Ultimate Hits of the 60s

Attention!!!

I welcome you all to the golden era of music. Some hate the 80s and some hate the 70s. Everyone hates the 2010s but no one really dislikes the 1960s. The 1960s is when the modern music revolution took place with the likes of The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Supremes and Aretha Franklin. The foundation for mainstream pop was established, rock and roll took on new forms and the Motown sound took charts by storm. Although my favourite decade is the 90s and thereafter the 2000s, I've always had a special place for the 1960s for making the music industry for what it is today. 

The bands were more or less named after some random collaboration like for the males: The Marcels, The Foundations, The Monkees, The Zombies etc. and for the females: The Chiffons, The Dixie Cups, The Crystals, The Shirelles etc. What is evident from this era is that bands had more to do with being established than solo artists and also mixed bands were quite rare other than those formed by families such as Sly & The Family Stone. The doo-wop style was extremely popular during this era along with Jazz, Blues and Soul music. 

This list is a compilation of the greatest hits released between 1960-1969 by different artists and bands with the exception of a very few artists having collaborated on songs. I have deliberately excluded other double entries for the sole purpose of providing space for one-hit wonders and to prevent artists or bands such as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Chubby Checker, Tom Jones and The Everly Brothers from having double entries. Therefore, painstakingly I have had to research and find out the best song released by these artists and bands. Thus, these are the Ultimate Hits of the 60s based on chart performance as well as accolades received. 

