Over at Stereogum, they've posted a list (in tedious slide show format) ranking Elvis Costello's 25 albums. I decided to make my own list, ranked in order of how many 4+ rated songs I have from the album on my iPod, with the number of 3+ rated songs as a tie-breaker. I also decided to check the user ratings at rateyourmusic.com. Here are the three rankings with the Stereogum rating listed first.
1) Armed Forces (#5 on my iPod, #3 at RYM)
2) This Year's Model (#1 i, #1 r)
3) Get Happy (#2 i, #4 r)
4) King of America (#7 i, #6 r)
5) Trust (#6 i, #8 r)
6) My Aim Is True (#4 i, #2 r)
7) Imperial Bedroom (#3 i, #5 r)
8) Blood & Chocolate (#10 i, #7 r)
9) Punch the Clock (#13 i, #11 r)
10) Spike (#9 i, #17 r)
11) Brutal Youth (#15 i, #13 r)
12) Painted from Memory (NA i, #9 r)
13) The Juliet Letters (NA i, #20 r)
14) Almost Blue (#17 i, #18 r)
15) When I Was Cruel (#16 i, #14 r)
16) The Delivery Man (NA i, #12 r)
17) North (NA i, #23 r)
18) All This Useless Beauty (NA i, #16 r)
19) National Ransom (#12 i, #19 r)
20) The River in Reverse (#18 i, #10 r)
21) Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane (#8 i, #22 r)
22) Momofuku (NA i, #15 r)
23) Kojak Variety (NA i, #25 r)
24) Goodbye Cruel World (#11 i, #24 r)
25) Mighty Like a Rose (#14 i, #21 r)
What strikes me most about the 3 rankings is how consistent they are. There are a few flukes due to the fact that my iPod rating system really isn't rating a whole record and also due to the fact that I tend to use the 3-star rating for new-ish songs about which I haven't totally made up my mind. Thus, Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane ends up inappropriately high in my own rankings, as does National Ransom, but to a lesser extent. Also, Goodbye Cruel World doesn't pay as big a price in my rankings for being a poor overall record because it does have a couple of songs I like and there's no particular penalty for terrible songs.
My initial thought upon looking at the Stereogum list was that King of America was way too high. Out of Sterogum's top 7, it's the only record that doesn't get a 5-star rating at allmusic.com, and both RYM and my iPod rank it lower, but not way lower. It's one of 3 records that gets 4 and a half stars at allmusic.
Lastly, I should say that I don't think Get Happy is Elvis Costello's second best record, even thought it's rated as such based on my iPod rankings. It benefits in my ranking from having so many songs, but I don't think it contains any of my top 10 favorite Elvis Costello songs. Combing the 3 ratings, though, it's a very solid #3.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Top 5 Elephant 6 Albums
When I get an idea for a list I want to make, I usually start by googling to see if the list has already been made. This one has. Somebody else at rateyourmusic already put more time and effort into this than what I had planned myself. They even made a follow-up list. The rationale for my list is that I have different picks.
I'm not going to try to explain Elephant 6 in any more than one sentence. It was a loose collective of bands with a lot of overlapping members and a similar approach to instrumentation and production values, starting in the 90s, and very influential on the indie pop of the 2000s. If you want a longer explanation, the one on Wikipedia it totally adequate.
#5 The Minders - Hooray For Tuesday (1998)
A lot of Elephant 6 bands wear their adoration of the Beach Boys on their sleeves. The Minders remind me much more of early Kinks.
#4 Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage (1999)
This is a sprawling psychedelic sound collage (foliage?) to rival late 60s Pink Floyd, but often tuneful and clearly identifiable as 90s indie pop/rock. Making this list has made me aware of how much the Elephant 6 bands fall in the middle between indie pop and indie rock. They're just a bit too noisy to be comfortably categorized as indie pop, and just a bit too ethereal to be considered proper indie rock.
#3 Apples in Stereo - Fun Trick Noisemaker (1995)
This first record, from the band I consider to be the center of Elephant 6, was more firmly rooted in mid-90s indie rock is full of catchy songs that didn't let whimsy get in the way of rocking. As they matured, they rocked less. This record is on the second, but not first, of the rateyourmusic lists. Apples in Stereo have stayed interesting and have become more sophisticated, but they're on a long list of bands that I believe hit their peak on their first record.
#2 Beulah - The Coast is Never Clear (2001)
Although Beulah was definitely an Elephant 6 band with the Elephant 6 logo displayed clearly on their early recordings, it's not clear to me if they remained an Elephant 6 band. The logo isn't on the later records, which had stronger power pop production. Nonetheless, I've included this record here partly because it isn't on the rateyourmusic list and partly because I think Beulah is far and away the most underrated of the Elephant 6 bands.
#1 Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Seas (1998)
I favor songs over full albums, but this is the kind of complete record that reminds me why anybody ever listened to albums from start to finish. It's a contender for best indie record of the 90s and best record of the 90s period.
If you're on Spotify, click here to listen to songs from these records.
I'm not going to try to explain Elephant 6 in any more than one sentence. It was a loose collective of bands with a lot of overlapping members and a similar approach to instrumentation and production values, starting in the 90s, and very influential on the indie pop of the 2000s. If you want a longer explanation, the one on Wikipedia it totally adequate.
#5 The Minders - Hooray For Tuesday (1998)
A lot of Elephant 6 bands wear their adoration of the Beach Boys on their sleeves. The Minders remind me much more of early Kinks.
#4 Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage (1999)
This is a sprawling psychedelic sound collage (foliage?) to rival late 60s Pink Floyd, but often tuneful and clearly identifiable as 90s indie pop/rock. Making this list has made me aware of how much the Elephant 6 bands fall in the middle between indie pop and indie rock. They're just a bit too noisy to be comfortably categorized as indie pop, and just a bit too ethereal to be considered proper indie rock.
#3 Apples in Stereo - Fun Trick Noisemaker (1995)
This first record, from the band I consider to be the center of Elephant 6, was more firmly rooted in mid-90s indie rock is full of catchy songs that didn't let whimsy get in the way of rocking. As they matured, they rocked less. This record is on the second, but not first, of the rateyourmusic lists. Apples in Stereo have stayed interesting and have become more sophisticated, but they're on a long list of bands that I believe hit their peak on their first record.
#2 Beulah - The Coast is Never Clear (2001)
Although Beulah was definitely an Elephant 6 band with the Elephant 6 logo displayed clearly on their early recordings, it's not clear to me if they remained an Elephant 6 band. The logo isn't on the later records, which had stronger power pop production. Nonetheless, I've included this record here partly because it isn't on the rateyourmusic list and partly because I think Beulah is far and away the most underrated of the Elephant 6 bands.
#1 Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Seas (1998)
I favor songs over full albums, but this is the kind of complete record that reminds me why anybody ever listened to albums from start to finish. It's a contender for best indie record of the 90s and best record of the 90s period.
If you're on Spotify, click here to listen to songs from these records.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Top 25 debut EPs
I was thinking about the sophomore jinx the other day, i.e., artists whose second album is substantially weaker than their first, and it occurred to me that there's another sort of sophomore jinx. There are a lot of artists who have released hugely promising, critically lauded debut EPs, only to fall flat with their first full length record and/or the rest of their career.
Here's a list (my own, totally subjective as per usual) of the top 25 debut EPs with some added commentary on whether or not the artists ever lived up to their promise.
#25) No Trend - Teen Love (1984)
This EP was primarily a vehicle for the punk "hit" Teen Love, parts one and two. They went on to make some actual albums, which had their merits, but nothing else ever came close to being the kind of underground hit that Teen Love was.
#24) The Walkabouts - 22 Disasters (1985)
The Walkabouts evolved considerably from this obscure start. I suspect most of their fans are happily oblivious to the existence of this EP, but I consider it a high point of their career. They might have sounded like they were aping R.E.M. a little too much, but the female vocals and the varying instrumentation made it more unique.
#23) Blue Giant - Target Heart (2009)
The best songs on their full-length debut came from this EP, which is usually not a good sign, but the jury is out until they make a second full-length record.
#22) Let's Wrestle - In Loving Memory Of... (2008)
Initially, I was let down by their 2009 debut LP, mostly because I didn't like the re-recorded version of "I Won't Lie to You", but the way this band has matured has really grown on me. The shambling jokey stuff like the original recording of "I Won't Lie to You" still has a lot of appeal, but I appreciate the way they've matured and become more thoughtful on their LPs.
#21) Miracle Legion - The Backyard (1984)
In the mid-80s, there were a lot of records I heard and thought "oh - they could be the next R.E.M.". This was the first of those records. Like The Walkabouts, I like Miracle Legion less as they evolved, but everyone else seemed to like them more. This debut EP falls in the category of showing promise that was ultimately fulfilled.
#20) 3 Teens Kill 4 - No Motive (1983)
The highlight here is the cover of "Tell Me Something Good", which included tapes of news coverage of the Reagan assassination attempt mixed in. I have no idea what happened to them, but I don't think there was ever a follow-up.
#19) Janelle Monae - Metropolis (2007)
The EP was more adventurous than the full-length follow-up, but you can't hold back somebody on the verge of mega stardom. The new single Q.U.E.E.N. suggests she might be the rare performer who can remain a little out there while still becoming huge. We may find out as soon as this summer.
#18) Bongwater - Breaking No New Ground (1987)
I don't think the next 2 LPs lived up to the promise of the first EP, but I know others differ, and eventually I think they did start to break new ground, even while riffing off of classic rock nostalgia. This EP also helped to launch Shimmy Disc, which was an important player in the awkward transition from 80s underground rock and college rock to 90s alt-rock and indie rock. Indie rock could have been swallowed by alt-rock if not for labels like Shimmy Disc and band like Bongwater.
#17) The Undertones - Teenage Kicks (1978)
They never fulfilled the promise of their debut, but the overpowering love from John Peel might have just been too much right from the beginning.
#16) Fugazi - Fugazi (1988)
I like this record because they still sounded a bit like Minor Threat at this point, not a whole lot like Minor Threat, but at least a little bit like them. They got huge in the 90s through aggressive touring, an adoring cult following, and an interesting evolution. I didn't like the later records as much, but Fugazi also belongs in the achieved-their-promise column.
#15) Black Kids - Wizard of Ahhs (2007)
So much promise. This rough set of four songs was initially just available for download from the band's Myspace page, with no physical presence. Now 6 years later, they've released just one full-length record whose best songs were re-recordings from the EP. If they do release a second record, I'm still going to want to hear it because the first record sounded so fresh in 2007 that there's still a chance of freshness 6 years later.
#14) Jens Lekman - Maple Leaves (2004)
According to Wikipedia there was another EP before this one, but there were only 20 copies made. I'm an obscurophile, but even I feel comfortable ignoring that first one. Both Maple Leave and a second EP later in 2004, You Are the Light, were excellent and showed creative growth and diversity over a short period of time. In contrast, all his full length records have been big disappointments. I think most of them do have 3 to 4 really good songs, so maybe he should have just kept making EPs and churned them out a little more slowly than his early pace.
#13) Fishbone - Fishbone (1985)
If you're going to blend genres the way Fishbone did, you've really got two choices. You can crossover to lots of different audiences and get huge (e.g., Prince's Purple Rain) or you can get lost and get mismanaged and confusingly marketed by your label. The fact that Fishbone fell in the latter category is so well documented that there's actually a full-length documentary about it. I haven't seen it. As much as I like them, I think I'd find it too depressing.
#12) Big Black - Racer X (1985)
There were two very poorly distributed EPs before this one, but I consider this one to be their real debut, in terms of being a coming out party, at least with the more adventurous college radio stations. They continued to pound away with increasingly popular and increasingly polished pounding with their next LPs and leader Steve Albini became a production machine with a huge influence on the remainder of the decade and the next one as well.
#11) The Bees - Punchbag (2001)
The strength of the debut 2002 LP was in the songs that were already on this EP and the 2004 follow-up was quite weak by comparison, possibly due to an effort to assimilate into a more commercially viable sound. They didn't achieve their true potential, as the ninjagos would say, until their third LP in 2007.
#10) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2001)
This was such an unexpected jolt in 2001, it's hard to see how they could have followed it up in a way that would have pleased everyone who loved it. They've maintained an edge, but a lot of it has been an image edge as opposed to a real music edge. The songs from the 2001 EP are very good, but a lot of what made this great was that nobody else sounded quite like this right then. A few years later, it just wasn't nearly as unique, and so the EP stands alone as the most special thing they've done even though they've managed a very respectably lengthy career.
#9) Jurassic 5 - Jurassic 5 EP (1997)
For a hip-hop band with such a pure respect for the old school style of boasting and scratchin', it's impressive that they've had as much success as they have. I was shocked, for instance, to see 2002's "What's Golden" show up on one of the music video channels even though they hadn't come close to selling out. Put J5 in the achieved their early promise column, even if they've been handicapped by the public's taste.
#8) The Embarassment - The Embarassment EP (1981)
This was an excellent EP, and way ahead of its time. They would have had much more success as contemporaries of Sebadoh and Pavement in the early 90s. It was followed by the excellent mini-LP (another EP, really) Death Travels West, and then they all went their separate ways. Though they eventually re-formed, nothing came close to comparing to the early singles and EPs.
#7) Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant (2008)
They peaked on this EP, as far as I'm concerned. I know the critics continue to give them kudos, and the LPs haven't been bad, but they've been softer and safer. For all the CSN comparisons, this EP was something new and different. The later records haven't been.
