John Denver - "Rocky Mountain High" (1972)

"Rocky Mountain High" is a folk-rock song written by John Denver and Mike Taylor about Colorado, and is one of the two official state songs of Colorado. Recorded by Denver, it went to number nine on the US Hot 100 in 1973. The song also made #3 on the Easy Listening chart, and was played by some country music stations. Denver told concert audiences in the mid-1970s that the song took him an unusually long nine months to write. "Rocky Mountain High" is primarily inspired by John Denver's move to Aspen, Colorado, United States three years earlier and his love for the state. The seventh stanza makes a reference to destruction of the mountains' beauty by commercial tourism. The song was considered a major piece of 1970s pop culture, and became a well-associated piece of Colorado history. The song briefly became controversial that year when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission was permitted by a legal ruling to censor music deemed to promote drug abuse. Numerous radio stations cautiously banned the song until Denver publicly explained that the "high" was his innocent description of the sense of peace he found in the Rockies. In 1985, Denver testified before Congress in the Parents Music Resource Center hearings about his experience: This was obviously done by people who had never seen or been to the Rocky Mountains, and also had never experienced the elation, celebration of life, or the joy in living that one feels when he observes something as wondrous as the Perseid meteor shower on a moonless, cloudless night, when there are so many stars that you have a shadow from the starlight, and you are out camping with your friends, your best friends, and introducing them to one of nature's most spectacular light shows for the first time.

Neil Diamond - Shilo (1967)

"Shilo" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond. It was originally recorded in 1967 for Bang Records, but Diamond and Bang founder Bert Berns disagreed over Diamond's career path. The singer wanted to move away from his early teen-oriented pop type of recordings that Berns favored, which led to Berns' refusal to release the more introspective "Shilo" as a single, even though Diamond felt it was part of his development as an artist. "Shilo" was instead relegated to an album track on 1967's Just for You. Shortly after what was said to be a "tense" confrontation with Berns, Diamond departed Bang for Uni Records in 1968. Diamond went into a commercial slump, without hits. But by January 1970, his career had rebounded with "Sweet Caroline" and "Holly Holy" on Uni/MCA Records. Bang Records finally released "Shilo" as a single, albeit with a new backing track recorded to make it sound fresher and more like Diamond's current style. This reached number 24 on the U.S. pop singles chart in spring 1970, inspiring Bang to release a new Neil Diamond compilation album that year titled Shilo.

The Jackson Five - "One More Chance" (1970)

The B-side of the 45 record of I'll Be There was "One More Chance". "I'll Be There" was a soul song written by Berry Gordy, Bob West, Hal Davis, and Willie Hutch, which resulted in two U.S. #1 hit singles: the original 1970 recording by American vocal quintet The Jackson 5 and a 1992 live version by American R&B singers Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz. The Jackson 5 (also spelled The Jackson Five, or The Jackson 5ive), later known as The Jacksons, were an African American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana. Founding group members Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael formed the group after performing in an early incarnation called The Jackson Brothers, which originally consisted of a trio of the three older brothers. Active from 1964 to 1990, the Jacksons played from a repertoire of R&B, soul, pop and later disco. During their six-and-a-half-year Motown tenure, The Jackson 5 were one of the biggest pop-music phenomena of the 1970s, and the band served as the launching pad for the solo careers of their lead singers Jermaine and Michael, the latter brother later transforming his early Motown solo fame into greater success as an adult artist.

Julie Andrews, Irwin Kostal - "The Sound Of Music" (1965)

I took a hike in the Napa Valley hills on this day (September 28, 2011) and this song came to mind. “The Sound of Music” is the title song from The Sound of Music, composed by Richard Rodgers to lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally sung by Mary Martin in the 1959 stage musical of the same name. It was sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film, with a reprise by the Von Trapp family later in the film. The song introduces the character Maria, a young novice in an Austrian abbey. The song was ranked tenth in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest Songs in Movie History. The stage version of the song has a four-line vocal prelude ("My day in the hills has come to an end I know...) followed by the familiar "The hills are alive with the sound of music..." The film soundtrack and the soundtrack album have two different instrumental preludes to "The hills are alive..." both of which contain portions of the original vocal prelude. The cast album to the 1998 Broadway revival contains the four-line prelude as well as the instrumental prelude present in the film version. This version is also the same key as the film version.

