New Order - "Bizarre Love Triange" (1986)

Well, I don't have to tell you that I connected with this song in 1986 (if any of you are familiar with my 007 Gentleman Blog). ;)


"Bizarre Love Triangle" is a single released in 1986 by the English rock band New Order. A version is included on their album Brotherhood.


Though it is one of the group's best known singles, it failed to make the Top 40 in either the United Kingdom or the United States. In the band's native England, "Bizarre Love Triangle" only reached No. 56. In the States, the song failed to chart in its original 1986 release, but its popularity has only climbed since; widespread airplay on U.S. Top 40 radio in the 1990s led to a brief, fluke appearance on the Billboard singles chart in 1995. The one country where it was a sizable chart hit was Australia, where it reached No. 5, initiating a string of five consecutive Top 20 hits.


In 2004 the song was ranked number 201 in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Ella Fitzgerald - "A Tisket A Tasket" (1938)

A Tisket A Tasket is a nursery rhyme first recorded in America in the late nineteenth century. It was used as the basis for a very successful and highly regarded 1938 recording by Ella Fitzgerald. The words Tisket and Tasket do not appear in standard dictionaries, so were probably fabricated to suit the rhyme and metre.


The rhyme was first noted in the United States in 1879 as a children's rhyming game. It was sung while children danced in a circle. One of the number ran on the outside of the circle and dropped a handkerchief. The nearest child would then pick it up and chase the dropper. If caught the dropper was either kissed, joined the circle, or had to tell the name of their sweetheart. An early noted version had the lyrics:


A-tisket a-tasket
A green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my love
And on the way I dropped it,
I dropped it,
I dropped it,
And on the way I dropped it.
A little boy he picked it up and put it in his pocket.


Ella Fitzgerald, in conjunction with Al Feldman, extended and embellished the rhyme into a jazz piece which was her breakthrough hit with the Chick Webb Orchestra in 1938. It has since become a jazz standard. A followup song written by Fitzgerald and Webb entitled I Found My Yellow Basket (1938) was less successful.

Neil Diamond - "Sweet Caroline" (1969)

"Sweet Caroline" is a pop song written and performed by Neil Diamond and officially released on September 16, 1969, as a single. There are three distinct mixes of this song. The original mono 45 mix had a loud orchestra and glockenspiel compared to the stereo version on the Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show LP. The third version was a remix found only on the initial CD release of Neil Diamond's "His 12 Greatest Hits". This version has the orchestra mixed down very noticeably and has the background vocals mixed up. It has a longer fade as well. The song reached #4 on the Billboard chart and eventually went platinum for sales of one million singles.


In the autumn of 1969, Diamond performed "Sweet Caroline" on several television shows. It later reached #8 on the UK singles chart in 1971. In a 2007 interview, Diamond revealed the inspiration for "Sweet Caroline" was President John F. Kennedy's daughter, Caroline Kennedy, who was eleven years old at the time. Diamond sang the song to her at her 50th birthday celebration in 2007.

Boyzone - No Matter What (1996)

"No Matter What" is a song from the 1996 musical Whistle Down the Wind, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman and popularized by the group Boyzone. The song reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and was the only Boyzone hit to become popular in the U.S. Jewels & Stone did a remix for the song for dance clubs which was very popular.


Boyzone are an Irish boy band comprising of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, and Shane Lynch. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ireland charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one Singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12 of their 20 singles in the UK being in the UK Top 2.


Boyzone are one of the most successful bands in the UK and Ireland. In total, the group have 19 top 5 singles on the Ire, 18 top 10 hits on the UK charts, nine #1 Irish singles chart hit singles and six #1 UK hit singles and five #1 albums, with approximately 20 million records sold by 2010 in British Isles and worldwide. The number is confirmed by Gately's book The Tree of Seasons.


Boyzone famously made a comeback in 2007, originally with the intention of just touring. The band was put together in 1993 by Louis Walsh who is also known for managing Johnny Logan and Westlife. The band has released four studio albums and seven compilation albums to date. Gately died on 10 October 2009 of natural causes while on his holiday in Majorca, Spain.

