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Johnnie Taylor - Disco Lady

Johnnie Taylor - Disco Lady Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Eargasm
Released: 1976

Disco Lady Lyrics

Shake it up,
Shake it down;
Move it in move it round,
Disco Lady
Move it in move it out move in and about disco lady.
Shake it up shake it down
Move it in move it out, disco lady.
Hey sexy lady ,
Said I like the way you move your thang,
Lord have mercy girl,
You dance so fine,and you're right on time.
Girl you ought to be on T.V. on soul train.
When you get the groove,
It ain't no stopp-in. just can't help it, I'm finger pop-pin;
Shake it up shake it down; move it in move it round, disco lady.
Move it in move it round ;move it in round about,disco lady.
Shake it baby shake it baby shake your thang;
Shake it baby shake it baby shake your thang,
You got me groovin,
I feel like movin,
Can't sit still I'm groovin. (spoken- I like that funky stuff)
Shake it up
Shake it down; move it in move it round, disco lady
Move it in move it round
Move it in round about, disco lady
Hey sexy lady! girl, you drive me crazy,
You dance so fine and your right on time.
Girl you drive me right out of my mind.
If it wasn't for the girl sit-tin next to me,
I'd jump right up and out-ta my safe-ty seat.
You got me hyp-no-tized, soul mes-mor-ized. girl ,
Your mov-in me girl your groov-in me.

Writer/s: Davis, Don / Scales, Harvey / Vance, Al
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Disco Lady

Written by Don Davis, Harvey Scales and Lee Vance, this song was originally titled "Disco Baby." Scales brought the song to Davis, who was Taylor's producer, Davis came up with new lyrics inspired by an African dancer he saw in Spain who would draw all eyes to her when she started dancing. The Impressions had a song called "Gypsy Woman," and Davis used those themes to create his song - instead of a Gypsy Woman, he had a Disco Lady.

Johnnie Taylor, nicknamed the "Soul Philosopher," recorded for Stax Records until the label imploded in 1975. Moving to Columbia, his first release was this massive Disco hit, which finds Taylor singing the praises of a lady on the dancefloor. Members of George Clinton's crew, including Bootsy Collins and Bernie Worrell, played on the track, and Telma Hopkins - of "Shut Your Mouth!" fame - sang backup. It was recorded at United Sound Studios in Detroit, where Davis usually worked.

The Platinum award was instituted in 1976 by the RIAA for albums selling one million units and singles selling two million units (in 1989 they lowered the requirements for singles so Gold was 500,000 units and Platinum was a million). This was the first single to ever be certified platinum and it's claimed that to celebrate his success, Taylor took a bath in Dom Perignon champagne.

Though there had previously been several disco songs that had reached #1, this was the first Hot 100 chart-topper with the word "disco" in its title. "A lot of people thought it was disco," mused Taylor. "But it was not a disco tune. We were just talking about disco."

This song was a huge hit on both the Pop and R&B charts, which it climbed simultaneously. It spent 4 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 and 6 weeks at the top of the R&B chart.

Neil Young - Long May You Run

Neil Young - Long May You Run Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Decade
Released: 1976

Long May You Run Lyrics

Long May You Run

Neil's beloved Pontiac hearse, "Mort" (a.k.a. "Mortimer Hearseburg"), was the inspiration for this song. Neil drove "Mort" from Toronto to Los Angeles, where he met Stephen Stills and formed Buffalo Springfield.

Neil was in Canada driving to Sudbury when 'Mort' broke down in Blind River, June 1965. (Which is contradictory to the lyrics; "well it was back in Blind River, in 1962, when I last saw you alive").

In 1976, Stephen Stills and Neil Young formed The Stills-Young Band and released an album called Long May You Run, which turned out to be somewhat ironic when the collaboration quickly stalled.

Stills and Young wrote separately for the album, which Stephen contributing four songs, and Young adding five, including the title track.

Stills is a longtime collaborator of Neil's, having worked with him first in Buffalo Springfield and then in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. However, they had a falling out only nine days into the Long May You Run tour. Young decided to abandon the project, leaving Stills with a mere telegram to explain his departure. It read: "Dear Stephen, funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach. Neil."

In addition to Young's compilation album Decade this also appears on his 1993 album Unplugged. (thanks, Paulus - Tasmania, Australia, for all above)

The last ever Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on Friday January 22, 2010 finished in style when O'Brien's final musical guest, Neil Young, performed this song in what appeared to be a poke at NBC. O'Brien had been asked to move his slot to 12:05 a.m., and the TV host refused to move his show to such a late hour, and instead negotiated a $45 million exit deal.

