1,001 songs to listen to before you die...

[Liam]

34.   

‘Nature Boy’, The Nat King Cole Trio (1948)

Another song that I assumed I’d never heard of before, yet was instantly reminded of my fore knowledge of it within the opening lyrics. This was Nat King Cole moving from a singing pianist to more of a front and centre vocalist (someone else played the piano on the recording). The selling point of Cole at the time was the quality of his vocals and the clearness of his diction, making him a black artist who was enjoyed by white folk – a difficult thing during this time period. The addition of flutes and strings gives it an otherworldly tone that beautifully fits the lyrics. One of the best songs thus far; it sounds so little like anything that has come before it.

35.     

‘Saturday Night Fish Fry’, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five (1949)

A narrative about a police raid on a New Orleans house party was a perfect slice of Louis Jordan’s take on R&B (or so the book says). Boogiewoogie, a rhythm section, a horn riff and a comic narrative all comes together to create a swinging song. This is also perhaps the first time that we hear an electric guitar within the songs thus far, a herald of the soon-to-arrive rock and roll. Apparently and somewhat ironically, it was rock and roll that caused Jordan to struggle to return to the top of the charts after what had been a decade churning out hit after hit. Its playfulness and bouncing melody make it an easy listen today.

36.      

‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’, Hank Williams

This was a song that I assumed I’d know the moment I heard it, just due to how I’d heard of the song and the singer before, but seemingly not. The narrative behind Williams’ life (and death) seemed to give this more resonance as he wryly explored the end of his marriage that was in part caused by alcohol and drug abuse. Such heart on sleeve lyrics are engaging even now, whilst it perhaps isn’t surprising to hear that the song was originally intended as poem. The simple, stark arrangement just does enough to make it musical, though the lyrics are the star here.

[MalaCloudy Black]

As far as Ol' Hank goes, I'm more partial to "Jambalaya" and "Your Cheatin' Heart". Doesn't take away from "I'm  So Lonesome..", though, which is still a great tune.

[Malenko]

Nice selection. I'm expecting a few years of good songs. At least until the sixties. All bias, I know.

[VerbalPuke]

5 hours ago, How The Cloud Stole Christ said:

As far as Ol' Hank goes, I'm more partial to "Jambalaya" and "Your Cheatin' Heart". Doesn't take away from "I'm  So Lonesome..", though, which is still a great tune.

I love Hank, I like Lovesick Blues from Shawshank Redemption. 

Oh, I listened to that Rum and Coke song by Lord Invader and really like it. Think that will be the next musical rabbit hole I fall into.

[GoGo Yubari]

"Saturday Night Fish Fry" was the first song I had never heard before in this book that I immediately went "oh, fuck, I need this in my music library." I love the groove of that song and the lyrics are genuinely funny in a way I think a lot of songs like that aren't.

[Liam]

37.      

 ‘Autumn Leaves’, Jo Stafford (1950)

Another favourite of the troops apparently, Stafford offers a melancholy, yet always sultry take on the end of a relationship. This was originally a French song, though found greater success when repurposed and with English lyrics attached to it. A jazz standard that I don’t quite get the overall value of in terms of this list, but Stafford definitely has a cracking voice.

38.      

  'Summertime’, Sarah Vaughan (1950)

From a controversial musical Porgy and Bess (judged by some to sustain negative stereotypes about African American people), ‘Summertime’ was designed to sound somewhat like the black spirituals and folk songs. The reverberating tone of Vaughan’s vocals coupled with the plucked guitar strings offers a somewhat sinister undertone to the whole song, contrasting with what sound like ultimately positive lyrics. Vaughan’s range is very impressive and is the real star of the song.

39.      

 'Goodnight, Irene’, The Weavers (1950)

A song that the Weavers learned direct from Lead Belly (with it also being the song that saw Lead Belly sing his way out of prison if legend is to be believed), ‘Goodnight, Irene’ is a polished up version of an older song that omits some of its original darker lyrical moments. The singing in chorus gives the … ahem, chorus a sense of power that would have made this a song I can imagine people singing along to with gusto. It explains its popularity for me, alongside the omission of lyrics pertaining to suicide. It became fun for all the family and the success of it primarily seems to land it its spot on this list.

