Artist: David Guetta featuring Sam Martin
David Guetta (b 7/12/1967, Paris, France) - producer
Sam Martin (b 7/2/1983, New York, NY, USA) - vocals
Song: Lovers On The Sun
Words and music: David Guetta and Avicii
Producers: David Guetta, Avicii, Frédéric Riesterer, Giorgio Tuinfort, Daddy's Groove
Number One History
30/8/2014 - 1 week
Format
Digital Downloads
1. Lovers On The Sun
2. Lovers On The Sun (Extended)
3. Lovers On The Sun (Stadiumx Remix)
4. Lovers On The Sun (Showtek Remix)
5. Lovers On The Sun (Blasterjaxx Remix)
EDM, or electronic dance music, has pretty much conquered the world now, although if you're British and of a certain age, it's likely that you're already bored of the sound. The style uses utterly unsubtle four-to-the-floor beats reminiscient of cheesy eurodance of the early 90s, only much, much louder. French DJ David Guetta is largely responsible for this phenonemon; when he produced the Black Eyed Peas' megahit 'I Gotta Feeling', the style went massive in the USA and Guetta found that a whole load of big names were queuing up to work with him: Akon, Nicki Minaj, Emili Sandé and many others signed up.
At this point, the genre also moved north to Sweden, with several DJs working with similar beats. So, it's hardly a surprise that the biggest name in Swedish dance music, Avicii (real name Tim Bergling) hooked up with Guetta here. The pair claimed spaghetti western influences, with strummed guitars and surging motifs referencing Ennio Morricone's scores. However, EDM stomps all over its territory, so what you remember most of all is another big, euphoric chorus that couldn't be more generic if it tried. Guest vocalist Sam Martin is perhaps one of the lesser known talents working with Guetta. He also appeared on Guetta's later hit, Dangerous, and has also written for Maroon 5.
One thing to note. This whole scene is ridiculously incestuous, with everyone turning up on everyone else's record. No less than seven people are credited with production duties here (Daddy's Groove are an Italian trio). We now seem to have an international network of producers making largely interchangeable records.
The track was covered by English alternative rock band The Mallory Knox for a radio session.
Saturday, 1 August 2015
The Kinks - Tired Of Waiting For You
Artist: The Kinks
Formed: London, England, 1964. Disbanded 1996.
Ray Davies (b 21/6/1944, London England) - vocals, guitar
Dave Davies (b 3/2/1947. London, England) - guitar, vocals
Pete Quaife (b 31/12/1943, Tavistock, England; d 23/6/2010, Copenhagen, Denmark) - bass guitar
Mick Avory (b 15/2/1944, East Molesey, England) - drums
Song: Tired Of Waiting For You
Words and music: Ray Davies
Producer: Shel Talmy
Number One History
18/2/65 - 1 week
Formats
7" black vinyl, plain sleeve (Pye, 7N 15759)
Of all the big 60s British bands, The Kinks often seem like the most modern, and a song like this shows why. It has a sophisticated mesh of guitar patterns and is moving away from their early more aggressive sound that prefigured both garage rock and heavy metal. There's a greater melodic feel as well as strong vocal harmonies, and the guitar jangle would be a huge influence on indie rock and especially Britpop. Indeed, Davies' penchant for third person narratives, displayed on songs like 'Waterloo Sunset', would be hugely influential with bands such as Blur.
The most notable cover was by Californian pop-punks Green Day, who recorded it as the b-side to breakthrough single 'Basket Case' in 1996.
The Kinks' history is odd. In British terms, they remained popular until 1970, after which they stopped having hits altogether, save for the one-off hit 'Come Dancing' in 1983. In the USA, they retained more popularity despite (or maybe because of?) the band's English mannerisms. After splitting the band, Ray Davies continued to record and tour as a solo artist, revelling in his status as an elder statesman of British song.
Formed: London, England, 1964. Disbanded 1996.
Ray Davies (b 21/6/1944, London England) - vocals, guitar
Dave Davies (b 3/2/1947. London, England) - guitar, vocals
Pete Quaife (b 31/12/1943, Tavistock, England; d 23/6/2010, Copenhagen, Denmark) - bass guitar
Mick Avory (b 15/2/1944, East Molesey, England) - drums
Song: Tired Of Waiting For You
Words and music: Ray Davies
Producer: Shel Talmy
Number One History
18/2/65 - 1 week
Formats
7" black vinyl, plain sleeve (Pye, 7N 15759)
Of all the big 60s British bands, The Kinks often seem like the most modern, and a song like this shows why. It has a sophisticated mesh of guitar patterns and is moving away from their early more aggressive sound that prefigured both garage rock and heavy metal. There's a greater melodic feel as well as strong vocal harmonies, and the guitar jangle would be a huge influence on indie rock and especially Britpop. Indeed, Davies' penchant for third person narratives, displayed on songs like 'Waterloo Sunset', would be hugely influential with bands such as Blur.
The most notable cover was by Californian pop-punks Green Day, who recorded it as the b-side to breakthrough single 'Basket Case' in 1996.
