnny Cash
Hank Williams
Elvis Presley
Willie Nelson
Garth Brooks
George Jones
Dolly Parton
Loretta Lynn
Eddy Arnold
Kenny Rogers
Jimmie Rodgers
Merle Haggard
Shania Twain
Reba McEntire
Glen Campbell
The Carter Family
Alabama
George Strait
Alan Jackson
Tim McGraw
Bill Monroe
Patsy Cline
Roy Acuff
Bob Wills
Buck Owens
Brooks & Dunn
Conway Twitty
Marty Robbins
Tammy Wynette
Waylon Jennings
Kitty Wells
Lefty Frizzell
Gene Autry
Hank Snow
Charley Pride
Jim Reeves
Ernest Tubb
Hank Williams, Jr.
Clint Black
Toby Keith
Jerry Lee Lewis
Martina McBride
Ray Price
Vince Gill
Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
Kenny Chesney
Anne Murray
Randy Travis
Emmylou Harris
Ronnie Milsap
Webb Pierce
Faron Young
Don Gibson
Sonny James
Mel Tillis
John Denver
Red Foley
Carl Smith
Porter Wagoner
Tom T. Hall
Crystal Gayle
Lynn Anderson
Roger Miller
Tanya Tucker
Bobby Bare
Charlie Rich
Dwight Yoakam
Bill Anderson
Hank Thompson
Mickey Gilley
Faith Hill
Don Williams
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Chet Atkins
Dottie West
Oak Ridge Boys
Travis Tritt
The Statler Brothers
Trisha Yearwood
Dixie Chicks
Ricky Skaggs
Patty Loveless
Barbara Mandrell
Connie Smith
Brad Paisley
Roy Clark
Ferlin Husky
T.G. Sheppard
Earl Thomas Conley
LeAnn Rimes
Gene Watson
The Judds
Johnny Paycheck
Jerry Reed
Larry Gatlin/The Gatlin Brothers
Vern Gosdin
Steve Wariner
Eddie Rabbitt
Diamond Rio
Rascal Flatts

Country Music Hall of Fame

2013-04-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

image from cybergrass.com

The Country Music Hall of Fame named Bobby Bare, Jack Clement, and Kenny Rogers as its 2013 inductees. (See full article here). As stated on the website, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s mission “is to identify and preserve the evolving history and traditions of country music and to educate its audiences.” The Hall of Fame was established in 1961 by the Country Music Association. In 1967, a museum was opened on Music Row in Nashville and remained open until 2000. In May 2001, a brand new, $37 million building opened. Here is the full list of inductees:

Roy Acuff (1962)
Alabama (2005)
Bill Anderson (2001)
Eddy Arnold (1966)
Chet Atkins (1973)
Gene Autry (1969)

DeFord Bailey (2005)
Bobby Bare (2013)
Johnny Bond (1999)
Bobby Braddock (2011)
Harold Bradley (2006)
Owen Bradley (1974)
Rod Brasfield (1987)
Garth Brooks (2012)
Boudleaux Bryant (1991)
Felice Bryant (1991)

Glen Campbell (2005)
Bill Carlisle (2002)
The Carter Family (1972)
Johnny Cash (1980)
Roy Clark (2009)
Jack Clement (2013)
Patsy Cline (1973)
Paul Cohen (1976)
Floyd Cramer (2003)

Vernon Dalhart (1981)
Jimmie Davis (1972)
Jimmy Dean (2010)
The Delmore Brothers (2001)
Jim Denny (1966)
Little Jimmy Dickens (1983)

Ralph Emery (2007)
The Everly Brothers (2001)

Lester Flatt (1985)
Jim Foglesong (2004)
Red Foley (1967)
Tennessee Ernie Ford (1990)
Whitey “Duke of Paducah” Ford (1986)
J.I. “Joe” Frank (1967)
Lefty Frizzell (1982)

Connie B. Gay (1980)
Don Gibson (2001)
Vince Gill (2007)

Merle Haggard (1994)
Tom T. Hall (2008)
Howard Harlan (1997)
Emmylou Harris (2008)
George D. Hay (1966)
Homer & Jethro (2001)
Roy Horton (1982)
Ferlin Husky (2010)

I-J

Sonny James (2006)
Waylon Jennings (2001)
George Jones (1992)
Grandpa Jones (1978)
The Jordanaires (2001)

Pee Wee King (1974)
Kris Kristofferson (2004)

Don Law (2001)
Brenda Lee (1997)
Hubert Long (1979)
The Louvin Brothers (2001)
Loretta Lynn (1988)

Uncle Dave Macon (1966)
Barbara Mandrell (2009)
Charlie McCoy (2009)
Reba McEntire (2011)
Roger Miller (1995)
Bill Monroe (1970)
Patsy Montana (1996)
George Morgan (1998)

Ken Nelson (2001)
Willie Nelson (1993)

Buck Owens (1996)

Dolly Parton (1999)
Minnie Pearl (1975)
Ralph Peer (1984)
Sam Phillips (2001)
Webb Pierce (2001)
Elvis Presley (1998)
Frances Preston (1992)
Ray Price (1996)
Charley Pride (2000)

Q-R

Jim Reeves (1967)
Tex Ritter (1964)
Hargus "Pig" Robbins (2012)
Marty Robbins (1982)
Jimmie Rodgers (1961)
Kenny Rogers (2013)
Roy Rogers (1988)
Fred Rose (1961)
Wesley Rose (1986)

Arthur Edward Satherly (1971)
Earl Scruggs (1985)
Jean Shepard (2011)
Billy Sherrill (2010)
Stephen H. Sholes (1967)
Carl Smith (2003)
Connie Smith (2012)
Hank Snow (1979)
Sons of the Pioneers (1980)
Jack Stapp (1989)
The Statler Brothers (2008)
Cliffie Stone (1989)
Ernest Stoneman (2008)
George Strait (2006)

T-U

Hank Thompson (1989)
Mel Tillis (2007)
Floyd Tillman (1984)
Merle Travis (1977)
Ernest Tubb (1965)
Grant Turner (1981)
Conway Twitty (1999)

V-W

Porter Wagoner (2002)
Cindy Walker (1997)
Jo Walker-Meador (1995)
Kitty Wells (1976)
E.W. “Bud” Wendell (1998)
Don Williams (2010)
Hank Williams (1961)
Bob Wills (1968)
Tammy Wynette (1998)

X-Y-Z

Faron Young (2000)

Resources:

Country Music Hall of Fame
Wikipedia.org: List of Country Music Hall of Fame inductees (by year)

Britpop – Top 50

2013-04-10T03:09:00.000-05:00

image from markedwordz.com

This DMDB list was created by aggregating 24 lists (see resources at bottom of page) focused on the best songs of Britpop.

Common People

1. Pulp “Common People” (1995)
2. Oasis “Live Forever” (1994)
3. Supergrass “Alright” (1995)
4. The Verve “Bittersweet Symphony” (1997)
5. Oasis “Don’t Look Back in Anger” (1995)
6. Blur “Parklife” (1994)
7. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
8. Elastica “Connection” (1994)
9. Blur “Girls and Boys” (1994)
10. The Bluetones “Slight Return” (1996)

Live Forever

11. Suede “Animal Nitrate” (1993)
12. Manic Street Preachers “A Design for Life” (1996)
13. Pulp “Disco 2000” (1995)
14. The Boo Radleys “Wake Up Boo!” (1995)
15. Oasis “Champagne Supernova” (1996)
16. Oasis “Cigarettes and Alcohol” (1994)
17. Oasis “Supersonic” (1994)
18. Kula Shaker “Tattva” (1996)
19. Blur “Country House” (1995)
20. Pulp “Sorted for E’s and Wizz” (1995)

Alright

21. Pulp “Mis-Shapes” (1995)
22. The Verve “Lucky Man” (1997)
23. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
24. Cast “Alright” (1995)
25. Underworld “Born Slippy” (1995)
26. Suede “The Beautiful Ones” (1996)
27. The Verve “The Drugs Don’t Work” (1997)
28. Oasis “Some Might Say” (1995)
29. Ash “Girl from Mars” (1996)
30. Menswear “Daydreamer” (1995)

Bittersweet Symphony

31. Blur “Popscene” (1992)
32. Oasis “Roll with It” (1995)
33. Oasis “D’You Know What I Mean?” (1997)
34. The La’s “There She Goes” (1990)
35. Oasis “Whatever” (1994)
36. Blur “This Is a Low” (1995)
37. Blur “The Universal” (1995)
38. Suede “Stay Together” (1994)
39. Suede “Trash” (1996)
40. Mansun “Wide Open Space” (1996)

Don’t Look Back in Anger

41. The Verve “History” (1995)
42. Ocean Colour Scene “The Day We Caught the Train” (1996)
43. The Stone Roses “Love Spreads” (1994)
44. The Stone Roses “Ten Storey Love Song” (1994)
45. Elastica “Waking Up” (1995)
46. The Stone Roses “I Am the Resurrection” (1989)
47. Supergrass “Caught by the Fuzz” (1995)
48. Suede “The Drowners” (1992)
49. Manic Street Preachers “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next” (1998)
50. James “Laid” (1994)

Parklife

Resources and Related Links:

Percy Sledge charted with “When a Man Loves a Woman”: April 9, 1966

2013-04-09T18:01:00.000-05:00

image from virginiamedia.com

Writer(s): Cameron Lewis/Arthur Wright (see lyrics here)

First charted: 9 April 1966

Peak: 1² US, 1² CB, 2 UK, 1⁴ RB (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US and UK)

Radio Airplay (in millions): 7.0 Video Airplay (in millions): --

Review: Sledge called this song “a happy accident.” ^BR1 He was touring the South with an R&B group known as the Esquires. ^RS500 After a break-up, he was too distraught one evening to do the regular setlist. ^HL He asked bassist Cameron Lewis and organist Andrew Wright to improvise something to which he could sing along. ^SJ The descending riff created by the pair ^HL gave Sledge an outlet from which to pour out his soul. ^HL

Percy later polished up a version which won over Quin Ivy, who was “one of the movers and shakers in the music industry in Alabama.” ^BR1 Percy recorded the song at Fame studios under producer Rick Hall, who would put Muscle Shoals, Alabama, on the map, establishing it as the world headquarters for deep soul music. ^PA Atlantic Records’ Jerry Wexler was sent a copy. He wanted a new recording done at the expense of Atlantic ^TB because Sledge was off-key and the horn section was out of tune on the original. ^TB After much time and expense, a new version was created, but a mix-up led to Atlantic releasing the original version instead. ^TB It didn’t matter – “soulful to the max,” ^KX the song was a hit in any rendition.