Ivri Lider - "The Man I Love" (2006; orig from 1924)

"The Man I Love" is a popular standard, with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by his brother Ira. Originally part of the 1924 score for the Gershwin government satire Lady, Be Good as "The Girl I Love", the song was deleted from the show as well as from both the 1927 anti-war satire Strike Up the Band (where it first appeared as "The Man I Love") and 1928 Ziegfeld hit Rosalie after tryouts. As with many standards of the era, it has become more famous as an independent popular song than as one from a Broadway musical. Popular torch singer Helen Morgan first made the song into a big success. The best-known recording over the years of the crooner Vaughn De Leath (1894–1943) was perhaps the version of "The Man I Love" she sang with Paul Whiteman's Concert Orchestra for Columbia. Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Lena Horne recorded versions of this song, as did Ella Fitzgerald for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959). On this version, Ira Gershwin commented, "I didn't realize our songs were so good until Ella sang them". Hazel O'Connor recorded a version for her Smile album in 1984. The singer and actress Peg La Centra doubles Ida Lupino in the movie The Man I Love when Ida Lupino's character Petey Brown sings The Man I Love. Liza Minnelli (who is Ira Gershwin's god-daughter) performed the song in the 1977 film New York, New York. Cher recorded the song for her album Bittersweet White Light (1973). Diane Schuur recorded the song for her album In Tribute (1992). Barbra Streisand recorded the song for her album Back to Broadway (1993). In 1995, Tony Bennett recorded the song for his MTV Unplugged performance with lyrics revised by Ira Gershwin as "The Girl I Love". In 2000, the song was recorded by Omara Portuondo in the album Bueno Vista Social Club presents: Omara Portuondo, under the title El Hombre que yo Amé (The Man I Love). In 2006, Israeli musician Ivri Lider recorded a version of "The Man I Love" as a part of the soundtrack from the movie THE BUBBLE. Ivri Lider, born 10 February, 1974, is an Israeli pop rock singer-songwriter. He is one of the biggest-selling contemporary artists in Israeli music, and has won the Male Singer of the Year honor from major Israeli national and local radio stations since entering the Israeli music scene in the late 1990s. In 2008, Malian musician Rokia Traoré recorded the song for her album Tchamanché. She had previously performed it in 2005 as a duet with Dianne Reeves. In April 2011, Edna Goren, the First Lady of Jazz in Israel, performed the song in a jazz concert at "Club Hed" in Tel Aviv, with new Hebrew lyrics by Chaim Keinan. Django Reinhardt also played a version of this song. As Omara Portuondo , who named it "El Hombre Que Yo Amé". The song also appeared on Vassilikos's first solo album Vintage.

The Andrews Sisters - "In The Mood" (1937)

"In the Mood" is a big band era #1 hit recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. Joe Garland and Andy Razaf arranged "In the Mood" in 1937-1939 using a previously existing main theme composed by Glenn Miller before the start of the 1930s. Miller's "In the Mood" did not top the charts until 1940 and one year later was featured in the movie Sun Valley Serenade. "In the Mood" opens with a now-famous sax section theme based on repeated arpeggios that are rhythmically displaced; trumpets and trombones add accent riffs. The arrangement has two solo sections; a "tenor fight" solo—in the most famous recording, between Tex Beneke and Al Klink—and a 16-bar trumpet solo. The arrangement is also famous for its ending: a coda that climbs triumphantly, then sounds a simple sustained unison tonic pitch with rim shot. The Andrews Sisters were a prolific and highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras, consisting of three actual sisters: LaVerne, Maxene and Patty – LaVerne Sophia, contralto and redhead (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967); Maxene Angelyn, soprano and brunette (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995); and Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews, mezzo-soprano, lead singer, and blonde (born February 16, 1918). Their harmonies and songs are still influential today, and have been covered by entertainers such as Bette Midler, the Puppini Sisters and Christina Aguilera. Throughout their long career, the sisters sold well over 75 million records (the last official count released by MCA Records in the mid-1970s). The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. Their hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early example of rhythm and blues or jump blues.

djisar's Top 10 House Hits of 2011

Here rounds off my list of the 2011 best electro and progressive house tracks. I spent a good amount of deliberation on this list; I hope you all enjoy!


