Counting down to the most awarded songs #6. Still more tunes that got awards from the Grammys, the Oscars, Rolling Stone magazine, RIAA, ASCAP, CMA, NPR, and the like.
100. Your Song – Elton John. The first song on the first Elton John album I owned, which I mistakenly thought WAS the first Elton John album because it was eponymously named.
99. You Really Got Me – The Kinks. The early Kinks were a really LOUD band, and this song epitomized that. I don’t think I really appreciated the band until later on.
98. Why Do Fools Fall In Love – Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. This is a very good question! This song was SO infectious it was covered by the Beach Boys, Diana Ross, and even Joni Mitchell.
97. Maybellene – Chuck Berry. His first hit and it redefined rock and roll. Apparently named for the makeup company.
96. I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown. Not only was it #1 on the R and B charts for SIX weeks, but it was also the highest-ranked song of his on the pop charts, #3 for three weeks in 1965.
95. Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley. I always associate this song with Elvis’ big comeback c. 1968.
“Just look over your shoulder”
94. Reach Out I’ll Be There – The Four Tops. Their second #1, on both the R and B, and pop charts, after I Can’t Help Myself. I saw the Four Tops and The Temptations at Heritage Park in Colonie, near Albany in the mid-1980s. It was not a great venue but they were fine anyway.
93. House Of The Rising Sun – The Animals. This is a really old song, at least six decades before it became a #1 hit in 1964.
92. Wake Up Little Susie – The Everly Brothers. I loved this song at the time. In retrospect, I love it even more. It denotes a certain level of innocence. “What are we gonna tell our friends when they say, ‘Ooh, la, la’?”
91. Billie Jean – Michael Jackson. When I was in library school, I had written a paper about how, initially, MTV wasn’t going to show Michael Jackson videos because MJ was too.. “urban” or something. His label, Columbia/Epic, said that if he didn’t get on the platform, the label would yank their OTHER videos from MTV, and MTV capitulated. MTV made Michael, and Michael made MTV. Anyway, my professor was surprised that the facts I stated about this situation, which I thought were rather well known, were actually true. I was a bit bemused by that, and maybe a bit ticked off.
