500. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – ‘Shop Around’ (Berry Gordy, Robinson)
Robinson thought Barrett Strong should record ‘Shop Around’, but Gordy convinced Smokey he was the right man for the song. After it came out, Gordy heard it on the radio and felt it was too slow. He woke Robinson up at three in the morning and called him back to the studio to record it again – faster and with more prominent vocals. This version worked.
499. Weezer – ‘Buddy Holly’ (Rivers Cuomo)
In the early 1990s, Cuomo had a clumsy girlfriend who was constantly being picked on. His efforts to advocate for her inspired Weezer’s breakthrough, a song whose bubble-grunge hooks and lines like “I look just like Buddy Holly/And you’re Mary Tyler Moore” helped the band build a pop-rock nation to reach affine suburban punks. It also earned Weezer autographed photos of the real Mary Tyler Moore.
498. The Rolling Stones – ‘Miss You’ (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)
The Stones were rehearsing in Toronto for their performances at El Mocambo Club when Jagger, who was jamming with R&B legend Billy Preston, came up with ‘Miss You’. With a disco groove and a blues twist from a harmonica player they found on the Paris subway, it became the band’s first number one hit in five years. “It’s not really about a girl,” Jagger said. “The feeling of desire is what it’s all about.”
497.Bruce Springsteen. ‘The Rising’ (Springsteen)
Springsteen wrote the song about September 11, 2001, taking on the point of view of a fireman walking into one of the Twin Towers (“Can’t see nothin’ in front of me…”) before the gospel-tinged chorus kicks in. It was the title track of an album designed to help its fans deal with this tragedy. “The fundamental thing I hear from my fans is, ‘Man, you got me through this,’ whatever it is,” he told Rolling Stone in 2002.
496. Jackson Browne – ‘Running on Empty’ (Browne)
The ‘Running On Empty’ album was Browne’s grand experiment: a set of completely new songs recorded on stage, in hotel rooms and on the tour bus. The ticker track was written while Browne drove into the studio daily to record ‘The Pretender’. “I was constantly driving around without fuel in the car,” he said. “I just never bothered to fill it up – how far along is that? Just a few blocks.”
495. The Rolling Stones – ‘Brown Sugar’ (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)
The Stones take on slavery, sado-masochism, and interracial sex—and make it damn catchy. At Muscle Shoals Studios, Jagger scribbled three verses onto a pad and Richards came up with an incredibly dirty riff. Add some exclamation marks and you have a Stones concert classic.
494. R. Kelly – ‘Ignition (Remix)’ (Kelly)
R. Kelly’s automobile metaphors for intercourse in ‘Ignition’ are more subtle than they could have been. The text was softened after a request from a Chicago radio station. On ‘Chocolate Factory’ the original version of the song flows straight into the hit remix.
493. MGMT – ‘Time to Pretend’ (Ben Goldwasser, Andrew VanWyngarden)
The rhythm was inspired by the movements of a praying mantis that VanWyngarden and Goldwasser held during their college days. VanWyngarden wrote about rock star fantasies (“I’ll move to Paris, shoot some heroin”), although how ironic the lyrics are is unknown. “Some think we are addicted to drugs. Others see the wink,” he said. “That’s what I hope for as a lyricist: confusion!”
492. Gloria Gaynor – ‘I Will Survive’ (Dino Fekaris, Freddie Perren)
In 1979, Gaynor’s career fell apart. Donna Summer had replaced her as the premier disco diva and 32-year-old Gaynor was mourning the death of her mother and had recently undergone spinal surgery. So when she belted out ‘I Will Survive’, she did it with a lot of attitude. The song was actually a B-side, but became a hit after influential DJs started playing it in discos.
491. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – ‘I Love Rock ‘N Roll’ (Jake Hooker, Alan Merrill)
While trying to launch her solo career after her stint with The Runaways, Jett’s demo tape for ‘I Love Rock’n’Rol’l was rejected by 23 labels. Tiny Boardwalk Records finally bit, but sold her the radio rights to the track for $2,500. Today the song is worth nearly $20 million.
490. Coldplay – ‘Clocks’ (Coldplay)
Coldplay were desperate to get their second album ready and save ‘Clocks’ with its Muse-inspired churning piano riff for a later album. Luckily, a friend objected: “He said, ‘You’re singing about urgency and you’re talking about holding back the song,'” says Chris Martin. “,That makes no sense.'”
489. The Drifters – ‘Under the Boardwalk’ (Arthur Resnick, Kenny Young)
The annual staple of beach town jukeboxes, ‘Under The Boardwalk’ evokes the carefree sounds of the coast. But the recordings weren’t a day at the beach. Johnny Moore was recruited to do lead vocals as lead singer Rudy Lewis died of a heroin overdose in his hotel room the night before the session.
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