Michael Jackson - You're Not Alone (1995); Shayne Ward - You're Not Alone (2006)

"You Are Not Alone" is a 1995 song by Michael Jackson; however, other versions have been sung by other artists.

I like Shayne Ward singing "You're Not Alone" which he released in 2006.  He is an English pop singer who rose to fame as the winner of second series of The X Factor. He has sold over 3 million records worldwide and has had number one albums and singles in 9 countries.

Sophie Ellis Bextor - "Muder on the Dancefloor" (2001)

Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s. Her music is a mixture of mainstream pop, disco, nu-disco, and 1980s electronic influences.


Her solo debut album, Read My Lips, was released in September 2001. The album reached number two on the UK albums chart and was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The record experienced international success; it sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. It produced four singles, three of which reached the top three in the UK. In 2003, Read My Lips won the Edison Award for "Best Dance Album". Ellis-Bextor's second album, Shoot from the Hip, was released in October 2003. The album reached number nineteen in the UK and produced two top ten singles. Trip the Light Fantastic, her third album, was released in May 2007. It album reached number seven in the UK. The album produced three singles, one of which reached the top ten in the UK.


Sophie has released on June 15, 2009 "Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)", collaborating with the Freemasons, becoming her 9th Top 20 hit in the UK, and a worldwide dance smash hit.


"Murder on the Dancefloor" is a song written by Gregg Alexander and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Alexander and Matt Rowe for Ellis-Bextor's first album Read My Lips. After the release of "Take Me Home" in August 2001, Ellis-Bextor released her best-selling single to date in December 2001, "Murder on the Dance floor". The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, stayed on the charts for twenty-three weeks, and became the most played song of 2002 in all of Europe.


The song was such a hit that the singer's label canceled what was planned to be the next single, "Lover", and replaced it with "Get Over You" and "Move This Mountain". It was also a hit in Australia peaking at number three, staying in the top fifty for twenty weeks, accrediting platinum by ARIA and ending to be the eleventh highest selling single for 2002.


The music video, which was directed by Sophie Muller, takes place at a dance contest whose winners are to gain a pair of golden shoes and a cash prize. Desperate to win, Ellis-Bextor manages to sneakily injure and disqualify many of the other dancers; injuring one with butter, tripping another (who she sees her do it and angrily points at her), poisoning a trio of possible competition using harmless looking, but poisoned punch, unstrapping one of the contestants clothes, framing another of cheating on his partner, using a G-String, knocking out one judge with what seems to be chloroform and seducing another, played by Colin Stinton, into declaring her the winner after she sees he has a weak spot for women like her, which displeases the other dancers. Her use of these tactics leads to her win, with everyone else grudgingly clapping, while she is smiling with a crown, a big cash prize and golden shoes.

Dion and The Belmonts - "I Wonder Why" (1958)

Dion and the Belmonts was a leading American vocal group of the late 1950s. The group formed when Dion DiMucci, lead singer, (born July 18, 1939), joined The Belmonts - Carlo Mastrangelo, baritone, (born October 5, 1938), Freddie Milano, second tenor, (born August 22, 1939), and Angelo D'Aleo, first tenor, (born February 3, 1940) in late 1957.


After an unsuccessful first single, the group was signed to Laurie Records. Their breakthrough came when "I Wonder Why" reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the group appeared for the first time on American Bandstand. They followed it with the ballads "No One Knows" (No. 19) and "Don’t Pity Me" (No. 40).


This success won Dion and the Belmonts their first major tour in late 1958, with The Coasters, Buddy Holly and Bobby Darin, and this was followed up by the "Winter Dance Party" tour with Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. On 2 February 1959, after playing at the Surf Ballroom, Dion decided that he could not afford the $36 cost of a flight to the next venue. The plane crashed; Holly, Valens, The Big Bopper, and the pilot were killed on 3 February 1959, shortly after midnight. However, the tour continued, with Jimmy Clanton and Bobby Vee being added to the bill as replacements.