Neil Young performed this song at the Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games to a rousing ovation of Canadian audience members. (thanks, Chris - Red Deer, Alberta, Canada)

The Clash - London's Burning

The Clash - London's Burning Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Clash
Released: 1977

London's Burning Lyrics

London's Burning
London's burning

All across the town, all across the night
Everybody's driving with full headlights
Black or white, you turn it on, you face the new religion
Everybody's sitting 'round watching television

London's burning with boredom now
London's burning dial nine-nine-nine-nine-nine
London's burning with boredom now
London's burning dial nine-nine-nine-nine-nine

I'm up and down the Westway, in and out the lights
What a great traffic system, it's so bright
I can't think of a better way to spend the night
Than speeding around underneath the yellow lights

London's burning with boredom now
London's burning dial nine-nine-nine-nine-nine
London's burning with boredom now
London's burning dial nine-nine-nine-nine-nine

Now I'm in the subway and I'm looking for the flat
This one leads to this block, this one leads to that
The wind howls through the empty blocks looking for a home
I run through the empty stone because I'm all alone

London's burning with boredom now
London's burning dial nine-nine-nine-nine-nine
London's burning with boredom now
London's burning dial nine-nine-nine-nine-nine

London's burning

Writer/s: STRUMMER, JOE / JONES, MICK / SIMONON, PAUL / HEADON, TOPPER
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

London's Burning

"London's Burning" (named after the popular nursery rhyme about the Great Fire of London in 1666) is mainly about the punk scene's main choice of drug at the time: amphetamine sulphate, AKA speed ("I can't think of a better way to spend the night, than speeding around underneath the yellow lights").

"I decided quite quickly that the up wasn't worth the down," noted singer Joe Strummer.

It is also one of The Clash's most overt songs about urban alienation, and while they and other first-generation Punk bands became stereotyped for writing songs about tower blocks and inner-city wastelands, this is actually the only Clash song on their first album to reference tower blocks directly ("The wind howls through the empty blocks looking for a home, I run through the empty stone 'cos I'm all alone").

Fellow punk band The Ruts would later go on to have a minor hit with the 1979 single "Babylon's Burning," and were quick to acknowledge the influence "London's Burning" had on that song.

First recorded at CBS Studios London for the sessions for their debut album, Mick Jones' improvised guitar solo near the end of the song was fiercely at odds with punk rock's minimalist attitude (which often opposed guitar solos at all, let alone complex ones). An alternative version, taken from the 'live' session in Dunstable for the "White Riot" promo film in April 1977 (live in that they were playing in a studio to a small assembled audience of journalists) was released as the B-side to the controversial "Remote Control" single in May 1977.

This song became a hugely popular live favorite, and remained in their set pretty much from its first ever performance at Screen on the Green in April 1976 (their third ever show). A common trend would involve Strummer changing the lyrics to match the town where they were performing; for example, the first time this occurred at a show in Birmingham in late 1976, the song became "Birmingham's Burning." This improvisation reached a peak at a show in Paris in 1977, where the song became "Paris Is Singing" and almost the entire original lyrics were disregarded in favor of new stream-of-consciousness ones, including a popular reference to local Punk band The Stinky Toys.

A hugely energetic version recorded at the Rock Against Racism show in April 1977 would later feature (with some studio overdubs) in the Rude Boy movie and on the From Here to Eternity live compilation album.

Several notable covers exist, including one by the '90s alt-rock band Silverchair.

AC/DC - High Voltage

AC/DC - High Voltage Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: High Voltage
Released: 1975

High Voltage Lyrics

Well you ask me 'bout the clothes I wear
And you ask me why I grow my hair
And you ask me why I'm in a band
I dig doin' one night stands
And you want to see me do my thing
All you gotta do is plug me into high

I said high
High Voltage rock 'n' roll
High voltage rock 'n' roll
High voltage, high voltage
High voltage rock 'n' roll

Well you ask me why I like to dance
And you ask me why I like to sing
And you ask me why I like to play
I got to get my kicks some way
And you ask me what I'm all about
Come and let me hear you shout high

I said high
High voltage rock 'n' roll
High voltage rock 'n' roll
High voltage, high voltage
High voltage rock 'n' roll
Rock 'n' roll

I said high, I said high
Waaaah
High voltage rock 'n' roll
High voltage rock 'n' roll
High voltage, high voltage
High voltage rock 'n' roll

Spotlight, put the lights out, happy hour
High voltage rock 'n' roll
High voltage rock 'n' roll
Wine, women and song
High voltage, high voltage
High voltage rock 'n' roll

Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

High Voltage Song Chart

An early AC/DC track, this one plays off their band name, keeping with the electricity theme as Bon Scott sings about their "high voltage rock and roll." The band would produce many more songs about rock and roll over the next four decades, and these tracks were often the showstoppers at their concerts.

AC/DC's first album, released in 1975 only in Australia, was called High Voltage, but this song wasn't part of it. "High Voltage" the song was released as a standalone single, reaching #6 in Australia and goosing sales of the album.

