The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten Facts

[Tenacious_Peaches]

When Old Fitty first started the Songfactor's Top Ten lists, I volunteered myself to help compile Songfacts for any top ten songs that didn't have them. The message boards here are fun and informative, but the main site is what keeps it all going. However, the lists started coming fast and furious and I lost track of them. Our sweet katie_sane resurrected the idea and suggested we make it a separate thread to make things easier. She will be in charge of letting you know what songs need facts and sending them to the main site. I will be her willing assistant. You will receive recognition for your contribution in the Songfact.

The good news is the current list of songs (Top Ten #10) already have Songfacts. Miss Katie went back through the archives and found the following songs that are in need of information. I believe some of you have made suggestions about one or two of these...we'll go back and get that data.

To Love Somebody - The Bee Gees

Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughn

Hush - Deep Purple

Wouldn’t It Be Nice - The Beach Boys

If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot

Mississippi Queen - Mountain

Rainy Night In Georgia - Brook Benton

Anything little fact you can think of would be great. Who wrote it, remakes of it by other artists, meanings behind it, movies or TV shows it's been in...anything at all would be much appreciated. We just ask that it is something easily verifiable. Just think, if we get our favorite songs on the main site, maybe we can turn others onto our fabulous musical tastes.

Thanks to all of you for helping make Songfacts such a wonderful place.

[edna]

I know I´m stupid, but please, where do I have to post or click or whatever to submit facts for a new song? Actually, how do I submitt a new song?

[Earth-Angel]

Wouldn't it be nice - Beach Boys

This song has been adapted and used for the Cadbury chocolate commercials in South Africa. I also remember it being used in the Drew Barrymore/Adam Sandler movie "50 first dates".

If you could read my mind - Gordon Lightfoot

This song is part of the Series 1 soundtrack for Channel 4 TV's "Trigger Happy TV" which is a quick-fire comedy show featuring prank calls and celebrity gags.

Peachy, are we doing it for any songs that have been nominated or just top 10's?

[edna]

Oh, good... I´ll post it here.

To Love Somebody

Barry & Robin Gibb

This song was released in 1967 in the first BeeGee´s album, "BeeGees 1st". A moving ballad, it reached # 17 in that same year in the US.

The Animals, The Flying Burito Brothers, Nina Simone (who had a big hit in the UK), Janis Joplin and Tom Jones, among others, have recorded this song.

Thanks for the inspiration, Sue.

I am sorry, that´s all I can find...

[OLD 55]

Thanks for all your help Peaches

Congratulations Katie and thank you for coming up with such a great idea and all the work that I know you've put into it so far.

Look at the support that's coming already !

I'm sure many of our clever friends will be able to assist with song facts.

[Farin]

Edna, when you're on the mainpage, there are either on the left border (below the Ringtones) or on the bottom of the page links "Add Songfact".

But in this case, you can just post them here, in this thread.

Hush ~ Deep Purple

Released in October 1968, this was their first major hit in the US (but not in the UK).

It's actually a cover version, previously recorded by Joe South.

Other cover versions include Billy Joe Royal, Blue Swede, Kula Shaker (#2 in the UK charts) and Russel Morris

Edited May 17, 2006 by Guest
changed explanation

[OLD 55]

are we doing it for any songs that have been nominated or just top 10's?

Hi Angel. Just the Top Tens, for now anyway !

Edited May 17, 2006 by Guest

[Earth-Angel]

Hi Angel. Just the Top Tens, for now anyway !

Great, thanks Oldfif

[edna]

Edna, when you're on the mainpage, there are either on the left border (below the Ringtones) or on the bottom of the page links "Add Songfact".

I should have known... Thanks, Farin!

Now, shall I add the song myself or just post it here?

[Earth-Angel]

Mississippi Queen - Mountain

This song was released on 4 seperate albums by Mountain:

Climbing! - Mountain [1970] Mountain Climbing, in 1970. This album, recorded and mixed at The Record Plant in New York City, featured a new drummer, Corky Laing. It yielded the memorable hit single, “Mississippi Queen.â€

Flowers Of Evil - Mountain [1971]

The Best Of Mountain - Mountain [1973]

Twin Peaks - Mountain [1974] (2-LP set)

“I don't play over words or through lines,†he says. “It's like an orchestra. The first-chair violin stands up. Then the trombone has a solo. Everything has its place. Small little bursts you can sing back to yourself. I see guys playing all over the neck — long, drawn-out solos. I thought of a solo as a song within a song; it has to help the song. My whole theory is not to play anything you wouldn't say.â€

Leslie West

[Farin]

For the Top Ten songs, you can just post them here

[OLD 55]

Now, shall I add the song myself or just post it here?