In March 1959, Dion and the Belmonts’ next single, "A Teenager in Love", was released, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 28 in the UK Singles Chart, and this was followed by an album, Presenting Dion and the Belmonts. Their biggest hit, "Where or When", was released in November 1959, and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, in early 1960, Dion checked into a hospital for heroin addiction, a problem he had had since his mid-teens. Other singles released for the group that year were less successful. In addition, there were musical and financial disputes between Dion and members of the Belmonts. In October 1960, Dion decided to quit for a solo career. The Belmonts also continued to release records, but with less success.


Dion and the Belmonts reunited in 1966 for the unsuccessful album Together Again on ABC Records, and again in 1972 for a one-off show at Madison Square Garden, recorded and released as a live album.


In 2000, Dion and the Belmonts were inducted in The Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

"I Wonder Why" is a doo-wop song, written by Melvin Anderson (lyrics) and Ricardo Weeks,[1] and first recorded by Dion and the Belmonts in 1958. It is sung from the point of view of a man telling to his girlfriend that he neither knows nor ultimately cares to know the reasons for his love for said other. The song was used in the film A Bronx Tale, in the pilot episode of the television series The Sopranos, and in John Carpenter's film adaption of Stephen King's "Christine". A cover was sung by Nicolas Cage in Peggy Sue Got Married.

Debby Boone - "You Light Up My Life" (1977)

"You Light Up My Life" is a ballad written by Joe Brooks, and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The song was performed in the film by its lead, Didi Conn, who lip synched Cisyk's version.


Debby Boone, was recruited to record the single, which became a massive success, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a record-setting ten consecutive weeks. It easily became the most successful single of the 1970s in the United States, and set a new Hot 100 record for longest reign at No.1. (Elvis Presley's double-sided "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog", then recognized as the longest-running No.1 of the rock era, spent eleven weeks atop the Billboard Best Sellers chart in 1956, before the debut of the Hot 100.)


The record was matched in 1982 by Olivia Newton-John's Physical, but never surpassed until a 1991 change in chart methodology allowed songs to achieve longer reigns at No.1 ("End of the Road" by Boyz II Men set the new record, thirteen weeks). The single, which was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), also hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and reached #4 on the Country chart. Conversely, the single peaked at #48 in the UK Singles Chart.


Although written by Brooks as a love song, the devout Boone interpreted the song as inspirational and proclaimed that it was instead God who "lit up her life."


Cisyk's soundtrack recording was released as a single to bolster sales of the soundtrack, after Boone included her version on her first solo album also entitled You Light Up My Life. (Although the soundtrack was certified gold, peaking at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, it never included Boone's version of the song.)


Cisyk's single was credited to "Original Cast", not to Cisyk herself, and only reached No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100. Brooks also released an instrumental version of the song from the soundtrack as a single, but his version failed to chart.


Debby Boone's success resulted in Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female and Record of the Year and won her the 1977 Grammy for Best New Artist and the 1977 American Music Award for Favorite Pop Single. The song earned Brooks the 1977 Song of the Year Grammy (tied with "Love Theme from "A Star Is Born" (Evergreen)") as well as the Best Original Song awards at the 1977 Golden Globe and Academy Awards.


The song ranks #7 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. More recently, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio ranked Boone's version of the song at #51 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, telling the listener that their grandparents "probably love [the song] and consider it a hip new record," before warning said listener not to judge their grandparents too harshly.

Kraftwerk - "The Robots" (1978)

One has to love a group that was way ahead of their time. It's Kraftwerk!


"The Robots" (originally Die Roboter) is a single by the influential German electronic music pioneers, Kraftwerk, released in 1978. The single and its B-side, "Spacelab", both appeared on the band's seventh album, The Man-Machine. However, the songs as they appear on the single were scaled down into shorter versions. In 1991, a remix of the song was issued as a single from the band's remix album The Mix.


The lyrics reference the revolutionary technique of robotics, and how humans can use them as they wish. The Russian lines "Я твой слуга" (Ya tvoi sluga, I'm your servant) and "Я твой работник" (Ya tvoi rabotnik, I'm your worker) (also on the rear sleeve of the album) during the intro and again during its repetition at the bridge are spoken in a pitched down voice, the main lyrics ("We're charging our batteries and now we're full of energy...") are "sung" through a vocoder.


