I Can See For Miles - The Who (1967)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1967, #98

The Who, for many years, were known to be the loudest rock band in the world. I Can See For Miles is a song deserves all that volume.

As you listen, picture Pete Townshend windmilling his arm around to play that driving chord; Roger Daltrey's piercing eyes and menacing voice escalating from a low growl to full crescendo, and Keith Moon's unrelenting drumbeat.

As the guy from Spinal Tap would say, turn this one up to 11.

Something - The Beatles (1969)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1969, #83 [Not Available on iTunes]

It had to be tough to be George Harrison. He was an accomplished guitarist, and a member of the greatest Rock N Roll band of all time. On the other hand, he was in the shadow of John and Paul, and struggled to get his songs recognized through that Lennon/McCartney juggernaut.

Still, George had his moments of greatness, and Something was one of them. It's as pure and simple a love song as you'll ever hear, yet it's intangibles set it above. The best part of the song is the bridge - simple but powerful.

With all the great music that The Beatles made, I suppose the one regrettable thing is that George didn't get to make more songs. At least we have Something.

Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones (1966)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1966, #21

The Rolling Stones were like The Beatles' evil twin: talented, British, R&B-influenced, and clearly not as loved. But they shared their dark side with their audience long before the Fab Four dared take such chances. Paint It Black is the perfect example, with sitar (actually influenced by George Harrison) running in minor chords and Mick Jagger's voice going from low and somber to loud and angry.

Revolution - The Beatles (1968)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1968, #78 [Not Available on iTunes]

"...but if you go carryin' pictures of Chairman Mao,
You ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow.

You know it's gonna be alright"

I think John Lennon was an amazing optimist. There was so much to be negative about, especially in 1968. And yet, John wrote a song that threaded hope and decency into the frustration and anger so many people endured at the time.

Revolution was also yet another brilliant Beatles song, with musicianship and melody, great rhythm, and rich vocals. Topping it all off is that rock-box guitar (done with studio tricks years before the actual device was invented).

For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield (1967)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1967, #27

If I had to pick the quintessential song of the late 1960s, this would be it. I wasn't born until 1970, but every time I hear this song it's like I'm there.

If you've every watched a documentary (or any number of films) set in the late 1960s, you know what I mean: Still photo slide shows of angry protesters, slow motion video of soldiers, some in black and white, some in faded color. Behind all these scenes is a melancholy blues guitar, ringing like the toll of a bell.

Cliche? Yes, but has any song ever more fused itself to a time and place? You can't tell the history of these years without this song, and you can't hear this song without thinking of the times it belongs to.

Alongside it's official place in our historical reference is the fact that it's an extraordinary song.

Respect - Aretha Franklin (1967)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1967, #13

Oh, Aretha. How do you do it? How do you make one song an R&B legend, an anthem of the Women's movement, and your very own signature song?

The Queen of Soul makes it look easy, doesn't she?

I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye (1969)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1969, #88

I was listening to Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through The Grapevine, trying to figure out what was so special about it. Gladys Knight and the Pips had a hit with the same song in 1968 - reaching #1, but Gaye's rendition made it his song above all others.

The best answer I could come up with is that Marvin's voice plays like an instrument: specifically, a saxophone. The raspy, higher pitch was the idea of his producer Norman Whitfield, and Gaye didn't like the idea at the time. But it works: listen, and imagine a saxophone, tuning out the words. You can hear the higher and the lower ranges bend the notes and make that vibrato sound. Nowadays, they use computerized sound techniques to achieve similar effects.

Beyond the technical, Marvin Gaye sings from the heart. Like a great actor, you forget you're hearing a performance, and instead hear and feel the character, identifying with him on a personal level.

It's so good, you won't even mind getting your heart broken by it.

Penny Lane - The Beatles (1967)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1967, #55 [Not Available on iTunes]

"Penny Lane??" you say. "Of all the great songs by the Beatles, you're picking Penny Lane? Are you mental?"