#6) The Honeydrippers - Volume One (1984)
Nile Rogers and others join Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to do the best conceivable oldies covers possible in the 80s. It's funny that they called it Volume One, right? I guess Robert Plant couldn't cope with his success on the adult contemporary chart. They should have just replaced with with Rod Stewart. I'm sure he wouldn't have cared.
#5) Bangles - Bangles (1982)
I really don't understand how Faulty Products managed to go broke after releasing this. The debut LP on Columbia was a whole lot slicker, but still very good. The second follow-up LP was much slicker and hugely popular, but not at all what led me to love this EP. This hard-to-find rough gem remains one of the best items in their catalogue.
#4) TV On The Radio - Young Liars (2003)
A debut EP of such complexity and sophistication in sound is a rare thing. Today it does sound rough compared to what they became, but the songs themselves are among the best they've ever written. They did suffer a sophomore jinx with the follow-up that really didn't have anything new that was half as catchy as anything from the EP, but they came back strong with their second and third full-length CDs and definitely fulfilled their early promise.
#3) Billy Bragg - Life's a Riot with Spy vs. Spy (1983)
It calls itself a 7 track album and not an EP, but as far as I'm concerned a 7 track album with short songs is an EP. He wrote plenty of excellent songs after these, but this was by far his highest concentration of excellence and the stark production on the EP played to his strengths more so than just about anyone else on this list.
#2) Beta Band - The Three EPs (1997-1998)
They started out with not just one spectacular EP, but three, and had a debut CD that was the collection of the three. The follow-up had at least one very good song, but it was a huge disappointment compared to the 3 EPs. Their later records are quite good, but everything suffered in comparison to the consistent strength and impressive evolution of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd EP.
#1) Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls, and Marches (1981)
This post-punk record dispensed with punk purism as quickly on the heels of punk as it was really possible to do so, and it provides one of the clearest templates for what became indie rock roughly 10 years later. Their follow-up full-length, Vs., gets nearly as a high a rating at rateyourmusic.com, but I think 3 of their 4 best songs are from this EP and the 4th is from a single that preceded the EP.
Final thoughts
I think I went into making this list thinking that the early 80s had been a heyday for EPs and that there had been a resurgence in the 2000s. It's possible I missed some great 1990s EPs, but I think cool new bands tended to roll out a string of 7-inch singles rather than going the EP route in the 90s. If a band had enough money to put out a CD, they tended to cram it full with as many songs as would fit. I think by the 2000s, bands and labels had begun to see the error in that approach, and it was also more critical to have a digital release as turntable owners became a narrower audience.
I see iTunes and their ilk as having revived the pop single format, albeit without b-sides for the most part. That the EP has also made a come back over the last dozen or so years also feels like a positive development in music. Not every great writer is a novelist, nor should we expect that every band excels at making full albums, especially not modern-era CD-length albums. It does occur to me that I don't have anything on this list yet from the 2010s. Hopefully that doesn't mean we have to wait for the 2020s for another resurgence of the EP, but, if we do, so be it.
Here's a list (my own, totally subjective as per usual) of the top 25 debut EPs with some added commentary on whether or not the artists ever lived up to their promise.
#25) No Trend - Teen Love (1984)
This EP was primarily a vehicle for the punk "hit" Teen Love, parts one and two. They went on to make some actual albums, which had their merits, but nothing else ever came close to being the kind of underground hit that Teen Love was.
#24) The Walkabouts - 22 Disasters (1985)
The Walkabouts evolved considerably from this obscure start. I suspect most of their fans are happily oblivious to the existence of this EP, but I consider it a high point of their career. They might have sounded like they were aping R.E.M. a little too much, but the female vocals and the varying instrumentation made it more unique.
#23) Blue Giant - Target Heart (2009)
The best songs on their full-length debut came from this EP, which is usually not a good sign, but the jury is out until they make a second full-length record.
#22) Let's Wrestle - In Loving Memory Of... (2008)
Initially, I was let down by their 2009 debut LP, mostly because I didn't like the re-recorded version of "I Won't Lie to You", but the way this band has matured has really grown on me. The shambling jokey stuff like the original recording of "I Won't Lie to You" still has a lot of appeal, but I appreciate the way they've matured and become more thoughtful on their LPs.
#21) Miracle Legion - The Backyard (1984)
In the mid-80s, there were a lot of records I heard and thought "oh - they could be the next R.E.M.". This was the first of those records. Like The Walkabouts, I like Miracle Legion less as they evolved, but everyone else seemed to like them more. This debut EP falls in the category of showing promise that was ultimately fulfilled.
#20) 3 Teens Kill 4 - No Motive (1983)
The highlight here is the cover of "Tell Me Something Good", which included tapes of news coverage of the Reagan assassination attempt mixed in. I have no idea what happened to them, but I don't think there was ever a follow-up.
#19) Janelle Monae - Metropolis (2007)
The EP was more adventurous than the full-length follow-up, but you can't hold back somebody on the verge of mega stardom. The new single Q.U.E.E.N. suggests she might be the rare performer who can remain a little out there while still becoming huge. We may find out as soon as this summer.
#18) Bongwater - Breaking No New Ground (1987)
I don't think the next 2 LPs lived up to the promise of the first EP, but I know others differ, and eventually I think they did start to break new ground, even while riffing off of classic rock nostalgia. This EP also helped to launch Shimmy Disc, which was an important player in the awkward transition from 80s underground rock and college rock to 90s alt-rock and indie rock. Indie rock could have been swallowed by alt-rock if not for labels like Shimmy Disc and band like Bongwater.
#17) The Undertones - Teenage Kicks (1978)
They never fulfilled the promise of their debut, but the overpowering love from John Peel might have just been too much right from the beginning.
#16) Fugazi - Fugazi (1988)
I like this record because they still sounded a bit like Minor Threat at this point, not a whole lot like Minor Threat, but at least a little bit like them. They got huge in the 90s through aggressive touring, an adoring cult following, and an interesting evolution. I didn't like the later records as much, but Fugazi also belongs in the achieved-their-promise column.
#15) Black Kids - Wizard of Ahhs (2007)
So much promise. This rough set of four songs was initially just available for download from the band's Myspace page, with no physical presence. Now 6 years later, they've released just one full-length record whose best songs were re-recordings from the EP. If they do release a second record, I'm still going to want to hear it because the first record sounded so fresh in 2007 that there's still a chance of freshness 6 years later.
#14) Jens Lekman - Maple Leaves (2004)
According to Wikipedia there was another EP before this one, but there were only 20 copies made. I'm an obscurophile, but even I feel comfortable ignoring that first one. Both Maple Leave and a second EP later in 2004, You Are the Light, were excellent and showed creative growth and diversity over a short period of time. In contrast, all his full length records have been big disappointments. I think most of them do have 3 to 4 really good songs, so maybe he should have just kept making EPs and churned them out a little more slowly than his early pace.
#13) Fishbone - Fishbone (1985)
If you're going to blend genres the way Fishbone did, you've really got two choices. You can crossover to lots of different audiences and get huge (e.g., Prince's Purple Rain) or you can get lost and get mismanaged and confusingly marketed by your label. The fact that Fishbone fell in the latter category is so well documented that there's actually a full-length documentary about it. I haven't seen it. As much as I like them, I think I'd find it too depressing.
#12) Big Black - Racer X (1985)
There were two very poorly distributed EPs before this one, but I consider this one to be their real debut, in terms of being a coming out party, at least with the more adventurous college radio stations. They continued to pound away with increasingly popular and increasingly polished pounding with their next LPs and leader Steve Albini became a production machine with a huge influence on the remainder of the decade and the next one as well.
#11) The Bees - Punchbag (2001)
The strength of the debut 2002 LP was in the songs that were already on this EP and the 2004 follow-up was quite weak by comparison, possibly due to an effort to assimilate into a more commercially viable sound. They didn't achieve their true potential, as the ninjagos would say, until their third LP in 2007.
#10) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2001)
This was such an unexpected jolt in 2001, it's hard to see how they could have followed it up in a way that would have pleased everyone who loved it. They've maintained an edge, but a lot of it has been an image edge as opposed to a real music edge. The songs from the 2001 EP are very good, but a lot of what made this great was that nobody else sounded quite like this right then. A few years later, it just wasn't nearly as unique, and so the EP stands alone as the most special thing they've done even though they've managed a very respectably lengthy career.
#9) Jurassic 5 - Jurassic 5 EP (1997)
For a hip-hop band with such a pure respect for the old school style of boasting and scratchin', it's impressive that they've had as much success as they have. I was shocked, for instance, to see 2002's "What's Golden" show up on one of the music video channels even though they hadn't come close to selling out. Put J5 in the achieved their early promise column, even if they've been handicapped by the public's taste.
#8) The Embarassment - The Embarassment EP (1981)
This was an excellent EP, and way ahead of its time. They would have had much more success as contemporaries of Sebadoh and Pavement in the early 90s. It was followed by the excellent mini-LP (another EP, really) Death Travels West, and then they all went their separate ways. Though they eventually re-formed, nothing came close to comparing to the early singles and EPs.
#7) Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant (2008)
They peaked on this EP, as far as I'm concerned. I know the critics continue to give them kudos, and the LPs haven't been bad, but they've been softer and safer. For all the CSN comparisons, this EP was something new and different. The later records haven't been.
#6) The Honeydrippers - Volume One (1984)
Nile Rogers and others join Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to do the best conceivable oldies covers possible in the 80s. It's funny that they called it Volume One, right? I guess Robert Plant couldn't cope with his success on the adult contemporary chart. They should have just replaced with with Rod Stewart. I'm sure he wouldn't have cared.
#5) Bangles - Bangles (1982)
I really don't understand how Faulty Products managed to go broke after releasing this. The debut LP on Columbia was a whole lot slicker, but still very good. The second follow-up LP was much slicker and hugely popular, but not at all what led me to love this EP. This hard-to-find rough gem remains one of the best items in their catalogue.
#4) TV On The Radio - Young Liars (2003)
A debut EP of such complexity and sophistication in sound is a rare thing. Today it does sound rough compared to what they became, but the songs themselves are among the best they've ever written. They did suffer a sophomore jinx with the follow-up that really didn't have anything new that was half as catchy as anything from the EP, but they came back strong with their second and third full-length CDs and definitely fulfilled their early promise.
#3) Billy Bragg - Life's a Riot with Spy vs. Spy (1983)
It calls itself a 7 track album and not an EP, but as far as I'm concerned a 7 track album with short songs is an EP. He wrote plenty of excellent songs after these, but this was by far his highest concentration of excellence and the stark production on the EP played to his strengths more so than just about anyone else on this list.
#2) Beta Band - The Three EPs (1997-1998)
They started out with not just one spectacular EP, but three, and had a debut CD that was the collection of the three. The follow-up had at least one very good song, but it was a huge disappointment compared to the 3 EPs. Their later records are quite good, but everything suffered in comparison to the consistent strength and impressive evolution of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd EP.
#1) Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls, and Marches (1981)
This post-punk record dispensed with punk purism as quickly on the heels of punk as it was really possible to do so, and it provides one of the clearest templates for what became indie rock roughly 10 years later. Their follow-up full-length, Vs., gets nearly as a high a rating at rateyourmusic.com, but I think 3 of their 4 best songs are from this EP and the 4th is from a single that preceded the EP.
Final thoughts
I think I went into making this list thinking that the early 80s had been a heyday for EPs and that there had been a resurgence in the 2000s. It's possible I missed some great 1990s EPs, but I think cool new bands tended to roll out a string of 7-inch singles rather than going the EP route in the 90s. If a band had enough money to put out a CD, they tended to cram it full with as many songs as would fit. I think by the 2000s, bands and labels had begun to see the error in that approach, and it was also more critical to have a digital release as turntable owners became a narrower audience.
I see iTunes and their ilk as having revived the pop single format, albeit without b-sides for the most part. That the EP has also made a come back over the last dozen or so years also feels like a positive development in music. Not every great writer is a novelist, nor should we expect that every band excels at making full albums, especially not modern-era CD-length albums. It does occur to me that I don't have anything on this list yet from the 2010s. Hopefully that doesn't mean we have to wait for the 2020s for another resurgence of the EP, but, if we do, so be it.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
The 250 Most Archetypical New Wave Songs
As I've mentioned in some previous posts, I've been working a list of the most archetypical new wave songs of all time. As I started ranking the top of the list, I realized the flaw with the head-to-head comparison ranking method I've used with most of my previous lists. I realized that I didn't want my top 3 to be the 3 songs that were individually the top contenders for most archetypical new wave song. I wanted the top 3 to be the set of 3 songs that would be the most archetypical collection of 3 songs, and I wanted the top 10 to be the set of 10 songs that would be the most archetypical collection of 10 songs.
Think of it like this. If you wanted an archetypical set of 10 average Americans, would you want ten 40-something white women who were all five-foot-four? Even if we called it an archetypical sample, you'd still want some variety. The larger the sample, the more variety you would allow, but in a big sample you would still have a lot of 40-something white women.
In the case of new wave, many of the individually most archetypical songs are circa 1982 synth pop, but a top ten of 10 1982 synth pop songs doesn't really describe new wave well, nor would a top 100 of only synth pop and new romantic MTV hits from the early 80s. Songs that are borderline new wave, and might be better described as goth or ska-revival or pub rock or post-punk or mod-revival or college rock, had virtually no chance of making the top 10, but the term new wave was inclusive enough that many of those songs made the top 100, or at least the top 250.
With all of the above in mind, I won't be posting this as a countdown. It needs to start at #1. I'm starting by posting the top 20 today (April 14, 2013). I've also made a playlist of the songs on Spotify. Click here to listen.
1) Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (1983)
2) Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf (1982)
3) Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science (1983)
4) Split Enz - I Got You (1980)
5) Heaven 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang (1981)
6) ABC - The Look Of Love, Part One (1982)
7) The B-52's - Rock Lobster (1979)
8) The Human League - Don't You Want Me (1981)
9) Modern English - I Melt With You (1982)
10) Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime (1980)
11) Martha & The Muffins - Echo Beach (1980)
12) Yaz - Nobody's Diary (1983)
13) The The - This Is The Day (1983)
14) The Style Council - My Ever Changing Moods (1984)
15) Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me) (1985)
16) Soft Cell - Tainted Love (1981)
17) XTC - Making Plans For Nigel (1979)
18) Blondie - Heart Of Glass (1978)
19) Squeeze - Cool For Cats (1979)
20) Gary Numan - Cars (1979)
[added April 18, 2013]
21) The Cure - Boys Don't Cry (1979)
22) Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance (1982)
23) Elvis Costello & the Attractions - (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding (1979)
24) The Go-Go's - We Got The Beat (1981)
25) Berlin - Metro (1982)
26) Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough (1981)
27) Tears For Fears - Mothers Talk (1985)
28) Smiths - How Soon Is Now? (1984)
29) Robert Hazard - Escalator of Life (1981)
30) Madness - Our House (1982)
31) Nick Lowe - Cruel to Be Kind (1979)
32) The English Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom (1983)
33) New Order - Blue Monday (1983)
34) Devo - Jocko Homo (1978)
35) Cars - Just What I Needed (1978)
36) Jam - Beat Surrender (1982)
37) David Bowie - Let's Dance (1983)
38) Adam Ant - Goody Two Shoes (1982)
39) Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way (1982)
40) Gang of Four - I Love A Man In Uniform (1982)
41) Romeo Void - Never Say Never (1982)
42) Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum (1982)
43) Talk Talk - It's My Life (1984)
44) Siouxsie & the Banshees - Happy House (1980)
45) Buzzcocks - I Believe (1979)
46) The Thompson Twins - Lies (1982)
47) Prefab Sprout - Don't Sing (1984)
48) Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (1985)
49) Peter Schilling - Major Tom (Voellig Losgeloest) (1983)
50) Billy Idol With Generation X - Dancing With Myself (1981)
[added April 20, 2013]
51) Specials - Do The Dog (1980)
52) Television - See No Evil (1977)
53) Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy (1982)
54) Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio (1982)
55) Missing Persons - Walking In L.A. (1982)
56) The Fixx - One Thing Leads to Another (1983)
57) Joe Jackson - Sunday Papers (1979)
58) Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now? (1982)
59) Blondie - Rapture (1984)
60) Yello - Desire (1985)
61) Elvis Costello - Radio, Radio (1978)
62) Wang Chung - Dance Hall Days (1984)
63) The Cure - In Between Days (1985)
64) Howard Jones - What Is Love? (1984)
65) Flock of Seaguls - I Ran (1982)
66) Art of Noise - Close to the Edge (1984)
67) Psychedelic Furs - Pretty In Pink (1981)
68) Falco - Der Kommissar (1982)
69) Japan - Quiet Life (1979)
70) Elvis Costello & the Attractions - I Stand Accused (1980)
71) Ian Dury - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (1981)
72) Police - De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (1980)
73) Joe Jackson - Breaking Us In Two (1982)
74) Fun Boy Three - Our Lips Are Sealed (1983)
75) Devo - Whip It (1980)
76) The Cure - The Love Cats (1983)
77) Roxy Music - Avalon (1982)
78) Lloyd Cole - Rattlesnakes (1984)
79) The Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like (1982)
80) The Police - Synchronicity II (1983)
81) Naked Eyes - Always Something There to Remind Me (1983)
82) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Electricity (1979)
83) The Romantics - What I Like About You (1980)
84) Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen (1982)
85) Duran Duran - Girls On Film (1981)
86) Trio - Da Da Da I Don't Love You (1982)
87) Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Annie I'm Not Your Daddy (1982)
88) XTC - Generals And Majors (1980)
89) The Knack - My Sharona (1979)
90) David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes (1980)
91) Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny (1981)
92) Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers (1980)
93) Bananarama - Cruel Summer (1984)
94) Jam - That's Entertainment (1980)
95) Laurie Anderson - O Superman (1982)
96) Suburbs - Love Is The Law (1984)
97) The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star (1980)
98) Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1984)
99) Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Lovers Walk (1981)
100) The Clash - Rock the Casbah (1982)
[added April 21, 2013]
101) Talk Talk - The Party's Over (1982)
102) New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (1986)
103) The Cars - You Might Think (1984)
104) Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (1982)
105) The Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays (1979)
106) Ultravox - Vienna (1980)
107) Siouxsie & the Banshees - Spellbound (1981)
108) The Cure - Let's Go To Bed (1984)
109) Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (1985)
110) Visage - Fade To Grey (1980)
111) Nena - 99 Luftballons (1984)
112) Magazine - Shot By Both Sides (1978)
113) The Thompson Twins - You Take Me Up (1983)
114) Talking Heads - Girlfriend is Better (1983)
115) Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax (1984)
116) Graham Parker + The Rumour - Mercury Poisoning (1979)
117) Nails - 88 Lines About 44 Women (1984)
118) Feelies - Crazy Rhythms (1980)
119) The Cure - Just Like Heaven (1987)
120) M - Popmuzik (1979)
121) Josie Cotton - Johnnie Are You Queer? (1982)
122) Marshall Crenshaw - Cynical Girl (1982)
123) Tears For Fears - Mad World (1983)
124) Alphaville - Big In Japan (1984)
125) Frank Zappa - Valley Girl (1982)
[added April 27, 2013]
126) Tin Huey - The Revelations Of Dr. Modesto (1979)
127) Icicle Works - Whisper to A Scream (1984)
128) Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning (1988)
129) Kajagoogoo - Too Shy (1982)
130) Scandal - Goodbye To You (1982)
131) Stranglers - Skin Deep (1984)
132) Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love (1981)
133) Elvis Costello - Welcome To The Working Week (1977)
134) Psychedelic Furs - The Ghost In You (1984)
135) Haircut 100 - Love Plus One (1982)
136) Mental As Anything - If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too? (1981)
137) Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) (1978)
138) The Selecter - The Selecter (1979)
139) blotto - I Wanna Be a Lifeguard (1980)
140) Squeeze - Take Me I'm Yours (1978)
141) a-ha - Take On Me (1985)
142) Clive Pig - Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen (1983)
143) Depeche Mode - People Are People (1984)
144) David Bowie - Heroes (1977)
145) The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet (1979)
146) Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue (1982)
147) Bauhaus - She's In Parties (Edit) (1983)
148) Greg Kihn Band - The Breakup Song (1981)
149) Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express (1977)
150) Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine (1985)
[added April 28, 2013]
151) Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (1977)
152) The Colourfield - Thinking of You (1985)
153) Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980)
154) Kate Bush - Babooshka (1980)
155) Adam & the Ants - Dog Eat Dog (1980)
156) Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat (1985)
157) Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (1985)
158) Re-Flex - The Politics of Dancing (1985)
159) Madonna - Lucky Star (1983)
160) Kate Bush - The Dreaming (1982)
161) Human Sexual Response - Land of the Glass Pinecones (1981)
162) Steve Forbert - Romeo's Tune (1979)
163) Big Country - In A Big Country (1983)
164) Marc Almond - Untitled (1982)
165) Siouxsie & The Banshees - Cities In Dust (1986)
166) Killing Joke - Love Like Blood (1985)
167) Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl (1981)
168) Oingo Boingo - Only a Lad (1981)
169) Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours (1985)
170) Difford & Tilbrook - Action Speaks Faster (1984)
171) Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot (1980)
172) Plastic Bertrand - Ca plane pour moi (1978)
173) Wham! - Bad Boys (1983)
174) The B-52's - Strobe Light (1980)
175) The Cars - Shake It Up (1982)
[added April 29, 2013]
176) Time Zone - World Destruction (1984)
177) The Human League - (Keep Feeling) Fascination (1983)
178) Damned - I Just Can't Be Happy Today (1979)
179) Police - Roxanne (1978)
180) Gun Club - Sex Beat (1981)
181) The Cars - Let's Go (1979)
182) Comstat Angels - Independence Day (1980)
183) Vapors - Turning Japanese (1980)
184) Pere Ubu - On The Surface (1979)
185) The Durutti Column - Tomorrow (1985)
186) Animotion - Obsession (1985)
187) Adam Ant - Stand and Deliver (1981)
188) Polecats - Make a Circuit With Me (1983)
189) Billy Idol - White Wedding (1981)
190) Bangles - Hero Takes a Fall (1984)
191) EBN-OZN - AEIOU Sometimes Y (1983)
192) Section 25 - Looking From a Hilltop (1984)
193) The Fixx - Red Skies (Alternate) (1982)
194) Prince And The Revolution - When Doves Cry (1984)
195) R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe (1983)
196) Cyndi Lauper - Money Changes Everything (1984)
197) Talking Heads - Life During Wartime (1979)
198) The Undertones - Teenage Kicks (1979)
199) Magazine - Model Worker (1980)
200) The Stranglers - Golden Brown (1981)
[added May 4, 2013]
201) Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy (1978)
202) Sisters of Mercy - Black Planet (1985)
203) Cheap Trick - Surrender (1978)
204) The Flying Lizards - Money (1979)
205) Spandau Ballet - True (1983)
206) Yello - I Love You (1983)
207) 'Til Tuesday - Voices Carry (1985)
208) The Teardrop Explodes - Reward (1980)
209) Tears For Fears - Shout (1985)
210) Laurie Anderson - Sharkey's Day (1984)
211) Graham Parker + The Rumour - Thunder And Rain (1977)
212) The Pretenders - Brass In Pocket (1980)
213) Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (1984)
214) Nick Lowe - So It Goes (1978)
215) Utopia - Hammer In My Heart (Calling Out Trimble) (1982)
216) INXS - What You Need (1985)
217) The Go-Go's - Vacation (1982)
218) Rockpile - Teacher Teacher (1980)
219) Fishbone - Party At Ground Zero (1985)
220) Sheila Chandra - Question the Answer (1985)
221) Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Tears Before Bedtime (1982)
222) Squeeze - Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) (1980)
223) B-Movie - Nowhere Girl (1985)
224) The Specials & The Special A.K.A. - Free Nelson Mandela (1984)
225) Cocteau Twins - Lorelei (1984)
[final addition to list May 5, 2013]
226) Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (1987)
227) Todd Rundgren - Bang the Drum All Day (1983)
228) Bauhaus - The Passion Of Lovers (1981)
229) Sniff 'n' the Tears - Driver's Seat (1978)
230) Billy Bragg - The Busy Girl Buys Beauty (1983)
231) Bongos - Glow in the Dark (1982)
232) The Rumour - Frozen Years (1979)
233) Fad Gadget - Collapsing New People (1984)
234) Josef K - Sense Of Guilt (1980)
235) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay (1980)
236) Violent Femmes - Blister In The Sun (1983)
237) Lou Reed - New Sensations (1984)
238) The Style Council - Walls Come Tumbing Down (1985)
239) Martha & The Muffins - Black Stations/White Stations (1984)
240) Iggy Pop - Nightclubbing (1977)
241) Dire Straits - Twisting By the Pool (1982)
242) Big Sound Authority - This House (1985)
243) Ian Gomm - Hold On (1978)
244) Alarm - Sixty Eight Guns (1984)
245) Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride (1983)
246) Pylon - Crazy (1983)
247) Bangles - How Is The Air Up There (1982)
248) Tones on Tail - Twist (1984)
249) Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Every Day I Write the Book (1983)
250) Culture Club - Karma Chameleon (1983)
The spotify playlist I made is missing about 10% of these songs, but I was pleased I was able to make it fairly complete.
Think of it like this. If you wanted an archetypical set of 10 average Americans, would you want ten 40-something white women who were all five-foot-four? Even if we called it an archetypical sample, you'd still want some variety. The larger the sample, the more variety you would allow, but in a big sample you would still have a lot of 40-something white women.
In the case of new wave, many of the individually most archetypical songs are circa 1982 synth pop, but a top ten of 10 1982 synth pop songs doesn't really describe new wave well, nor would a top 100 of only synth pop and new romantic MTV hits from the early 80s. Songs that are borderline new wave, and might be better described as goth or ska-revival or pub rock or post-punk or mod-revival or college rock, had virtually no chance of making the top 10, but the term new wave was inclusive enough that many of those songs made the top 100, or at least the top 250.
With all of the above in mind, I won't be posting this as a countdown. It needs to start at #1. I'm starting by posting the top 20 today (April 14, 2013). I've also made a playlist of the songs on Spotify. Click here to listen.
1) Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (1983)
2) Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf (1982)
3) Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science (1983)
4) Split Enz - I Got You (1980)
5) Heaven 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang (1981)
6) ABC - The Look Of Love, Part One (1982)
7) The B-52's - Rock Lobster (1979)
8) The Human League - Don't You Want Me (1981)
9) Modern English - I Melt With You (1982)
10) Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime (1980)
11) Martha & The Muffins - Echo Beach (1980)
12) Yaz - Nobody's Diary (1983)
13) The The - This Is The Day (1983)
14) The Style Council - My Ever Changing Moods (1984)
15) Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me) (1985)
16) Soft Cell - Tainted Love (1981)
17) XTC - Making Plans For Nigel (1979)
18) Blondie - Heart Of Glass (1978)
19) Squeeze - Cool For Cats (1979)
20) Gary Numan - Cars (1979)
[added April 18, 2013]
21) The Cure - Boys Don't Cry (1979)
22) Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance (1982)
23) Elvis Costello & the Attractions - (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding (1979)
24) The Go-Go's - We Got The Beat (1981)
25) Berlin - Metro (1982)
26) Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough (1981)
27) Tears For Fears - Mothers Talk (1985)
28) Smiths - How Soon Is Now? (1984)
29) Robert Hazard - Escalator of Life (1981)
30) Madness - Our House (1982)
31) Nick Lowe - Cruel to Be Kind (1979)
32) The English Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom (1983)
33) New Order - Blue Monday (1983)
34) Devo - Jocko Homo (1978)
35) Cars - Just What I Needed (1978)
36) Jam - Beat Surrender (1982)
37) David Bowie - Let's Dance (1983)
38) Adam Ant - Goody Two Shoes (1982)
39) Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way (1982)
40) Gang of Four - I Love A Man In Uniform (1982)
41) Romeo Void - Never Say Never (1982)
42) Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum (1982)
43) Talk Talk - It's My Life (1984)
44) Siouxsie & the Banshees - Happy House (1980)
45) Buzzcocks - I Believe (1979)
46) The Thompson Twins - Lies (1982)
47) Prefab Sprout - Don't Sing (1984)
48) Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (1985)
49) Peter Schilling - Major Tom (Voellig Losgeloest) (1983)
50) Billy Idol With Generation X - Dancing With Myself (1981)
[added April 20, 2013]
51) Specials - Do The Dog (1980)
52) Television - See No Evil (1977)
53) Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy (1982)
54) Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio (1982)
55) Missing Persons - Walking In L.A. (1982)
56) The Fixx - One Thing Leads to Another (1983)
57) Joe Jackson - Sunday Papers (1979)
58) Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now? (1982)
59) Blondie - Rapture (1984)
60) Yello - Desire (1985)
61) Elvis Costello - Radio, Radio (1978)
62) Wang Chung - Dance Hall Days (1984)
63) The Cure - In Between Days (1985)
64) Howard Jones - What Is Love? (1984)
65) Flock of Seaguls - I Ran (1982)
66) Art of Noise - Close to the Edge (1984)
67) Psychedelic Furs - Pretty In Pink (1981)
68) Falco - Der Kommissar (1982)
69) Japan - Quiet Life (1979)
70) Elvis Costello & the Attractions - I Stand Accused (1980)
71) Ian Dury - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (1981)
72) Police - De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (1980)
73) Joe Jackson - Breaking Us In Two (1982)
74) Fun Boy Three - Our Lips Are Sealed (1983)
75) Devo - Whip It (1980)
76) The Cure - The Love Cats (1983)
77) Roxy Music - Avalon (1982)
78) Lloyd Cole - Rattlesnakes (1984)
79) The Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like (1982)
80) The Police - Synchronicity II (1983)
81) Naked Eyes - Always Something There to Remind Me (1983)
82) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Electricity (1979)
83) The Romantics - What I Like About You (1980)
84) Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen (1982)
85) Duran Duran - Girls On Film (1981)
86) Trio - Da Da Da I Don't Love You (1982)
87) Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Annie I'm Not Your Daddy (1982)
88) XTC - Generals And Majors (1980)
89) The Knack - My Sharona (1979)
90) David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes (1980)
91) Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny (1981)
92) Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers (1980)
93) Bananarama - Cruel Summer (1984)
94) Jam - That's Entertainment (1980)
95) Laurie Anderson - O Superman (1982)
96) Suburbs - Love Is The Law (1984)
97) The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star (1980)
98) Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1984)
99) Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Lovers Walk (1981)
100) The Clash - Rock the Casbah (1982)
[added April 21, 2013]
101) Talk Talk - The Party's Over (1982)
102) New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (1986)
103) The Cars - You Might Think (1984)
104) Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (1982)
105) The Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays (1979)
106) Ultravox - Vienna (1980)
107) Siouxsie & the Banshees - Spellbound (1981)
108) The Cure - Let's Go To Bed (1984)
109) Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (1985)
110) Visage - Fade To Grey (1980)
111) Nena - 99 Luftballons (1984)
112) Magazine - Shot By Both Sides (1978)
113) The Thompson Twins - You Take Me Up (1983)
114) Talking Heads - Girlfriend is Better (1983)
115) Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax (1984)
116) Graham Parker + The Rumour - Mercury Poisoning (1979)
117) Nails - 88 Lines About 44 Women (1984)
118) Feelies - Crazy Rhythms (1980)
119) The Cure - Just Like Heaven (1987)
120) M - Popmuzik (1979)
121) Josie Cotton - Johnnie Are You Queer? (1982)
122) Marshall Crenshaw - Cynical Girl (1982)
123) Tears For Fears - Mad World (1983)
124) Alphaville - Big In Japan (1984)
125) Frank Zappa - Valley Girl (1982)
[added April 27, 2013]
126) Tin Huey - The Revelations Of Dr. Modesto (1979)
127) Icicle Works - Whisper to A Scream (1984)
128) Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning (1988)
129) Kajagoogoo - Too Shy (1982)
130) Scandal - Goodbye To You (1982)
131) Stranglers - Skin Deep (1984)
132) Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love (1981)
133) Elvis Costello - Welcome To The Working Week (1977)
134) Psychedelic Furs - The Ghost In You (1984)
135) Haircut 100 - Love Plus One (1982)
136) Mental As Anything - If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too? (1981)
137) Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) (1978)
138) The Selecter - The Selecter (1979)
139) blotto - I Wanna Be a Lifeguard (1980)
140) Squeeze - Take Me I'm Yours (1978)
141) a-ha - Take On Me (1985)
142) Clive Pig - Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen (1983)
143) Depeche Mode - People Are People (1984)
144) David Bowie - Heroes (1977)
145) The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet (1979)
146) Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue (1982)
147) Bauhaus - She's In Parties (Edit) (1983)
148) Greg Kihn Band - The Breakup Song (1981)
149) Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express (1977)
150) Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine (1985)
[added April 28, 2013]
151) Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (1977)
152) The Colourfield - Thinking of You (1985)
153) Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980)
154) Kate Bush - Babooshka (1980)
155) Adam & the Ants - Dog Eat Dog (1980)
156) Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat (1985)
157) Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (1985)
158) Re-Flex - The Politics of Dancing (1985)
159) Madonna - Lucky Star (1983)
160) Kate Bush - The Dreaming (1982)
161) Human Sexual Response - Land of the Glass Pinecones (1981)
162) Steve Forbert - Romeo's Tune (1979)
163) Big Country - In A Big Country (1983)
164) Marc Almond - Untitled (1982)
165) Siouxsie & The Banshees - Cities In Dust (1986)
166) Killing Joke - Love Like Blood (1985)
167) Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl (1981)
168) Oingo Boingo - Only a Lad (1981)
169) Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours (1985)
170) Difford & Tilbrook - Action Speaks Faster (1984)
171) Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot (1980)
172) Plastic Bertrand - Ca plane pour moi (1978)
173) Wham! - Bad Boys (1983)
174) The B-52's - Strobe Light (1980)
175) The Cars - Shake It Up (1982)
[added April 29, 2013]
176) Time Zone - World Destruction (1984)
177) The Human League - (Keep Feeling) Fascination (1983)
178) Damned - I Just Can't Be Happy Today (1979)
179) Police - Roxanne (1978)
180) Gun Club - Sex Beat (1981)
181) The Cars - Let's Go (1979)
182) Comstat Angels - Independence Day (1980)
183) Vapors - Turning Japanese (1980)
184) Pere Ubu - On The Surface (1979)
185) The Durutti Column - Tomorrow (1985)
186) Animotion - Obsession (1985)
187) Adam Ant - Stand and Deliver (1981)
188) Polecats - Make a Circuit With Me (1983)
189) Billy Idol - White Wedding (1981)
190) Bangles - Hero Takes a Fall (1984)
191) EBN-OZN - AEIOU Sometimes Y (1983)
192) Section 25 - Looking From a Hilltop (1984)
193) The Fixx - Red Skies (Alternate) (1982)
194) Prince And The Revolution - When Doves Cry (1984)
195) R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe (1983)
196) Cyndi Lauper - Money Changes Everything (1984)
197) Talking Heads - Life During Wartime (1979)
198) The Undertones - Teenage Kicks (1979)
199) Magazine - Model Worker (1980)
200) The Stranglers - Golden Brown (1981)
[added May 4, 2013]
201) Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy (1978)
202) Sisters of Mercy - Black Planet (1985)
203) Cheap Trick - Surrender (1978)
204) The Flying Lizards - Money (1979)
205) Spandau Ballet - True (1983)
206) Yello - I Love You (1983)
207) 'Til Tuesday - Voices Carry (1985)
208) The Teardrop Explodes - Reward (1980)
209) Tears For Fears - Shout (1985)
210) Laurie Anderson - Sharkey's Day (1984)
211) Graham Parker + The Rumour - Thunder And Rain (1977)
212) The Pretenders - Brass In Pocket (1980)
213) Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (1984)
214) Nick Lowe - So It Goes (1978)
215) Utopia - Hammer In My Heart (Calling Out Trimble) (1982)
216) INXS - What You Need (1985)
217) The Go-Go's - Vacation (1982)
218) Rockpile - Teacher Teacher (1980)
219) Fishbone - Party At Ground Zero (1985)
220) Sheila Chandra - Question the Answer (1985)
221) Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Tears Before Bedtime (1982)
222) Squeeze - Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) (1980)
223) B-Movie - Nowhere Girl (1985)
224) The Specials & The Special A.K.A. - Free Nelson Mandela (1984)
225) Cocteau Twins - Lorelei (1984)
[final addition to list May 5, 2013]
226) Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (1987)
227) Todd Rundgren - Bang the Drum All Day (1983)
228) Bauhaus - The Passion Of Lovers (1981)
229) Sniff 'n' the Tears - Driver's Seat (1978)
230) Billy Bragg - The Busy Girl Buys Beauty (1983)
231) Bongos - Glow in the Dark (1982)
232) The Rumour - Frozen Years (1979)
233) Fad Gadget - Collapsing New People (1984)
234) Josef K - Sense Of Guilt (1980)
235) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay (1980)
236) Violent Femmes - Blister In The Sun (1983)
237) Lou Reed - New Sensations (1984)
238) The Style Council - Walls Come Tumbing Down (1985)
239) Martha & The Muffins - Black Stations/White Stations (1984)
240) Iggy Pop - Nightclubbing (1977)
241) Dire Straits - Twisting By the Pool (1982)
242) Big Sound Authority - This House (1985)
243) Ian Gomm - Hold On (1978)
244) Alarm - Sixty Eight Guns (1984)
245) Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride (1983)
246) Pylon - Crazy (1983)
247) Bangles - How Is The Air Up There (1982)
248) Tones on Tail - Twist (1984)
249) Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Every Day I Write the Book (1983)
250) Culture Club - Karma Chameleon (1983)
The spotify playlist I made is missing about 10% of these songs, but I was pleased I was able to make it fairly complete.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Top New Wave Songs - A Listener List
Much to my surprise, my most popular posts appear to be the ones with original content (i.e. my own lists). Lists of my own take longer to compile, and I do refer to other lists when I work on them. Right now I'm working on a list of the most archetypical new wave songs. This is different from the best songs, but the best certainly have potential as the most archetypical.
I stumbled upon the list below on NPR's music blog. I've shamelessly cut and paste the content from the comment section of the blog. The actual blog has a dead link to a radio show on WFDU, and the list was a little hard to find, so I'm saving you the trouble.
Top 50 New Wave Songs Of All Time (as decided on by WFDU listeners):
1. Joy Division - Love Will tear Us Apart
2. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Christine
3. The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
4. Ultravox - Vienna
5. Romeo Void - Never Say Never
6. The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again
7. Echo And The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
8. Gary Numan - Cars
9. New Order - Blue Monday
10. The B-52's - Rock Lobster
11. Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
12. Peter Godwin - Images Of Heaven
13. New Order - Temptation
14. Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)
15. Gang Of Four - To Hell With Poverty
16. The Stranglers - Skin Deep
17. John Foxx - Underpass
18. Martha And The Muffins - Echo Beach
19. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
20. Yaz - Don't Go
21. The Specials - Ghost Town
22. The Psychedelic Furs - Heaven
23. Split Enz - I Got You
24. The Chameleons U.K. - Swamp Thing
25. Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood
26. Depeche Mode - Shake The Disease
27. Visage - Fade To Grey
28. Berlin - The Metro
29. Alphaville - Forever Young
30. Blondie - Heart Of Glass
31. The English Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom
32. Duran Duran - Rio
33. The Flying Lizards - Money
34. XTC - Dear God
35. ABC - The Look Of Love (Part 1)
36. Q Feel - Dancing In Heaven (Orbital Bebop)
37. Altered Images - I Could Be Happy
38. The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap
39. B-Movie - Nowhere Girl
40. Squeeze - Cool For Cats
41. The Cure - In Between Days
42. Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough
43. Devo - Whip It
44. Public Image Ltd. - Public Image
45. Erasure - Oh Lamour
46. Fruer - Doot Doot
47. Lene Lovich - Lucky Number
48. Bow Wow Wow - Do You Wanna Hold Me?
49. Heaven 17 - Let Me Go
50. China Crisis - Working With Fire And Steel
I think at least half of these songs are strong candidates for the list I'm making. As a non-WFDU listener, I also count 7 songs on the list that I don't know. I'll have to listen to those before finalizing my own list. Two songs I consider strong candidates for the top of my list don't make the WFDU list all. Both of those songs were bigger hits than the songs on this list, so perhaps the WFDU audience eschewed new wave that successfully crossed over to top 40. Maybe I need to give more thought to how crossing over does or does not fit the archetype, or maybe it's irrelevant. Who am I kidding? No criteria, no matter how absurd is irrelevant in this little world of idiosyncratic ranking.