The Kinks' history is odd. In British terms, they remained popular until 1970, after which they stopped having hits altogether, save for the one-off hit 'Come Dancing' in 1983. In the USA, they retained more popularity despite (or maybe because of?) the band's English mannerisms. After splitting the band, Ray Davies continued to record and tour as a solo artist, revelling in his status as an elder statesman of British song.
Elvis Presley - It's Now Or Never
I started this blog as an attempt to evaluate number one singles on a random basis, using a number generator to select hit songs at random. So the first choice is, perhaps fittingly, by the king of rock 'n' roll himself
Artist: Elvis Presley.
Born: Tupelo, MS, 8/1/1935
Died: Memphis, TN, 16/8/1977
Song: It's Now Or Never
Lyrics: Wally Gold & Aaron Schroeder
Music: Eduardo di Capua
No producer credited
Number One History
3/11/1960 - 8 weeks
5/2/2005 - 1 week
Formats
1960 - 7" black vinyl in generic RCA sleeve (RCA, 45-RCA 1207)
1. It's Now Or Never
2. Make Me Know It
2005 - 10" black vinyl in vintage-style generic RCA sleeve with title sticker (RCA, 82876666591)
CD with picture inlay (RCA, 82876666592)
1. It's Now Or Never
2. Make Me Know It
3. A Mess Of Blues
It's often the case that an artist's best work is not what actually makes the top spot. For me, the real Elvis is contained either in the earliest Sun Records recordings, which are thrillingly raw, or his late sixties creative re-birth which produced classics like Suspicious Minds and In The Ghetto. Neither era produced number one hits.
Elvis is, of course, the most legendary name in rock music, whose sensual performances shocked the buttoned-up 1950s by mixing r'n'b raunchiness with country-and-western influenced vocals. But under the baleful influence of his crooked manager, Colonel Tom Parker (actually a Dutch immigrant with a shady past in Breda), he started the sixties as an MoR crooner making terrible movies with bland soundtracks. 'It's Now Or Never' is typical of this style. It was based on an Italian song 'O sole mio', which dates back 10 1898. There is, perhaps a bit of drama in the declamatory title line, but it's hard to avoid the feeling that Elvis would have been better off tearing through classic rockers than hamming it up on pseudo-Italian melodrama.
There is only one significant cover of the song is by country singer John Schneider, a top 20 US hit in 1981. The source song is rather more covered, with versions by stars such as Tony Bennett and Luciano Pavarotti, as well as an intriguing combination of veteran English actor Christopher Lee and Italian metal band Rhapsody Of Fire.
It's now hard to think of Elvis in a positive light, however great and groundbreaking his early music was. His later life was marked by severe overeating and substance abuse, as he phoned in performances at a Las Vegas residency while wearing ridiculous white jumpsuits. This is the image favoured by the legion of Elvis impersonators who revel in the tackiness of their idol's decline. Very sad.
Artist: Elvis Presley.
Born: Tupelo, MS, 8/1/1935
Died: Memphis, TN, 16/8/1977
Song: It's Now Or Never
Lyrics: Wally Gold & Aaron Schroeder
Music: Eduardo di Capua
No producer credited
Number One History
3/11/1960 - 8 weeks
5/2/2005 - 1 week
Formats
1960 - 7" black vinyl in generic RCA sleeve (RCA, 45-RCA 1207)
1. It's Now Or Never
2. Make Me Know It
2005 - 10" black vinyl in vintage-style generic RCA sleeve with title sticker (RCA, 82876666591)
CD with picture inlay (RCA, 82876666592)
1. It's Now Or Never
2. Make Me Know It
3. A Mess Of Blues
It's often the case that an artist's best work is not what actually makes the top spot. For me, the real Elvis is contained either in the earliest Sun Records recordings, which are thrillingly raw, or his late sixties creative re-birth which produced classics like Suspicious Minds and In The Ghetto. Neither era produced number one hits.
Elvis is, of course, the most legendary name in rock music, whose sensual performances shocked the buttoned-up 1950s by mixing r'n'b raunchiness with country-and-western influenced vocals. But under the baleful influence of his crooked manager, Colonel Tom Parker (actually a Dutch immigrant with a shady past in Breda), he started the sixties as an MoR crooner making terrible movies with bland soundtracks. 'It's Now Or Never' is typical of this style. It was based on an Italian song 'O sole mio', which dates back 10 1898. There is, perhaps a bit of drama in the declamatory title line, but it's hard to avoid the feeling that Elvis would have been better off tearing through classic rockers than hamming it up on pseudo-Italian melodrama.
There is only one significant cover of the song is by country singer John Schneider, a top 20 US hit in 1981. The source song is rather more covered, with versions by stars such as Tony Bennett and Luciano Pavarotti, as well as an intriguing combination of veteran English actor Christopher Lee and Italian metal band Rhapsody Of Fire.
It's now hard to think of Elvis in a positive light, however great and groundbreaking his early music was. His later life was marked by severe overeating and substance abuse, as he phoned in performances at a Las Vegas residency while wearing ridiculous white jumpsuits. This is the image favoured by the legion of Elvis impersonators who revel in the tackiness of their idol's decline. Very sad.
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