Honorable Mention #2) Britney Spears - I Wanna Go (DJ Frank E & Alex Dreamz Remix)





Honorable Mention #1) Calvin Harris - Feel So Close (Nero Remix)

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#10) Kaskade ft. Mindy Gledhill - Eyes





#9) Kaskade - Turn It Down





#8) Alex Metric & Steve Angello - Open Your Eyes ft. Ian Brown





#7) Nero - Me & You (Dirtyphonics Remix)





#6) Kelly Osbourne - One word (Chris Cox Remix)





#5) Morgan Page, Sultan + Ned Shepard, and BT - In the Air feat. Angela McCluskey





#4) Calvin Harris - Bounce feat. Kelis





#3) Avicii - Levels





#2) Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go - Cinema (Skrillex Remix)





#1) Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks (The Knocks Remix)

Ruby and The Romantics - Our Day Will Come (1963)

"Our Day Will Come" is a popular song composed by Bob Hilliard and Mort Garson which was a #1 hit in 1963 for Ruby & The Romantics. The song's composers were hoping to place "Our Day Will Come" with an established easy listening act and only agreed to let the new R&B group Ruby & the Romantics record the song after Kapp Records A&R director Al Stanton promised that if the Ruby & the Romantics' single failed Kapp would record the song with Jack Jones. Stanton cut two versions of "Our Day Will Come" with Ruby & the Romantics, one with a mid-tempo arrangement and the other in a bossa nova style; the latter version, featuring a classic Hammond organ solo, was selected for release as a single in December 1962 to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March. A #1 R&B hit, "Our Day Will Come" was also a chart item in Australia (#11) and the UK (#38).

Three Dog Night - 'Joy To The World' (1971)

"Joy to the World" is a song written by Hoyt Axton, and made famous by the band Three Dog Night. The song is also popularly known by its opening words, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog". Three Dog Night originally released the song on their fourth studio album, Naturally in November 1970 (see 1970 in music) and subsequently released an edited-version of the song as a single in February 1971. The song, which has been descibed by members of Three Dog Night as a "kid's song" and a "silly song", topped the main singles charts in North America, was certified gold by the RIAA, and has since been covered by multiple artists. Some of the words are nonsensical. Axton wanted to convince his record producers to record a new melody he had written and the producers asked him to sing any words to the tune. A member of Three Dog Night said that the original lyrics to the song was "Jeremiah was a prophet" but "no one liked that". When Hoyt Axton performed the song to the group, two of the three main vocalists – Danny Hutton and Cory Wells – rejected the song, but Chuck Negron felt that the band needed a "silly song" to help bring the band back together as a working unit. Chuck also feels that the song "wasn't even close to our best record, but it might have been one of our most honest." The song was recorded by Three Dog Night at American Recording Company, produced by Richard Podolor, and engineered by Bill Cooper. Unlike most Three Dog Night songs recorded at that point, instead of having just the three main vocalists singing harmony, the song was recorded with all seven members of the band singing.

Tommy James and The Shondells - I Think We're Alone Now (1967)

"I Think We're Alone Now" is a song written by Ritchie Cordell. It was initially a 1967 hit for the American recording artists Tommy James & the Shondells, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song has since been covered several times by other artists. In 1987, a version of the song by Tiffany reached #1 on the charts of various countries including the U.S., the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. Other cover versions have also charted as well, including those by The Rubinoos (#45 US, 1977) and Girls Aloud (#4 UK, 2006).