1. The Beatles – Hey Jude
2. Chubby Checker – The twist
3. The Monkees – I’m a believer
4. The Supremes – Baby love
5. The Archies – Sugar, sugar
6. Elvis Presley – It’s now or never
7. The Beach Boys – Good vibrations
8. The Everly Brothers – Cathy’s clown
9. Aretha Franklin – Respect
10. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Proud Mary
11. Mary Hopkins – Those were the days
12. The Ronettes – Be my baby
13. Tom Jones – Green, green grass of home
14. Manfred Mann – Do wah diddy diddy
15. Roy Orbison – Oh pretty woman
16. Sonny & Cher – I got you babe
17. The Rolling Stones – Paint it, black
18. The Shirelles – Will you love me tomorrow
19. Cliff Richard – Congratulations
20. Engelbert Humperdinck – Release me
21. Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra – Somethin’ stupid
22. Marvin Gaye – I heard it through the grape vine
23. The Troggs – Wild thing  
24. Bob Dylan – Like a rolling stone
25. Simon & Garfunkel – Mrs.Robinson
26. Bobby Lewis – Tossin’ and turnin’
27. Kyu Sakamoto – Sukiyaki
28. Del Shannon – Runaway
29. Peter and Gordon – A world without love
30. The Four Seasons – Rag doll
31. Cilla Black – You’re my world
32. Little Eva – The loco-motion
33. Nancy Sinatra – These boots are made for walking
34. The Shadows – Apache
35. Ray Charles – I can’t stop loving you
36. Four Tops – Reach out, I’ll be there
37. Cliff Richard & The Shadows – The young ones
38. The Drifters – Save the last dance for me
39. Lesley Gore – It’s my party
40. Ben E. King – Stand by me
41. Dusty Springfield – You don’t have to say you love me
42. Righteous Brothers – Unchained melody
43. Louis Armstrong – What a wonderful world
44. The Mamas & the Papas – Monday, Monday
45. Young Rascals – Groovin’
46. Lulu – To sir, with love
47. The Byrds – Mr.Tambourine Man
48. Brenda Lee – I’m sorry
49. Connie Francis – Everybody’s somebody’s fool
50. Petula Clark – Downtown
51. The Animals – The house of the rising sun
52. The Marvelettes – Please Mr.Postman
53. The Dave Clark Five – Glad all over
54. The Chiffons – He’s so fine
55. The Kingsmen – Louie Louie
56. The Marcels – Blue moon
57. The Seekers – I’ll never find another you 
58. Roger Miller – King of the road
59. Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs – Sugar shack
60. Dean Martin – Everybody loves somebody
61. Bobby Vee – Take good care of my baby
62. The Cascades – The rhythm of the rain
63. Jim Reeves – He’ll have to go
64. Percy Faith – Theme from a Summer Place
65. Martha and the Vandellas – Dancing in the street
66. The Tornados – Telstar
67. Ken Dodd – Tears
68. The Kinks – You really got me   
69. Dionne Warwick – Walk on by
70. The Crystals – Da doo ron ron
71. The Temptations – My girl
72. Percy Sledge – When a man loves a woman
73. Jimmy Dean – Big bad John 
74. The 5^th Dimension – Aquarius/Let the sunshine in
75. Frank Ifield – I remember you
76. Jerry Butler & Betty Everett – Let it be me
77. The Tremeleos – Silence is golden
78. Bobby Vinton – Roses are red (my love)
79. Sandie Shaw – (There’s) always something there to remind me
80. The Moody Blues – Go now
81. The Searchers – Needles and pins
82. Lou Christie – Lightnin’ strikes
83. The Tokens – The lion sleeps tonight
84. Betty Everett – The shoop shoop song (It’s in his kiss)
85. The Hollies – Stop, stop, stop
86. The Lovin’ Spoonful – Summer in the city
87. Joe South – Games people play
88. Acker Bilk – Stranger on the shore
89. The Doors – Light my fire
90. Sly & The Family Stone – Everyday people
91. The Foundations – Build me up buttercup
92. Peter, Paul and Mary – Leaving on a jet plane
93. The Dixie Cups – Chapel of love
94. Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders – Game of love
95. Bobby Goldsboro – Honey
96. Skeeter Davis – The end of the world
97. Gerry and the Pacemakers – You’ll never walk alone
98. The Turtles – Happy together
99. The Boxtops – The letter
100. The Shangri-las – Leader of the pack
101. Tommy Roe – Sheila
102. Herb Alpert – This guy’s in love with you
103. Danny Williams – Moon river
104. Dick and Dee Dee – The mountain’s high
105. Glen Campbell – Galveston
106. The Angels – My boyfriend’s back
107. Mary Wells – My guy
108. Barry Sadler – Ballad of the Green Berets
109. Bobbie Gentry – Ode to Billie Joe
110. Lonnie Donegan – My old man’s a dustman
111. Otis Redding – (Sittin’ on) the dock of the bay
112. Joe Cocker – With a little help from my friends
113. Gary Lewis & the Playboys – This diamond ring
114. Brian Hyland – Itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini
115. Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas – Bad to me
116. The Association – Cherish
117. Paul Mauriat – Love is blue
118. Ike & Tina Turner – River deep - mountain high
119. Ricky Valance – Tell Laura I love her
120. James Brown – I got you (I feel good)
121. Rolf Harris – Tie me kangaroo down, sport
122. The Contours – Do you love me
123. Harry Nilsson – Everybody’s talkin’
124. Tammi Terrell & Marvin Gaye – Ain’t no mountain high enough
125. Big Brother and the Holding Company – Piece of my heart
126. The Who – I can see for miles
127. Chuck Berry – You never can tell
128. Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be sure to wear flowers in your hair)
129. The Zombies – She’s not there
130. Bobby Darin – Things
131. Sam Cooke – Chain gang
132. John Lennon – Give peace a chance
133. Pat Boone – Speedy Gonzales  
134. Jimmy Jones – Handy man
135. Gary Puckett & The Union Gap – Young girl
136. Eddie Cochran – Three steps to heaven
137. Frankie Vaughan – Tower of strength
138. John Leyton – Johnny remember me
139. Herman’s Hermits – I’m into something good
140. Paula and Paula – Hey Paula
141. Buddy Holly – Bo Diddley
142. Jewel Akens – The birds and the bees
143. Shirley Bassey – Goldfinger
144. Gene McDaniels – A hundred pounds of clay
145. Marmalade – Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
146. Helen Shapiro – Walkin’ back to happiness
147. Johnny Preston – Cradle of love
148. Johnny Rivers – Poor side of town
149. Patsy Cline – I fall to pieces
150. Peggy Lee – Is that all there is?

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Top 20 Songs About Being Young

Attention!!!

We may be growing old but all of us want to be young at heart. Maturity is a pretty subjective characteristic, as the most mature person can end up doing the most juvenile thing. There are songs about being young and the experiences one goes through when you were a kid. I have excluded those songs which reminisce the thought of how it felt to be young, because those are downright depressing. We have Fun. ft. Janelle Monae's We Are Young at the helm which although I am not crazy about actually sums up how the lives of today's youth are led. This is followed by the anthem, Young, Wild & Free by Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars. 

