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By: The Everly Brothers.
Don Everly (born Isaac Donald Everly February 1, 1937 in Brownie, Kentucky, a now-defunct coal-mining town) and Phil Everly (born January 19, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois).
The Everly Brothers were the sons of two Kentucky country musicians, Ike and Margaret Embry Everly, and were raised in Iowa. They performed with their parents on the radio and in live shows.
In 1954, RCA producer Chet Atkins (now recognized more as an influencial guitar legend) persuaded the Everly Brothers to move from Kentucky to Nashville. Once there, he became their adviser, sideman and friend.
Phil Everly said, "Chet Atkins was the reason we came to Nashville. He was always our mentor." Atkins played the prominent tremelo-drenched electric guitar on "All I Have to Do Is Dream", which was recorded in just two takes on March 6, 1958.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "All I Have to Do Is Dream" at #141 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Chart position: #1 (US, 3 weeks), #1 (US Country), #1 (US R&B), #1 (UK).
It was the first record to hit #1 on all US singles charts simultaneously, on June 2, 1958. It was also the #1 Best Seller in Stores (4 weeks) and #1 Most Played by Jockeys (5 weeks) in May & June 1958.
The B-side was a song written by Roy Orbison, "Claudette" (#30 US, #1 UK).
Written by: Felice Bryant (born August 7, 1925, died April 22, 2003) and Boudleaux Bryant (born February 13, 1920, died June 26, 1987).
Felice & Boudleaux Bryant came to national prominence in both country and pop music by writing a string of hugely successful songs for the Everly Brothers (which also included "Bye Bye, Love", "Wake Up, Little Susie", "Devoted To You"). They also wrote such songs as "Country Boy", "Raining In My Heart", "Love Hurts", and "Rocky Top" (which was adopted as one of the State songs of Tennessee in 1982).
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Can't Help Falling In Love (1961) (1993)
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By: Elvis Presley (born January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, died August 16, 1977 in Memphis, Tennessee.)
Called the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis is generally considered to be the most important, iconic entertainer of the 20th Century. He has sold over one billion records worldwide, more than anyone in record industry history. He has had 150 albums and singles certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum, 149 charting songs in the US, 114 of which were Top 40 hits, 40 of which were Top 10 hits, and 18 #1 hits. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #3 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
"Can't Help Falling in Love" was featured in Elvis' eighth movie, Blue Hawaii
. According to songwriter George Weiss, the movie producers and Elvis' associates didn't like the song when they heard the demo. However, Elvis insisted on recording it for the movie. It was completed in 29 takes.
Elvis’ most successful album, the Blue Hawaii soundtrack
album spent 79 weeks on the US pop album chart, 20 of those weeks at #1. The album sold over half a million copies in the first three months of its release. It took just three days to record the 14 songs featured on it.
In 1968, Presley first performed a new live treatment of the song in his '68 Comeback Special
. He used the song to close most of his live concerts, including his last in June 1977 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked "Can't Help Falling in Love" at #394 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Chart position: #2 (US).
It was kept from #1 in February 1961 by "The Peppermint Twist"
(Joey Dee and the Starlighters.)
The Top Ten Songs: February 3, 1962 (US).
Written by: George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore.
George David Weiss also wrote such songs as "Surrender"
, "Too Close for Comfort"
, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
, "Lullaby of Birdland"
, "That Sunday, That Summer"
and "What A Wonderful World"
.
It was based on the French ballad "Plaisir D'amour"
by Jean-Paul Egide Martini.
Also by: UB40, whose version was at #1 (US) for 7 weeks and also reached #1 in the UK in 1993. It also reached #1 in Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden.
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- Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling In Love (MP3)
- UB40 - (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You (MP3)
By: Elvis Presley (born January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, died August 16, 1977 in Memphis, Tennessee.)
