Pop Music: Songs

See also Signature Tunes.

Songs

American country standard: first recorded in 1972 by Gwen McCrae; UK No. 9 for Elvis Presley in 1972; the Pet Shop Boys' Elvis tribute version was UK Christmas No. 1 in 1987, and voted the best cover of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners in 2014		Always On My Mind
Written by Robbie Williams and his regular songwriting partner Guy Chambers: released in 1997, Williams's best–selling single (1.16 million copies); won a 2005 poll as as the song people in the UK would most like to be played at their funeral (My Way was 2nd, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life 3rd)		Angels
Popular Scottish song: written in 1835 by Alicia Scott, based on a poem attributed to William Douglas (c. 1672–1748); opening line "Maxwelton's braes are bonnie"		Annie Laurie
Saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft (born 1954, probably in Stoke–on–Trent) is most associated with (track recorded in 1978)		Baker Street
Joni Mitchell song after which Bill & Hillary Clinton named their daughter		Chelsea Morning
Written by Roy Orbison for his wife, whom he married in 1957; recorded in 1958 by the Everly Brothers, backing All I Have to Do is Dream (a double A–side); the record gave them their first UK No. 1		Claudette
Barry Manilow 1978 hit: based on Chopin's Prelude No. 20 (especially in its intro); also a hit for Donna Summer in 1976 and Take That (No. 3 in 1992, without the Chopin intro)		Could It Be Magic
Words written in 1910 (by English lawyer Frederick Weatherly) to the traditional Irish tune Londonderry Air		Danny Boy
Kinks song, re–released in 1996 after featured in a Yellow Pages advert		Days
Hit for Wink Martindale in 1959, 1969, 1963, 1973, and Max Bygraves in 1973		Deck of Cards
Written by Leon Russell, taken into the charts by Joe Cocker; said to have been inspired by the singer Rita Coolidge		Delta Lady
Song from The Wizard of Oz (sung by the Munchkins): reached No. 2 in the UK charts in 2013 (to the dismay of some of the performers), following the death of a certain public figure		Ding–Dong! The Witch is Dead
No. 1 for Tommy Roe in 1969, Vic Reeves and the Wonder Stuff in 1991		Dizzy
Hit for Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes in 1976, Thelma Houston in 1977, The Communards in 1986 (Houston's version remixed in 1995)		Don't Leave Me This Way
Fleetwood Mac song: used as a theme tune in Bill Clinton's 1991 Presidential campaign, and by David Cameron at Conservative Party conferences		Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)
David Cameron claimed, on Desert Island Discs (2006) that his party piece, and the only song he knew all the words to, was		Ernie
Rupert Holmes' biggest hit (1979) – a.k.a. "the Pina Colada Song"		Escape
No. 1 for the Bangles in 1989 and Atomic Kitten in 2001		Eternal Flame
Hit for Ken Boothe, Bread and Boy George		Everything I Own
Final track on David Bowie's 1975 album Young Americans, and the second single from it: John Lennon received a writing credit and sang backing vocals; later regarded as one of his best songs		Fame
Composed by Hoagy Carmichael, has been recorded by dozens of artists including Ray Charles and Willie Nelson; "official state song" of the state that shares its name		Georgia
Bossa Nova classic: words by Vinicius de Morales, music by Tom Jobin; first recorded in English by Stan Getz, Jobin and João Gilberto, with vocals by Gilberto's then wife Astrud; said to be the second most recorded pop song in history, after Paul McCartney's Yesterday		The Girl from Ipanema
Conceived by George Martin for the 1960 film The Millionairess, starring Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers; music by David Lee, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer (of Les Misérables fame); not included in the film, but was a No. 5 hit; title used for a BBC TV comedy sketch show (1996–8)		Goodness Gracious Me
Marvin Gaye song (1977: US No. 1, UK No. 7), over which his family successfully sued Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke (to the tune of over $7 million) for plagiarism in Blurred Lines (2013 – a multiple–platinum No. 1 all around the world)		Got to Give it Up
Propaganda song, written by Woody Guthrie in 1941, inspired by and named after an American engineering project; a UK top ten hit for Lonnie Donegan in 1958		Grand Coulee Dam
Written by Buck Ram, manager of the Platters, who had a UK Top Ten hit (and a US No. 1) with it in 1955; also a UK Top Ten hit for Freddie Mercury in 1987, and reputedly inspired the name of a British–American rock band formed in March 1978		The Great Pretender