These songs are more or less based in pop with several rock and R&B songs and two indie and one EDM. Kesha is the only artist with two entries. I placed Jay-Z ft. Mr.Hudson's Forever Young which is a sampled version of Alphaville's original of the same name on higher position as I believed Jay-Z's rap verses are more relevant to our times. Songs like I'm Just A Kid, Cool Kids and Teenagers are more about what you go through when you are young. So here are the best songs about being young:

1. Fun. ft. Janelle Monae – We are young
2. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars – Young, wild & free
3. Kesha – Die young
4. The Corrs – So young
5. Jay-Z ft. Mr.Hudson – Forever young
6. Tulisa Contostavlos – Young
7. Avril Lavigne – Here’s to never growing up
8. Rod Stewart – Forever young
9. Hardwell ft. Chris Jones – Young again
10. Simple Plan – I’m just a kid
11. Kesha ft. will.i.am – Crazy kids
12. Wheatus – Teenage dirtbag
13. My Chemical Romance – Teenagers
14. Echosmith – Cool kids
15. One Direction – Live while we’re young
16. Bob Dylan – Forever young
17. Katy Perry – Teenage dream
18. MGMT – Kids
19. The Undertones – Teenage kicks
20. Alphaville – Forever young 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Most Sought After Artists to Be Featured at Present

Attention!!!

Adele, Shawn Mendes and Desiigner maybe making their mark atop the charts with their smash hits but not a lot of other artists seem to feature them, or they may just not have the time. There are some artists at present who have been sought after by others to be featured in their songs. Although featuring artists is not a contemporary trend, there are some artists who have been featured more than others which begs the question why are they more sought after. The ability to rap and/or powerful vocals and a popular image in the mainstream are the key elements of being sought after. Topping the list this year is Drake with an increasing demand for the hit generator to be featured. Also on the list are rappers Sean Paul, Fetty Wap, G-Eazy and Ty Dollar $ign as well as vocal powerhouses Rihanna, Zara Larsson and Tove Lo. The only artist to be on the list from last year is Chris Brown whose demand has somewhat decreased but not as significantly as the rest. 

There are some artists who are just born hit makers such as Lil Wayne, Flo Rida, Pitbull and Nicki Minaj (surprisingly though none of them make the list). It’s like if they are featured, it is bound to be a hit. So no wonder the artists have them in mind when writing and/or producing their songs. There are many rappers on the list along with female artists with varying powerful vocals. So here are today’s 10 most sought after artists to be featured:

1. Drake
   
2. Tove Lo
   
3. Sean Paul
   
4. G-Eazy
   
5. Zara Larsson
   
6. Fetty Wap
   
7. Rihanna
   
8. Chris Brown
   
9. MØ
   
10. Ty Dollar $ign
    

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Best Songs to Deal With Insecurities

Attention!!!

It's not a big secret that we all have our inherent insecurities. But do we need to let these hold us back. Most insecurities are about one's image. Be it physical or social attributes or lack thereof, all of us try to handle them in our own ways. Bullying has been taken to another ugly level, through cyberbullying. By the advent of social media and the rapid escalation of stereotypes by the mainstream media, kids as well as grownups these days are popping pills to deal with the social stigmas and peer pressure. 

We are all humans and no one is perfect. The #DUFFS and the #COOLKIDS must be able to get along just fine. Sadly this is not the case, labels, stereotypes and insecurities remain the same. Music is one way to deal with one's insecurities. Although hundreds of inspirational songs are released each year only a few actually over the past few decades deal with insecurities. Pink's Fuckin' Perfect is definitely number one on the list as the title itself says no one is perfect and no one should strive to be fucking perfect. There is not much to say about genre as they are all but one from mainstream pop. The underlying themes are more or less in relation to body image whilst some of the male artists are singing about how they love the girl 'just the way they are'. So here are the best 20 songs to deal with insecurities. 

1. Pink – Fuckin’ perfect
2. Olly Murs – Beautiful to me
3. TLC – Unpretty
4. Christina Aguilera – Beautiful
5. David Grey – It’s not easy being me
6. Bruno Mars – Just the way you are
7. Lady Gaga – Born this way
8. Sugababes – Ugly
9. Colbie Caillat – Try
10. Hailee Steinfeld – Love myself
11. J. Cole ft. TLC – Crooked smile
12. Mika – Big girl (you are beautiful)
13. Katy Perry – Firework
14. Audioslave – Be yourself
15. One Direction – What makes you beautiful
16. Meghan Trainor – All about that bass
17. Jessie J – Who you are
18. Beyonce – Pretty hurts
19. Jesse McCartney – Beautiful soul
20. Selena Gomez & The Scene – Who says 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - July 2015

Attention!!!