For the Top Ten songs, you can just post them here.

Thanks Farin and Edna.

Yes, please post ALL Top Ten songs information on this thread.

Katie and Peaches need to collate it before it's added to the Songfacts Data Base. We may get a number of posts about the same songs, which will need to be combined and edited before their inclusion there.

Again, these are the songs we need information on at present:

Hush - Deep Purple

If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot

Mississippi Queen - Mountain

Rainy Night In Georgia - Brook Benton

Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughn

To Love Somebody - The Bee Gees

Wouldn’t It Be Nice - The Beach Boys

..................................................

[phil]

Rainy Night In Georgia

This song was written in 1962 by Swamp Rocker Tony Joe White. White also wrote and had a hit with Poke Salad Annie. In 1969, Brook Benton signed with legendary Atlantic Records and recorded Rainy Night In Georgia. It was produced by Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin. The song was on Benton's album Brook Benton Today. It was considered a come-back album for Benton and the song reached #4 on the Billboard charts.The song spent 15 weeks on the charts.

It was also song # 498 on list of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest songs. The song has been covered by Ray Charles, Hank Williams Jr. and Tennessee Ernie Ford. Brook Benton died in 1988.

Edited May 17, 2006 by Guest

[phil]

Texas Flood

Texas Flood was written and recorded by Arkansas Bluesman Larry Davis in 1958. In 1983, it was the title track of Stevie Ray Vaughan's debut album. This album catipulted Vaughan to international fame. Previously, he was only known in Texas. Texas Flood peeked at # 64 on the Billboard Charts. The single Pride And Joy peaked at #20.

Before Texas Flood, Vaughan played on David Bowie's album, Let's Dance. He was featured on cuts Let's Dance and China Girl.

On August 27, 1990 Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash after performing with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and his brother Jimmie Vaughan. He was 36 .

[katie_sane]

Hello everyone

This thread is just for you to post info about songs that appear in the top ten but are not currently part of the songfacts database. You can post them in this thread.

Having this separate thread reduces congestion in the main top ten threads and also allows everyone to read potential songfacts and spot any errors. You may also learn a thing or two about your favourite songs!!

[Judo]

Katie & Kari - Good Job, Good Team !

Keep it Up !

[CanAm]

If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot

Written in 1969, the song has been recorded more than 100 times, first by Lightfoot himself for his LP Sit Down Young Stranger. The album was not a commercial success, but after the song reached #5 on the U.S. singles chart in 1971, the album was renamed after the song and re-released.

The song was used in the Canadian feature film Paperback Hero 1n 1975. Other recordings include those by Carroll Baker, Glen Campbell, The Bells, Johnny Mathis, Liza Minelli, Barbara Streisand and Andy Williams. Instrumental arrangements have been recorded by Herb Alpert, John Arpin, James Last, The Boss Brass and others.

[Lucky]

Sorry guys, I'm not retyping this, I have slow keyboard syndrome. This is strictly copy and paste. Take from it what you will.

Mississippi Queen

It was Corky Laing who actually came up with the idea for “Mississippi Queen.†Recently he recalled, “I had a band called Energy back in '69. Felix was supposed to produce us, but then Cream came along. Back in August of '69, we were playing at a funky beach club called 30 Acres. It was the hottest summer ever in Nantucket, and one night the power blew [out] across the entire island! I was in the middle of playing some dance tune when the bass and organ went down. I found myself rapping this song on the spot!

“You see, a buddy of mine had a girlfriend with him at the club who was visiting from Mississippi. She had on a see-through dress — I can still remember this; she was amazing! Look, there were also Dexedrine's in my system, and I was on overdrive. I looked at this beautiful girl and began screaming this song, 'cause there was no power.