Called the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis is generally considered to be the most important, iconic entertainer of the 20th Century. He has sold over one billion records worldwide, more than anyone in record industry history. He has had 150 albums and singles certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum, 149 charting songs in the US, 114 of which were Top 40 hits, 40 of which were Top 10 hits, and 18 #1 hits. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #3 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
"Can't Help Falling in Love" was featured in Elvis' eighth movie, Blue Hawaii
. According to songwriter George Weiss, the movie producers and Elvis' associates didn't like the song when they heard the demo. However, Elvis insisted on recording it for the movie. It was completed in 29 takes.Elvis’ most successful album, the Blue Hawaii soundtrack
album spent 79 weeks on the US pop album chart, 20 of those weeks at #1. The album sold over half a million copies in the first three months of its release. It took just three days to record the 14 songs featured on it.In 1968, Presley first performed a new live treatment of the song in his '68 Comeback Special
. He used the song to close most of his live concerts, including his last in June 1977 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked "Can't Help Falling in Love" at #394 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Chart position: #2 (US).
It was kept from #1 in February 1961 by "The Peppermint Twist"
(Joey Dee and the Starlighters.)The Top Ten Songs: February 3, 1962 (US).
- "The Peppermint Twist" (Joey Dee and the Starliters)
- "Can't Help Falling In Love" (Elvis Presley)
- "The Twist" (Chubby Checker)
- "Norman" (Sue Thompson)
- "I Know" (Barbara George)
- "The Wanderer" (Dion)
- "Duke Of Earl" (Gene Chandler)
- "Baby It's You" (Shirelles)
- "Break It To Me Gently" (Brenda Lee)
- "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (Tokens)
Written by: George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore.
George David Weiss also wrote such songs as "Surrender"
, "Too Close for Comfort", "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", "Lullaby of Birdland", "That Sunday, That Summer" and "What A Wonderful World".It was based on the French ballad "Plaisir D'amour"
by Jean-Paul Egide Martini.Also by: UB40, whose version was at #1 (US) for 7 weeks and also reached #1 in the UK in 1993. It also reached #1 in Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden.
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- Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling In Love (MP3)
- UB40 - (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You (MP3)
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Then He Kissed Me (1963)
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By: The Crystals, a girl group produced by Phil Spector (born Harvey Phillip Spector December 26, 1940 in The Bronx, New York.)
The lead vocal was sung by Dolores "LaLa" Brooks (born June 20, 1947 in Brooklyn, NY.) When "Then He Kissed Me" was recorded in 1963, Brooks was only 15 years old — and had never been kissed.
Chart position: #6 (US), #3 (UK).
This was the Crystals' last US Top 40 hit.
The Top Ten Songs: September 28, 1963 (US Billboard Hot 100).
Written by: Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg April 3, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York,) Ellie Greenwich (born Eleanor Louise Greenwich October 23, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York,) and Phil Spector.
The husband-and-wife team of Barry and Greenwich were one of the most successful songwriting duos of the 1960s, writing or co-writing such songs as "Baby I Love You," "Be My Baby," "Chapel Of Love," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," "Hanky Panky," "I Can Hear Music," "Leader of the Pack," "Maybe I Know," "Montego Bay," "River Deep, Mountain High", and many more.
Also by: The Beach Boys, whose version, titled "Then I Kissed Her", reached #4 in the UK in 1967.
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By: The Crystals, a girl group produced by Phil Spector (born Harvey Phillip Spector December 26, 1940 in The Bronx, New York.)
The lead vocal was sung by Dolores "LaLa" Brooks (born June 20, 1947 in Brooklyn, NY.) When "Then He Kissed Me" was recorded in 1963, Brooks was only 15 years old — and had never been kissed.
Chart position: #6 (US), #3 (UK).
This was the Crystals' last US Top 40 hit.
The Top Ten Songs: September 28, 1963 (US Billboard Hot 100).
- "Blue Velvet" (Bobby Vinton)
- "Sally Go 'Round The Roses" (Jaynetts)
- "Be My Baby" (Ronettes)
- "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" (Martha and the Vandellas)
- "My Boyfriend's Back" (Angels)
- "Then He Kissed Me" (Crystals)
- "Wonderful! Wonderful!" (Tymes)
- "Mickey's Monkey" (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles)
- "Cry Baby" (Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters)
- "If I Had A Hammer" (Trini Lopez)
Written by: Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg April 3, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York,) Ellie Greenwich (born Eleanor Louise Greenwich October 23, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York,) and Phil Spector.