I stumbled upon the list below on NPR's music blog. I've shamelessly cut and paste the content from the comment section of the blog. The actual blog has a dead link to a radio show on WFDU, and the list was a little hard to find, so I'm saving you the trouble.
Top 50 New Wave Songs Of All Time (as decided on by WFDU listeners):
1. Joy Division - Love Will tear Us Apart
2. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Christine
3. The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
4. Ultravox - Vienna
5. Romeo Void - Never Say Never
6. The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again
7. Echo And The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
8. Gary Numan - Cars
9. New Order - Blue Monday
10. The B-52's - Rock Lobster
11. Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
12. Peter Godwin - Images Of Heaven
13. New Order - Temptation
14. Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)
15. Gang Of Four - To Hell With Poverty
16. The Stranglers - Skin Deep
17. John Foxx - Underpass
18. Martha And The Muffins - Echo Beach
19. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
20. Yaz - Don't Go
21. The Specials - Ghost Town
22. The Psychedelic Furs - Heaven
23. Split Enz - I Got You
24. The Chameleons U.K. - Swamp Thing
25. Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood
26. Depeche Mode - Shake The Disease
27. Visage - Fade To Grey
28. Berlin - The Metro
29. Alphaville - Forever Young
30. Blondie - Heart Of Glass
31. The English Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom
32. Duran Duran - Rio
33. The Flying Lizards - Money
34. XTC - Dear God
35. ABC - The Look Of Love (Part 1)
36. Q Feel - Dancing In Heaven (Orbital Bebop)
37. Altered Images - I Could Be Happy
38. The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap
39. B-Movie - Nowhere Girl
40. Squeeze - Cool For Cats
41. The Cure - In Between Days
42. Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough
43. Devo - Whip It
44. Public Image Ltd. - Public Image
45. Erasure - Oh Lamour
46. Fruer - Doot Doot
47. Lene Lovich - Lucky Number
48. Bow Wow Wow - Do You Wanna Hold Me?
49. Heaven 17 - Let Me Go
50. China Crisis - Working With Fire And Steel
I think at least half of these songs are strong candidates for the list I'm making. As a non-WFDU listener, I also count 7 songs on the list that I don't know. I'll have to listen to those before finalizing my own list. Two songs I consider strong candidates for the top of my list don't make the WFDU list all. Both of those songs were bigger hits than the songs on this list, so perhaps the WFDU audience eschewed new wave that successfully crossed over to top 40. Maybe I need to give more thought to how crossing over does or does not fit the archetype, or maybe it's irrelevant. Who am I kidding? No criteria, no matter how absurd is irrelevant in this little world of idiosyncratic ranking.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Six Decade Lists
I plan to wrap up the sixth of my decade lists tomorrow. It may be the last one I do for at least 7 years. I don't think I could tackle the 40s. It's just too hard to figure out what was actually released when. For instance, I haven't included any Charlie Parker in my 50s list. I'm pretty sure his recordings I like best are from the 40s, but I don't doubt that there were some terrific live versions from the early 50s I could have included if I had a more full appreciation for his whole discography.
Another issue with the 50s, which I expect would be even more challenging in the 40s, are the songs that were recorded by many artists. It's one thing for me to say I like Elvis Presley's "Mystery Train" better than Junior Parker's original because I know both versions well, or that Pat Boone's "Tutti Frutti" could be ignored entirely in favor of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti". I also had no problem in the 70s preferring Elvis Costello's "What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding" to the Brinsley Schwartz original. With the standards from the 30s and 40s, I know the songs more than I know the individual performances and it's often hard with re-issues to sort out recording dates from release dates. I've tried to stick with release dates for these countdowns.
If you're looking for any of the 6 countdowns, they're located here:
1950s (top 400)
1960s (top 500)
1970s (top 500)
1980s (top 500)
1990s (top 300)
2000s (top 300)
If you're extra-interested in the process for making these countdowns, there's a four part interview located here:
part 1 - including the question what makes your lists different?
part 2 - including the question what is the ranking process?
part 3 - including the question which decade was the easiest?
part 4 - including the question what sort of feedback have you received?
Special thanks to Jack at SaltInWound for doing the interview two years ago. They haven't been among my more popular posts, but I really enjoyed it myself, and it helped me think through some aspects of the process that ultimately affected the 1960s and 1950s lists.
Another issue with the 50s, which I expect would be even more challenging in the 40s, are the songs that were recorded by many artists. It's one thing for me to say I like Elvis Presley's "Mystery Train" better than Junior Parker's original because I know both versions well, or that Pat Boone's "Tutti Frutti" could be ignored entirely in favor of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti". I also had no problem in the 70s preferring Elvis Costello's "What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding" to the Brinsley Schwartz original. With the standards from the 30s and 40s, I know the songs more than I know the individual performances and it's often hard with re-issues to sort out recording dates from release dates. I've tried to stick with release dates for these countdowns.
If you're looking for any of the 6 countdowns, they're located here:
1950s (top 400)
1960s (top 500)
1970s (top 500)
1980s (top 500)
1990s (top 300)
2000s (top 300)
If you're extra-interested in the process for making these countdowns, there's a four part interview located here:
part 1 - including the question what makes your lists different?
part 2 - including the question what is the ranking process?
part 3 - including the question which decade was the easiest?
part 4 - including the question what sort of feedback have you received?
Special thanks to Jack at SaltInWound for doing the interview two years ago. They haven't been among my more popular posts, but I really enjoyed it myself, and it helped me think through some aspects of the process that ultimately affected the 1960s and 1950s lists.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Top 400 Songs of the 1950s (a countdown)
I have previously counted down the top 300 or top 500 songs of all of the decades in which I've lived, excepting of course the present decade, which is far from over. Rather than wait another 7 years before doing my next decade list, I'm reaching back to the 1950s. Beyond the fact that I wasn't born until well after the end of that decade, the 50s pose quite a few other listmaking challenges. I was undeterred.
It's very hard to accurately track down dates for a lot of worthy 50's era music. I don't doubt that a few songs from the late 40s or early 60s have accidentally slipped onto this list. The very format on which music was released was changing, from 10" 78rpm to 12" longplay (LP) records and also to 7" 45rpm singles. Much of what was released in the early 50s was re-released in different formats later. I tried to do my best to get correct dates, but in addition to some good reliable sources, I also used a fair number of questionable internet sources.
The biggest challenge of all is that there was some hugely popular music in the 1950s that was unfamiliar to me before beginning this list. I tried to fill in the gaps in my musical knowledge, especially pre-1955 pop music, but I know there's a lot of worthy music that I just plain missed. Setting apologies aside, here's the beginning of the list. I'll be updating this post over the course of the next few weeks with more of the countdown.
Here's 400 through 351 (posted Jan 5, 2013)
400. Billy Lamont - I Got A Rock & Roll Gal (1957)
399. Percy Faith & His Orchestra - Delicado (1952)
398. The Moroccos - Bang Goes My Heart (1955)
397. Johnnie Ray - Cry (1951)
396. Stan Freberg - St. George & The Dragonet (1951)
395. Link Wray - Dixie-Doodle (1959)
394. The Ames Brothers - Undecided (1951)
393. Carl Smith - (When You Feel Like You're In Love)Don't Just Stand There (1952)
392. Sonny James - First Date, First Kiss, First Love (1957)
391. Guy Mitchell - Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (1952)
390. The Du Droppers - Bam Balam (1953)
389. Buddy Holly - Maybe Baby (1958)
388. Jeani Mack - Super Duper (1959)
387. The Platters - Harbour Lights (1959)
386. Webb Pierce - I Ain't Never (1959)
385. Jo Stafford - Hawaiian War Chant (1951)
384. Lord Kitchener - Trouble In Arima (1955)
383. Yul Brynner - A Puzzlement (1951)
382. Hank Williams - Moanin' The Blues (1950)
381. Porter Wagoner - A Satisfied Mind (1955)
380. The Clovers - Don't You Know I Love You (1951)
379. Della Reese - Don't You Know (1959)
378. Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender (1956)
377. George Shearing - Lulu's Back in Town (1958)
376. Boyd Bennett And His Rockets - Seventeen (1956)
375. Little Walter - Can't Hold Out Much Longer (1952)
374. Sam Cooke - Touch The Hem Of His Garment (1956)
373. Boyd Bennett And His Rockets - Banjo Rock 'n Roll (1956)
372. Illinois Jacquet - Flying Home (1951)
371. Marty Robbins - I'll Go On Alone (1952)
370. Perry Como - Zing Zing, Zoom Zoom (1951)
369. Eddy Arnold and the Tennessee Plowboys and his Guitar - I Wanna Play House With You (1951)
368. Rebecca Williams - Please Give Me A Match (1957)
367. Slim Gaillard - Yip Roc Heresy (1951)
366. The Clovers - Lovey Dovey (1954)
365. Ben Bowers - Not Me (1957)
364. The Everly Brothers - Claudette (1959)
363. The Del Vikings - Whispering Bells (1957)
362. Donald Byrd - Sudwest Funk (1958)
361. Lonnie Donegan - Battle Of New Orleans (1959)
360. The Ames Brothers - The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane (1954)
359. Joni James - Why Don't You Believe Me (1952)
358. Johnny Cash - Train Of Love (1956)
357. Miller Sisters - Someday You Will Pay (1955)
356. Frank Sinatra - Night And Day (1956)
355. Carl Perkins - Jive After Five (1958)
354. Hank Williams - I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (1952)
353. Slim Gaillard - You Goofed (1952)
352. Eddie Fisher - Anytime (1951)
351. Donald O'Connor - Make 'Em Laugh (1952)
Continuing with 350 through 301 (posted Jan 9, 2013)
350. Chuz Alfred Combo - Rocking Boy (1955)
349. Slim Gaillard - Potato Chips (1952)
348. Percy Mayfield - The River's Invitation (1952)
347. Roy Haynes - Sugar Ray (1958)
346. Eugene Church - Good News (1959)
345. Perry Como - Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes (1952)
344. Big Daddy - Bacon Fat (1956)
343. Bing Crosby - Let A Smile Be Your Umbrella (1957)
342. Smokey Hogg - Look In Your Eyes Pretty Mama (1950)
341. The Debutantes - Just Leave It To Me (1956)
340. Link Wray - Rumble Mambo (1959)
339. Oliver Nelson - Jams And Jellies (1959)
338. Marty Robbins - Just Married (1958)
337. Ruth Brown - 5-10-15 Hours (1952)
336. Sam Cooke - Just Another Day (1952)
335. Lonnie Donegan - Lonesome Traveller (1958)
334. Sarah Vaughan - Come Rain Or Come Shine (1950)
333. Crew Cuts - Sh Boom (1954)
332. Eddy Arnold - The Cattle Call (1955)
331. Donald Byrd - Down Tempo (1958)
330. Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft (1957)
329. Tony Bennett - Rags To Riches (1953)
328. Hank Williams - Baby We're Really In Love (1951)
327. Lloyd Price - Personality (1959)
326. Ferlin Husky - Gone (1957)
325. Teresa Brewer - The Banjo's Back In Town (1955)
324. The Louvin Brothers - Satan Is Real (1959)
323. Big Red McHouston - I'm Tired (1954)
322. Gene Ammons - King Size (1957)
321. The Penguins - Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) (1954)
320. Six Teens - Stop Playing Ping Pong With My Heart (1957)
319. The Four Aces - Three Coins In The Fountain (1954)
318. Glen Reeves - Tarzan (1958)
317. Jo Stafford - Big D (1956)
316. The Chordettes - Lollipop (1958)
315. Percy Mayfield - What A Fool I Was (1950)
314. Robert Preston - Ya Got Trouble (1958)
313. Kitty Kallen - Little Things Mean A Lot (1954) 312. Hank Williams - Long Gone Lonesome Blues (1950)
311. Eddy Howard - Sin (It's No) Sin (1951)
310. Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys - Reincarnation (The Bed Bug) (1958)
309. Irvin Russ - Crazy Alligator (1959)
308. Edith Piaf - L'homme A La Moto (Black Denim Trousers & MotorcycleBoots) (1956)
307. Carl Smith - Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way (1951)
306. Elvis Presley - You're A Heartbreaker (1954)
305. Boyd Bennett And His Rockets - Everlovin' (1956)
304. Kay Starr - I Wanna Love You (1952)
303. Lord Kitchener - Nora (1950)
302. Stars of Faith - When I Lay This Body Down (1958)
301. Andrews Sisters - I Wanna Be Loved (1950)
Continuing with 300 through 251 (posted Jan 11, 2013)
300. Frankie Laine - Jezebel (1951)
299. The Everly Brothers - Bye Bye Love (1959)
298. Elvis Presley - Baby Let's Play House (1955)
297. Marni Nixon/Rex Thompson - I Whistle A Happy Tune (1951)
296. The Fontane Sisters - Castle Rock (1951)
295. Miss Sharecropper (LaVern Baker) - I Want To Rock (1950)
294. Banjo Kings - Alabamy Bound (1953)
293. Little Willie Littlefield - Kansas City aka KC Lovin' (1952)
292. The Clovers - Down In The Alley (1957)
291. Count Basie & Joe Williams - Every Day I Have the Blues (1956)
290. Jo Stafford - Shrimp Boats (1951)
289. Slim Gaillard - Laughing In Rhythm (1951)
288. Sam Cooke - Jesus, Wash Away My Troubles (1956)
287. Alfred Drake - Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (1955)
286. Thelonious Monk - Blues Five Spot (1958)
285. Jimmy Reed - Ends And Odds (1959)
284. The Larks - Eyesight To The Blind (1951)
283. Eugene Church - Miami (1959)
282. Slim Gaillard - Babalu (Orooney) (1951)
281. Mills Brothers - The Glow Worm (1952)
280. Vic Fontaine - Little Rock Special (1956)
279. The Clovers - Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash (1954)