Okay, people: remember the rules. First, a song has to make the Billboard Top 100 for a year. So the vast majority of the Beatles' greatest songs don't qualify for your program. Second, you have everything The Beatles ever made anyway, so quit complaining.

Now that that's over with, pay attention: this is a brilliant musical work. Almost every other song on this list is competing with other songs on the Pop charts. Penny Lane is competing with Gershwin, Tchaikovsky and Mozart.

Have I gone off the deep end? Definitely. But try me: play it at a medium volume with no outside noises. Follow along with the strings, horns, piano and percussion: every instrument is woven into just the right place. And Paul McCartney's voice has never sounded more pristine.

Call me crazy ("You're crazy!"), but this is a beautiful song.

California Dreamin' - The Mamas and The Papas (1965)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1965, #4

Plenty of songs make you want to sing along. California Dreamin' makes you want to sing 'just the guys part' or 'just the girls part.' Think about it. You know - in the car - when it comes on, you're either a Mama or you're a Papa.

Now that it's on your iPod, you can rest your voice. Take some extra time to appreciate the harmonies, the musicianship, the lyrics - it's really a well-made song...

Alright, you can sing now. Just roll up the windows, please.

Five O'clock World - The Vogues (1966)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1965, #88

"You load 16 tons and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go -
I owe my soul to the company store!"

I haven't found proof, but it's a good bet the song Five O'clock World is inspired by the song 16 Tons (above). Hear the work-song background vocal and the line "livin' on money that I ain't made yet"

This is just a fun song, with a great musical sound, and a classic message dedicated to us working-class stiffs, scraping by but just lucky enough to have someone special to come home to.

Piece Of My Heart - Big Brother and the Holding Co. (1968)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1968, #98

Before Alanis Morissette sang "You Oughta Know," and Pat Benetar sang "Heartbreaker," Janis Joplin taught women how to scream their anger and heartbreak at the top of their lungs.

Who is this crazy lady?? The opening of this song is almost frightening: "COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!!" But, Janis and her band immediately back off and she pleads earnestly "...didn't I make you feel like you were the only man?" For a moment, it's as if she can be reasoned with. The moment passes and the chorus returns in an outpouring so raw that it's almost joyful in its release.

Don't pass over the music that pulls this song together. It's pure Rock N' Roll - perfectly arranged to give the lady space when she needs to sing and wash over her when she needs to wail.

Now, if you were actually the guy stringing Janis along like that, you're a braver man than I am.

The Sounds Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel (1966)

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[1960-1969 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1966, #54

Don't think of the song, the music, or the melody. Don't sing; just read the words:

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision
That was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed
By the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops, fell
And echoed In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
...And whispered in the sounds of silence.

A great poem, with vibrant imagery, a challenging metaphor, a clever interaction between the first-person author and the subject of his dream ("vision").

Alright, you can reintroduce the melody. When Simon and Garfunkel sing this song it's more as if the song is being projected through them than sung by them.

Re-enter the music. Now, notice how it fits the words, starting with trepidation, as if in the dark, then opening up and getting more powerful, then demanding your attention as it reaches crescendo, and finally collapsing in futility, just as the last words are sung.

If you're a younger person just getting into this song for the first time, do yourself a favor: try not to listen to it so much that you ruin it. It took me twenty years to love it again.

House Of The Rising Sun - The Animals (1964)

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1964, #38

If you're a British Band, and you're going to cover an American Folk tune and convert it into a blues-rock masterpiece, you'd better have a pretty special singer as your front man.

Enter Eric Burdon, a 23-year-old from Newcastle, England who sounds like a 58-year-old from Biloxi.

Backing that formidable voice is an organ, which apparently Satan got to play as part of the deal.

There's no other explanation for such a voice and for such a song.

I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles (1964)

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1964, #95 [unavailable on iTunes]

I feel like an idiot. For someone who knows the Beatles as well as I do, how is it I thought I Saw Her Standing There was NOT written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. I thought it was a cover, like Twist and Shout. Dumb-ass.