The husband-and-wife team of Barry and Greenwich were one of the most successful songwriting duos of the 1960s, writing or co-writing such songs as "Baby I Love You," "Be My Baby," "Chapel Of Love," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," "Hanky Panky," "I Can Hear Music," "Leader of the Pack," "Maybe I Know," "Montego Bay," "River Deep, Mountain High", and many more.
Also by: The Beach Boys, whose version, titled "Then I Kissed Her", reached #4 in the UK in 1967.
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Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
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By: Simon and Garfunkel.
Paul Simon (born Paul Frederic Simon October 13, 1941 in Newark Heights, New Jersey) and Art Garfunkel (born Arthur Ira Garfunkel November 5, 1941 in Queens, New York) met in the sixth grade in 1953, when they appeared in a school play of Alice in Wonderland with Simon as the White Rabbit and Garfunkel as the Cheshire Cat.
They released their first, "Hey, Schoolgirl"
(#49 US) while still in their teens, in 1957. They changed their name to Simon and Garfunkel in 1963.
In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #40 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" was recorded for their last album of the same name, which is the biggest selling album ever released by Columbia Records. Musicians who played on the song include Larry Knechtel (who also played bass on The Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" and later formed the band Bread) on piano and Hal Blaine on drums, which were recorded in an echo chamber, with a tape-reverb that made gave an afterbeat effect. Garfunkel sang the lead vocal.
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1971, while the album won for Album of the Year and Best Engineered Recording.
In 1999, BMI ranked "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at #19 on their list of Top 100 Songs of the century (based on American radio and television airplay). In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #47 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Chart position: #1 (US, six weeks), #1 (UK).
It was preceded at #1 in the US by "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/"Everybody Is a Star" (Sly and the Family Stone) and succeeded by "Let It Be" (The Beatles), also written as a comforting song in turbulent times.
The Top Ten Songs: March 14, 1970 (US Billboard Hot 100).
Written by: Paul Simon.
Simon wrote many songs, including "The Sound of Silence", "I Am A Rock", "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme", "Homeward Bound", "Mrs. Robinson", "The Boxer", "Mother And Child Reunion", "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard", "Kodachrome", "Loves Me Like Rock", "American Tune", "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", "Still Crazy After All These Years", "Slip Slidin' Away", "You Can Call Me Al", "Graceland", "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes", "Born at the Right Time", and "Father and Daughter" (nominated for an Oscar in 2002.)
Simon wrote the song in California, in a rented summer house (in which George Harrison wrote the Beatles song "Blue Jay Way" in 1967.)
Simon was inspired to write by gospel singing group The Swan Silvertones' 1959 hit "Oh, Mary Don't You Weep," which contained the line, "I'll be a bridge over deep water, if you trust in my name".
He wrote "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on guitar in the key of G, but gave it to pianist Larry Knechtel to transpose to E flat and arrange the piano part. Only two verses had been written, but in the studio, Simon asked Knechtel to play a third verse, even though he hadn't written it yet.
Paul Simon later said, "I always felt that you could clearly see that it was written afterwards. It just doesn't sound like the first two verses." The third verse was about his girlfriend, Peggy Harper, as a joke, because she was upset one day when she had found a few gray hairs on her head.
Also by: Aretha Franklin, whose 1971 gospel-inspired live version won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance; Elvis Presley, whose version appeared on his 1970 album That's The Way It Is
; Johnny Cash, as a duet with Fiona Apple, whose version appeared on his 2002 album American IV: The Man Comes Around
(#2 US Country), which was the last album Cash released during his lifetime, and his first album in 30 years to sell over 500,000 copies; Clay Aiken, whose version reached #1 in Canada in 2003.
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- Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (MP3)
- Elvis Presley - Bridge Over Troubled Water (MP3)
- Aretha Franklin - Bridge Over Troubled Water (MP3)
By: Simon and Garfunkel.