Thanks to its use in a UK TV commercial for Levi’s,” ^HL the song recharted in England in 1987 at #2, besting its original #4 peak. In 1991, Michael Bolton topped the U.S. pop & AC charts and won a Grammy with his version. When Bolton’s version hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, it marked only the seventh time in chart history that two different recording acts took the same song to the pinnacle.

Although the song has generated millions in royalties, Percy has likely seen very little of it ^TB having given the writing credit to Lewis & Wright.

Resources and Related Links:

original page on DMDB website
Percy Sledge’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
Michael Bolton’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
^BR1 Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). New York, NY: Billboard Books. Page 199.
^HL Michael Heatley and Spencer Leigh (1998). Behind the Song: The Stories of 100 Great Pop & Rock Classics. London, England: Blandford Books. Page 25.
^KX KXXO Mixx 96, Olympia, WA. Top 96 Soft Rock Songs of All Time
^PA Robert Palmer. (1995). Rock & Roll: An Unruly History. Page 92.
^RS500 Rolling Stone (12/04). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.
^SJ Bob Shannon/John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. New York, NY; Warner Brothers, Inc. Page 182.
^TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 81.

Awards for Percy Sledge’s version:

Academy of County Music Awards 2013

2013-04-08T17:13:00.000-05:00

2013 ACM Awards hosts Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, image from minnesotacountry.com

Here were the winners at the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards:

Entertainer of the Year: Luke Bryan
Male Vocalist of the Year: Jason Aldean

Jason Aldean, image from countryweekly.com

Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert
Vocal Duo of the Year: Thompson Square

Thompson Square, image from blog.zap2it.com

Vocal Group of the Year: Little Big Town
New Artist of the Year: Florida Georgia Line
Album of the Year: Eric Church Chief

Single Record of the Year: Miranda Lambert “Over You”
Song of the Year: Miranda Lambert “Over You” (composed by Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton)

Miranda Lambert “Over You”

Songwriter of the Year: Dallas Davidson
Video of the Year: Little Big Town “Tornado”

Little Big Town “Tornado”

Vocal Event of the Year: Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan & Eric Church “The Only Way I Know”

“The Only Way I Know” live at the 2012 CMAs

Resources and Related Links:

Academy of Country Music (acmcountry.com)
TheBoot.com: ACM Awards Winners 2013

The Songwriters Hall of Fame

2013-04-03T10:23:00.000-05:00

image from pastemagazine.com

Updated through 2013 inductees.

Songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond established the Hall in 1969. As the website says, “To be nominated for induction…a songwriter must have been active for a minimum of 20 years and have written an extensive catalogue of hit songs. Once candidates are determined, ballots are sent to the members of the National Academy of Popular Music, which comprises songwriters and other music industry professionals.” For a full list of inductees and years of induction check out Wikipedia, as the SHOF inductee page consolidated listing was outdated as of last check. The latter does, however, include links to more detailed bios of everyone on the list.

Also, check out these special awards given by the Songwriters Hall of Fame:

The Sammy Cahn Award
The Hal David Starlight Award
The Johnny Mercer Award
Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award
Songwriters’ Friends

Here are the inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame from 1970 to 2013:

Lee Adams (1989)
Adair, Tom (2010)
Adamson, Harold (1972)
Adler, Richard (1984)
Ager, Milton (1972)
Ahlert, Fred (1970)
Akst, Harry (1983)
Alter, Louis (1975)
Anderson, Leroy (1988)
Anka, Paul (1993)
Harold Arlen (1971)
Ashford, Nickolas (2002)
Aznavour, Charles (1996)

Burt Bacharach (1971)
Bailey, Philip (Earth, Wind & Fire) (2010)
Ball, Ernest (1970)
Barry, Jeff (1991)
Barry, John (1998)
Bartholomew, Dave (1998)
Bates, Katharine Lee (1970)
Bell, Thom (2006)
Benjamin, Bennie (1984)
Bergman, Alan (1980)
Bergman, Marilyn (1980)
Berlin, Irving (1970)
Bernstein, Leonard (1971)
Chuck Berry (1986)
Bettis, John (2011)
Billings, William (1970)
Black, Don (2007)
Blackwell, Otis (1991)
Bland, James (1970)
Blane, Ralph (1983)
Bloom, Rube (1982)
Bock, Jerry (1971)
Bon Jovi, Jon (2009)
David Bowie (2005)
Bricusse, Leslie (1989)
Brigati, Eddie (The Young Rascals) (2009)
Brockman, James (1970)
Brooks, Garth (2011)
James Brown (2000)
Brown, Lew (1970)
Brown, Nacio Herb (1970)
Browne, Jackson (2007)
Bryan, Alfred (1970)
Bryant, Boudleaux (1986)
Bryant, Felice (1986)
Burgie, Irving (2007)
Burke, Joe (1970)
Burke, Johnny (1970)

Caesar, Irving (1972)
Cahn, Sammy (1972)
Johnny Cash (1977)
Caldwell, Anne (1970)
Hoagy Carmichael (1971)
Carroll, Harry (1970)
Cavaliere, Felix (The Young Rascals) (2009)
Chaplin, Saul (1985)
Child, Desmond (2008)
Eric Clapton (2001)
Clare, Sidney (1970)
Cohan, George M. (1970)
Cohen, Leonard (2010)
Coleman, Cy (1981)
Collins, Phil (2003)
Comden, Betty (1980)
Conrad, Con (1970)
Cook, Roger (2009)
Cooke, Sam (1987)
Coots, J. Fred (1972)
Cosby, Henry (2006)
Coslow, Sam (1970)
Coward, Sir Noël (1988)
Creed, Linda (1992)
Crewe, Bob (1985)
Croce, Jim (1990)
Cropper, Steve (2005)
Crosby, David (Crosby, Stills & Nash) (2009)

Danks, Hart P. (1970)
Darin, Bobby (1999)
David, Hal (1972)
David, Mack (1975)
Davis, Benny (1975)
Davis, Mac (2006)
De Koven, Reginald (1970)
De Paul, Gene (1985)
De Rose, Peter (1970)
De Sylva, B.G. (Buddy) (1970)
Deacon, John (Queen) (2003)
DeLange, Eddie (1989)
Dennis, Matt (2010)
Denver, John (1996)
DeShannon, Jackie (2010)
Diamond, Neil (1984)
Dietz, Howard (1972)
Dixon, Mort (1970)
Domino Jr., Antoine ("Fats") (1998)
Donaldson, Walter (1970)
Dozier, Lamont (1988)
Drake, Ervin (1983)
Dresser, Paul (1970)
Dreyer, Dave (1970)
Dubin, Al (1970)
Duke, Vernon (1970)
Dunn, Larry (Earth, Wind & Fire) (2010)
Bob Dylan (1982)

Ebb, Fred (1983)
Edwards, Gus (The Star Maker) (1970)
Egan, Raymond B. (1970)
Eliscu, Edward (1975)
Duke Ellington (1971)
Emmett, Daniel Decatur (1970)
Evans, Ray (1977)

Fain, Sammy (1972)
Fields, Dorothy (1971)
Fiorito, Ted (1970)
Fisher, Fred (1970)
Fogerty, John (2005)
Foster, David (2010)
Foster, Stephen (1970)
Fox, Charles (2004)
Freed, Arthur (1972)
Frey, Glenn (2000)
Friml, Rudolf (1971)

Gamble, Kenneth (1995)
Gaudio, Bob (1995)
Gershwin, George (1970)
Gershwin, Ira (1971)
Gibb, Barry (1994)
Gibb, Maurice (1994)
Gibb, Robin (1994)
Gilbert, L. Wolfe (1970)
Gillespie, Haven (1972)
Gilmore, Patrick S. (1970)
Gimbel, Norman (1984)
Goffin, Gerry (1987)
Gordon, Mack (1970)
Lou Gramm (2013)
Green, Adolph (1980)
Green, Al (2004)
Green, Bud (1975)
Green, John (1972)
Greenaway, Roger (2009)
Greenfield, Howard (1991)
Greenwich, Ellie (1991)
Ferde Grofe (1970)
Woody Guthrie (1970)

Hall, Daryl (Hall & Oates) (2004)
Hamlisch, Marvin (1986)
Oscar Hammerstein II (1970)
Hammond, Albert (2008)
Handman, Lou (1975)
Handy, W.C. (1970)
Hanley, James F. (1970)
Harbach, Otto (1970)
Harburg, E.Y. ("Yip") (1971)
Harnick, Sheldon (1971)
Harris, Charles K. (1970)
Lorenz Hart (1970)
Tony Hatch (2013)
Hayes, Isaac (2005)
Henderson, Ray (1970)
Henley, Don (2000)
Herbert, Victor (1970)
Herman, Jerry (1982)
Heyman, Edward (1975)
Hilliard, Bob (1983)
Hoffman, Al (1984)
Holland, Brian (1988)
Holland, Edward (1988)
Holly, Buddy (1986)
Howard, Harlan (1997)
Huff, Leon (1995)