[Malenko]

I believe this was the set I enjoyed the least. I do agree with you though. Sarah Vaughan's voice is impressive. Her song is also the one I've heard the most out of these three, and unlike many others on this list, I've done it on purpose! 

[GoGo Yubari]

On 06/01/2020 at 23:28, GoGo Yubari said:

That Lead Belly choice isn't the most obvious one, IMO, that would be "In the Pines" or "Goodnight Irene."

oh right. I never got to the '90s in this book but it would make me laugh really hard if Nirvana's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" made it in too.

[Liam]

40.      

 ‘Mambo No. 5’, Pérez Prado (1950)

A move from Cuba to Mexico did Prado’s career the world of good as appearances in Mexican films largely contributed to his popularity and the wider popularity of ‘mambo’. A funky little tune that many will know better as the backdrop for Lou Bega’s “cover”, it mixes blaring trumpets and saxophones with intense percussion, all supported by the occasional ‘dilo’ shout by Prado (meaning ‘give out’ or say it’). It is another song that feels somewhat at odds with the music that has come so far; an aural assault, but a not entirely unpleasant one.

41.      

‘Rocket 88’, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (1951)

With the eventual Ike Turner on piano, this is largely considered to be the first rock and roll song. The distorted fuzzy noise that came from the guitar was apparently paper stuffed into the speaker cone to offset a rip caused during the journey to the studio. Whatever it was, it all adds up to a really good song that does feel like a step forward along the road towards the rock and roll that would be coming out in the 50s and 60s. Brenston has an engaging melody to his voice and the Delta Cats offer a bouncing backdrop to go alongside it.

42.      

‘Cry’, Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads (1951)

Johnnie Ray can’t sing, but he could definitely emote. According to the book, his frail appearance alongside the presence of a hearing aid gave him a weakness that was endearing to his fanatic fans, fans who loved emotional songs such as ‘Cry’. What interests me more is the production of the song – it feels like one of the first to attempt to use various effects to offset the less than stellar performance of the vocalist, at least in the conventional terms.

Edited January 15, 2020 by Liam

[METALMAN]

The original mambo no five is a good one! Fun to play on trumpet 

[VerbalPuke]

I fucking love Rocket 88, really catchy song

 

[Malenko]

Jackie Brenston! Great stuff. Have to say I'm not a big fan of statements such as "first rock 'n' roll song" though, because it's always a case of where you draw the line and why. I am aware the song is commonly known as the first rock 'n' roll song, but some people claim there are more deserving candidates in the 40s. I've heard many of those songs, and some wouldn't feel out of place in many albums from well known rock n roll artists in the 50s.

In any case rocket 88 was an obvious influence for many of those 50s musicians.

 

 

Also, I expected something different from the first one because of Lou Bega. I'd never bother listening to the original song that inspired his own hit, which I didn't care much for either.

[Colly]

3 hours ago, Malenko said:

Also, I expected something different from the first one because of Lou Bega. I'd never bother listening to the original song that inspired his own hit, which I didn't care much for either.

Have you tried the Bob the Builder version?

[Malenko]

23 minutes ago, Colly said:

Have you tried the Bob the Builder version?

I have now!

[Liam]

43.      

 ‘How High The Moon’, Les Paul and Mary Ford (1951)

Another song that does interesting things with regards to the vocals that make it stand out in a way beyond the singer just having a good voice as had often been the case up until now. It is also worth mentioning that this recording involved Paul layering tracks one on top of the other, made easier due to funding by Bing Crosby and experimentation by Paul. This technique is what gives the vocals the otherworldly feel at times, as well as the busy-ness of the guitar work in the background. It is interesting to see more experimental work beginning to find its way into the public conscious – this was a Billboard No. 1 for nine weeks.

44.      

‘London Is The Place For Me’, Lord Kitchener (1951)

Arriving in the UK on the Empire Windrush in 1948, Lord Kitchener helped to popularise calypso across the globe. Though London was already beginning to become a place where people of many cultures and races lived within close proximity of each other, there is an irony in terms of such a positive and lively song considering the occasional bleakness of the capital city. This is a time and place song (though a fun one) I am sure – it was a cultural touchstone for many immigrants into the country - but it has been revitalised in recent years due to its inclusion in the Paddington film.