Wolfgang Flür, a member of Kraftwerk at the time of the single's release, later wrote Ich war ein Roboter (I Was a Robot in English), with his title referencing the lyrics of "The Robots". The book, published in 2003, has been described as a "controversial and uncompromising autobiography of Kraftwerk", more because the other members of the band tried to censor its publication than anything else. The lyrics were also referenced in the title of a BBC Radio 4 documentary, Kraftwerk: We Are the Robots, broadcast for the first time on Thursday November 22, 2007. The documentary focused on the band's place as "part of a new generation of young West Germans, living in the shadow of the Cold War, who identified with the need to recapture a German cultural identity distinct from that of Britain and America."

Christopher Cross - "Ride Like The Wind" (1980)

"Ride Like the Wind" was the debut single by Christopher Cross in March 1980, appearing on his Grammy-winning self-titled debut album. It reached number 2 in the U.S. charts. On the album inner sleeve, Christopher Cross dedicated this song to Lowell George, formerly of the band Little Feat, who died in 1979. It features backing vocals by Michael McDonald and a guitar solo by Cross.


According to an interview by Guitar 2001 Magazine with guitarist Eric Johnson, he mentioned performing on "Ride Like the Wind", but his parts did not make the final cut of the song.[citation needed] Johnson performed the guitar solo on the song "Minstrel Gigolo".


The song has been covered by Freddie Hubbard on his 1982 album 'Ride Like the Wind', as well as by Taka Boom on her 1983 album 'Boomerang', British heavy metal band Saxon on their 1988 album Destiny and by American heavy metal band Speeed on their 1999 album Powertrip Pigs. Perhaps the most notable cover of the song was the dance-oriented version by Italian act East Side Beat which reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1991.


Cross performed the single live at Flemington Racecourse, Victoria, Australia, as part of the pre-race entertainment for the 2007 Melbourne Cup. In 2009 Cross performed the song on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon with the house band The Roots and special guest Michael McDonald doing the background vocals.
EAST SIDE BEAT version:

Talk Talk - "Lifes What You Make It" (1985)

"Life's What You Make It" is a song by the English band Talk Talk. It was released as a single in late 1985, the first from the band's album The Colour of Spring. The single was a hit in the UK, peaking at #16, and internationally, reaching the Top 20 in several countries. Filmed at Wimbledon Common, London, the promotional video for the single depicted the band performing in the early hours in a natural history setting. The track was remixed and re-released in 1990, reaching a second time the UK Top 40.


A cover version of the song was included as a bonus track on the UK version of Weezer's 2008 album Weezer (The Red Album). The Gathering also covered the song on their 2005 album Accessories - Rarities and B-Sides. Australian post-punk singer Rowland S. Howard also covered the song on his second solo album Pop Crimes in 2009. German rock band Zinoba recorded a version that featured in the film Gegen die Wand (Head-On), directed by Fatih Akın (2004), during the closing credits.

Al Corley - "Square Rooms" (1984)

I first heard this song in Paris, France in September 1985. I was so confused I thought he was singing in French. The singer was an actor in the popular prime-time series DYNASTY. The song was not very well-known in the USA but it was a popular Euro-pop tune in the mid-1980s.


"Square Rooms" is a Europop song recorded by American singer, actor and producer Al Corley. It was the first single from his album of the same name. First released in 1984, the song was a hit in some European countries and had a moderate success in the United States in 1985.


After two seasons playing one of the first gay leading characters an American TV series, Dynasty, Al Corley left the nighttime soap opera to become a singer. With Harold Faltermeyer and Peter John Woods, he composed the text of his first song, "Square Rooms."


The media-savvy singer affected the brooding look and attitude popular among pop stars and GQ models at the time: pouty, dark glances and tousled hair. His choice of image worked best in France, where his television performances elicited the unbridled enthusiasm of teenage girls. However, according to Elia Habib, a French charts specialist, his success was not only based on his physical appearance. Indeed, "Square Rooms"' music had a large popular appeal and had a production designed for the dance floor.