I-J

Jackson, Michael (2002)
Jacobs Bond, Carrie (1970)
Jagger, Sir Mick (1993)
Jenkins, Gordon (1982)
Jennings, Will (2006)
Jobim, Antonio Carlos (1991)
Billy Joel (1992)
Elton John (1992)
Johnson, Howard (1970)
James P. Johnson (1970)
Johnson, James W. (1970)
Johnston, Arthur (1970)
Jones, Isham (1970)
Mick Jones (2013)
Tom Jones (2012)
Joplin, Scott (1970)

Kaempfert, Bert (1993)
Kahal, Irving (1970)
Kahn, Gus (1970)
Kalmar, Bert (1970)
Kander, John (1983)
Kelly, Tom (2011)
Kennedy, Jimmy (1997)
Kern, Jerome (1970)
Key, Francis Scott (1970)
King, Carole (1987)
Holly Knight (2013)
Koehler, Ted (1972)
Kristofferson, Kris (1986)

Lane, Burton (1972)
Lawrence, Jack (1975)
Lecuona, Ernesto (1997)
Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter (1970)
Lee, Miss Peggy (1999)
Legrand, Michel (1990)
Leiber, Jerry (1985)
Leigh, Carolyn (1985)
Lennon, John (1987)
Alan Jay Lerner (1971)
Leslie, Edgar (1972)
Lewis, Sam (1970)
Gordon Lightfoot (2012)
Little Richard (2003)
Jay Livingston (1977)
Jerry Livingston (1981)
Frank Loesser (1970)
Frederick Loewe (1972)
Lynn, Loretta (2008)

MacDermot, Galt (2009)
MacDonald, Ballard (1970)
Madden, Edward (1970)
Magidson, Herb (1980)
Mancini, Henry (1984)
Mandel, Johnny (2010)
Manilow, Barry (2002)
Mann, Barry (1987)
Marks, Johnny (1981)
Bob Marley (2010)
Martin, Hugh (1983)
Masser, Michael (2007)
May, Brian (Queen) (2003)
Mayfield, Curtis (2000)
McCarthy, Joseph (1970)
Paul McCartney (1987)
McHugh, Jimmy (1970)
McKay, Al (Earth, Wind & Fire) (2010)
McLean, Don (2004)
Menken, Alan (2008)
Johnny Mercer (1971)
Mercury, Freddie (Queen) (2003)
Merrill, Bob (1987)
Meyer, George W. (1970)
Meyer, Joseph (1972)
Mitchell, Joni (1997)
Monaco, Jimmy (1970)
Moret, Neil (1970)
Morrison, Van (2003)
Morse, Theodore (1970)
Moy, Sylvia (2006)
Muir, Lewis F. (1970)

Nash, Graham (Crosby, Stills & Nash) (2009)
Nelson, Willie (2001)
Nevin, Ethelbert (1970)
Newley, Anthony (1989)
Newman, Randy (2002)
Noble, Ray (1996)
Norworth, Jack (1970)
Nyro, Laura (2010)

Oates, John (Hall & Oates) (2004)
Olcott, Chauncey (1970)
Orbison, Roy (1989)

P-Q

Parish, Mitchell (1972)
Parton, Dolly (2001)
Payne, John Howard (1970)
Joe Perry (2013)
Pierpont, J.S. (1970)
Pinkard, Maceo (1984)
Pollack, Lew (1970)
Pomus, Jerome "Doc" (1992)
Porter, Cole (1970)
Porter, David (2005)

Rado, James (2009)
Ragni, Gerome (2009)
Rainger, Ralph (1970)
Randazzo, Teddy (2007)
Raye, Don (1985)
Razaf, Andy (1972)
Redding, Otis (1994)
Rehbein, Herb (1993)
Revel, Harry (1970)
Rexford, Eben E. (1970)
Rice, Sir Tim (1999)
Richards, Keith (1993)
Richie, Lionel (1994)
Robin, Leo (1972)
Robinson, Smokey (1990)
Rodgers, Jimmie (1970)
Richard Rodgers (1970)
Romberg, Sigmund (1970)
Rome, Harold (1982)
Root, George F. (1970)
Rose, Billy (1970)
Rose, Fred (1985)
Rose, Vincent (1970)
Ross, Jerry (1982)
Ruby, Harry (1970)
Russell, Bob (1970)
Russell, Leon (2011)
Rzeznik, John (2008)

Sager, Carole Bayer (1987)
Sambora, Richie (2009)
Don Schlitz (2012)
Harvey Schmidt (2012)
Schwartz, Arthur (1972)
Schwartz, Jean (1970)
Schwartz, Stephen (2009)
Sebastian, John (2008)
Sedaka, Neil (1983)
Seeger, Pete (1972)
Bob Seger (2012)
Sherman, Richard M. (2005)
Sherman, Robert B. (2005)
Shuman, Mort (1992)
Sigman, Carl (1972)
Simon, Carly (1994)
Simon, Paul (1982)
Simpson, Valerie (2002)
Skylar, Sunny (2010)
Smith, Harry B. (1970)
Smith, Samuel Francis (1970)
Snider, Todd (2008)
Snyder, Ted (1970)
Sondheim, Stephen (1975)
Sousa, John Phillip (1970)
J.D. Souther (2013)
Spector, Phil (1997)
Bruce Springsteen (1999)
Steinberg, Billy (2011)
Max Steiner (1995)
Jim Steinman (2012)
Sterling, Andrew B. (1970)
Stillman, Al (1982)
Stills, Stephen (Crosby, Stills & Nash) (2009)
Sting (2002)
Stock, Larry (1998)
Stoller, Mike (1985)
Stone, Jesse (2010)
Strayhorn, Billy (1984)
Strong, Barrett (2004)
Strouse, Charles (1985)
Styne, Jule (1972)

Taupin, Bernie (1992)
Taylor, James (2000)
Taylor, Roger (Queen) (2003)
Tierney, Harry A. (1970)
Tobias, Charles (1970)
Tobias, Harry (1983)
Toussaint, Allen (2011)
Turk, Roy (1970)
Steven Tyler (2013)

U-V

Van Alstyne, Egbert (1970)
Van Heusen, Jimmy (1971)
Von Tilzer, Albert (1970)
Von Tilzer, Harry (1970)

Waller, Thomas ("Fats") (1970)
Ward, Samuel A. (1970)
Warren, Diane (2001)
Warren, Harry (1971)
Washington, Ned (1972)
Wayne, Mabel (1972)
Webb, Jimmy (1986)
Webber, Sir Andrew Lloyd (1995)
Webster, Paul Francis (1972)
Weil, Cynthia (1987)
Weill, Kurt (1970)
Weinstein, Bobby (2007)
Weiss, George David (1984)
Wenrich, Percy (1970)
White, Maurice (Earth, Wind & Fire) (2010)
White, Verdine (Earth, Wind & Fire) (2010)
Whitfield, Norman (2004)
Whiting, Richard (1970)
Wilder, Alec (1983)
Williams, Clarence (1970)
Williams, Hank (1970)
Williams, John (1998)
Williams, Paul (2001)
Williams, Spencer (1970)
Willson, Meredith (1982)
Wilson, Brian (2002)
Winner, Septimus (Sep) (1970)
Withers, Bill (2005)
Stevie Wonder (1983)
Woods, Harry M. (1970)
Work, Henry C. (1970)
Wrubel, Allie (1970)

X-Y-Z

Yellen, Jack (1972)
Youmans, Vincent (1970)
Young, Joe (1970)
Young, Rida Johnson (1970)
Young, Victor (1970)

The Songwriters Hall of Fame also gives several special awards. The Sammy Cahn Award was given from 1980 to 2006 and again in 2012 “to individuals or teams who are recognized as having done a great deal to further the successes of songwriters.”

Gene Autry (1991)
Tony Bennett (1981)
Ray Charles (1993)
Dick Clark (1988)
Nat “King” Cole (1992)
Vic Damone (1997)
Neil Diamond (2000)
Berry Gordy Jr. (1998)
Emilio Estefan (2001)
Gloria Estefan (2001)
Benny Goodman (1984)
Eydie Gorme (1995)
John Hammond (1985)
Lena Horne (1994)
Quincy Jones (1989)
B.B. King (1990)
Patti LaBelle (2003)
Frankie Laine (1996)
Steve Lawrence (1995)
Ethel Merman (1980)
Bette Midler (2012)
Willie Nelson (1983)
Les Paul (2005)
Peter, Paul & Mary (2006)
Kenny Rogers (1999)
Neil Sedaka (2004)
Dinah Shore (1982)
Jerry Wexler (1987)
Stevie Wonder (2002)

The Hal David Starlight Award was given from 2004 to 2012 to “gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.”

Drake (2011)
Alicia Keys (2005)
John Legend (2007)
John Mayer (2006)
Jason Mraz (2009)
Ne-Yo (2012)
Johnny Rzeznick (2008)
Taylor Swift (2010)
Rob Thomas (2004)

The Johnny Mercer Award has been given from 1980 to 2011 to writers already inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame who have been determined by the nominating committee to have “established a history of outstanding creative works.”