Paul Simon (born Paul Frederic Simon October 13, 1941 in Newark Heights, New Jersey) and Art Garfunkel (born Arthur Ira Garfunkel November 5, 1941 in Queens, New York) met in the sixth grade in 1953, when they appeared in a school play of Alice in Wonderland with Simon as the White Rabbit and Garfunkel as the Cheshire Cat.
They released their first, "Hey, Schoolgirl"
(#49 US) while still in their teens, in 1957. They changed their name to Simon and Garfunkel in 1963.In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #40 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" was recorded for their last album of the same name, which is the biggest selling album ever released by Columbia Records. Musicians who played on the song include Larry Knechtel (who also played bass on The Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" and later formed the band Bread) on piano and Hal Blaine on drums, which were recorded in an echo chamber, with a tape-reverb that made gave an afterbeat effect. Garfunkel sang the lead vocal.
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1971, while the album won for Album of the Year and Best Engineered Recording.
In 1999, BMI ranked "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at #19 on their list of Top 100 Songs of the century (based on American radio and television airplay). In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #47 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Chart position: #1 (US, six weeks), #1 (UK).
It was preceded at #1 in the US by "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/"Everybody Is a Star" (Sly and the Family Stone) and succeeded by "Let It Be" (The Beatles), also written as a comforting song in turbulent times.
The Top Ten Songs: March 14, 1970 (US Billboard Hot 100).
- "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Simon & Garfunkel)
- "Travelin' Band/Who'll Stop The Rain" (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
- "The Rapper" (Jaggerz)
- "Rainy Night In Georgia" (Brook Benton)
- "Ma Belle Amie" (Tee Set)
- "Give Me Just A Little More Time" (Chairmen of the Board)
- "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/"Everybody Is a Star" (Sly and the Family Stone)
- "Hey There Lonely Girl" (Eddie Holman)
- "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (Hollies)
- "Evil Ways" (Santana)
Written by: Paul Simon.
Simon wrote many songs, including "The Sound of Silence", "I Am A Rock", "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme", "Homeward Bound", "Mrs. Robinson", "The Boxer", "Mother And Child Reunion", "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard", "Kodachrome", "Loves Me Like Rock", "American Tune", "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", "Still Crazy After All These Years", "Slip Slidin' Away", "You Can Call Me Al", "Graceland", "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes", "Born at the Right Time", and "Father and Daughter" (nominated for an Oscar in 2002.)
Simon wrote the song in California, in a rented summer house (in which George Harrison wrote the Beatles song "Blue Jay Way" in 1967.)
Simon was inspired to write by gospel singing group The Swan Silvertones' 1959 hit "Oh, Mary Don't You Weep," which contained the line, "I'll be a bridge over deep water, if you trust in my name".
He wrote "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on guitar in the key of G, but gave it to pianist Larry Knechtel to transpose to E flat and arrange the piano part. Only two verses had been written, but in the studio, Simon asked Knechtel to play a third verse, even though he hadn't written it yet.
Paul Simon later said, "I always felt that you could clearly see that it was written afterwards. It just doesn't sound like the first two verses." The third verse was about his girlfriend, Peggy Harper, as a joke, because she was upset one day when she had found a few gray hairs on her head.
Also by: Aretha Franklin, whose 1971 gospel-inspired live version won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance; Elvis Presley, whose version appeared on his 1970 album That's The Way It Is
; Johnny Cash, as a duet with Fiona Apple, whose version appeared on his 2002 album American IV: The Man Comes Around (#2 US Country), which was the last album Cash released during his lifetime, and his first album in 30 years to sell over 500,000 copies; Clay Aiken, whose version reached #1 in Canada in 2003.Download MP3s from Amazon.com:
- Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (MP3)
- Elvis Presley - Bridge Over Troubled Water (MP3)
- Aretha Franklin - Bridge Over Troubled Water (MP3)
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The Warmth Of The Sun (1964)
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By: The Beach Boys.