July was a month of controversy. It all started when Donald Trump, a Republican candidate for the US presidency made defamatory remarks about Hispanic immigrants which lead to many artists pulling out of the Miss USA Pageant which is organized by the Trump owned Miss Universe Organization. Among them were Flo Rida, Natalie La Rose and J. Balvin. 

Then we move onto Ariana Grande who went on a famous donut licking rampage which almost landed her in jail. Moreover, during the incident she went on to say "I hate America, I hate Americans" which resulted in a heavy social media backlash against the artist who has since apologized for the whole incident. One thing for sure, Grande won't be licking anything for a while. 

Next up, the MTV Video Music Awards 2015 is to be held on August 30, 2015. Since the organizers cannot let Miley Cyrus perform on stage after the blurred lines debacle of 2013, the producers of the awards show have asked her to host the damn thing. Well, let's hope there's no bong on stage because we all know she smoked a joint once when accepting an award.

The VMAs announced their nominations and Taylor Swift is nominated for nine including Video of the Year. Ed Sheeran is nominated for six while Hozier, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande have all been nominated for multiple awards. But Minaj felt snubbed for her videos Anaconda and Feeling Myself alongside Beyonce which were both snubbed by MTV. "If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year" tweeted Minaj. Swift however took this personally and tweeted "I've done nothing but love & support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot.." While the two exchanged barbs back and forth social media and the fan armies of the two artists took the war to another level leading to a huge debate about Black Fat Women vs. White Slim Women. However, since then Swift has apologized on twitter for reading too much into the post and misunderstanding and Minaj has accepted. Await another hit single next year by Swift motivated by the Minaj incident. 

The Teen Choice Awards 2015 is also around the corner with Ludacris, Josh Peck and Gina Rodriguez hosting this year. Some new categories such as Choice Web Star, Social Media King, Social Media Queen and Choice Twit have been introduced. Swift and the ladies from Pitch Perfect 2 are leading the nominations with each nominated for six categories.

Tomorrowland 2015, was also held in Boom, Belgium from 24-26 July 2015 with headlining acts from Steve Aoki, David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Hardwell, Alesso, Armin Van Buuren and Afrojack. This time with the festival was following the new theme Melodia. 

Well, I guess there is only one way for a Brown to go. Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston's daughter Kristina who was found face down in a bathtub earlier this year was under a medically induced coma after which in late July she passed away. Her mother Whitney Houston died under similar circumstances but the coroner in her case concluded that there was evidence of substance abuse prior to drowning in the bathtub. RIP Kristina.

Moving on to chart news, in the US Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth's See You Again held on to the peak position for the first three weeks of the month and tying for the longest leading Rap No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 alongside Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow. However, OMI's Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) claimed the top spot during the last week of July thereby preventing Wiz Khalifa from breaking the record. During the month Selena Gomez ft. A$AP Rocky's Good For You, Diplo & Skrillex ft. Justin Bieber's Where Are U Now, Rachel Platten's Fight Song, Silento's Watch Me and The Weeknd's Can't Feel My Face all entered the top 10. 

In the UK, the month started off with Tinie Tempah ft. Jess Glynne's Not Letting Go at the top followed by Lost Frequencies' Are You With Me and David Zowie's House Every Weekend peaking in the second and third weeks respectively. However, it was Little Mix's newest single Black Magic which crowned the last two weeks of July. During the month Flo Rida ft. Robin Thicke & Verdine White's I Don't Like It, I Love It, Rita Ora's Poison, Years & Years' Shine, Avicii's Waiting For Love, Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink's Worth It and James Bay's Let It Go all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

• Krept & Konan ft. Jeremih - Freak of the week
• Birdy - Wings
• Calvin Harris with Disciples - How deep is your love
• John Newman - Come and get it
• Demi Lovato - Cool for the summer 
• Fall Out Boy - Uma Thurman 
• Sam Feldt ft. Kimberley Anne - Show me love 

At Ease!!!