Paul Anka (2008)
Harold Arlen (1982)
Burt Bacharach (1996)
Alan Bergman (1997)
Marilyn Bergman (1997)
Jerry Bock (1990)
Irving Caesar (1994)
Sammy Cahn (1983)
Cy Coleman (1995)
Phil Collins (2010)
Betty Comden (1991)
Hal David (1996)
Lamont Dozier (2009)
Adolph Green (1981)
E.Y. “Yip” Harburg (1981)
Sheldon Harnick (1990)
Jerry Herman (1987)
Brian Holland (2009)
Eddie Holland (2009)
Billy Joel (2001)
Elton John (2013)
Carole King (2002)
Kris Kristofferson (2006)
Burton Lane (1992)
Jerry Leiber (2000)
Alan Jay Lerner (1985)
Barry Mann (2011)
Mitchell Parish (1986)
Dolly Parton (2007)
Smokey Robinson (2005)
Paul Simon (1998)
Frank Sinatra (1980)
Stephen Sondheim (1999)
Mike Stoller (2000)
Jule Styne (1993)
Bernie Taupin (2013)
Jimmy Webb (2003)
Cynthia Weil (2011)
Stevie Wonder (2004)

The Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award was given from 1981 to 2009 for “artists or ‘star makers’ in the music industry who have been responsible for a substantial number of hit songs for an extended period of time.”

Chuck Berry (1981)
Michael Bolton (1995)
Garth Brooks (2002)
Rosemary Clooney (1983)
Natalie Cole (1999)
Clive Davis (2003)
Gloria Estefan (1996)
Whitney Houston (1990)
Tom Jones (2009)
Chaka Khan (2011)
Barry Manilow (1991)
Johnny Mathis (2000)
Anne Murray (2008)
Phil Ramone (2010)
Diana Ross (1998)
Dionne Warwick (2001)
Margaret Whiting (1983)

The Songwriters Friends isn’t an actual award given out by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, but an acknowledgement of the relationship between the songwriter and the singer. A

American Quartet
The Andrews Sisters
Louis Armstrong
Fred Astaire
Chet Atkins
Gene Austin
Gene Autry

Nora Bayes
Brook Benton
Ben Bernie
Connee Boswell
Fanny Brice
Henry Burr
The Byrds

Cab Calloway
Glen Campbell
Albert Campbell
The Carter Family
Enrico Caruso
Ray Charles
Patsy Cline
Larry Clinton
Rosemary Clooney
Nat “King” Cole
Arthur Collins
The Commodores
Perry Como
Bing Crosby
Bob Crosby
Frank Crumit

D-E

Vic Damone
Sammy Davis Jr.
Doris Day
Jimmy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
The Drifters
Cliff Edwards
Ruth Etting
The Everly Brothers

Shep Fields
The 5th Dimension
Eddie Fisher
Ella Fitzgerald
Tennessee Ernie Ford
The Four Seasons
The Four Tops
Connie Francis
Aretha Franklin
Lefty Frizzell

Jan Garber
Judy Garland
George J. Gaskin
Marvin Gaye
Benny Goodman
Glen Gray

Byron G. Harlan
Marion Harris
Charles Harrison
Haydn Quartet
Dick Haymes
Horace Heidt
Woody Herman
Billie Holiday
Whitney Houston
Eddy Howard

I-J

The Impressions
Ink Spots
Harry James
Lewis James
Al Jolson
Ada Jones
George Jones

K-L

Sammy Kaye
Hal Kemp
Wayne King
Pee Wee King
Kay Kyser
Frankie Laine
Brenda Lee
Ted Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Guy Lombardo
Vincent Lopez

Harry MacDonough
Freddy Martin
Dean Martin
Johnny Mathis
John McCormack
Glenn Miller
Mills Brothers
The Miracles
Vaughn Monroe
Russ Morgan
Billy Murray
J.W. Myers

N-O

Ozzie Nelson
Olivia Newton-John
George Olsen
Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Vess L. Ossman
Buck Owens

P-Q

Patti Page
Minnie Pearl
Peerless Quartet
Peter, Paul & Mary
The Platters
Elvis Presley
Ray Price
Prince's Orchestra
Dan Quinn

Leo Reisman
The Righteous Brothers
Paul Robeson
Roy Rogers
Linda Ronstadt
Diana Ross

Ben Selvin
Artie Shaw
Nat Shilkret
Dinah Shore
Frank Sinatra
Bessie Smith
Sousa's Band
Len Spencer
The Spinners
Dusty Springfield
Jo Stafford
Frank Stanley
Kay Starr
Cal Stewart
Barbra Streisand
The Supremes

T-U-V

The Temptations
Ernest Tubb
Sophie Tucker
Van & Schenck
Walter Van Brunt
Sarah Vaughan

W-X-Y-Z

Fred Waring
Dionne Warwick
Ted Weems
Kitty Wells
Paul Whiteman
Margaret Whiting
Bert Williams
Andy Williams
Teddy Wilson
Tammy Wynette

Resources:

Songwriters Hall of Fame
Wikipedia.org: Inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Sammy Cahn Award (list of inductees by year with links for each name)
Hal David Starlight Award (list of inductees by year with links for each name)
Johnny Mercer Award (list of inductees by year with links for each name)
Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award (list of inductees by year with links for each name)
Songwriters’ Friends (list with links for each name)
New York Times: Songwriters Hall of Fame Honors Inductees by James C. McKinley Jr. (15 June 2012)

In Memory of Phil Ramone: His Most Notable Work

2013-03-30T23:59:00.000-05:00

image from performingsongwriter.com

Producer Phil Ramone died on March 30, 2013, in Manhattan of a brain aneurysm. He was 79. He was married to Karen Ichiuji-Ramone. They had three sons.

Nicknamed “The Pope of Pop,” he was the winner of 14 Grammys, including three for Album of the Year. He was born on January 5, 1934, in South Africa, but grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He was a child prodigy who started playing violin at age 3 and performed for Princess Elizabeth at age 10. He trained as a classical violinist at Juilliard in the late ‘40s. He opened his own recording studio before the age of 20 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953. He is considered a CD pioneer, as he was the producer for Billy Joel’s 52nd Street, the first album made available on compact disc. He has also produced concerts (Simon and Garfunkel: The Concert in Central Park), film (A Star Is Born, Flashdance), Broadway (Chicago, Seussical), and television productions.

As a record engineer and producer, he is most associated with Billy Joel, but also worked with Burt Bacharach, The Band, Ray Charles, Chicago, Bob Dylan, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Madonna, Barry Manilow, Paul McCartney, George Michael, Olivia Newton-John, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Dionne Warwick, and Stevie Wonder.

He had a long chart history, first hitting Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1963 as an engineer on Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party” all the way through to 2011’s “Body and Soul” by Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse. Here is a select discography of some of the most-celebrated work (and some of their most noted awards) in which he had a hand:

Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party” (1963)

Quincy Jones produced this #1 hit with Ramone serving as an engineer. The song makes the DMDB’s top 1000 songs of all time list as well as the RIAA’s 365 Songs of the Century list.

Stan Getz & João Gilberto’s Getz/Gilberto (1963)

Ramone served as engineer on the album, which won Grammys for Best Engineered Recording and Album of the Year. The DMDB ranks it as one of the top 1000 albums of all time and top 30 jazz albums of all time. It also in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The song “The Girl from Ipanena” also won the Grammy for Record of the Year, is in the Grammy Hall of Fame, the National Recording Registry, and makes the DMDB’s top 1000 songs of all time list as well as the RIAA’s 365 Songs of the Century list.

Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (1967)

This song is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, thanks to appearances on multiple best-of lists including Mojo, NME, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Rolling Stone. The song is also in the Grammy Hall of Fame and is one of the world’s all-time best-selling songs.

B.J. Thomas’ “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” (1969)

The song, written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, was used as the theme for the Robert Redford/Paul Newman film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The song makes the DMDB’s top 1000 songs of all time list as well as the RIAA’s 365 Songs of the Century list. According to Billboard, this is the top-ranked song associated with Ramone.

Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)

The first of Ramone’s three wins for producing an Album of the Year is another Grammy Hall of Fame entry.

Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks (1975)

Ramone served as the session engineer on Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks. The DMDB ranks it as one of the top 100 albums of all time, as do the BBC, The Guardian, Mojo, NME, Q, Rolling Stone, and VH1.

Barbra Streisand “Evergreen (Love Theme from ‘A Star Is Born’)” (1976)

This was the Grammy Song of the Year and ranks as one of the top 1000 songs of all time according to the DMDB. The DMDB ranks the soundtrack as one of the top 50 of all time and it is also on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of albums.

Billy Joel’s The Stranger (1977)

The Stranger was the first Billy Joel album produced by Ramone. It is another Grammy Hall of Fame album and ranks in the DMDB’s list of the top 1000 albums of all time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also named the album to its list of defintive albums.

The album spawned the hit song, “Just the Way You Are,” which won the Grammys for Record and Song of the Year. It also makes the DMDB’s list of top 1000 songs of all time, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll list, and the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Billy Joel’s 52nd Street (1978)

The second of Ramone’s three wins for producing a Grammy Album of the Year. Billboard also named it Album of the Year. It is also another entry on the DMDB’s list of the top 1000 albums of all time. It is also the top-ranked album associated with Ramone, according to Billboard.

Flashdance (soundtrack, 1983)

The Flashdance soundtrack won the Grammy in 1984 for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special. According to the DMDB it is one of the top 1000 albums of all time and one of the top 50 soundtracks of all time. It is also one of the top 100 All-Time World’s Bestsellers.

Frank Sinatra with various artists: Duets (1993)

The album was notable for giving Sinatra a late-career boost. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard album chart and is the only Sinatra album to achieve triple platinum status. The album, which paired Sinatra with a host of guest stars, marked the first use of a fiber optics system to record tracks in real time from different locations.

Ray Charles with various artists’ Genius Loves Company (2004)

The third of Ramone’s three wins for producing an Album of the Year also took home the Grammy for Pop Vocal Album of the Year and is yet another of the DMDB’s top 1000 albums of all time.