“Fast forward to the fall of that year. We were recording Mountain Climbing in New York City, and Felix kept saying that we needed one more good rocker. Leslie had just moved to Park Avenue. He was having a lot of virgins just show up at his house at this time. It was great! On the day we decided to work on the song, Leslie blew off the chicks who were hanging around and we got down to business. He came out with a lick — you know the one. I was madly in love with The Band, and I decided to put a ‘Cripple Creek’ feel behind it. Later on, I told Levon Helm that I felt bad about ripping him off, but he said that he didn't hear any similarity between the two songs, and that we didn't owe them any money!â€

Being a producer, especially when you're also a member of the band, as bassist Felix Pappalardi was, can be tricky, especially when you have to criticize the artists you're working with. “We cut the track a number of times,†Laing says. “I thought many of the takes were great, but Felix kept throwing them out, demanding that we polish the phrasing. Finally, we played it exactly right — or so I thought. Felix maintained that the time was strange, and asked that I give him some time he could hear. I was totally pissed; it was like the fourteenth take, and I thought we had it! So I started smashing the cow bell, very angrily. Felix said, ‘Keep it right there!’ That cow bell intro became a hook for the record. By the way, I've always used Latin equipment. I'm not a Latin drummer, but I'm very fond of the sound. Right from the beginning, I'd often use timbales instead of tom toms. I grew up in Montreal, and my mother turned me on to a lot of Cuban music. We didn't have a cold war with Cuba, so I guess it was easier from a cultural point of view to get into that music in Canada.â€

West has similar memories of how he and Laing wrote their most famous song. “When Corky brought me the idea, it was a one-chord dance song. We got real high, took out a napkin, and I came up with the main riff and the chords. Then we fit the words over the sound.â€

[OLD 55]

Many thanks to those who've contributed so far.

Katie, our Secretary Of 'Top Ten Facts', will advise of any songs from Top Ten #11 for which we also require information soon.

Every snippet helps. Please keep them coming

[Sweet Jane 61]

This from my last nominations, Elton John ~ Burn Down The Mission....Tumbleweed Connection 1970

Info from Wikipedia...

The last song on the album, "Burn Down the Mission," is one of the most musically inventive of Elton's career and has provided him with a crowd-raising concert staple. The song includes some of Bernie's most striking imagery: The have-nots ("restless folks") are "getting desperate" and must do more than covet the "fat stock" of the wealthy, proclaiming, "It's time we put the flame torch to their keep." A mob descends on the "mission." After torching it, they hoard what they can ("Take all you need to live inside"). Elton's introductory piano brings to mind a nice, quiet day in the country that, with the chords' increasing speed, gives way to the boiling rage of the populace and a fiery riot. Paul Buckmaster's orchestral arrangement seems unnecessary for the most part, lending too much civility to the recording, but the ending, which features frantic piano chords and an undercurrent of Buckmaster's strings. Successfully suggests the ongoing, frenzied efforts of the rioters.

[katie_sane]

Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far!

The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten #11

9 out of 10 of our current top ten songs are already on the songfacts database, excepting for:

LONG TRAIN RUNNIN' - THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (1973)

Songs we are also seeking information on from previous top tens are:

Hush - Deep Purple

If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot

Mississippi Queen - Mountain

Rainy Night In Georgia - Brook Benton

Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughn

To Love Somebody - The Bee Gees

Wouldn’t It Be Nice - The Beach Boys

If you have any info on any of the songs mentioned above, please feel free to post your knowledge in this thread. Submissions on songs will be collated and sent to the main site and you will receive credit for your contribution

The Songfish thanks you

[Malakin]

Straight out of wikepedia:

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is the opening song and one of the most widely recognized songs by the American pop The Beach Boys. The song was a single taken from their classic 1966 album Pet Sounds. It was composed and produced by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Tony Asher, and the lead vocal was sung by Brian Wilson with Mike Love singing lead vocals on the bridge.

The layering of harmonies upon harmonies, and lyrics on top of harmonies make this one of the quintessential Beach Boys songs. In the Endless Summer documentary, Brian Wilson described this song as "what children everywhere go through… wouldn't it be nice if we were older, or could run away and get married".

Brian was quoted as saying "Listen for the rockin' accordions and the ethereal guitars in the introduction. Tony and I had visualized a scene. We had a feeling in our hearts, like a vibration. We put it into music, and it found its way onto tape. We really felt good about that record."