45.      

‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’, Fred Astaire (1952)

A song that was actually first performed in 1937 (then in 1949) finally pops up in 1952 as part of ‘The Astaire Story’, a four volume retrospective of Astaire’s career. This is one of the first songs that pretty much leave me with a big ‘meh’. It has apparently gone on to be considered a fixture of the Great American Songbook, but it does very little for me and doesn’t offer much in the way of something interesting or novel like a lot of the more recent additions have. He has a decent enough voice I guess – there, that’ll do.

[METALMAN]

The Les Paul and Mary Ford one is interesting right enough. It sounds like something that could have come out a good few years later and sounded modern or different then. 

The Lord Kitchener one is interesting. I've also heard another song with the exact same melody line and very similar feel and I'm trying to remember what it was.

The Fred Astaire one is nice enough.

 

[Liam]

46.      

'Dust My Broom', Elmore James (1952)

The perceived story of this song is that a variation of it was taught to James by our good old friend Robert Johnson. The moment this version of the song kicks in, the electric slide guitar work just kicks this into a gear that I really enjoy and puts it above and beyond the original version that is also out there. James himself sings in a fashion that is perfectly pleasant, but it is the guitar work that gives this song a swagger that puts it high up on the list thus far for me.

47.      

 ‘Foi Deus’, Amália Rodrigues (1952)

A fine example of a song in which I can appreciate the work being done, but it is just not really for me. ‘Fado’ is a style of Portugeuse music that Rodrigues helped to popularise, though it is impressive to consider that this was recorded when she was just twenty two. Her vocals are very impressive, rising and falling to give the lyrics emotional weight that carries even though the lyrics are not in English. It doesn’t surprise me that Rodrigues would go on to have forty more years of involvement in the music industry as her voice is very beautiful and effortless in its transitions.

48.      

‘La gorille’, George Brassens (1952)

A very odd song as Brassens used the gorilla as a means to take a satirical swipe at anyone in positions of authority. The song had come from time he’d spent in a World War 2 camp, though it had been finetuned by the time it was released in 1952. ‘La gorille’ was initially a reference to camp guards; in time, people in authority. The playful tune allows Brassens to go off on a pretty surreal narrative that ends with the gorilla sodomising a judge after mistaking him for an old woman. Interesting, that is for sure.

[VerbalPuke]

Elmore James is awesome, real pleasant surprise to see him here. Well deserved of course, he is the king of slide guitar after all.

[GoGo Yubari]

I like "They Can't Take That Away From Me," but way more for the Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong version than any other, definitely not Fred Astaire's. But then, their versions of most songs they did are my favorite versions of those songs.

[Liam]

49.      

‘Singin’ In The Rain’, Gene Kelly (1952)

Alright, so I cheated a bit here and included the version as sung in the movie. It is easily one of my favourite movies and the scene itself, dancing and all, just adds to the whole package. It is little wonder that this is the version of the song that took off considering it had been floating around and used in other musicals from the 20s onwards. There are few more iconic moments from musical cinema and its longevity is testament to the quality of not only the music, but everything that came along to finally make the song stick in the conscious of the many.

50.      

 ‘Just Walkin’ In The Rain’, The Prisonaires (1952)

From singin’ to walkin’, this song by the Prisonaires is a beautiful song with Johnny Bragg’s vocals in particular highlight. The simplicity of the arrangement and the melancholy delivery work wonderfully together, whilst the story behind the song is an interesting one in itself due to this being recorded by five prisoners from the Tennessee State Penitentiary. These men were serving time for murder, rape, assault (charges denied by some), yet gained some element of celebrity as the song went into the Top 10. An excellent ballad with an eye-opening backstory.

51.      

‘Please Love Me’, B.B. King (1953)

It is the opening bars of this style of R&B song that get me as they always kick immediately into action, guitars wailing away and setting the tone for a raucously good tune. King’s singing about an unnamed woman and his yearning for her; his vocals hit the right tone of almost frustrated desire the whole way through. Transitioning into the 50s and moving into this era of R&B and the start of rock and roll, the noise has begun to get cranked much higher up. The wailing, the screeching, the relative aggression – I love it.