Awards:

Resources and Related Links:

Phil Ramone’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
Billboard.com: Phil Ramone’s Top 50 Billboard Hot 100 Hits… by Gary Trust and Fred Bronson (31 March 2013)
Billboard.com: Phil Ramone’s Top 50 Billboard Albums: From ‘52nd Street’ to ‘Album 1700’ by Fred Bronson (1 April 2013)
MyYouChoose.com: The Selected Phil Ramone Discography by Dave Philip
PhilRamone.com: Phil Ramone – Additional Career Highlights
Wikipedia.org: Phil Ramone

Prince released Sign ‘☮’ the Times: March 30, 1987

2013-03-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

Originally posted March 30, 2012.

image from indiewire.com

Release date: 30 March 1987

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sign ‘O’ the Times (3/7/87, #3 US, #10 UK, #1 RB) / Play in the Sunshine / Housequake / Ballad of Dorothy Parker / It / Starfish and Coffee / Slow Love / Hot Thing (11/14/87, #63 US, #10a RB) / Forever in My Life / U Got the Look (with Sheena Easton; 8/1/87, #2 US, #11 UK, #10 RB) / If I Was Your Girlfriend (5/30/87, #67 US, #20 UK, #9a RB) / Strange Relationship / I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man (11/14/87, #10 US, #29 UK) / The Cross / It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night / Adore

Sales (in millions): 2.25 US, 0.3 UK, 4.5 world

Peak: 6 US, 4 UK

Rating:

Review: “Soul, sex, excess: everything U listen 2 Prince 4.” ^BL “It took Prince three years to nail a worthy follow-up to 1984’s 13-times-platinum Purple Rain,” ^BL but this double album, “the most expansive R&B record of the Eighties,” ^RS500 shows Prince pushing “his own boundaries on a sprawling rock-soul soundscape dotted by searing messages and wild mood swings.” ^UT It “silenced people…wondering whether superstardom had made Prince lose his touch,” ^DBW reminding the world he was “merely the most gifted pop musician of his generation.” ^RC

“With songs culled from a series of aborted albums” ^TL – including the “the aborted triple album Crystal Ball and the abandoned Camille project” ^AMG – “during the nadir of Prince’s Purple Rain hangover, Sign O’ the Times has no business being anything but a career-sinking mess.” ^TL Instead, it not only “topped [Purple Rain] artistically,” ^BL but “it’s the best album of the ‘80s.” ^TL

“Fearless, eclectic, and defiantly messy,” ^AMG “this kinky double disc” ^BL “falls into the tradition of tremendous, chaotic double albums like The Beatles, Exile on Main St., and London Calling – albums that are fantastic because of their overreach, their great sprawl. Prince shows nearly all of his cards here, from bare-bones electro-funk and smooth soul to pseudo-psychedelic pop and crunching hard rock, touching on gospel, blues, and folk along the way.” ^AMG Along the way, he “electronically gender-bent his vocals and achieved epic musical sprawl without sacrificing intimacy.” ^BL “Most of this is attributable to genius; Prince flips back and forth between R&B and rock like a kid popping wheelies.” ^TL

For the first time since 1982’s 1999, Prince eschewed his backing band, The Revolution, “and hit the studio by himself, putting together four sides that acknowledge all his musical influences while remaining uniquely his.” ^DBW “He sounds liberated, diving into territory merely suggested on Around the World in a Day and Parade. While the music overflows with generous spirit, these are among the most cryptic, insular songs he’s ever written.” ^AMG

“The lyrics show Prince in a rare state of maturity. Usually his lines range from overt sexual come-ons to garbled references to God, but here Prince actually has something to say. Prince decries the ills of society” ^RV on “the apocalyptic title track” ^RS500 “ track among his alternating visions of hope and despair.” ^RV When he does tackle his more traditional fare he does so with songs like The Cross, a “relgious rock anthem to die for,” ^DBW and the “gender bending” ^DBW If I Was Your Girlfriend, in which Prince sings as ‘Camille,’ an “alter ego personified by scarily sped-up tapes.” ^AMG The result is “the most disarming and bleak psycho-sexual song Prince ever wrote.” ^AMG

The Revolution do make an appearance on It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night, “a funky, but slight live recording…[which] contains his first flirtation with rap.” ^DBW Prince also delivers , “heavy funk” ^DBW on Hot Thing, “the Stax revamp on Slow Love,” ^RS500 and the “lovely, complex ballad Adore with perhaps his finest vocal performance.” ^DBW

There’s also “the equally chilling Strange Relationship. These fraying relationships echo in the social chaos Prince writes about throughout the album. Apocalyptic imagery of drugs, bombs, empty sex, abandoned babies and mothers, and AIDS pop up again and again, yet he balances the despair with hope, whether it’s God, love, or just having a good time. In its own roundabout way, Sign ‘O’ the Times is the sound of the late ‘80s – it’s the sound of the good times collapsing and how all that doubt and fear can be ignored if you just dance those problems away.” ^AMG

U Got the Look

Resources and Related Links:

Prince’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
album page on DMDB website (even more in-depth look at album)
^AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
^BL Blender Magazine’s 100 Greatest American Albums (10/08)
^RC Robert Christgau review
^RV The Review “100 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Clarke Speicher (October – November 2001; Vol. 128: numbers 12-23).
^RS500 Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
^TL Time Magazine’s All-TIME 100 Albums by Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light (11/13/06).
^UT USA Today, Top 40 Albums – the USA Today Way (12/5/2003).
^DBW David Bertrand Wilson, Wilson & Alroy’s Record Reviews

Award(s):

Mariah Carey was born: Mar. 27, 1970 / Top 40 Songs

2013-03-27T02:44:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday, Mariah Carey! In celebration, Dave’s Music Database offers up its list of her top 40 songs. As with all DMDB lists, this one has been created by aggregating multiple best-of lists along with chart data, sales, airplay, and awards.

1. We Belong Together (2005)
2. One Sweet Day (with Boyz II Men, 1995)
3. Vision of Love (1990)
4. Fantasy (1995)
5. Hero (1993)

We Belong Together

6. Dreamlover (1993)
7. Without You (1993)
8. Always Be My Baby (1995)
9. Love Takes Time (1990)
10. Someday (1990)

One Sweet Day

11. Emotions (1991)
12. I’ll Be There (live, 1992)
13. When You Believe (with Whitney Houston, 1998)
14. Anytime You Need a Friend (1994)
15. Make It Happen (1991)

Vision of Love

16. I Don’t Wanna Cry (1990)
17. Can’t Let Go (1991)
18. Touch My Body (2008)
19. My All (1998)
20. All I Want for Christmas Is You (1994)

21. I Still Believe (1999)
22. Endless Love (with Luther Vandross, (1994)
23. Honey (1997)
24. Shake It Off (2005)
25. Heartbreaker (with Jay-Z, 1999)

Fantasy

26. Don’t Forget about Us (2005)
27. Thank God I Found You (with Joe & 98 Degrees, 1999)
28. Butterfly (1997)
29. It’s Like That (with Fatman Scoop, 2005)
30. Loverboy (with Cameo, 2001)

Hero

31. I Know What You Want (with Busta Rhymes & the Flipmode Squad, 2003)
32. I Want to Know What Love Is (2009)
33. Breakdown (with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, 1997)
34. Obsessed (2009)
35. Through the Rain (2002)

Dreamlover

36. Forever (1995)
37. Bye Bye (2008)
38. Crybaby (with Snoop Dogg, 1999)
39. U Make Me Wanna (with Jadakiss, 2004)
40. Never Too Far (2001)

Always Be My Baby

Awards:

Resources and Related Links:

Mariah Carey’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry

National Recording Registry Adds 25 Recordings: March 21, 2013

2013-03-21T16:34:00.000-05:00

image from npr.org

Each year, the Library of Congress announces 25 recordings (albums, songs, radio broadcasts, and other sound recordings) to be added to its National Recording Registry. This year’s entrants are:

“After You've Gone” Marion Harris (1918)
Bacon, Beans and Limousines by Will Rogers (Oct. 18, 1931)
“Begin the Beguine” Artie Shaw (1938)
Begin the Beguine
“You Are My Sunshine” by Jimmie Davis (1940)
D-Day Radio Broadcast, George Hicks (June 5-6, 1944)
“Just Because” by Frank Yankovic & His Yanks (1947)
South Pacific cast album (1949)
Descargas: Cuban Jam Session in Miniature by Israel "Cachao" Lopez Y Su Ritmo Caliente (1957)
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by Van Cliburn (April 11, 1958)
President's message relayed from Atlas satellite, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Dec. 19, 1958)
A Program of Song by Leontyne Price (1959)
The Shape of Jazz to Come by Ornette Coleman (1959)
“Crossing Chilly Jordan” by The Blackwood Brothers (1960)
“The Twist” by Chubby Checker (1960)
The Twist
Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s by Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, et al. (1960-1962)
Hoodoo Man Blues by Junior Wells (1965)
Sounds of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel (1966)
Cheap Thrills by Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)
The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd (1973)
Music Time in Africa by Leo Sarkisian (July 29, 1973)
Wild Tchoupitoulas by The Wild Tchoupitoulas (1976)
Ramones by The Ramones (1976)
Saturday Night Fever soundtrack by The Bee Gees et al (1977)
Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson (1979)
The Audience with Betty Carter by Betty Carter (1980)

Among this list are two songs which rank in the DMDB’s list of the Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era (“After You’ve Gone” and “Begin the Beguine”), one song which ranks in the DMDB’s list of the Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era (“The Twist”), and four albums which rank in the DMDB’s list of the Top 100 Albums of All Time (South Pacific, Dark Side of the Moon, Ramones, and Saturday Night Fever). For more information on these and other entrants in the National Recording Registry, check out the links below:

Resources and Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era, 1890-1953
Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999
Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Albums of All Time
National Recording Registry – master list
USA Today Library of Congress adds 25 recordings to registry by Brian Mansfield (21 March 2013)

Anatomy of a Viral Smash: Bauuer's "Harlem Shake"

2013-03-18T09:01:00.004-05:00

Originally published in my "Aural Fixation" column on PopMatters.com on March 18, 2013. See original post here.

image from popmatters.com

So are you ready to gouge out your eyes and slice off your ears if forced to endure one more version of “Harlem Shake”? With 700 million views and counting, someone’s paying attention. The question is: What made it into such a viral smash?