278. The Isley Brothers - Ring-A-Ling-A-Ling (Let The Wedding Bells Ring) (1959)
277. Tony Bennett - Stranger In Paradise (1953)
276. Eddy Arnold - There's Been A Change In Me (1951)
275. Elvis Presley - All Shook Up (1957)
274. Skip Stanley - Satellite Baby (1957)
273. Irma Thomas - Don't Mess With My Man (1959)
272. Frank Sinatra - Young At Heart (1953)
271. Buddy Holly - Everyday (1958)
270. Bill Haley & The Comets - Razzle-Dazzle (1955)
269. Esquivel - Whatchamacallit (1958)
268. Flatt & Scruggs - My Little Girl In Tennessee (1950)
267. Jimmy McCracklin - Get Back (1956)
266. Sam Cooke - Farther Along (1956)
265. Carl Perkins - Gone Gone Gone (1955)
264. Gene Autry with The Cass County Boys - Frosty The Snowman (1950)
263. Buddy Holly - I'm Gonna Love You Too (1958)
262. Link Wray - Raw-Hide (1959)
261. Frank Sinatra - Oh! Look At Me Now (1956)
260. Faron Young - Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young (1955)
259. The Clovers - I Played The Fool (1952)
258. Johnny Cash - So Doggone Lonesome (1955)
257. Jerry Lee Lewis - Crazy Arms (1958)
256. Annie Laurie - Stop, Don't Go (1956)
255. Amos Milburn - Flying Home (1952)
254. Bobby Day - Rockin' Robin (1958)
253. Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me (1957)
252. Nappy Brown - Don't Be Angry (1955)
251. Sarah Vaughan - Ooh What Cha Doin' To Me (1953)
Continuing with 250 through 201 (posted Jan 13, 2013)
250. Charles Walton & The Kool Kats - Four Four Time (1958)
249. Benn Joe Zeppa - A Foolish Fool (1959)
248. Dolly Cooper - I Wanna Know (1953)
247. Elvis Presley - Don't Be Cruel (1956)
246. Buddy Holly - Rave On (1958)
245. The Clovers - Devil Or Angel (1956)
244. Royal Steelband of Kingston - Mambo Mento (1958)
243. Jimmy McCracklin - The Georgia Slop (1958)
242. Bing Crosby - I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter (1957)
241. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Little Boy Blue (1958)
240. Ruth Brown - This Little Girl's Gone Rockin' (1958)
239. Hank Williams - Ramblin' Man (1953)
238. The Everly Brothers - This Little Girl Of Mine (1959)
237. Bill Haley & The Comets - Dim, Dim the Lights (1954)
236. Smokey Hogg - It's Rainin' Here (1951)
235. Jane Turner - Danger Blues (1954)
234. Sam Cooke - Come And Go To That Land (1954)
233. Little Richard - Long Tall Sally (1957)
232. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Friendship (1952)
231. Buddy Holly - Oh Boy! (1958)
230. Martin Denny - Love Dance (1957)
229. The Swallows - Roll Roll Pretty Baby (1950)
228. Miles Davis - Rocker (1957)
227. Tennessee Ernie Ford - Shot-Gun Boogie (1951)
226. The Mighty Terror And His Calipsonians - Patricia Gone With Millicent (1956)
225. Georgia Lane - Get It! (1953)
224. Little Walter - Roller Coaster (1955)
223. Big Mama Thornton - The Fish (1955)
222. Chuck Berry - Oh Baby Doll (1957)
221. Frank Sinatra - It Happened In Monterey (1956)
220. Johnny Otis Orchestra - All Nite Long (1951)
219. The Clovers - Fool, Fool, Fool (1951)
218. Titans - No Time (1959)
217. The Native Boys - When I Met You (1956)
216. The Clovers - Ting-A- Ling (1952)
215. Cubs - Why Did You Make Me Cry? (1956)
214. Doye O'Dell - Diesel Smoke (Dangerous Curves) (1952)
213. Clayton, Rich & The Rumbles - Wail It (1959)
212. Webb Pierce - In The Jailhouse Now (1955)
211. Lonnie Donegan - Cumberland Gap (1957)
210. Bill Haley & The Comets - Shake, Rattle and Roll (1954)
209. Bobby Louis - Adult Western (1959)
208. Hank Thompson - This Train (1954)
207. Bobo Jenkins - Nothing But Love (1955)
206. The Robins - Ten Days In Jail (1954)
205. Carl Smith - Hey Joe! (1953)
204. Miles Davis - Two Bass Hit (1958)
203. The Champs - Tequila (1958)
202. Sarah Vaughan - Blues Serenade (1953)
201. Skeeter Davis - The One You Slip Around With (1959)
Continuing with 200 through 151 (posted Jan 15, 2013)
200. Sam Cooke - Mean Old World (1957)
199. The Pilgrim Travelers - Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb (1951)
198. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Blues March (1958)
197. Frank Sinatra - I've Got You Under My Skin (1956)
196. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I'll Take Care Of You (1959)
195. Frank Sinatra - They Can't Take That Away From Me (1953)
194. Faron Young - If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin') (1954)
193. Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly (1958)
192. Lefty Frizzell - If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time (1950)
191. Junior Parker - Mystery Train (1953)
190. Elvis Presley - Just Because (1954)
189. Art Blakey - Cranky Spanky (1956)
188. Chuck Berry - Maybellene (1955)
187. Eddy Arnold - A Full Time Job (1952)
186. Frank Sinatra - I've Got The World On A String (1953)
185. Miles Davis - Airegin (1957)
184. Big Mama Thornton - They Call Me Big Mama (1953)
183. Miles Davis - All Blues (1959)
182. Sarah Vaughan - Mean To Me (1950)
181. Elvis Presley - Milkcow Blues Boogie (1954)
180. Lonnie Donegan - Fort Worth Jail (1959)
179. Hank Thompson - Total Stranger (1958)
178. Duke Ellington - Track 360 (1959)
177. The Everly Brothers - Problems (1959)
176. Bertice Reading - Sweet Goody (1953)
175. Ray Charles - Night Time Is the Right Time (1959)
174. Chuck Berry - Back In The U.S.A. (1959)
173. The Mighty Terror And His Calipsonians - Women Police In England (1956)
172. Coleman Hawkins - Groovin' (1958)
171. The Monotones - Book of Love (1958)
170. Jerry Lee Lewis - Lewis Boogie (1958)
169. Nappy Brown - Little By Little (1956)
168. The Everly Brothers - Bird Dog (1959)
167. Donald Byrd - Off To The Races (1958)
166. Chuck Berry - Downbound Train (1955)
165. Fireflies - Stella's Got a Fella (1959)
164. Dorothea Fleming - The Devil is Mad (1954)
163. Slim Gaillard - Make It Do (1952)
162. Little Walter - It Ain't Right (1955)
161. The Chuck A Lucks - The Devil's Train (1958)
160. Sarah Vaughan - Perdido (1950)
159. Jiants - Tornado (1959)
158. Johnny Cash - Don't Take Your Guns To Town (1958)
157. Big Mama Thornton - Walking Blues (1954)
156. Patti Page - Tennessee Waltz (1950)
155. Hank Williams - Kaw-Liga (1953)
154. Junior Parker - Feelin Good (1953)
153. Percy Mayfield - Please Send Me Someone To Love (1950)
152. Original Cast of the 1951 NBC Telecast & Thomas Schippers - This Is My Box (1951)
151. Kay Starr - Wheel Of Fortune (1952)
Continuing with 150 through 126 (posted Jan 18, 2013)
150. Hank Williams - Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (1952)
149. Buddy Holly - It's So Easy (1958)
148. Teresa Brewer - Ricochet (1953)
147. Hank Thompson - Big Beaver (1954)
146. Jackie Brenston - Rocket 88 (1951)
145. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Got A Job (1958)
144. Johnny Cash - I Still Miss Someone (1958)
143. Robert Alda - Luck Be a Lady (1950)
142. The Clovers - Blue Velvet (1955)
141. Hank Williams - Hey, Good Lookin' (1951)
140. Robert Preston - Seventy Six Trombones (1958)
139. Santo & Johnny - Sleepwalk (1959)
138. Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin' (1958)
137. Coasters - Poison Ivy (1959)
136. Dion & The Belmonts - I Wonder Why (1958)
135. Hank Thompson - A Six Pack To Go (1959)
134. Nappy Brown - The Right Time (1957)
133. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - The Drum Thunder Suite (1958)
132. Brownie Mc Ghee - Anna Mae (1955)
131. Betty & Dupree - I Hope You're Satisfied (1959)
130. Sarah Vaughan - Nice Work If You Can Get It (1950)
129. The Mighty Terror And His Calipsonians - Heading North (1958)
128. Les Paul & Mary Ford - In The Good Old Summertime (1950)
127. Johnny Cash - Big River (1957)
126. The Viscounts - Harlem Nocturne (1959)
Continuing with 125 through 101 (posted Jan 19, 2013)
125. Hank Williams - Cold, Cold Heart (1951)
124. Johnny Mathis - It's Not for Me to Say (1957)
123. Junior Parker - Love My Baby (1953)
122. Thurston Harris - Purple Stew (1958)
121. Bobby Freeman - Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes (1959)
120. The Swallows - It Ain't The Meat (1950)
119. Percy Mayfield - Louisiana (1952)
118. Gene Vincent - Be-Bop-A-Lula (1956)
117. Kitty Wells - It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels (1952)
116. Buddy Holly - That'll Be The Day (1957)
115. Lonnie Donegan - Talking Guitar Blues (1959)
114. Tony Martin - I Get Ideas (1951)
113. Elvis Presley - I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine (1954)
112. The Isley Brothers - Yes Indeed (1959)
111. Ray Anthony - Peter Gunn Theme (1958)
110. Bo Diddley - Diddley Daddy (1955)
109. Johnny "Guitar" Watson - One More Kiss (1959)
108. Lillian Briggs - Can't Stop (1955)
107. Bing Crosby - Cool Water (1952)
106. Sonny Clark - Blue Minor (1958)
105. Evelyn Freeman - Didn't It Rain (1958)
104. Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame? (1955)
103. Gene Kelly - Singin' in the Rain (1952)
102. Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog (1953)
101. Georgia Gibbs - The Kiss Of Fire (1952)
Continuing with 100 through 81 (posted Jan 20, 2013)
100. Carl Perkins - Matchbox (1957)
99. Frank Sinatra - The Lady Is A Tramp (1957)
98. Rosemary Clooney - Come On-A My House (1951)
97. Marty Robbins - The Hanging Tree (1959)
96. Anton Karas - The Third Man Theme (1950)
95. Louis Prima - Jump, Jive, An' Wail (1957)
94. Frank Sinatra - You Make Me Feel So Young (1956)
93. Buddy Holly - Words Of Love (1958)
92. Carl Perkins - Honey Don't (1955)
91. Dean Martin - That's Amore (1953)
90. Jim Hall and His Radio Pals - Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Potassium (1959)
89. The Chordettes - Mr. Sandman (1954)
88. Elvis Presley - Hound Dog (1956)
87. Hank Snow - The Golden Rocket (1950)
86. Nat King Cole - Unforgettable (1951)
85. The Everly Brothers - Wake Up Little Susie (1959)
84. Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls Of Fire (1958)
83. Coasters - Down In Mexico (1956)
82. Harry Belafonte - Day-O (Banana Boat) (1956)
81. Lonnie Donegan - Jack O'Diamonds (1957)
Continuing with 80 through 61 (posted Jan 21, 2013)
80. Sarah Vaughan - Ain't Misbehavin' (1950)
79. Clarence "Frogman" Henry - Ain't Got No Home (1956)
78. Sonny Rollins - Strode Rode (1956)
77. The Chordettes - Love Never Changes (1956)
76. Sam Cooke - Peace In The Valley (1951)
75. Dorothy Love Coates - He's Right On Time (1956)
74. Big John Greer - You Played on My Piano (1951)
73. Big Mama Thornton - I Smell A Rat (1954)
72. Tennessee Ernie Ford - Sixteen Tons (1955)
71. Ray Anthony - Dragnet (1953)
70. Frank Sinatra - My Funny Valentine (1953)
69. Les Paul & Mary Ford - Brazil (1950)
68. Alfred Drake & Chorus - Oklahoma (1955)
67. Elvis Presley - I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (1954)
66. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Are You Real? (1958)
65. Frank Sinatra - I Get A Kick Out Of You (1953)
64. Charles Mingus - Jelly Roll (1959)
63. Chuck Berry - School Days (1957)
62. Stars of Faith - Mean Old World (1958)
61. Miles Davis - Freddie Freeloader (1959)
Continuing with 60 through 41 (posted Jan 22, 2013)
60. Jesse & Buzzy - Going Back To Orleans (1958)
59. Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong - Gone Fishin' (1951)
58. James Brown - Try Me (1958)
57. Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman (1959)
56. Clifton Chenier - Boppin' the Rock (1955)
55. Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock (1957)
54. Billy The Kid Emerson - Red Hot (1955)
53. Little Walter - Off The Wall (1953)
52. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (1955)
51. Thelonious Monk - Bemsha Swing (1956)
50. Johnny Mathis - Chances Are (1957)
49. Sun Ra - India (1956)
48. Lefty Frizzell - I Love You a Thousand Ways (1950)
47. Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues (1958)
46. Nat King Cole - Mona Lisa (1950)
45. Sam Cooke - Wonderful (1956)
44. Chuck Berry - Rock And Roll Music (1957)
43. Five Blind Boys - Count Me In (1954)
42. Peggy Lee - Black Coffee (1956)
41. Martin Denny - Quiet Village (1957)
Continuing with 40 through 31 (posted Jan 23, 2013)
40. Elvis Presley - HeartBreak Hotel (1956)
39. Robins - Riot In Cell Block #9 (1954)
38. Hank Williams - Take These Chains from My Heart (1953)
37. Sax Kari - Chocolate Fizz (1958)
36. Fats Domino - Blueberry Hill (1956)
35. Webb Pierce - There Stands The Glass (1953)
34. The Larks - Coffee Cigarettes And Tears (1951)
33. Jimmy Dale - Tennessee Ghost Train (1953)
32. Patsy Cline - Walkin' After Midnight (1957)
31. Little Richard - Tutti Frutti (1955)
Continuing with 30 through 21 (posted Jan 24, 2013)
30.The Louvin Brothers - I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby (1956)
29. Johnny Cash - Luther Played The Boogie (1959)
28. Sun Ra - Watusa (1959)
27. Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue (1957)
26. Five Blind Boys - Stand By Me (1954)
25. Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode (1957)
24. Elvis Presley - That's All Right (1954)
23. Miles Davis - Milestones (1958)
22. Charles Mingus - Boogie Stop Shuffle (1959)
21. Little Walter - My Babe (1955)
Continuing with 20 through 11 (posted Jan 25, 2013)
20. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (1957)
19. Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put a Spell On You (1956)
18. Hank Williams - Your Cheatin' Heart (1953)
17. The Isley Brothers - Shout (Parts 1 and 2) (1959)
16. Sam Cooke - I'm So Glad (Trouble Don't Last Always) (1955)
15. Bo Diddley - I'm A Man (1955)
14. Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes (1955)
13. Link Wray - Rumble (1958)
12. The Clovers - One Mint Julep (1952)
11. Bill Haley & The Comets - Rock Around the Clock (1954)
Continuing with 10 through 6 (posted Jan 26, 2013)
10. Joe Liggins - Pink Champagne (1950)
9. Elvis Presley - Blue Moon Of Kentucky (1954)
8. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Moanin' (1958)
7. Carl Perkins - Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (1957)
6. Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (1957)
Wrapping up the countdown with 5 though 1 (posted Jan 27, 2013)
5. Buddy Holly - Not Fade Away (1958)
4. Johnny Cash - I Walk The Line (1957)
3. Miles Davis - So What (1959)
2. Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven (1956)
1. Elvis Presley - Mystery Train (1955)
I'll probably update later to provide a few more links to youtube or elsewhere, but that concludes countdown #6. For more thoughts on the various countdowns, see here.