"Square Rooms" was released first in Switzerland, where it was a hit, peaking at number six on October 21, 1984, and staying in the top 30 for ten weeks. The single debuted at number 47 in the French Singles Chart on January 5, 1985. It climbed quickly and was number one for five nonconsecutive weeks, from March 9 to April 13, 1985. After its peak, it lingered on the charts until its 27th week, on July 20, 1985. The song also achieved success in Italy (number 12), Germany (number 13) and Austria where it reached number 15 in April 1985.


"Square Rooms" was released last in Corley's native U.S., where the single was only a minor pop hit, reaching number 80 on the Hot 100 on June 1, 1985. American dancefloors were more receptive than its airwaves; Corley reached number 26 on the Billboard Dance/Disco chart the week of June 22, 1985.

Bananarama - "Venus" (1986)

Bananarama is a British female pop trio that has had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on three part harmony, the trio generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed its most popular success as a trio made up of lifelong friends Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin. Since 1988, Bananarama has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the all-female group with the most chart entries.


In 1986, some of the group's production duties on the album True Confessions (UK #46, US #15) were taken up by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW). This move resulted in the international number one hit, "Venus," (a remake of Shocking Blue's number one hit from 1970). The dance-oriented beats on the song typified the SAW approach to pop production. Bananarama were said to have been put in contact with SAW after hearing and expressing a fondness for "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive. Also in 1986, Dallin and Woodward were featured as backing vocalists on two songs on Family Album, produced by John Lydon.


The music video for "Venus" received heavy airplay on MTV in the United States. It featured the group in various costumes including a devil, a French temptress, a vampire and a Greek goddess. The video marked a pivotal shift towards a more glamorous and sexual image, which contrasted with the tomboyish style of their earlier work. It was also the start of their use of toy-boys as backup dancers, which would become a hallmark of their videos.

Charles Trenet - "La Mer" (1946)

"La mer" is French for "the sea", and is the name of a song by Charles Trenet, published in 1939 and first recorded by him in 1946.


"La Mer" is a song written by French composer, lyricist, singer and showman Charles Trenet (1913 – 2001). Trenet wrote the lyrics of "La Mer" on a train in 1943 while travelling along the French Mediterranean coast, returning from Paris to Narbonne. He supposedly wrote the song in ten minutes, on toilet paper supplied by SNCF. He was assisted with the tune by Leo Chauliac. It was originally published by Raoul Breton.


It was not until 1946 that Trenet recorded the song, since neither he nor the people around him believed the song to be anything special or particularly original. When he released "La Mer" in 1946 it became an unexpected hit, and has remained a chanson classic ever since.


English lyrics, unrelated to the French lyrics, were later written by Jack Lawrence and entitled "Beyond the Sea". This became a hit for Bobby Darin in 1959. The song has been recorded by more than 400 other artists in many languages. "La Mer" is perhaps his best known work outside the French-speaking world, with over 400 recorded versions.

Barret Strong - "Money That's What I Want" (1959)

"Money (That's What I Want)" is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, and became the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise.


Anna Records was operated by Gwen Gordy, Anna Gordy and Billy 'Roquel' Davis. Gwen and Anna's brother Berry Gordy had just established his Tamla label (soon Motown would follow), and licensed the song to the Anna label in 1960, which was distributed nationwide by Chicago-based Chess Records in order to meet demand; the Tamla record was a resounding success in the Midwest. The song features Strong curtly demanding that money is what he needs, more than anything else. The single became Motown's first hit in June 1960, making it to #2 on the US R&B chart and #23 on the US pop chart. The song was listed as #288 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.


The song has been covered by a myriad of artists. I was introduced to this song in the early 1980s by the version from THE FLYING LIZARDS (1979):

The Clash - "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" (1982)

"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by the English punk rock band THE CLASH, from their album 'Combat Rock'.   It was written in 1981 and featured Mick Jones on lead vocals.  It became the band's only number-one single, a decade after it was originally released.  In November 2004, it was ranked at 228 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.   In 2009 it was ranked 42nd on VH1's program 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.