Hit for the Mindbenders in 1966; No. 1 for Phil Collins after he sang it in Buster		Groovy Kind of Love
Written by sisters Patty and Mildred Hill – to be sung in the Kindergarten where Patty was a teacher – and first published in 1893; copyrighted in 1935 by the Summy Company, which was bought by Warner/Chappell Music in 1988 – thought to contribute 20% of the purchase price of $25 million; came out of copyright in the EU in 2017, and (following a 2013 lawsuit in which Warner/Chappell were successfully sued for unlawfully claiming copyright) was deemed in 2016 to have also done so in the USA		Happy Birthday To You
From the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical South Pacific – a UK No. 1 hit for Captain Sensible in 1982		Happy Talk
"It's down at the end of Lonely Street ... "		Heartbreak Hotel
Song recorded by Wings, released as a single in the UK and elsewhere but on the Band on the Run album in the USA: named after Paul McCartney's Land Rover		Helen Wheels
Single–word title that links Lionel Richie (1993), The Beloved (1990), Oasis (1995) and Adele (2015)		Hello
Music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Sammy Cahn: sung by Frank Sinatra and child actor Eddie Hodges in the 1959 film A Hole in the Head; won the Oscar for Best Original Song; lyrics include an ant moving a rubber tree plant		High Hopes
Traffic's biggest hit (UK No. 2, 1967); also No. 2 in 1984, credited to "Neil"		Hole In My Shoe
Sung by Margaret Thatcher in a pre–recorded video for the 1990 Brit awards – she claimed it was her favourite pop song		(How much is) That Doggie in the Window
New Seekers hit 1971, based on a Coca Cola advert first aired earlier that year: Oasis were successfully sued for plagiarising it in Shakermaker		I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (in perfect harmony)
Song from Les Misérables that made Susan Boyle famous		I Dreamed a Dream
Music Hall song written in 1910 by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston: signature song of the music hall star Harry Champion; a No. 1 hit in the USA for Herman's Hermits in 1965		I'm Henry VIII, I Am
John Lennon song: written, recorded and released as a single in ten days (Jan/Feb 1970); features the memorable chorus line "We all shine on"		Instant Karma!
Written in 1912 by West Midlands–born Music Hall artiste Jack Judge – reputedly in 24 hours, to win a 5/- (five shilling) bet		It's a Long Way to Tipperary
UK No. 34 for Betty Everett in 1968; No. 1 for Cher in 1991 (with the title and subtitle swapped round) after she sang it in the film Mermaids		It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)
1984 Queen single: controversial video featuring band members in drag (said to be a parody of Coronation Street) – banned by MTV in the USA until 1991		I Want to Break Free
Whitney Houston: best–selling song by a female artiste in the 20th century		I Will Always Love You
Donovan hit (UK No. 5 in 1968): final verse was sung in French ("Dort–elle? Je ne crois pas ... ")		Jennifer Juniper
Chuck Berry song included on the Voyager 1 "Golden Record" (1977)		Johnny B. Goode
Written by Harry Lauder following the death of his son, in action in World War I; adopted by fans of Birmingham City FC as their "anthem", during their FA Cup run in 1956 (they lost the final)		Keep Right On to the End of the Road
The Cure's first single – inspired by Albert Camus's The Outsider		Killing an Arab
Abba song that gave its name to Alan Partridge's spoof chat show		Knowing Me, Knowing You
Written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film Follow the Fleet, in which it featured in a celebrated dance duet by Astaire & Rogers; also what Angela Rippon danced to on the Morecambe & Wise Show		Let's Face the Music and Dance
Written as a poem in 1915 by a German schoolteacher conscripted into the German army; set to music in 1938; became popular with troops on both sides in the Second World War, after the German forces' radio station began playing it to sign off each evening		Lili Marleen
Written in 1869 by Joseph Eastburn Winner, as a drinking song: became a classic of the Big Band era after being recorded in 1939 by the Glenn Miller Orchestra		Little Brown Jug
Kylie Minogue's first hit – No. 2 in 1962 for Little Eva		The Locomotion
Words written in 1858 by Adelaide Anne Proctor, and published in The English Woman's Journal; tune composed in 1877 by Sir Arthur Sullivan, at the deathbed of his brother Fred		The Lost Chord