“I love these videos. They’re great.”

“What are they doing?”

“My side is hurting.”

“What? What, what, what?”

“This is horrifying.”

“I think they’re all yucky.”

“It was very weird. It was awkward.”

“I just don’t understand.”

These are a few of the responses captured in the Fine Brothers’ Kids React online series in which the under-18 set is asked for opinions on “Harlem Shake” (10 March 2013).

Anyone who has escaped seeing a dozen or so clips of the song either a) has no connection to the Internet or b) no interaction whatsoever with other human beings. In a viral explosion unheard of since, well, the days of Psy’s “Gangnam Style” mere months ago, the song has become the go-to favorite for office drones needing a 30-second reprieve from cubicle life.

In fact, the workplace is a popular setting for fans to create their silly but simple clips to accompany the irrepressible earworm. For those just returning from long, tech-free sabbaticals, the premise of the homemade videos is that onlookers ignore a sole dancer, generally wardrobed in a helmet or mask, for about 15 seconds before joining in after a jump cut with their own crazy gyrations and costumes.

Exactly how did this sensation start and why did it get so big? According to The Daily Beast’s Marlow Stern, amateur comedian Filthy Frank uploaded the first version to YouTube on February 2 (“Meet Baauer, the Man Behind the Harlem Shake”, 18 February 2013). The satirical blogger, known for performing video skits decked out in a pink body suit, created a clip of himself grooving wildly to the song with three cohorts.

Filthy Frank version

It was quickly replicated by five Australian teens who called themselves Sunny Coast Skate. They created the template of one person dancing while the others ignored him, only to jump into the fray after the beat drops. Kevin Allocca, YouTube’s trend manager, reported that in just over a week about 12,000 “Harlem Shake” videos were posted (“The Harlem Shake Has Exploded”, 12 February 2013). Since then, more than 700 million people around the world have seen one of the 100,000 versions of the song (The Independent, “A brief history of the Harlem Shake”, 3 March 2013).

Sunny Coast Skate version

Among the most popular are renditions from The Simpsons, Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Playboy Playmates, the Norwegian Army, the University of Georgia swim team, and the Today show. Check out some of them here. YouTube itself joined in the fun showing its logo dancing before the entire page busts a move (click here, and watch what happens to your screen).

The explosion has been fueled by Billboard’s recent change in chart methodology. The immediate effect of the magazine’s decision to factor in YouTube plays alongside radio airplay, digital sales, and streaming was the song debuting at #1 on the Hot 100 chart (“Baauer’s ‘Harlem Shake’ Debuts Atop Revamped Hot 100”, 20 February 2013). Of course, the song’s digital sales were shaping up just fine by then as well – “Harlem Shake” was shown the love on Valentine’s Day when it nabbed the top slot on iTunes (TheVerge.com, “How the Harlem Shake went from viral sideshow to global phenomenon”, 18 February 2013). As of the March 23rd issue, the song had held on to the top spot on Billboard for four weeks.

The man behind the song is Harry Bauer Rodrigues. He was born in West Philadelphia, but his dad’s financial consultant job took him to Germany, London, and Connecticut before he went to New York for college. The now-23-year-old DJ/producer got signed last year to PR agency Biz3 who released the song as a free download in June (Billboard, “Movers and Shakers”, 2 March 2013).

Baauer's full version

Success hasn’t come without controversy. The New York Times’ James C. McKinley Jr. reported that “Harlem Shake” features unlicensed samples, including the famous “Do the Harlem Shake” admonition taken from rap group Plastic Little’s 2001 song “Miller Time” and the opening line “Con los terroristas” from Hector “El Father” Delgado’s 2006 single “Maldades.” Both are seeking compensation from Bauuer’s label, Mad Decent Records (“Surprise Hit Was a Shock for Artists Heard on It”, 10 March 2013).

A street interview with Harlem residents elicited strong responses that the dance associated with the song is not the Harlem Shake (“Harlem Reacts to ‘Harlem Shake’ Videos”, 18 February 2013).

Deadspin’s Emma Carmichael said the original dance “is really not much more than a little side-to-side shoulder shimmy” (TheBlaze.com, “If You’ve Been Hearing About the ‘Harlem Shake’ Video Craze, Here’s How It May Have All Started”, 14 February 2013). Here are instructions for the dance:

The New York Times reported that the dance originated in the ‘80s. Albert Leopold Boyce, aka Al B., performed it during streetball games in New York’s Rucker Park. The dance, which is much rawer and fluid than what is showcased in the videos, became known as the Harlem Shake when local teenagers started mimicking it. Specifically, the four-man dance crew Crazy Boyz, who used to hang out at Rucker Park and watch Al B., have been widely credited with taking the dance to the mainstream in the ‘90s (“It’s a Worldwide Dance Craze, but It’s Not the Real Harlem Shake”, 28 February 2013). In a documentary by Kien Quan, he goes so far as to call them the Original Harlem Shakers (26 February 2013).

How did “Harlem Shake” become so huge? In the Kids React series, kids said the videos were funny, easy to make, and made people want to be part of a new thing. StartUpNation.com’s Zeke Camusio says viral hits engage audiences, entertain or educate them, create memorable experiences, and are short and focused (“What Makes Videos Viral”, 2009).

Allocca did a TED talk identifying three reasons a video becomes a viral hit (“Why videos go viral,” November 2011). It takes off when a tastemaker, such as a talk show host or well-known blogger, picks it up. Next, the community participates by passing the video along or putting their own twist on it. Finally, video hits have unexpectedness – something which is unique and gets attention.

In dissecting why Psy’s “Gangnam Style” became the most-watched video in YouTube history with over a billion views, Chicago Tribune’s pop culture columnist Jae-Ha Kim said there was a kind of “freak-show mentality, where people are like, ‘This guy is funny’” (TheBlaze.com, “What the Heck Is This ‘Gangnam Style’ Video Craze You’re Hearing About? We Explain”, 19 September 2012).

In consolidating these criteria, several key elements emerge which explain the immense success of the “Harlem Shake” meme:

The videos are funny and have a bit of freak-show element to them.
They have a surprise element. Even though viewers know there will be an eruption of group dancing at the 15-second mark, they don’t know what to expect in the way of the crowd’s choice of costumes.
Because the videos are short, they can be quickly viewed and passed on to others.
When it starts to take hold with the general public, media stars will latch on to it as well, reporting about it and even mimicking it.
Because of the ease in making the videos, the community actively participates by flooding the market with even more versions.
In the end, whether people are making their own videos, passing them on to others, or just watching them endlessly on their own, they become part of the viral community.

Love Bauuer or hate him for inflicting “Harlem Shake” on the world, he has made a permanent stamp on pop culture. Of course, even if he’d been given this handy-dandy list prior to his song’s dominance, he couldn’t have manufactured such success. There’s an inexplicable X-factor behind unleashing a phenomenon. As one of the pre-teens in the Kids React video said, “I just don’t understand.” That’s okay. No matter how much science and analysis is applied to this phenomenon, I don’t understand, either.

U2 released The Joshua Tree: March 17, 1987

2013-03-17T22:38:00.003-05:00

Originally posted 3/17/12. Updated 3/17/13.

Release date: 17 March 1987

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Where the Streets Have No Name (4/4/87, #13 US, #4 UK, #11 AR) / I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (3/28/87, #1 US, #6 UK, #2 AR, #16 AC) / With or Without You (3/21/87, #1 US, #4 UK, #1 AR, #23 AC) / Bullet the Blue Sky (4/4/87, #14 AR) / Running to Stand Still / Red Hill Mining Town / In God’s Country (4/11/87, #44 US, #48 UK, #6 AR) / Trip Through Your Wires / One Tree Hill / Exit / Mothers of the Disappeared

Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 2.67 UK, 30.0 world (includes US and UK)

Peak: 1⁹ US, 1² UK

Rating:

Review: U2’s blockbuster album The Joshua Tree was released on St. Patrick’s Day in 1987. It spent 9 weeks at #1 in the U.S. and went on to sell 10 million copies. It sold another 20 million worldwide. The album also ranks high on the list of The Top 100 Albums of All Time.