It's very hard to accurately track down dates for a lot of worthy 50's era music. I don't doubt that a few songs from the late 40s or early 60s have accidentally slipped onto this list. The very format on which music was released was changing, from 10" 78rpm to 12" longplay (LP) records and also to 7" 45rpm singles. Much of what was released in the early 50s was re-released in different formats later. I tried to do my best to get correct dates, but in addition to some good reliable sources, I also used a fair number of questionable internet sources.
The biggest challenge of all is that there was some hugely popular music in the 1950s that was unfamiliar to me before beginning this list. I tried to fill in the gaps in my musical knowledge, especially pre-1955 pop music, but I know there's a lot of worthy music that I just plain missed. Setting apologies aside, here's the beginning of the list. I'll be updating this post over the course of the next few weeks with more of the countdown.
Here's 400 through 351 (posted Jan 5, 2013)
400. Billy Lamont - I Got A Rock & Roll Gal (1957)
399. Percy Faith & His Orchestra - Delicado (1952)
398. The Moroccos - Bang Goes My Heart (1955)
397. Johnnie Ray - Cry (1951)
396. Stan Freberg - St. George & The Dragonet (1951)
395. Link Wray - Dixie-Doodle (1959)
394. The Ames Brothers - Undecided (1951)
393. Carl Smith - (When You Feel Like You're In Love)Don't Just Stand There (1952)
392. Sonny James - First Date, First Kiss, First Love (1957)
391. Guy Mitchell - Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (1952)
390. The Du Droppers - Bam Balam (1953)
389. Buddy Holly - Maybe Baby (1958)
388. Jeani Mack - Super Duper (1959)
387. The Platters - Harbour Lights (1959)
386. Webb Pierce - I Ain't Never (1959)
385. Jo Stafford - Hawaiian War Chant (1951)
384. Lord Kitchener - Trouble In Arima (1955)
383. Yul Brynner - A Puzzlement (1951)
382. Hank Williams - Moanin' The Blues (1950)
381. Porter Wagoner - A Satisfied Mind (1955)
380. The Clovers - Don't You Know I Love You (1951)
379. Della Reese - Don't You Know (1959)
378. Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender (1956)
377. George Shearing - Lulu's Back in Town (1958)
376. Boyd Bennett And His Rockets - Seventeen (1956)
375. Little Walter - Can't Hold Out Much Longer (1952)
374. Sam Cooke - Touch The Hem Of His Garment (1956)
373. Boyd Bennett And His Rockets - Banjo Rock 'n Roll (1956)
372. Illinois Jacquet - Flying Home (1951)
371. Marty Robbins - I'll Go On Alone (1952)
370. Perry Como - Zing Zing, Zoom Zoom (1951)
369. Eddy Arnold and the Tennessee Plowboys and his Guitar - I Wanna Play House With You (1951)
368. Rebecca Williams - Please Give Me A Match (1957)
367. Slim Gaillard - Yip Roc Heresy (1951)
366. The Clovers - Lovey Dovey (1954)
365. Ben Bowers - Not Me (1957)
364. The Everly Brothers - Claudette (1959)
363. The Del Vikings - Whispering Bells (1957)
362. Donald Byrd - Sudwest Funk (1958)
361. Lonnie Donegan - Battle Of New Orleans (1959)
360. The Ames Brothers - The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane (1954)
359. Joni James - Why Don't You Believe Me (1952)
358. Johnny Cash - Train Of Love (1956)
357. Miller Sisters - Someday You Will Pay (1955)
356. Frank Sinatra - Night And Day (1956)
355. Carl Perkins - Jive After Five (1958)
354. Hank Williams - I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (1952)
353. Slim Gaillard - You Goofed (1952)
352. Eddie Fisher - Anytime (1951)
351. Donald O'Connor - Make 'Em Laugh (1952)
Continuing with 350 through 301 (posted Jan 9, 2013)
350. Chuz Alfred Combo - Rocking Boy (1955)
349. Slim Gaillard - Potato Chips (1952)
348. Percy Mayfield - The River's Invitation (1952)
347. Roy Haynes - Sugar Ray (1958)
346. Eugene Church - Good News (1959)
345. Perry Como - Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes (1952)
344. Big Daddy - Bacon Fat (1956)
343. Bing Crosby - Let A Smile Be Your Umbrella (1957)
342. Smokey Hogg - Look In Your Eyes Pretty Mama (1950)
341. The Debutantes - Just Leave It To Me (1956)
340. Link Wray - Rumble Mambo (1959)
339. Oliver Nelson - Jams And Jellies (1959)
338. Marty Robbins - Just Married (1958)
337. Ruth Brown - 5-10-15 Hours (1952)
336. Sam Cooke - Just Another Day (1952)
335. Lonnie Donegan - Lonesome Traveller (1958)
334. Sarah Vaughan - Come Rain Or Come Shine (1950)
333. Crew Cuts - Sh Boom (1954)
332. Eddy Arnold - The Cattle Call (1955)
331. Donald Byrd - Down Tempo (1958)
330. Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft (1957)
329. Tony Bennett - Rags To Riches (1953)
328. Hank Williams - Baby We're Really In Love (1951)
327. Lloyd Price - Personality (1959)
326. Ferlin Husky - Gone (1957)
325. Teresa Brewer - The Banjo's Back In Town (1955)
324. The Louvin Brothers - Satan Is Real (1959)
323. Big Red McHouston - I'm Tired (1954)
322. Gene Ammons - King Size (1957)
321. The Penguins - Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) (1954)
320. Six Teens - Stop Playing Ping Pong With My Heart (1957)
319. The Four Aces - Three Coins In The Fountain (1954)
318. Glen Reeves - Tarzan (1958)
317. Jo Stafford - Big D (1956)
316. The Chordettes - Lollipop (1958)
315. Percy Mayfield - What A Fool I Was (1950)
314. Robert Preston - Ya Got Trouble (1958)
313. Kitty Kallen - Little Things Mean A Lot (1954) 312. Hank Williams - Long Gone Lonesome Blues (1950)
311. Eddy Howard - Sin (It's No) Sin (1951)
310. Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys - Reincarnation (The Bed Bug) (1958)
309. Irvin Russ - Crazy Alligator (1959)
308. Edith Piaf - L'homme A La Moto (Black Denim Trousers & MotorcycleBoots) (1956)
307. Carl Smith - Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way (1951)
306. Elvis Presley - You're A Heartbreaker (1954)
305. Boyd Bennett And His Rockets - Everlovin' (1956)
304. Kay Starr - I Wanna Love You (1952)
303. Lord Kitchener - Nora (1950)
302. Stars of Faith - When I Lay This Body Down (1958)
301. Andrews Sisters - I Wanna Be Loved (1950)
Continuing with 300 through 251 (posted Jan 11, 2013)
300. Frankie Laine - Jezebel (1951)
299. The Everly Brothers - Bye Bye Love (1959)
298. Elvis Presley - Baby Let's Play House (1955)
297. Marni Nixon/Rex Thompson - I Whistle A Happy Tune (1951)
296. The Fontane Sisters - Castle Rock (1951)
295. Miss Sharecropper (LaVern Baker) - I Want To Rock (1950)
294. Banjo Kings - Alabamy Bound (1953)
293. Little Willie Littlefield - Kansas City aka KC Lovin' (1952)
292. The Clovers - Down In The Alley (1957)
291. Count Basie & Joe Williams - Every Day I Have the Blues (1956)
290. Jo Stafford - Shrimp Boats (1951)
289. Slim Gaillard - Laughing In Rhythm (1951)
288. Sam Cooke - Jesus, Wash Away My Troubles (1956)
287. Alfred Drake - Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (1955)
286. Thelonious Monk - Blues Five Spot (1958)
285. Jimmy Reed - Ends And Odds (1959)
284. The Larks - Eyesight To The Blind (1951)
283. Eugene Church - Miami (1959)
282. Slim Gaillard - Babalu (Orooney) (1951)
281. Mills Brothers - The Glow Worm (1952)
280. Vic Fontaine - Little Rock Special (1956)
279. The Clovers - Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash (1954)
278. The Isley Brothers - Ring-A-Ling-A-Ling (Let The Wedding Bells Ring) (1959)
277. Tony Bennett - Stranger In Paradise (1953)
276. Eddy Arnold - There's Been A Change In Me (1951)
275. Elvis Presley - All Shook Up (1957)
274. Skip Stanley - Satellite Baby (1957)
273. Irma Thomas - Don't Mess With My Man (1959)
272. Frank Sinatra - Young At Heart (1953)
271. Buddy Holly - Everyday (1958)
270. Bill Haley & The Comets - Razzle-Dazzle (1955)
269. Esquivel - Whatchamacallit (1958)
268. Flatt & Scruggs - My Little Girl In Tennessee (1950)
267. Jimmy McCracklin - Get Back (1956)
266. Sam Cooke - Farther Along (1956)
265. Carl Perkins - Gone Gone Gone (1955)
264. Gene Autry with The Cass County Boys - Frosty The Snowman (1950)
263. Buddy Holly - I'm Gonna Love You Too (1958)
262. Link Wray - Raw-Hide (1959)
261. Frank Sinatra - Oh! Look At Me Now (1956)
260. Faron Young - Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young (1955)
259. The Clovers - I Played The Fool (1952)
258. Johnny Cash - So Doggone Lonesome (1955)
257. Jerry Lee Lewis - Crazy Arms (1958)
256. Annie Laurie - Stop, Don't Go (1956)
255. Amos Milburn - Flying Home (1952)
254. Bobby Day - Rockin' Robin (1958)
253. Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me (1957)
252. Nappy Brown - Don't Be Angry (1955)
251. Sarah Vaughan - Ooh What Cha Doin' To Me (1953)
Continuing with 250 through 201 (posted Jan 13, 2013)
250. Charles Walton & The Kool Kats - Four Four Time (1958)
249. Benn Joe Zeppa - A Foolish Fool (1959)
248. Dolly Cooper - I Wanna Know (1953)
247. Elvis Presley - Don't Be Cruel (1956)
246. Buddy Holly - Rave On (1958)
245. The Clovers - Devil Or Angel (1956)
244. Royal Steelband of Kingston - Mambo Mento (1958)
243. Jimmy McCracklin - The Georgia Slop (1958)
242. Bing Crosby - I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter (1957)
241. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Little Boy Blue (1958)
240. Ruth Brown - This Little Girl's Gone Rockin' (1958)
239. Hank Williams - Ramblin' Man (1953)
238. The Everly Brothers - This Little Girl Of Mine (1959)
237. Bill Haley & The Comets - Dim, Dim the Lights (1954)
236. Smokey Hogg - It's Rainin' Here (1951)
235. Jane Turner - Danger Blues (1954)
234. Sam Cooke - Come And Go To That Land (1954)
233. Little Richard - Long Tall Sally (1957)
232. Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Friendship (1952)
231. Buddy Holly - Oh Boy! (1958)
230. Martin Denny - Love Dance (1957)
229. The Swallows - Roll Roll Pretty Baby (1950)
228. Miles Davis - Rocker (1957)
227. Tennessee Ernie Ford - Shot-Gun Boogie (1951)
226. The Mighty Terror And His Calipsonians - Patricia Gone With Millicent (1956)
225. Georgia Lane - Get It! (1953)
224. Little Walter - Roller Coaster (1955)
223. Big Mama Thornton - The Fish (1955)
222. Chuck Berry - Oh Baby Doll (1957)
221. Frank Sinatra - It Happened In Monterey (1956)
220. Johnny Otis Orchestra - All Nite Long (1951)
219. The Clovers - Fool, Fool, Fool (1951)
218. Titans - No Time (1959)
217. The Native Boys - When I Met You (1956)
216. The Clovers - Ting-A- Ling (1952)
215. Cubs - Why Did You Make Me Cry? (1956)
214. Doye O'Dell - Diesel Smoke (Dangerous Curves) (1952)
213. Clayton, Rich & The Rumbles - Wail It (1959)
212. Webb Pierce - In The Jailhouse Now (1955)
211. Lonnie Donegan - Cumberland Gap (1957)
210. Bill Haley & The Comets - Shake, Rattle and Roll (1954)
209. Bobby Louis - Adult Western (1959)
208. Hank Thompson - This Train (1954)
207. Bobo Jenkins - Nothing But Love (1955)
206. The Robins - Ten Days In Jail (1954)
205. Carl Smith - Hey Joe! (1953)
204. Miles Davis - Two Bass Hit (1958)