R'n'B standard: written in 1955 by the African–American singer Richard Berry, best known through a version recorded in 1963 by the American "garage rock" group The Kingsmen, which reached No. 2 in the USA and No. 26 in the UK		Louie Louie
Top 10 hit for The Toys (1965): based on the Minuet in G, traditionally attributed to J. S. Bach, but established in the 1970s to be by his contemporary and fellow German, Christian Petzold		A Lover's Concerto
Song from the Threepenny Opera (words Bertholt Brecht, music Kurt Weill) that was a hit for Bobby Darin in 1959		Mack the Knife
1975: replaced a song whose lyrics prominently featured its title as UK No. 1		Mamma Mia (Abba)
Originally written in French by Claude Francois and Jacques Revaux as Comme d'habitude		My Way
U2's first UK hit single (reached No. 10 in 1983): inspired by the Polish trade union movement Solidarity		New Year's Day
Dolly Parton and Sheena Easton had hits in 1981 with two different songs of the same title (both reached No. 1 in the USA)		9 to 5
Co–written and recorded by Red Foley (1933); sung by Elvis Presley at his first public performance (1945, aged 10); also Clinton Ford's first UK hit (No. 27, 1959)		Old Shep
Recorded by Whitney Houston as the theme of the 1988 (Seoul) Olympics		One Moment in Time
Hit for Yazoo in 1982 and The Flying Pickets in 1983		Only You
Title of hit songs for Cliff Richard (1964), Chris Rea (1986, 1988) and York (2004)		On the Beach
Enya's only UK No. 1 – often referred to as Sail Away		Orinoco Flow
Popular Neapolitan song, composed 1898, whose tune was used for Elvis Presley's It's Now or Never and also for Just One Cornetto		O Sole Mio
Elton John hit, said to have been inspired by Billie Jean King and named after her tennis team		Philadelphia Freedom
No. 1 in the UK for Frankie Goes to Hollywood (Dec 1984) and Jennifer Rush (Oct 1985), and in the US for Huey Lewis & the News (Aug 1985 – UK top ten): same title, three different songs		The Power of Love
Jackie Paper was the best friend of		Puff the Magic Dragon
1981 Blondie single: features an extended rap section, often named as the first rap single to achieve mainstream chart success		Rapture
Based on Psalm 137, and the last verse of Psalm 19; written by Jamaican reggae band The Melodians in 1972, popularised by Boney M in 1987		Rivers of Babylon
Recorded in March 1951 by Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm, featuring Turner on piano; credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (Brenston was the saxophonist and occasional singer with the Kings of Rhythm); named after an Oldsmobile car, introduced 1949; often described as the first rock 'n' roll record. Essentially written by Turner and Brenston; the decision to credit Brenston seems to have been made by producer Sam Phillips		Rocket 88
The first UK Top Ten hit for the White Stripes, and arguably their biggest hit of all: its riff has been used as a sports anthem, and perhaps most famously by supporters of Jeremy Corbyn (one–time leader of the UK's Labour Party)		Seven Nation Army
Oasis's second single (No. 11 in 1994), for which Noel Gallagher was successfully sued to the tune of £270,000 for plagiarism (of I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing) by the New Seekers		Shakermaker
Traditional American folk song, about a fur trader's love for the daughter of the eponymous (real–life) Native American chief – who also shares his name with the river that flows into the Potomac at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia		(Oh) Shenandoah
1966 hit for the Beach Boys (US No. 3, UK No. 2): based on a Bahamian folk song transcribed in 1916 by the English poet and writer Richard Le Gallienne (and included in Carl Sandburg's 1927 collection The American Songbag)		Sloop John B
Classic Deep Purple track, with an iconic guitar riff: based on the true story of a fire that occurred in 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland (on the shore of Lake Geneva) – while the band were preparing to record an album there		Smoke on the Water
Palindromic title by a palindromic band (no. 1 in 1975)		S.O.S. (Abba)
Booker T. & the MGs hit used as theme for BBC TV cricket		Soul Limbo
Bee Gees song (from the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever): often said to be ideal for performing cardio–pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – 104 beats per minute (bpm)		Stayin' Alive
Recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939: its two–word title completes the opening line, "Southern trees bear a ... "		Strange Fruit