In the early 1980s, U2 built a following first with college radio and then album rock. By 1984’s “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, they’d even hit the top 40 of the pop charts. The band “were now spending more and more time with rock legends like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan” ^QM and were, as Rolling Stone magazine declared, “a band utterly determined to be Important.” ^RS With its “inspirational, larger-than-life gestures...that’s precisely what [The Joshua Tree] sounds like.” ^RS

The Joshua Tree was “U2’s most varied, subtle and accessible album” ^RS as the group learned “to combine their multi-textured sound with the kind of melodies that fans could sing as well as sway along to.” ^QM Their “sonic trademarks are here: the monumental angst of Bono’s voice, the driving pulse of Adam Clayton’s bass and Larry Mullen Jr.’s drums and the careening wail of the Edge’s guitar.” ^RS

The group also jettisoned the themes of political freedom from their earlier music and opted “to focus on the more accessible topic of human relationships.” ^RV This is also “a record steeped in religious imagery;” ^RS the album takes its name from a gnarled tree in the American Southwestern desert which early Mormon settlers interpreted as the prophet Joshua pointing the way to the Promised Land. ^RS Highlights include Where the Streets Have No Name which belongs “on the short-list of best album openers.” ^TL The instruments slowly build until it all “explodes into an orchestra of restlessness to match its searching lyrics.” ^RV The “yearning” I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For serves as “a crusade for religious, romantic or self-discovery.” ^RV “The album’s masterstroke, however, is With or Without You.” ^AZ “Bono’s aching voice and declarations of obsession prevails as the defining musical moment of a decade.” ^RV

Resources and Related Links:

DMDB page for The Joshua Tree
U2’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
^AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
^JA John Alroy, Wilson & Alroy’s Record Reviews
^AZ1 Amazon.com review by Daniel Durchholz
^AZ2 Amazon.com> review by Rob O’Connor
^BN Barnes & Noble review by Lisa Zhito
^AD Adrian Denning
^Q4 Q4music.com review by Mark Cooper. No longer online.
^RV The Review. “The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time.” (Vol. 128; Numbers 12-23: October-November 2001). By Clarke Speicher.
^RS RollingStone.com review by Steve Pond, originally in print issue 497
^TL Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light, Time Magazine’s “All-TIME 100 Albums” (11/13/06)

Award(s):

Quincy Jones born: March 14, 1933 / His Top 40 Songs

2013-03-14T21:13:00.000-05:00

image from haskellwexler.com

In honor of producer Quincy Jones’ 80th birthday, the March 16, 2013 issue of Billboard did an extensive cover story on him. Among the features was a list of his top 40 songs. Here they are (numbers in parentheses indicate peak position and year of peak on the Billboard Hot 100):

1. “Billie Jean”…Michael Jackson (#1 – 1983)
2. “We Are the World”…U.S.A. for Africa (#1 – 1985)
3. “Beat It”…Michael Jackson (#1 – 1983)
4. “Rock with You”…Michael Jackson (#1 – 1980)
5. “Baby, Come to Me”…Patti Austin with James Ingram (#1 – 1983)

6. “Man in the Mirror”…Michael Jackson (#1 – 1988)
7. “The Girl Is Mine”…Michael Jackson with Paul McCartney (#2 – 1983)
8. “The Way You Make Me Feel”…Michael Jackson (#1 – 1988)
9. “It’s My Party”…Lesley Gore (#1 – 1963)
10. “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”…Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett (#1 – 1987)

11. “I’ll Be Good to You”…The Brothers Johnson (#3 – 1976)
12. “Bad”…Michael Jackson (#1 – 1987)
13. “Dirty Diana”…Michael Jackson (#1 – 1988)
14. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (#1 – 1979)
15. “Give Me the Night”…George Benson (#4 – 1980)

16. “You Don’t Own Me”…Lesley Gore (#2 – 1964)
17. “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’…Michael Jackson (#5 – 1983)
18. “Strawberry Letter 23”…The Brothers Johnson (#5 – 1977)
19. “Thriller”…Michael Jackson (#4 – 1984)
20. “She’s a Fool”…Lesley Gore (#5 – 1963)

21. “Judy’s Turn to Cry”…Lesley Gore (#5 – 1963)
22. “Smooth Criminal”…Michael Jackson (#7 – 1989)
23. “Human Nature”…Michael Jackson (#7 – 1983)
24. “Stomp!”…The Brothers Johnson (#7 – 1980)
25. “She’s Out of My Life”…Michael Jakcson (#10 – 1980)

26. “Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)”…Donna Summer (#10 – 1982)
27. “Off the Wall”…Michael Jackson (#10 – 1980)
28. “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”…Michael Jackson (#10 – 1983)
29. “Just Once”…Quincy Jones with James Ingram (#17 – 1981)
30. “Another Part of Me”…Michael Jackson (#11 – 1988)

31. “One Hundred Ways”…Quincy Jones with James Ingram (#14 – 1982)
32. “Angel”…Aretha Franklin (#20 – 1973)
33. “I’ll Be Good to You”…Quincy Jones with Ray Charles & Chaka Khan (#18 – 1990)
34. “Yah Mo B There”…James Ingram with Michael McDonald (#19 – 1984)
35. “That’s the Way Boys Are”…Lesley Gore (#12 – 1964)

36. “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows”…Lesley Gore (#13 – 1965)
37. “Maybe I Know”…Lesley Gore (#14 – 1964)
38. “Stuff Like That”…Quincy Jones (#21 – 1978)
39. “Get the Funk Out Ma Face”…The Brothers Johnson (#30 – 1976)
40. “We Are the World 25: For Haiti”…Artists for Haiti (#2 – 2010)

Awards:

Radiohead released The Bends: March 13, 1995

2013-03-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

image from radiox.ru

Release date: 13 March 1995

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Planet Telex / The Bends / High and Dry (3/11/95, #73a US, #17 UK, #18 MR) / Fake Plastic Trees (5/9/95, #65a US, #20 UK, #11 MR) / Bones / Nice Dream / Just (9/2/95, #19 UK, #37 MR) / My Iron Lung (10/8/94, #24 UK) / Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was / Black Star / Sulk / Street Spirit (Fade Out) (1/22/96, #5 UK)

Sales (in millions): 1.5 US, 0.9 UK, 3.5 world

Peak: 88 US, 6 UK

Rating:

Review: “The first half of Nineties rock was shaped by Nirvana, and the second half was dominated by Radiohead.” ^RS500 Thanks to the success of the anti-hero song “Creep” and parent album Pablo Honey, Radiohead burst onto the scene as a sort of Brit version of grunge for alt-rock losers. That album, however, “in no way was adequate preparation for its epic, sprawling follow-up, The Bends” ^AMG which “married a majestic and somber guitar sound to Thom Yorke's anguished-choirboy vocals, drawing on the epic grandeur of U2 and the melancholy of the Smiths.” ^RS500

The Bends is what really led to Radiohead becoming “a blue chip band.” ^AZ “Building from the sweeping, three-guitar attack that punctuated the best moments of Pablo Honey,” ^AMG “The quintet honed its talent for bombastic Brit Rock, yet still preserved an edge of unpredictability.” ^AZ They “create a grand and forceful sound that nevertheless resonates with anguish and despair – it’s cerebral anthemic rock.” ^AMG

“If the CD proved anything, it was that Radiohead could find solid ground between pop experimentation and the tradition of born-in-the-bone, balls-out rock.” ^AZ “Occasionally, the album displays its influences, whether it’s U2, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., or the Pixies, but Radiohead turn clichés inside out, making each song sound bracingly fresh.” ^AMG “The Bends is full of instantly catchy numbers, but a the same time, none seem fit for radio.” ^DV This “is essentially Radiohead’s way of creating a bridge between that initial wave of ‘90s angstery…what we’ve come to call indie rock.” ^EK

“It makes the record compelling upon first listen, but it reveals new details with each listen.” ^AMG The Bends “marries…ambitious, and often challenging, instrumental soundscapes to songs that are at their cores hauntingly melodic and accessible.” ^AMG “Thom Yorke’s tortured lyrics give the album a melancholy undercurrent, as does the surging, textured music.” ^AMG For example, “the truly demented My Iron Lung” ^AD is a song which has “a catchy hook that makes you bob your head...then they get all avant garde on you.” ^DV

My Iron Lung

Planet Telex “explodes from the speakers with a depth to the sound that just wasn’t there on Pablo Honey.” ^AD “A sound like wind coming in through a crack in your window, the song bleeds into a trippy feedback squall.” ^DV

High and Dry

Even as the group became experimental, they still maintained an ability to make inroads at radio. “Creep” could well have been a one-hit wonder for the band in the States, but songs like High and Dry and Fake Plastic Trees suggested Radiohead could find a home at alternative radio. An “emphasis on melodic hooks keeps things from getting as mushy as most mope-rock.” ^DBW For example, Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was “has a grandeur about it, a wonderful ballad with a sad, lost atmosphere and great production and mixing.” ^AD “The closing Street Spirit, which revolves around a fascinating repeating guitar figure and intriguing Thom Yorke lyrics, is almost worth the price of admission alone.” ^AD

Fake Plastic Trees

“In addition, there are “tunes that rely on sudden dynamics changes…and get some energy going” ^DBW such as Just, whose “harder guitars…appealed to Radiohead’s American fans” ^DV and “the extremely U2-like Bones.” ^DBW That song and Nice Dream “are mood pieces, attempts at moving forwards ably supported by the excellent production of John Leckie, without whom neither song would amount to anything more than the prettier moments from the very un-acclaimed Pablo Honey.” ^AD

Just

Still, while The Bends was a leap forward from Pablo Honey, it is a record which has gained status with perspective. Songs like “Sulk and Black Star are coming from a band that was still trying to find their sound.” ^DV When the follow-up album, OK Computer became one of the decade’s game changers, “The Bends received its due for being that bridge, the changing space, between a young band with a fluke hit to a mature working group pushing the boundaries of rock music.” ^JM By comparison to OK Computer, “The Bends is pretty gosh-darn conventional…There are places all through it that betray a distinct whiff of…classic rock.” ^EK

Street Spirit

Resources and Related Links:

Radiohead’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
album page on DMDB website (even more in-depth look at album)
^AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
^AZ Amazon.com review by Nick Heil
^DV Daily Vault review by Sean McCarthy
^AD Adrian Denning
^EK Eric Klinger Counterbalance series at PopMatters.com
^JM Jason Mendelsohn Counterbalance series at PopMatters.com
^DBW David Bertrand Wilson, Wilson & Alroy’s Record Reviews
^RS500 Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Award(s):

The Velvet Underground released their debut album: March 12, 1967

2013-03-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

Originally posted 3/12/12. Updated 3/12/13.