But, but really - it's too polished for a Beatles's song, circa 1963. The bridge ("well my HEART went BOOM as I CROSSED that room...") sounds too much like it was written by a seasoned professional songwriter, not the 21-year-old McCartney with help from his 23-year-old band-mate.

I Saw Her Standing There proved the Beatles weren't just a teeny-bopper band. They could compete with the best songwriters of the era.

Musically, it demonstrated the same. Here were these kids making R&B as if they'd been doing it for years, going head-to-head with Motown... and winning.

You Really Got Me - The Kinks (1964)

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1964, #78

That sound you're hearing is called DISTORTION, and this would be a lesser song without it. You Really Got Me brings that desperation and urgency you ultimately see in the Animals, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin.

Van Halen covered this song in 1978 for one of their first hits, and again it sounded ahead of its time. I still meet people who think that's the original. It's almost like the Kinks created a song in 1964 specifically for what music was going to sound like in the 1980s.

Bonus Tracks: 1960s

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]
[1965-1969 Best Songs]

Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles (1960)
Stand By Me - Ben E. King (1961)
You've Really Got A Hold On Me - The Miracles (1963)
One Fine Day - The Chiffons (1963)
She's Not There - The Zombies (1964)
My girl - Temptations (1965)
King Of The Road - Roger Miller (1965)
Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan (1965)
Heart Full Of Soul - Yardbirds (1965)
The Tracks Of My Tears - Miracles (1965)
Soul Man -Sam and Dave (1967)
Hey Jude - The Beatles (1968)
Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel (1968)
Lady Madonna - The Beatles (1968)
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
Get Back - The Beatles (1969)

(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas (1963)

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1963, #32

Think of (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave as the female counterpart to Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls of Fire.

It's one of the first mainstream female performances that really exudes sexuality. When Martha Reeves sings:

"has my blood pressure got a hold on me | Or is this the way love's supposed to be?"

...she's doesn't need to cut back on the salt. That's a mating call.

After this song became a hit, female artists began to express themselves more freely, and made better music. As another Martha would say: that's a good thing.

Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash (1963)

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1963: #80

You know that guy in the Dos Equis commercials - "The Most Interesting Man in the World?" He's a Johnny Cash fan. That's because The Man In Black is just cool. He's really too cool for country music.

Likewise, Ring of Fire is almost too cool a song to be a country song. Johnny says, "Yes, those are mariachi trumpets behind me. Is there a problem?"

"No sir."

His voice is like aged scotch. You may not be a whiskey drinker, but if somebody offers it to you, you don't turn it down.

Surfin' USA - The Beach Boys (1963)

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1963: #2

"If everybody had and ocean..."

Listening to this song for this list, it occurred to me for the first time that most people don't actually have an ocean, or at least one you can surf in. And it occurred to me that I, a Californian, sing that song first-person, if you will. The Beach Boys sound, and Surfin' USA specifically, is a California native sound. It didn't really inherit from anywhere else. Maybe there's a little Chuck Berry in the guitar, maybe there's some Polynesian influence in the rhythm, or maybe it all just came from outer space. Whatever it is, if you're not from here, it's not the same.

You could call it gloating. I call it appreciation.

1975-1979: Easy To Dance To

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An impatient friend asked recently, "When do we get to the Eighties??" Well, we're almost there. But I urge you, my fellow Eighties children, not to dismiss this era.

I've dug deep - sifting through a landfill of cheesy pop songs, mind-numbing rock, and gawd-awful Disco (yes, even DISCO!) - to retrieve these gems for you.

And in case you really do end up on a desert island with nothing but this music, at least, on your sad little island with the one palm tree, you'll be able to dance a little.

Not every song here is a dance song, but they have a tendency either be dance songs, or mention dancing in the lyrics. So, whether you're an American Bandstander, riding on the Soul Train, or holding out for Solid Gold, you won't be disappointed.