The cartoon character Scooby Doo is often said to be named after a nonsense phrase sung by Frank Sinatra in		Strangers in the Night
Originally recorded in 1932 by Ambrose and his Orchestra, with vocals by Sam Browne, and by the Henry Hall BBC Dance Orchestra with vocals by Val Rosing; used in the 1985 version of the musical Me and My Girl; caused controversy in 2014 when a listener complained after veteran BBC Radio Devon presenter David Lowe played the Ambrose version, not realising that it contained the lyric "He's been tanning niggers out in Timbuktu". Lowe was forced to resign, and although later offered his job back, he did not return		The Sun Has Got His Hat On
ABBA song (their 9th and last UK No. 1): namechecks a make of spotlight in its title, and the city of Glasgow in its first line		Super Trouper
Written by W. Axl Rose, reputedly for (i.e. about) Erin, the daughter of Don Everly – to whom he was briefly married		Sweet Child o' Mine
Theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters		Sweet Georgia Brown
Written in the mid–1970s by the Southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd as a rebuttal Neil Young, some of whose lyrics criticise attitudes to race in the southern United States		Sweet Home Alabama
Pop standard (introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film Going My Way, when it won the Oscar for Best Original Song): a Top Ten hit in the UK for Big Dee Irwin and Little Eva, in 1964		Swinging on a Star
D:Ream hit, used by Labour as a theme for its successful 1997 election campaign		Things Can Only Get Better
Rosemary Clooney hit of 1954, revived by Shakin' Stevens in 1981		This Ole House
David Guetta's 2011 No. 1: title is a metal with the atomic number 22		Titanium
American folk song, about a 22–year–old American civil war veteran who was hanged in 1868, for a murder that many claim he didn't commit: a UK top ten hit in 1958 for both Lonnie Donegan and the Kingston Trio		Tom Dooley
South African "street music" tune, played on a penny whistle: a No. 2 hit in April 1958 for Elias and his Zig Zag Jive Flutes and a No. 24 in July 1958 for Ted Heath and his Music; No. 6 in 1980 for the Piranhas, who added words, including the chorus "The whole thing's daft, I don't know why, you have to laugh or else you cry" (etc.); became a favourite on the football terraces		Tom Hark
Written by Pete Seeger, recorded by The Byrds: uses words from Ecclesiastes 3		Turn! Turn! Turn!
No. 1 for Jimmy Young (1955), Robson & Jerome (1995), Gareth Gates (2002); also No. 14 for the Righteous Brothers (1965), which was the version used in the film Ghost (1990). Various other versions have also charted		Unchained Melody
Originally by the Drifters (US No. 4, UK No. 45, 1964); UK No. 22 for Tom Tom Club (1982); UK No. 2 for Bruce Willis (1987)		Under the Boardwalk
Squeeze's second Top Ten single: inspired by a TV play by Nell Dunn, based on her book of short stories; the book, the play and the song all have the same title		Up the Junction
Aerosmith song, more famously covered by Run–DMC, inspired by an old music hall joke (reportedly after Aerosmith saw a version of it in Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein)		Walk this way
UK No. 2 hit of 1967, said to have been partly inspired by Terence Stamp and Julie Christie ("Terry meets Julie, Waterloo station, every Friday night")		Waterloo Sunset
US recording inspired by the UK's Do They Know it's Christmas – written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, produced by Quincy Jones, released in March 1985		We are the World
1969 single by Max Romeo, banned by the BBC		Wet Dream
Often said to be based on Bach's music; in fact, although reminiscent of Sleepers Awake and/or Air on a G string, not actually based on either		A Whiter Shade of Pale
Title given by US folk group The Weavers (featuring Pete Seeger) to a song written and originally recorded in South Africa in 1939, entitled Mbube (also known as The Lion Sleeps Tonight) based on a mis–hearing of its backing vocal line, "uyimbube" (oo–YIM–boo–beh) meaning "you're a lion" – also used by Karl Denver in his 1962 hit version		Wimoweh
Signature tune of the German rock band Scorpions: "a symbolic anthem of the political changes in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the fall of the Berlin Wall" (according to Wikipedia)		Wind of Change
Song from the musical Carousel, became a football anthem (for Liverpool FC) after it was a No. 1 hit for Gerry & the Pacemakers in 1963		You'll Never Walk Alone