Formed in 1961 by Brian Wilson (born June 20, 1942 in Hawthorne, California); his brothers, Dennis Wilson (born December 4, 1944, died December 28, 1983) and Carl Wilson (born December 21, 1946, died February 6, 1998); their cousin Mike Love (born March 15, 1941 in Los Angeles, California), and friend Alan Jardine (born September 3, 1942 in Lima, Ohio.)
They are one the most influential groups in rock and pop music history, with 36 US Top 40 hits (including four #1 singles) and many million-selling albums.
"The Warmth of the Sun" was released on their 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2
and as the B-side of "Dance, Dance, Dance", which charted at #8 (US) and #24 (UK).
Written by: Mike Love and Brian Wilson.
On November 22, 1963, the Beach Boys were scheduled to perform a concert at the Marysville Auditorium in Marysville, California. On that same day, the news came from Dallas, Texas: President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
Murray Wilson, the father of the three Wilson brothers in the Beach Boys, was concerned as to whether they should go on with the performance. Fred Vail, the band's manager and promoter, quickly contacted those connected with the show. Local radio stations, record shops, city government, and police had no problem with the Beach Boys' planned performance.
That evening, Fred Vail introduced the group as normal, but considering the situation, asked the audience for a moment of silence in honor of President Kennedy. Vail later said, "It seemed like hours standing out there, head bowed, while the audience was totally - and respectfully - quiet."
The show was success, not only breaking the existing attendance record, but with no incidents by a very well-behaved audience. After the concert, from 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM at a hotel in Sacramento, inspired by the shock felt over the assassination of Kennedy, Love and Wilson finished a song they had begun writing earlier that day: "The Warmth of the Sun".
Also by: Vince Gill, who performed a version of the song (featured in An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson
) at Radio City Music Hall on March 29, 2001; Willie Nelson.
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By: The Beach Boys.
Formed in 1961 by Brian Wilson (born June 20, 1942 in Hawthorne, California); his brothers, Dennis Wilson (born December 4, 1944, died December 28, 1983) and Carl Wilson (born December 21, 1946, died February 6, 1998); their cousin Mike Love (born March 15, 1941 in Los Angeles, California), and friend Alan Jardine (born September 3, 1942 in Lima, Ohio.)
They are one the most influential groups in rock and pop music history, with 36 US Top 40 hits (including four #1 singles) and many million-selling albums.
"The Warmth of the Sun" was released on their 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2
and as the B-side of "Dance, Dance, Dance", which charted at #8 (US) and #24 (UK).Written by: Mike Love and Brian Wilson.
On November 22, 1963, the Beach Boys were scheduled to perform a concert at the Marysville Auditorium in Marysville, California. On that same day, the news came from Dallas, Texas: President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
Murray Wilson, the father of the three Wilson brothers in the Beach Boys, was concerned as to whether they should go on with the performance. Fred Vail, the band's manager and promoter, quickly contacted those connected with the show. Local radio stations, record shops, city government, and police had no problem with the Beach Boys' planned performance.
That evening, Fred Vail introduced the group as normal, but considering the situation, asked the audience for a moment of silence in honor of President Kennedy. Vail later said, "It seemed like hours standing out there, head bowed, while the audience was totally - and respectfully - quiet."
The show was success, not only breaking the existing attendance record, but with no incidents by a very well-behaved audience. After the concert, from 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM at a hotel in Sacramento, inspired by the shock felt over the assassination of Kennedy, Love and Wilson finished a song they had begun writing earlier that day: "The Warmth of the Sun".
Also by: Vince Gill, who performed a version of the song (featured in An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson
) at Radio City Music Hall on March 29, 2001; Willie Nelson.Download MP3s from Amazon.com:
Daydream Believer (1967)
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By: The Monkees.
The Monkees were created in 1965 for an NBC TV series, which ran from 1966 to 1968. Modeled on the Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night
and Help!
, the show featured the antics and music of a fictional pop-rock group.
Due to the massive success of the records, and the public's expectations, the Monkees became a real group, and one of the 1960s' most popular music acts. Other hits include "I'm A Believer"
, "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
, "Last Train to Clarksville"
and "Pleasant Valley Sunday"
. The Monkees disbanded in 1970.