Release date: 12 March 1967

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sunday Morning / I’m Waiting for the Man / Femme Fatale / Venus in Furs (3/12/94, #71 UK) / Run, Run, Run / All Tomorrow’s Parties / Heroin / There She Goes Again / I’ll Be Your Mirror / The Black Angel’s Death Song / European Son

Sales (in millions): 0.3 US, -- UK, 0.3 world (includes US and UK)

Peak: 171 US, 59 UK

Rating:

Review: While it took ten years for VU’s debut to crack six figures, AMG there’s a classic line from producer Brian Eno that “everyone who bought one…started a band.” JD This is “chapter one of alternative rock” BL and made VU “the poster children of the avant-garde;” TL they “proved that rock, too, can be art.” RV “Glam, punk, new wave, goth, noise, and nearly every other left-of-center rock movement owes an audible debt to this set.” AMG Singer/songwriter Lou “Reed portrayed edgy characters and exotic scenes that many in the ‘straight’ world and even enlightened hippies had never experienced.” JD He “visited a drug dealer in Harlem” JD on I’m Waiting for the Man and, in Heroin, “gives the listener a musical experience comparable to the rush a junky feels” RV In Venus in Furs, Reed “peered into the inner sanctum of a sado-masochistic couple.” JD “Although they weren’t particularly adept at their instruments,” NO they “created some of the most innovative sounds anyone had ever heard.” NO John Cale “introduced the rock world to feedback through his shrieking” TL electric viola. “Percussionist Maureen Tucker and guitarist Sterling Morrison make additional noteworthy contributions.” NRR Model-turned-actress Nico “hardly sounds like a typical rock vocalist” AMG lending her “otherworldly vocals” NRR to Femme Fatale and I’ll Be Your Mirror, “but she was very effective in getting emotions across.” AD Although pop artist Andy Warhol was credited as producer, the real work done by Tom Wilson. However, Warhol’s “notoriety allowed The Velvet Underground to record…without compromise.” AMG “Few rock albums are as important…and fewer still have lost so little of their power to surprise and intrigue.” AMG

Resources and Related Links:

DMDB page for Velvet Underground & Nico
DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry for Velvet Underground
^AMG Mark Deming, All Music Guide review by Mark Deming
^AMG All Music Guide review by Richie Unterberger
^BL Blender Magazine’s 100 Greatest American Albums (10/08)
^AD Adrian Denning
^JD Jim DeRogatis, The Great Albums (3/24/02)
^NRR National Recording Registry
^NO TheNightOwl.com review by Tim Hartin
^RV The Review “100 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Clarke Speicher (October – November 2001; Vol. 128: numbers 12-23).
^TL Time Magazine’s All-TIME 100 Albums by Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light (11/13/06).

Award(s):

CSNY released Déjà Vu: March 11, 1970

2013-03-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

image from fineartamerica.com

Originally posted 3/11/2012. Updated 3/11/2013.

Released: 11 March 1970

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) 1. Carry On/Questions 2. Teach Your Children (6/8/70, #16 US, #28 AC) 3. Almost Cut My Hair 4. Helpless 5. Woodstock (3/28/70, #11 US) 6. Déjà Vu 7. Our House (9/19/70, #30 US, #20 AC) 8. 4 + 20 9. Country Girl: Whiskey Boot Hill/Down, Down, Down/Country Girl (I Think You’re Pretty) 10. Everybody I Love You

Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 13.5 world

Peak: 1¹ US, 5 UK

Rating:

Review: When Crosby, Stills & Nash released their debut album in 1969, they effectively became one of the first supergroups. David Crosby had worked with The Byrds, Stephen Stills had been with Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash was previously in The Hollies. After their collaboration proved a success, the follow-up became “one of the most hotly awaited second albums in history.” ^AMG

The expectations were ratched up all the more by the addition of Neil Young, who had worked with Stills in Buffalo Springfield and already was off to a great start as a solo artist. He “transformed the folk-rock CSN into a powerhouse;” ^RS500 his presence “added to the level of virtuosity” ^AMG upped “the range of available voices,” ^AMG and “and added a uniquely idiosyncratic songwriter to the fold.” ^AMG In addition, he and Stills rose “to new levels of complexity and volume on their guitars.” ^AMG

However, egos and problems both emotional and relational made the recording of the sophomore effort difficult. With the exception of Carry On and the group’s take on Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock, most of the recording was done in individual sessions. ^AMG Through some 800 hours of work ^AMG thanks to continuous reworking of material ^CRS some members wondered if the album would ever be finished. ^CRS

Woodstock

However, the talents of the collective and “some very skilled production, engineering, and editing” ^AMG not only produced a second effort, but the group “have yet to follow it up with material and performances as powerful.” ^CRS In fact, the album has been called “one of the greatest folk-rock albums of all time.” ^RV

Teach Your Children

As far as individual achievements, “Teach Your Children, the major hit off the album, was a reflection of the hippie-era idealism that still filled Graham Nash’s life, while Our House was his stylistic paean to the late-era Beatles.” ^AMG

Our House

Stills paired Questions with the “vocal-choir gallop” ^RS500 of Carry On to make “it more substantial” ^AMG and 4 + 20 “was a gorgeous…blues excursion that was a precursor to the material he would explore on the solo album that followed.” ^AMG

Crosby delivered Almost Cut My Hair, “a piece of high-energy hippie-era paranoia not too far removed in subject from the Byrds’ ‘Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,” ^AMG and the title track, which took some 100 hours to complete. ^AMG

Helpless

Young contributed “the exquisitely harmonized” ^AMG and “achingly plaintive Helpless” ^RS500 “and the roaring country-ish rockers that ended side two.” ^AMG “His seeming throwaway finale, Everybody I Love You, was a bone thrown to longtime fans as perhaps the greatest Buffalo Springfield song that they didn’t record.” ^AMG

“All of this variety made Déjà Vu a rich musical banquet for the most serious and personal listeners, while mass audiences reveled in the glorious harmonies and the thundering electric guitars, which were presented in even more dramatic and expansive fashion on the tour that followed.” ^AMG

Resources and Related Links:

Crosby, Stills & Nash’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
Neil Young’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
album page on DMDB website (even more in-depth look at album)
^AMG All Music Guide review by Bruce Eder
^CRS Tim Morse (1998). Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Rock Songs of All Time. New York, NY: St. Martin's Griffin.
^RV The Review “100 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Clarke Speicher (October – November 2001; Vol. 128: numbers 12-23).
^RS500 Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Award(s):

The Top 50 Albums of the 1950s

2013-03-08T16:27:00.000-06:00

(3/8/13)

You can check out the top albums of all time or for other decades by clicking here. Here are the top 50 albums of the 1950s according to Dave’s Music Database:

1. Miles Davis...Kind of Blue (1959)
2. South Pacific (soundtrack, 1958)
3. Elvis Presley...The Sun Sessions (archives: 1954-55)
4. My Fair Lady (cast album, 1956)
5. Elvis Presley...Elvis Presley (aka Rock ‘N’ Roll in the UK) (1956)
6. Frank Sinatra...Songs for Swinging Lovers (1956)
7. Dave Brubeck...Time Out (1959)
8. The Sound of Music (cast album, 1959)
9. Harry Belafonte...Calpyso (1956)
10. The King and I (soundtrack, 1956)

11. Frank Sinatra...In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
12. Hank Williams...40 Greatest Hits (compilation: 1947-53)
13. Mario Lanza...The Student Prince (soundtrack, 1954)
14. The Music Man (cast, 1957)
15. West Side Story (cast, 1957)
16. Ornette Coleman...The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)
17. Charles Mingus...Mingus Ah Um (1959)
18. George Gershwin...An American in Paris (soundtrack, 1951)
19. Henry Mancini...Music from Peter Gunn (soundtrack, 1959)
20. Guys and Dolls (cast, 1950)

21. Little Richard...Here’s Little Richard! (1957)
22. Miles Davis...Birth of the Cool (1950)
23. Howlin’ Wolf...Howlin’ Wolf (aka The Rocking Chair Album) (1958)
24. Gigi (soundtrack, 1958)
25. Jackie Gleason...Music for Lovers Only (1952)
26. Sonny Rollins...Saxophone Colossus (1956)
27. The Kingston Trio...At Large (1959)
28. John Coltrane...Giant Steps (1959)
29. Thelonious Monk...Brilliant Corners (1956)
30. Gypsy (cast, 1959)

31. Howlin’ Wolf...Moanin’ in the Moonlight (1958)
32. Duke Ellington...At Newport (1956)
33. Erroll Garner...Concert by the Sea (1955)
34. Oklahoma! (soundtrack, 1955)
35. Frank Sinatra...A Swingin’ Affair (1957)
36. The King and I (cast, 1951)
37. Elvis Presley...Elvis’ Christmas Album (1957)
38. Frank Sinatra...Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)
39. Ella Fitzgerald...Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (1956)
40. Miles Davis with Gil Evans...Miles Ahead (1957)

41. Elvis Presley...Golden Records (compilation: 1956-58)
42. Johnny Mathis...Johnny’s Greatest Hits (1958)
43. Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers...Moanin’ (1958)
44. Elvis Presley...Elvis (1956)
45. Buddy Holly & the Crickets...The Chirping Crickets (1957)
46. Jane Froman...With a Song in My Heart (1952)
47. The Quintet...Jazz at Massey Hall (1953)
48. John Coltrane...Blue Train (1957)
49. Count Basie...The Complete Atomic Basie (compilation: 1957)
50. Show Boat (soundtrack, 1951)