The song by Chris Rea, entitled The Road to Hell, was reputedly written about the

M25

People

Layla: inspired by		Patti Boyd (Harrison)
Subject of Sting's Englishman in New York		Quentin Crisp
Hollywood actress whose eyes were mentioned in the title of Kim Carnes's first and biggest hit (UK No. 10, US No. 1, 1981)		Bette Davis
British actor, eponymous subject of a Madness hit (UK No. 11, 1984: "And all I wanted was a word, a photograph ... ")		Michael Caine
Hollywood actor who was waiting, according to the title of a Bananarama hit (UK No. 3, 1984)		Robert De Niro
Hollywood actor, eponymous subject of a Gorillaz single (UK No. 4, 2001)		Clint Eastwood
You're in my heart: written by Rod Stewart for		Britt Ekland
American Pie (Don McLean): "the day the music died" was the death of (dedicatee of the album of the same name, but not the song)		Buddy Holly
Historical character, eponymous subject of an OMD hit (UK No. 5, 1981 – opening line: "A little catholic girl who's fallen in love ...") – also mentioned in, and named in the subtitle of, their follow–up (Maid of Orleans – UK No. 4, 1982) which was the biggest–selling single of 1982 in Germany		Joan of Arc
Dancing with Mr. D (Rolling Stones): said to have been inspired by		Elton John
US–born actress, eponymous subject of Mika's biggest hit (2007: No. 1 in the UK and several other countries; in the US it went gold but only reached No. 57)		Grace Kelly
Philadelphia Freedom (Elton John) was about		Billie Jean King
Oh Carol: written by Neil Sedaka for		Carole King
Stevie Wonder's Happy Birthday and U2's Pride (in the name of love) were both written for		Martin Luther King
Killing me softly with his song (Roberta Flack) was about		Don McLean

Bee Gees songs

Five songs written by the Bee Gees, that were taken to the top of the charts by other artists.

No. 1 in 1986 for Diana Ross, with the Bee Gees singing backing vocals		Chain Reaction
No. 3 for the Bee Gees in 1977; No. 1 in 1996 for Take That		How Deep is Your Love
1983: No. 1 in the USA, Canada and Australia, but only No. 7 in the UK, for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton: named after a novel by Ernest Hemingway		Islands in the Stream
No. 1 for the Bee Gees in 1979; No. 1 in 1998 for Steps (as a double–A side with original track Heartbeat)		Tragedy
No. 1 in 1980 for Barbra Streisand (not recorded by the Bee Gees)		Woman in Love
The Bee Gees' 5th single release, in 1968 – reaching No. 8; became Boyzone's first No. 1, in 1996		Words

Songs used in Levi's Ads

Bad Company		Can't Get Enough
The Clash		Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
Eddie Cochran		C'mon Everybody
Marvin Gaye		I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Tom Waits song)		Heart Attack & Vine
B. B. King		Ain't Nobody Home
Ben E. King		Stand By Me
Steve Miller Band		The Joker
Muddy Waters		Mannish Boy
The Ronettes		Be My Baby
T. Rex		20th Century Boy
Percy Sledge		When a Man Loves a Woman

And finally ...

Don McLean, when asked what American Pie meant

It means I never have to work again.

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23