450Bob Marley and the Wailers, 'I Shot the Sheriff'
Writer:MarleyProducer:Chris BlackwellReleased:Oct. '73,
Islanddid not chartMarley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer saved some
of their prettiest falsetto harmonies for one of the group's
toughest songs. Inspired by the Impressions' "Keep On Pushin',"
Marley originally had the song's outlaw hero say, "I shot the
police," but imagined the song would be more government-friendly if
he changed it to the revenge killing of a single sheriff.Appears
on:Burnin'(Island)RELATED:100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Bob
Marley100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Bob Marley500 Greatest
Albums of All Time: The Wailers'Burnin' 449The Dell-Vikings, 'Come
Go With Me'
Writer:Clarence E. QuickProducer:Joe AverbachReleased:Feb. '57,
Dot31 weeks; No. 5Five airmen who came together at the NCO Service
Club in Pittsburgh, the Dell-Vikings underwent several lineup
changes because members kept getting sent to Germany. Eventually
they became pop's first successful multiracial group on the
strength of "Come Go With Me." The song was written by the group's
bass singer and recorded one night in a Pittsburgh hotel
room.Appears on:Golden Classics(Collectables) 44850 Cent, 'In Da
Club'
Writers:50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Mike ElizondoProducers:Dr. Dre,
ElizondoReleased:Dec. '02, Interscope/Aftermath/Shady30 weeks; No.
150 Cent's rhyme skills caught the notice ofDr. DreandEminem, who
helped assemble this party track. "50 walked into the studio and
picked up a pen," Dre said. "We were done in an hour. We just made
some shit we wanted to hear."Appears on:Get Rich or Die
Tryin'(Interscope/Aftermath/Shady) 447John Cougar Mellencamp, 'Pink
Houses'
Writer:MellencampProducers:Little Bastard, Don
GehmanReleased:Oct. '83, Riva16 weeks; No. 8Recorded in a farmhouse
in Brownstown, Indiana, "Pink Houses" was inspired by an old man
"sitting on the porch of his pink shack,"MellencamptoldRolling
Stone. "He waved, and I waved back. That's how the song
started."Appears on:Uh-Huh(Mercury)RELATED:100 Best Albums of the
Eighties: John Cougar Mellencamp'sUh-huh 446Salt 'n Pepa, 'Push
It'
Writer:Hurby "Luv Bug" AzorProducer:AzorReleased:Nov. '87, Next
Plateau25 weeks; No. 19In 1985, Azor recruited fellow Sears
employees Cheryl James and Sandy Denton for a music-school project.
With the addition of Dee Dee "Spinderella" Roper, Salt 'N Pepa
became the first female MCs to crack the pop Top 20 when this track
was remixed by San Francisco DJ Cameron Paul. "Push It" was
nominated for a Grammy, but Salt 'N Pepa boycotted the show when
the rap category wasn't televised.Appears on:Hot, Cool and
Vicious(London) 445The Stooges, 'I Wanna Be Your Dog'
Writers:Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Iggy
PopProducer:John CaleReleased:August '69, ElektraDid Not ChartThese
groundbreaking Detroit punks tapped into the brutal side of the
blues for this primitive classic. They also offer a one-note piano
tribute to theKinks' "You Really Got Me." Over the ultimate
bone-crunching three-chord guitar riff,Iggy Popscreams about the
agony of teenage hormones the way only Iggy Pop can.Appears on:The
Stooges(Elektra)RELATED:100 Greatest Artists of All Time: The
Stooges500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The Stooges'sThe Stooges100
Greatest Singers of All Time: Iggy Pop 444Elvis Presley, 'Love Me
Tender'
Writers:Presley, Vera WatsonProducer:Steve SholesReleased:Oct.
'56, RCA23 weeks; No. 1"Love Me Tender" was the theme song from the
firstElvismovie and represented a new sound for the King. He sang
in his softest voice, accompanied only by his own acoustic guitar.
The melody came from the Civil War-era ballad "Aura Lee."Appears
on:Elvis: 30 #1 Hits(RCA)RELATED:100 Greatest Singers of All Time:
Elvis Presley100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Elvis Presley 443The
Rolling Stones, 'Beast of Burden'
Writers:Mick Jagger, Keith RichardsProducers:The Glimmer
TwinsReleased:June '78, Rolling Stones13 weeks; No. 8By 1978,
theStoneswere in turmoil, after trouble with drugs, women and the
law. On "Beast of Burden," they faced up to their struggles with
world-weary defiance. On other takes,Jaggertried the song in
falsetto, but his straight-ahead version went to the Top 10.Appears
on:Some Girls(Virgin)RELATED:500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The
Rolling Stones'Some Girls100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Mick
Jagger100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time: Keith Richards100
Greatest Artists of All Time: The Rolling Stones 442Love, 'Alone
Again Or'
Writer:Bryan MacLeanProducers:Arthur Lee, Bruce
BotnickReleased:Jan. '68, Elektra3 weeks; No. 99The psychedelic
cowboys ofLovebecame famous for their dark, poetic L.A. folk rock.
But "Alone Again Or," the opening track on the band's
masterwork,Forever Changes, was written and partly sung by
guitarist MacLean who later left the band to join a Christian
ministry as a tribute to his mother's flamenco dancing. The final
take is a decidedly trippy swirl of strings, horns and
Spanish-style acoustic guitars.Appears on:Forever
Changes(Rhino)RELATED:500 Greatest Albums of All Time:
Love'sForever Changes 441Wilson Pickett, 'Mustang Sally'
Writer:Sir Mack RiceProducer:Jerry WexlerReleased:Nov. '66,
Atlantic9 weeks; No. 23"Mustang Sally" nearly ended up on the
studio floor literally. AfterPickettfinished his final take at Fame
Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the tape flew off the reel and
broke into pieces. But engineer Tom Dowd calmly cleared the room
and told everyone to come back in half an hour. Dowd pieced the
tape back together, saving one of the funkiest soul anthems of the
Sixties.Appears on:The Very Best of Wilson Pickett(Rhino)
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