At Seventeen - Janis Ian (1975)
Mandy - Barry Manilow (1975)
Hotel California - Eagles (1977)
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac (1977)
Love Is Like Oxygen - Sweet (1978)
Dust In the Wind - Kansas (1978)
What a Fool Believes - Doobie Brothers (1979)
Shake Your Groove Thing - Peaches and Herb (1979)
September - Earth, Wind & Fire (1979)
Dance The Night Away - Van Halen (1979)

1970-1974: The Age of the Singer-Songwriter

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The 70s were referred to as the "Me" generation, which wasn't meant to be a compliment. After the turmoil of the late Sixties, many became disillusioned. Idealism gave way to introspection.

What grew out of this were the singer-songwriters, who sometimes created self-absorbed, sappy junk. But often enough, they wrote personal, poignant, compelling songs that individuals could relate to, thus turning "Me" into "Us."

Despite this shift, Rock is as strong as ever on the charts, and Funk steps into the limelight as well. In these genres, songs get longer and more complex. Are they better? Judge for yourself:

Fire And Rain - James Taylor (1970)

Lola - The Kinks (1970)

Riders On The Storm - The Doors (1971)

Woodstock - Crosby, Stills and Nash (1971)

I Just Want To Celebrate - Rare Earth (1971)

Rocket Man (I Think It's Gonna Be A Long, Long Time) - Elton John (1972)

You Don't Mess Around With Jim - Jim Croce (1972)

Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - The Temptations (1973)

Superstition - Stevie Wonder (1973)

Radar Love - Golden Earring (1974)

Shop Around - Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (1961)

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1961: #24

What's special about Shop Around is what's special about Motown Records. Unlike just about every other label, Motown wasn't relying on acceptance of their sound from white audiences. This allowed the producers and the artist the freedom to express themselves.

Compare this song to Save The Last Dance For Me, which also great, but just more buttoned-down, more conservative. Shop Around lets loose; it's free, and soulful and raw, and yet just as well-produced, with great harmonies and musicianship.

In the end, all of America loved it anyway.

Table Of Contents

INTRODUCTION

1960-1964: From Motown to the British Invasion

1965-1969: Revolution

1960s Bonus Tracks

1970-1974: The Age Of The Singer-Songwriter

1975-1979: Easy To Dance To

1970s Bonus Tracks

1980-1984: Fashion Statement

1985-1989: Larger Than Life

1980s Bonus Tracks

1990-1994: New World Order

1995-1999: The Cool Kids
 
1990s Bonus Tracks

2000-2004: Hip-Hop In Its Heyday

2005-2009: The Pop Renaissance

2000s Bonus Tracks

Epilogue

Hit The Road, Jack - Ray Charles (1961)

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1961: #19

If Hit The Road, Jack were a song in the 2000s, it would be a Hip-Hop song featuring Beyonce and Jay-Z. And it would dominate...maybe without even changing the words. It's just that good.

The movie Ray almost implies that Ray Charles wrote the song himself, which isn't true. But, still, watch the scene of that song being arranged and you get a feel for the raw power of it. The combination of the driving beat and that infectious chorus makes this song one of the very best ever.

Save the Last Dance For Me - The Drifters (1960)

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[1960-1964 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1960: #26

The Drifters - in those days led by Ben E. King - just sound good. Their melodies, harmonies, rhythm and style closed the door on the rockabilly and bubble gum of the 1950s, and set a new standard in songwriting. This is what became the formula for R&B for the next decade.

Save The Last Dance For Me might make some think of Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree, but it's much more. The rhythm has that vacation-in-the-Caribbean feel, and Ben E King's vocals are rich and complex. Most important, this song's hook ("...but don't forget who's takin' you home...") could take down a heavyweight fighter.

On top of all this is a clever and poetic lyric born out of a poignant story. From Wikipedia: "The song is likely based on the personal experience of songwriter (Doc) Pomus, who had polio and used crutches to get around and could not dance. His wife, however, was a Broadway actress and dancer. The song gives his perspective of plaintively telling his wife to have fun dancing, but reminds her who will be taking her home and 'in whose arms you're gonna be.'"