In a 1996 interview Brian stated that "'Wouldn't It Be Nice' was not a real long song, but it's a very 'up' song. It expresses the frustrations of youth, what you can't have, what you really want and you have to wait for it."

Wilson also used the title of this song for the title of his autobiography.

It was featured in the Michael Moore film Roger & Me and the 1994 Seinfeld episode "The Hamptons". More recently, it was featured throughout the film 50 First Dates as the song that the character Lucy constantly sang.

It has also been featured in two advertisements in Australia - a Cadbury chocolate advert ("Wouldn't it be nice if the world were Cadbury") and a lottery advert ("Wouldn't it be nice to win a million").

Written by: Brian Wilson/Tony Asher/Mike Love

Album: Pet Sounds

Time: 2 min 22 sec

Produced by: Brian Wilson

Instrumental track: recorded January 22, 1965 at Gold Star Recording Studios, Hollywood, California. Engineered by Larry Levine.

Vocals track: recorded March-April 1966 at Columbia Studios, Hollywood, California. Engineered by Ralph Balantin.

Single: released July 18, 1966 under Capitol Records as single 5706. Entered Billboard "Hot 100" on July 30, 1966; remained on chart 11 weeks; peaked at #8 on September 17, 1966. It was originally released as the B-side of the "God Only Knows" single, but radio programmers flipped the record over and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" became the single and a top ten hit.

Performers

Brian Wilson: Lead Vocals

Mike Love: Lead Vocals on the bridge

Hal Blaine: Drums

Frank Capp: Bells, Tympani, Percussion

Lyle Ritz: String Bass

Carol Kaye: Electric Bass

Jerry Cole: Guitar

Bill Pitman: Guitar

Barney Kessel: Mandolin

Ray Pohlman: Mandolin

Al de Lory: Piano

Larry Knechtel: Organ

Carl Fortina: Accordion

Frank Marocco: Accordion

Steve Douglas: Saxophone

Plas Johnson: Saxophone

Jay Migliori: Saxophone

Roy Caton: Trumpet

[katie_sane]

Thanks again to everyone for their contributions. I have collated, edited and sent in the submissions we have received so far.

The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten #12

Three songs featured in our current top ten do not have songfacts:

SUNNY AFTERNOON - THE KINKS (1966)

THE 59TH STREET BRIDGE SONG (FEELIN' GROOVY) - SIMON & GARFUNKEL (1967)

LOVE REIGN O'ER ME - THE WHO (1973)

Songs we are also seeking information on from previous top tens are:

Long Train Runnin' - The Doobie Brothers (1973)

If you have any info on any of the songs mentioned above, please feel free to post your knowledge in this thread. Submissions on songs will be collated and sent to the main site and you will receive credit for your contribution

The Songfish salutes you

[Dappled]

From allmusic.com:

â€Sunny Afternoon†was released as a single on June 3, 1966 and become an across the board #1 hit on the U.K. charts and reached #14 in the United States. The song’s success would help solidify The Kinks and songwriter Ray Davies in particular, as the foremost incorporators of English music hall style into rock and roll. The kitschy vignettes skewering tightly wound social mores of British society had already been explored in earlier recordings, such as â€A Well Respected Man†and â€Dedicated Follower Of Fashionâ€. While â€Sunny Afternoon†appeared a breezy tune on the surface, it belied a scathing indictment of a brutal tax system that in itself would become a favorite preoccupation of English musicians, such as George Harrison’s â€Taxman†of the same period and would help drive The Rolling Stones into tax exile a few years later.

[Farin]

S&G ~ 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)

The 59th Street bridge referred to in the title is the Queensboro Bridge, one of the main bridges running over the waterways of New York.

Simon & Garfunkel's performance of this song is so familiar that it might come as a surprise to those not around at the time of its release to learn that it wasn't a single. It did make the Top 20 in 1967, but only in a much more pop-oriented version by Harpers Bizarre, who gave it much slicker mini-symphonic style production, as well as helium-high vocals.

The Queensboro Bridge is gloriously noisy and mechanical. You walk on metal graters that vibrate as the traffic zooms by. There's something dangerous and exciting about this sensation. Maybe that's the background for "Slow down, you move too fast..."