The tune leans towards more of a retro punk rock sound than most of the other tracks on the album. Though many legends have arisen about what the song is about (one of which is Jones' impending dismissal from the Clash in 1983), it is actually about a rocky personal relationship between Jones and singer Ellen Foley that would soon implode. The lyrics seem to reflect ups and downs concerning the relationship and the dilemma of sticking with or ending it.


The Spanish backing vocals are courtesy of Joe Strummer:
On the spur of the moment I said 'I'm going to do the backing vocals in Spanish,'...We needed a translator so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone and she translated them. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it's Ecuadorian Spanish that me and Joe Ely are singing on the backing vocals. 
-Joe Strummer, 1991

The single was reissued several times.  In 1982, with a different cover as a double A-side with "Straight to Hell" and with "Cool Confusion" as its B-side. In 1983, with "First Night Back in London" on the side two, and in 1991, with "Rush" by Mick Jones' group Big Audio Dynamite II as its B-side.

In March 1991, the band allowed the song to be used in a commercial for Levi Strauss & Co.   The single was re-released on the back of the commercial and made it to number one in the UK singles chart.

"Should I Stay or Should I Go" has been covered by many artists including Skin, Ice Cube and Mack 10, Living Colour, Marron 5, Weezer, Guitar Wolf, Die Toten Hosen, The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain, and Kyle Minogue.   A version by former Prime Minister of the UK, Tony Blair was created by digital editing of his speeches to make it appear he was performing the song.

Carly Simon - "Nobody Does It Better" (1977)

#1

"Nobody Does It Better" is a power ballad composed by Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager. It was recorded by Carly Simon as the theme song for the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. It was the first Bond theme song to be titled differently from the name of the film, although the phrase "the spy who loved me" is included in the lyrics. Released as a single from the film's soundtrack album, the song became a hit (spending three weeks at #2 on the US singles chart and reaching #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart). The song also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.


The title of the theme was later used for Carly Simon's 1999 greatest hits album, The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better.


In 2004, the song was honored by the American Film Institute as the 67th greatest song as part of their 100 Years Series.

Alice Deejay - Better Off Alone (1998)

"Better off Alone" is the first single by Dutch pop-eurodance group Alice DeeJay from their debut album Who Needs Guitars Anyway?. It was originally written and released in 1998, on a Canadian label (ISBA Music Entertainment Inc.) but was re-released in 1999 by Positiva Records, Universal and Republic.


"Do you think you're better off alone?" is the song's primary line, and was written by Pronti of Dutch producers Pronti & Kalmani after his lover left him. The song's secondary line, "Talk to me" was borrowed from The Eurythmics hit song "Here Comes The Rain Again". The song was originally intended to be an instrumental piece, but vocalist Judith Pronk was called upon to sing the lyrics because DJ Jurgen, who was involved in the project, wished to remain an underground DJ.


Pronk changed her stagename to Alice DeeJay after the track was released. The track was released to dance clubs and became an international hit in clubs reaching number 2 on the Billboard club charts and a top ten club chart worldwide. The song then became a hit reaching #2 in Canada, #27 in the U.S., and #2 in the UK. It went on to become one of the 10 best-selling singles of 1999 - the top-selling year for singles in the UK, with the exception of 1997, which was largely due to Elton John's rerelease of Candle in the Wind. The song was in the top 100 bestselling singles in Australia for 2000 as compiled by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

The Ocean Blue - "Sublime" (1993)

A "Sublime" moment is a beautiful thing.


The Ocean Blue, formed in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1986, is an American indie pop band that combines melodic guitars and synthesizers. Its core original members included David Schelzel on lead vocals/guitar, Steve Lau on keyboards/saxophone, Bobby Mittan on bass guitar and Rob Minnig on drums and vocals.


The Ocean Blue's members were just teenagers and still in high school when they signed a three-album deal in 1988 with Sire Records, at the behest of Sire founder Seymour Stein. The Ocean Blue's self-titled album debuted in the fall of 1989 and many listeners were surprised to learn that the band wasn't British. The first single release was the song "Between Something and Nothing", an Echo & the Bunnymen-inspired rocker which hit the modern rock top-10 in 1989.

Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime (1970)

"In the Summertime" is a song recorded in 1970 by the British pop-blues band Mungo Jerry. Written by the group's leader Ray Dorset, this song, which celebrates the carefree days of summer, reached the Number 1 position on charts around the world (including seven weeks in the UK), Number 1 for 2 weeks in Canada, and Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It is considered one of the highest selling singles of all time with an estimated 5-10 million copies sold. It was also the year-end top seller of 1970 in the UK singles chart.


"In the Summertime" was featured in the official soundtrack of the 2005 film, Wedding Crashers, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson
"In the Summertime" can be heard in the background of a scene in Mr. Deeds
"In the Summertime" is featured in the 1997 Welsh film Twin Town, directed by Kevin Allen, and starring Rhys Ifans and Dougray Scott
"In the Summertime" can be found at the beginning of the movie Drowning Mona
"In the Summertime" is featured in the 2008 film, An American Carol
"In the Summertime" is used in the UK version of Life On Mars, second series, second episode.
"In the Summertime" was used and modified as a Canadian commercial jingle for Kraft Barbecue Sauce in the 1980s.
"In the Summertime" is used in the TV show The Simpsons in Season 15, Episode 20: "The Way We Weren't".
"In the Summertime" is used in the TV show Only Fools and Horses in the episode It Never Rains...
"In the Summertime" was used in the TV show The Cleveland Show in Season 2, Episode 16: "The Way The Cookie Crumbles".

The Smiths - "How Soon Is Now?" (1984)

"How Soon Is Now?" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Smiths. Written by Smiths singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, it was originally a B-side of the 1984 single "William, It Was Really Nothing".


"How Soon Is Now?" was subsequently featured on the compilation album Hatful of Hollow and on American, Australian and Warner UK editions of the group's second album Meat Is Murder (1985). It was belatedly released as a single in the UK in 1985, where it reached number 24 on the UK Singles Chart.


Sire Records chief Seymour Stein called it "the 'Stairway to Heaven' of the Eighties", while co-writer Johnny Marr described it as "possibly our most enduring record. It's most people's favourite, I think." Despite its prominent place in The Smiths' repertoire, however, it is not generally considered to be representative of the band's style. Although a club favourite, "How Soon Is Now?" did not chart as well as writers Morrissey and Marr had expected. Most commentators put this down to the fact that the song had been out on vinyl in a number of forms before being released as a single in its own right. The original track runs for nearly seven minutes; however, the 7" single edit cut the length down to under four minutes. The complete version is generally used on compilations. The song has been widely praised for the artistry of its lyrics.


The song contains only one verse which is repeated twice, plus a chorus and a bridge. The subject is an individual who cannot find a way to break out of his shyness. Two couplets from the song are well known in pop culture, the opening to the verse: "I am the son, and the heir, of a shyness that is criminally vulgar / I am the son and heir, of nothing in particular", and the chorus: "I am human and I need to be loved / Just like everybody else does". The opening was adapted from a line in George Eliot's novel Middlemarch: "To be born the son of a Middlemarch manufacturer, and inevitable heir to nothing in particular". Music journalist Jon Savage commented that the song's lyrics were evocative of contemporary Manchester gay club culture.

Journey - "Lovin, Touchin', Squeezin' (1979)

Here's another classic that I was reintroduced to while watching Season I, Episode I of GLEE.


Evolution is the name of Journey's fifth studio album. It was released in April 1979 on the Columbia Records label.


The album was their highest charting album to date, selling three million copies in the United States. They retained Roy Thomas Baker as producer but drummer Aynsley Dunbar was replaced with Steve Smith, formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band.


Evolution features their first top 20 hit, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'", which was inspired by the classic Sam Cooke tune "Nothing Can Change This Love". "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" reached #16 in the United States. "Just the Same Way" featured original lead vocalist Gregg Rolie along with Steve Perry. "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" appears as part of "The Big Medley" on Dream Theater's EP, A Change of Seasons. The original recording of "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" appeared in the pilot episode of Glee and was used and recorded by the cast of Glee for a mash-up with "Any Way You Want It" for the first season finale.