1965-1969: Revolution

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The late Sixties experienced one of the greatest cultural shifts ever to happen in such a short time. Civil rights, women's liberation, sexual revolution, war protest, a generation gap, and a growing anti-establishment sentiment all converged. The music of the era reflects this new reality, and the sound of the counter-culture shook the pop chart to its core.

Still, the late Sixties wasn't all folk and protest songs. Pop music was just as often an escape from strife, and the public still demanded their songs be fun, uplifting, and even happy.

The late Sixties set the bar for great music so much higher. The hits of the era were so good, I became overwhelmed trying to cut it down to 20 songs, let alone 10 or 12.

I present the best of the best:

California Dreamin' - The Mamas and The Papas (1965)
Five O'clock World - The Vogues (1966)
Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones (1966)
The Sounds Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel (1966)
Penny Lane - The Beatles (1967)
I Can See For Miles - The Who (1967)
Respect - Aretha Franklin (1967)
For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield (1967)
Revolution - The Beatles (1968)
Piece Of My Heart - Big Brother and the Holding Co. (1968)
I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye (1969)
Something - The Beatles (1969)

1960-1964: From Motown to the British Invasion

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The 1950s may have seen the birth of Rock and Roll, but 1960 is when it learned to walk. Motown broke music's color barrier, and lit fires across the Atlantic. British bands copied Black American R&B, bringing it back here, and White American music in turn ended up copying the British.

But I'm a poor excuse for a historian (also: bad at golf). Here are the cream of the crop for the early sixties:

Save The Last Dance For Me - The Drifters (1960)
Hit The Road, Jack - Ray Charles (1961)
Shop Around - Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (1961)
Surfin' USA - The Beach Boys (1963)
Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash (1963)
(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas (1963)
I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles (1964)
House Of The Rising Sun - The Animals (1964)
You Really Got Me - The Kinks (1964)

1960s Bonus Tracks

INTRODUCTION

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Welcome to the iPod Improvement Project!

Should you choose to join (okay, "read"), you'll be adding up to 100 new songs to your iPod, which will hopefully make it better.

Here's the idea: I've sifted through the Billboard Top 100 (end-of-year) chart for each of the last 50 years, and picked out the very best 100 songs. All you have to do is go to your favorite *legal* site and go download them. I've gone to great lengths NOT to include "Seasons In The Sun," Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Macarena," "Achey Breaky Heart," and "Hollaback Girl," since I expect you already have these.

I've broken my list up into five year "eras" and given each a theme (just for some historical context), but oddly, the songs don't seem care what I named the era.

To qualify for my list, songs need to have appeared on the Billboard POP chart for the YEAR. This means lots of great songs you can think of don't qualify. Here's where I've found the charts: http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php (my sincerest thanks to Pedro, for maintaining this list - there's no way I could make do any of this without his chart).

The songs are not all "Pop". Many are R&B, Rock, Punk, Country, etc. However, they MUST be on the pop chart to qualify. The songs are not ranked; I'm not going to compare a song from 1963 to one from 2005 - go make your own list if you want that.

All the other qualifications are subjective. But what I looked for are the best blending of melody, lyrics, rhythm, structure, "hooks" and creativity.

Why these criteria? Because songs that are both great and a huge hit are special. They fought their way through so much garbage and demanded to be heard. In other words, before you can "stand the test of time," you had to stand out in the first place.

What are my qualifications? Err, none. I do have deep love for great songs and a "near" impartiality over genre. I did take classes in college on songwriting, and I have written a few songs in my life (none any good, sadly).

If you're under 30, and you haven't delved much into 60s and 70s music, or if you're over 40, and you stopped paying attention some time in the 90s, this is a chance to seek out great new (and old) music for your collection.

There are better songs than these (because too many of you were buying copies of "I Got You Babe," apparently), but this list is not about that eleventh track on the original vinyl of The Velvet Underground you have in your attic. It's about HITS that happen to also be great songs. Now shut up and start downloading!

May your iPod once again smell as fresh as your first download.

-Talf

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