Davy Jones (born David Thomas Jones December 30, 1945 in Manchester, England) sings the lead vocal. "Daydream Believer" was recorded during the sessions for their 1967 album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
, but was later released on their 1968 album The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees
.
Michael Nesmith played lead guitar, Peter Tork played piano (Tork invented the song's unique piano hook), and Micky Dolenz sang backing vocals.
Their version of the song has been used in an TV ad campaign for eBay in 2005. Alluding to a line from the song's chorus, "Oh, what can it mean ...", the campaign features the slogan, "Whatever it is, you can get it on eBay."
Chart position: #1 (US, 4 weeks), #5 (UK).
This was the Monkees' last #1 single. It was displaced at #1 by "Hello Goodbye" (The Beatles).
The Top Ten Songs: December 23, 1967 (US Billboard).
Written by: John Stewart, written in 1967, shortly before he left the Kingston Trio (who had hits with "Where Have All The Flowers Gone"
and "Tom Dooley"
.)
John Stewart's original lyric in the second verse was "Now you know how funky love can be." The show's producers had never heard the word and thought it might be dirty, so it was changed to "happy".
Also by: Anne Murray, whose version reached #12 (US Pop,) #3 (US Country) & #1 (US Adult Contemporary) in 1980, copying Peter Tork's piano hook in her version; John Stewart.
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- The Monkees - Daydream Believer (MP3)
- Anne Murray (Feat. Nelly Furtado) - Daydream Believer (MP3)
- John Stewart - Daydream Believer (MP3)
By: The Monkees.
The Monkees were created in 1965 for an NBC TV series, which ran from 1966 to 1968. Modeled on the Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night
and Help!, the show featured the antics and music of a fictional pop-rock group. Due to the massive success of the records, and the public's expectations, the Monkees became a real group, and one of the 1960s' most popular music acts. Other hits include "I'm A Believer"
, "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", "Last Train to Clarksville" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday". The Monkees disbanded in 1970.Davy Jones (born David Thomas Jones December 30, 1945 in Manchester, England) sings the lead vocal. "Daydream Believer" was recorded during the sessions for their 1967 album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
, but was later released on their 1968 album The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees.Michael Nesmith played lead guitar, Peter Tork played piano (Tork invented the song's unique piano hook), and Micky Dolenz sang backing vocals.
Their version of the song has been used in an TV ad campaign for eBay in 2005. Alluding to a line from the song's chorus, "Oh, what can it mean ...", the campaign features the slogan, "Whatever it is, you can get it on eBay."
Chart position: #1 (US, 4 weeks), #5 (UK).
This was the Monkees' last #1 single. It was displaced at #1 by "Hello Goodbye" (The Beatles).
The Top Ten Songs: December 23, 1967 (US Billboard).
- "Daydream Believer" (Monkees)
- "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" (Gladys Knight and the Pips)
- "Hello Goodbye" (Beatles)
- "I Second That Emotion" (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles)
- "Woman, Woman" (Gary Puckett and the Union Gap)
- "The Rain, The Park & Other Things" (Cowsills)
- "Boogaloo Down Broadway" (Fantastic Johnny C.)
- "Incense and Peppermints" (Strawberry Alarm Clock)
- "You Better Sit Down Kids" (Cher)
- "I Say A Little Prayer" (Dionne Warwick)
Written by: John Stewart, written in 1967, shortly before he left the Kingston Trio (who had hits with "Where Have All The Flowers Gone"
and "Tom Dooley".)John Stewart's original lyric in the second verse was "Now you know how funky love can be." The show's producers had never heard the word and thought it might be dirty, so it was changed to "happy".
Also by: Anne Murray, whose version reached #12 (US Pop,) #3 (US Country) & #1 (US Adult Contemporary) in 1980, copying Peter Tork's piano hook in her version; John Stewart.
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- The Monkees - Daydream Believer (MP3)
- Anne Murray (Feat. Nelly Furtado) - Daydream Believer (MP3)
- John Stewart - Daydream Believer (MP3)
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