203. The Champs - Tequila (1958)
202. Sarah Vaughan - Blues Serenade (1953)
201. Skeeter Davis - The One You Slip Around With (1959)
Continuing with 200 through 151 (posted Jan 15, 2013)
200. Sam Cooke - Mean Old World (1957)
199. The Pilgrim Travelers - Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb (1951)
198. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Blues March (1958)
197. Frank Sinatra - I've Got You Under My Skin (1956)
196. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I'll Take Care Of You (1959)
195. Frank Sinatra - They Can't Take That Away From Me (1953)
194. Faron Young - If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin') (1954)
193. Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly (1958)
192. Lefty Frizzell - If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time (1950)
191. Junior Parker - Mystery Train (1953)
190. Elvis Presley - Just Because (1954)
189. Art Blakey - Cranky Spanky (1956)
188. Chuck Berry - Maybellene (1955)
187. Eddy Arnold - A Full Time Job (1952)
186. Frank Sinatra - I've Got The World On A String (1953)
185. Miles Davis - Airegin (1957)
184. Big Mama Thornton - They Call Me Big Mama (1953)
183. Miles Davis - All Blues (1959)
182. Sarah Vaughan - Mean To Me (1950)
181. Elvis Presley - Milkcow Blues Boogie (1954)
180. Lonnie Donegan - Fort Worth Jail (1959)
179. Hank Thompson - Total Stranger (1958)
178. Duke Ellington - Track 360 (1959)
177. The Everly Brothers - Problems (1959)
176. Bertice Reading - Sweet Goody (1953)
175. Ray Charles - Night Time Is the Right Time (1959)
174. Chuck Berry - Back In The U.S.A. (1959)
173. The Mighty Terror And His Calipsonians - Women Police In England (1956)
172. Coleman Hawkins - Groovin' (1958)
171. The Monotones - Book of Love (1958)
170. Jerry Lee Lewis - Lewis Boogie (1958)
169. Nappy Brown - Little By Little (1956)
168. The Everly Brothers - Bird Dog (1959)
167. Donald Byrd - Off To The Races (1958)
166. Chuck Berry - Downbound Train (1955)
165. Fireflies - Stella's Got a Fella (1959)
164. Dorothea Fleming - The Devil is Mad (1954)
163. Slim Gaillard - Make It Do (1952)
162. Little Walter - It Ain't Right (1955)
161. The Chuck A Lucks - The Devil's Train (1958)
160. Sarah Vaughan - Perdido (1950)
159. Jiants - Tornado (1959)
158. Johnny Cash - Don't Take Your Guns To Town (1958)
157. Big Mama Thornton - Walking Blues (1954)
156. Patti Page - Tennessee Waltz (1950)
155. Hank Williams - Kaw-Liga (1953)
154. Junior Parker - Feelin Good (1953)
153. Percy Mayfield - Please Send Me Someone To Love (1950)
152. Original Cast of the 1951 NBC Telecast & Thomas Schippers - This Is My Box (1951)
151. Kay Starr - Wheel Of Fortune (1952)
Continuing with 150 through 126 (posted Jan 18, 2013)
150. Hank Williams - Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (1952)
149. Buddy Holly - It's So Easy (1958)
148. Teresa Brewer - Ricochet (1953)
147. Hank Thompson - Big Beaver (1954)
146. Jackie Brenston - Rocket 88 (1951)
145. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Got A Job (1958)
144. Johnny Cash - I Still Miss Someone (1958)
143. Robert Alda - Luck Be a Lady (1950)
142. The Clovers - Blue Velvet (1955)
141. Hank Williams - Hey, Good Lookin' (1951)
140. Robert Preston - Seventy Six Trombones (1958)
139. Santo & Johnny - Sleepwalk (1959)
138. Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin' (1958)
137. Coasters - Poison Ivy (1959)
136. Dion & The Belmonts - I Wonder Why (1958)
135. Hank Thompson - A Six Pack To Go (1959)
134. Nappy Brown - The Right Time (1957)
133. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - The Drum Thunder Suite (1958)
132. Brownie Mc Ghee - Anna Mae (1955)
131. Betty & Dupree - I Hope You're Satisfied (1959)
130. Sarah Vaughan - Nice Work If You Can Get It (1950)
129. The Mighty Terror And His Calipsonians - Heading North (1958)
128. Les Paul & Mary Ford - In The Good Old Summertime (1950)
127. Johnny Cash - Big River (1957)
126. The Viscounts - Harlem Nocturne (1959)
Continuing with 125 through 101 (posted Jan 19, 2013)
125. Hank Williams - Cold, Cold Heart (1951)
124. Johnny Mathis - It's Not for Me to Say (1957)
123. Junior Parker - Love My Baby (1953)
122. Thurston Harris - Purple Stew (1958)
121. Bobby Freeman - Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes (1959)
120. The Swallows - It Ain't The Meat (1950)
119. Percy Mayfield - Louisiana (1952)
118. Gene Vincent - Be-Bop-A-Lula (1956)
117. Kitty Wells - It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels (1952)
116. Buddy Holly - That'll Be The Day (1957)
115. Lonnie Donegan - Talking Guitar Blues (1959)
114. Tony Martin - I Get Ideas (1951)
113. Elvis Presley - I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine (1954)
112. The Isley Brothers - Yes Indeed (1959)
111. Ray Anthony - Peter Gunn Theme (1958)
110. Bo Diddley - Diddley Daddy (1955)
109. Johnny "Guitar" Watson - One More Kiss (1959)
108. Lillian Briggs - Can't Stop (1955)
107. Bing Crosby - Cool Water (1952)
106. Sonny Clark - Blue Minor (1958)
105. Evelyn Freeman - Didn't It Rain (1958)
104. Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame? (1955)
103. Gene Kelly - Singin' in the Rain (1952)
102. Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog (1953)
101. Georgia Gibbs - The Kiss Of Fire (1952)
Continuing with 100 through 81 (posted Jan 20, 2013)
100. Carl Perkins - Matchbox (1957)
99. Frank Sinatra - The Lady Is A Tramp (1957)
98. Rosemary Clooney - Come On-A My House (1951)
97. Marty Robbins - The Hanging Tree (1959)
96. Anton Karas - The Third Man Theme (1950)
95. Louis Prima - Jump, Jive, An' Wail (1957)
94. Frank Sinatra - You Make Me Feel So Young (1956)
93. Buddy Holly - Words Of Love (1958)
92. Carl Perkins - Honey Don't (1955)
91. Dean Martin - That's Amore (1953)
90. Jim Hall and His Radio Pals - Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Potassium (1959)
89. The Chordettes - Mr. Sandman (1954)
88. Elvis Presley - Hound Dog (1956)
87. Hank Snow - The Golden Rocket (1950)
86. Nat King Cole - Unforgettable (1951)
85. The Everly Brothers - Wake Up Little Susie (1959)
84. Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls Of Fire (1958)
83. Coasters - Down In Mexico (1956)
82. Harry Belafonte - Day-O (Banana Boat) (1956)
81. Lonnie Donegan - Jack O'Diamonds (1957)
Continuing with 80 through 61 (posted Jan 21, 2013)
80. Sarah Vaughan - Ain't Misbehavin' (1950)
79. Clarence "Frogman" Henry - Ain't Got No Home (1956)
78. Sonny Rollins - Strode Rode (1956)
77. The Chordettes - Love Never Changes (1956)
76. Sam Cooke - Peace In The Valley (1951)
75. Dorothy Love Coates - He's Right On Time (1956)
74. Big John Greer - You Played on My Piano (1951)
73. Big Mama Thornton - I Smell A Rat (1954)
72. Tennessee Ernie Ford - Sixteen Tons (1955)
71. Ray Anthony - Dragnet (1953)
70. Frank Sinatra - My Funny Valentine (1953)
69. Les Paul & Mary Ford - Brazil (1950)
68. Alfred Drake & Chorus - Oklahoma (1955)
67. Elvis Presley - I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (1954)
66. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Are You Real? (1958)
65. Frank Sinatra - I Get A Kick Out Of You (1953)
64. Charles Mingus - Jelly Roll (1959)
63. Chuck Berry - School Days (1957)
62. Stars of Faith - Mean Old World (1958)
61. Miles Davis - Freddie Freeloader (1959)
Continuing with 60 through 41 (posted Jan 22, 2013)
60. Jesse & Buzzy - Going Back To Orleans (1958)
59. Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong - Gone Fishin' (1951)
58. James Brown - Try Me (1958)
57. Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman (1959)
56. Clifton Chenier - Boppin' the Rock (1955)
55. Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock (1957)
54. Billy The Kid Emerson - Red Hot (1955)
53. Little Walter - Off The Wall (1953)
52. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (1955)
51. Thelonious Monk - Bemsha Swing (1956)
50. Johnny Mathis - Chances Are (1957)
49. Sun Ra - India (1956)
48. Lefty Frizzell - I Love You a Thousand Ways (1950)
47. Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues (1958)
46. Nat King Cole - Mona Lisa (1950)
45. Sam Cooke - Wonderful (1956)
44. Chuck Berry - Rock And Roll Music (1957)
43. Five Blind Boys - Count Me In (1954)
42. Peggy Lee - Black Coffee (1956)
41. Martin Denny - Quiet Village (1957)
Continuing with 40 through 31 (posted Jan 23, 2013)
40. Elvis Presley - HeartBreak Hotel (1956)
39. Robins - Riot In Cell Block #9 (1954)
38. Hank Williams - Take These Chains from My Heart (1953)
37. Sax Kari - Chocolate Fizz (1958)
36. Fats Domino - Blueberry Hill (1956)
35. Webb Pierce - There Stands The Glass (1953)
34. The Larks - Coffee Cigarettes And Tears (1951)
33. Jimmy Dale - Tennessee Ghost Train (1953)
32. Patsy Cline - Walkin' After Midnight (1957)
31. Little Richard - Tutti Frutti (1955)
Continuing with 30 through 21 (posted Jan 24, 2013)
30.The Louvin Brothers - I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby (1956)
29. Johnny Cash - Luther Played The Boogie (1959)
28. Sun Ra - Watusa (1959)
27. Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue (1957)
26. Five Blind Boys - Stand By Me (1954)
25. Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode (1957)
24. Elvis Presley - That's All Right (1954)
23. Miles Davis - Milestones (1958)
22. Charles Mingus - Boogie Stop Shuffle (1959)
21. Little Walter - My Babe (1955)
Continuing with 20 through 11 (posted Jan 25, 2013)
20. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (1957)
19. Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put a Spell On You (1956)
18. Hank Williams - Your Cheatin' Heart (1953)
17. The Isley Brothers - Shout (Parts 1 and 2) (1959)
16. Sam Cooke - I'm So Glad (Trouble Don't Last Always) (1955)
15. Bo Diddley - I'm A Man (1955)
14. Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes (1955)
13. Link Wray - Rumble (1958)
12. The Clovers - One Mint Julep (1952)
11. Bill Haley & The Comets - Rock Around the Clock (1954)
Continuing with 10 through 6 (posted Jan 26, 2013)
10. Joe Liggins - Pink Champagne (1950)
9. Elvis Presley - Blue Moon Of Kentucky (1954)
8. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Moanin' (1958)
7. Carl Perkins - Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (1957)
6. Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (1957)
Wrapping up the countdown with 5 though 1 (posted Jan 27, 2013)
5. Buddy Holly - Not Fade Away (1958)
4. Johnny Cash - I Walk The Line (1957)
3. Miles Davis - So What (1959)
2. Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven (1956)
1. Elvis Presley - Mystery Train (1955)
I'll probably update later to provide a few more links to youtube or elsewhere, but that concludes countdown #6. For more thoughts on the various countdowns, see here.
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