REO Speedwagon - "I Can't Fight This Feeling" (1984)

I was on an Air France flight watching the first episode of GLEE (Season I) when I heard this song and remembered it. It went so well with the GLEE storyline and it's a ballad that many can easily identify with, so I had to share it here on the Daily Throwback.


"Can't Fight This Feeling" (often mistitled "Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" is a number-one power ballad from REO Speedwagon about a man falling in love with a girl with whom he has been friends for a long time.


The song first appeared on REO Speedwagon's 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. It was the group's second number-one hit on the U.S. charts (the first being 1981's "Keep on Loving You", also written by Kevin Cronin) and reached number sixteen in the UK.


"Can't Fight This Feeling" has appeared on dozens of 'various artists' compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums. It has also been featured on soundtracks of movies such as "Not Another Teen Movie", "Waiting...", and, most recently, "Kickin' It Old Skool" and "Sex Drive". The song was also heard on the South Park episode "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy", the Fringe episode "Power Hungry" as well as in the Showtime hit series Queer as Folk.


REO Speedwagon performed the song at the 1985 Live Aid concert and it was sung at the end of "Horton Hears a Who!". The song's popularity had a resurgence following a cover version by Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson) and the Glee Cast from the popular TV show "GLEE". It was referred to again recently in The CW show Supernatural (in the second season episode #5, "Simon Said", Jo Harvelle turns this song on for Dean Winchester in Harvelle's Roadhouse, later he sings it in the car claiming the song had stuck in his head). It was also featured prominently in advertising for the film Horton Hears a Who!, and sung by the major characters near the end of the movie as the titular character celebrates his vindication and his charges' salvation. It was also used in a Valentine's Day 2008-2009 commercial for Hallmark Cards. It was again featured in an early episode of King of the Hill when Dale marries Nancy.


Two different music videos exist for the song. One is a basic video, appearing almost homemade, featuring the band in the studio. It begins with Kevin Cronin playing the piano, attempting to find the key in which he can best sing the song (starting off in G major, he later decides he can sing it better in A). After Cronin exchanges some laughs with his bandmates, the song officially begins; the video essentially consists of the band members lip-synching to the original track of the song. It then concludes with Cronin uttering the line, "That warmed the cockles of my cockles!" The other version of the video is much more "professional," and makes various references to the life-cycle. Both videos have been shown at various times on VH1 Classic.

John Williams and Itzak Perlman - "Schindler's List Theme Song" (1993)

Schindler's List is the original soundtrack, on the MCA label, of the 1993 film Schindler's List starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes and Caroline Goodall.


The original score and songs were composed by John Williams, and features violin player Itzhak Perlman.


The album won the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for "Best Original Score" and the Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television". It was also nominated for a Golden Globe.

The Lightning Seeds - Pure (1989)

The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock and pop band from Liverpool, England formed by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer) in 1989.

In 1989 Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name Lightning Seeds and achieved success with the psychedelic and synthpop hit "Pure", from the album Cloudcuckooland, which reached the UK Top 20.  The same year "Joy" and "All I Want" were also released but failed to make an impression.

"Pure" had some success in the US Billboard Top 40 reaching #32.  Both "Pure" and "All I Want" also reached the Modern Rock Tracks top 10.

Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy (1989)

"She Drives Me Crazy" is a song recorded by the Fine Young Cannibals, included on their 1989 album The Raw and the Cooked. The song peaked at #5 as a single in the band's native UK in January 1989 (it was released on New Year's Day) before hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. on 15 April 1989. It appeared on The Raw and Cooked album the following month.

It also made number 3 on the Dutch Top 40. A remixed version was released in 1997.

The unique snare drum "pop" sound was created by recording the snare drum portion separately. A speaker was then placed on top of the snare drum, and a microphone below. The original recording of the snare drum part was played back through the speaker and re-recorded.