Another Australia-only album (T.N.T.) followed later that year, and in 1976 tracks from these first two albums were compiled, along with this song, for another album called High Voltage that was given international release and set the stage for the band's rise to stardom. The "High Voltage" single was also released internationally in 1976, and a video was made to promote the song.

This was the first AC/DC song that drummer Phil Rudd played on.

Kiss - Beth

Kiss - Beth Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Destroyer
Released: 1976

Beth Lyrics

Beth I hear you calling
But I can't come home right now
Me and the boys are playing
And we just can't find the sound

Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them calling
Oh Beth what can I do
Beth what can I do

You say you feel so empty
That our house just ain't our home
I'm always somewhere else
And you're always there alone

Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them calling
Oh Beth what can I do
Beth what can I do

Beth I know you're lonely
And I hope you'll be alright
'Cause me and the boys will be playing all night

Writer/s: CRISS, PETER / EZRIN, BOB / PENRIDGE, STANLEY
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Beth

This song dates back to a band called Chelsea, which future Kiss drummer Peter Criss was in with the guitarist Stan Penridge from 1970-1972. Criss and Penridge came up with a song called "Beck," which was about the wife of their guitarist Mike Brand, whose name was Becky. She was constantly interrupting their band practices asking when Mike was coming home, and the song was a joke directed at him.

In August 2000, less than a year before Penridge died at age 50, he explained to the KissFAQ : "'Beck' was written, almost word for word, from Mike Brand's responses to his wife's constant calls that interrupted our rehearsals. It got to the point where I wrote down his remarks over a period of three or four days in what I called my 'wizard book.' It was merely a small notebook I carried to jot down silly sayings, sketch in, to save ideas. If you look at the lyrics and view them as a hen-pecked hubby's remarks to his nagging wife you'll see what I mean. Just pause after every sentence and pretend there's a bitch at the other end of the line. You'll catch it - I'm sure. Absolutely not responsible at all. Another poorman's copyright by me in '70."

Penridge and Criss recorded a demo of "Beck" but never released the song. In 1976, after Criss joined Kiss, he and Penridge revived the song and with the help of producer Bob Ezrin, they changed the title to "Beth" and made it more sentimental, changing the end of the first verse from:

"I know you love complaining, but Beck what can I do?"
to
"I think I hear them callin', Oh, Beth what can I do?"

A piano ballad not typical of Kiss' sound, this was released as the B-side of "Detroit Rock City," which was the third single from the album, following "Shout It Out Loud" and "Flaming Youth." These three first single releases were hard-driving anthems in the style of Kiss' previous hit "Rock And Roll All Nite," but the song that got the most attention was "Beth." Radio stations began playing the song, and the record company responded by flipping the sides of the single, with "Beth" becoming the A-side about six weeks later. It became the biggest hit for Kiss, and their only their only song to get significant airplay on Top 40 radio and even - gasp - Adult Contemporary formats.

Stan Penridge co-wrote and played guitar on most of the songs on Peter Criss' 1980 solo album Out of Control. Criss was best man at Stan's wedding (Ace Frehley was also in the bridal party) and they worked together for a few years after Criss left Kiss. In 2000, Penridge filed a lawsuit claiming he was owed money for some of the songs he wrote with Criss that Kiss recorded, including "Baby Driver," "Dirty Living," and "Baby, Don't You let me Down."

Peter Criss sang lead, as he did on several Kiss songs, including "Black Diamond" and "Hard Luck Woman." He was the only member of the band to perform on this song - Dick Wagner played the acoustic guitar and an orchestra was brought in. Wagner had toured with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, but was living in New York and taking session work at the time. He wasn't credited on the album, but remembers also playing on the tracks "Sweet Pain" and "Flaming Youth."

Live performances of this song were a bit of a problem unless Kiss had an orchestra handy. When they didn't, Peter Criss would move to the front of the stage and sing it to a recorded backing track.

This song is a source of contention between Peter Criss and Kiss frontman Paul Stanley. Criss was fired from the band in 1980, and while he participated in reunion tours, he was replaced by other musicians: first Eric Carr and then Eric Singer (on later tours, Singer would sometimes sing this song like Criss used to).

As the co-writer/singer of Kiss' biggest hit, Criss stakes a solid claim to the band's legacy, but Stanley has maintained that Stan Penridge wrote just about all of "Beth," and Criss contributed very little to the song. "Peter had nothing to do with it," Stanley told Rolling Stone in 2014. "It was a lifeline that Peter hung on to validate himself, but it wasn't based on reality."

The rift between Criss and Stanley runs far deeper than a dispute over this song. When Kiss was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, Stanley and Gene Simmons refused to reunite with the original lineup and ultimately decided not to perform at the ceremony.

Sitcom writer Paul Simms named the obnoxious secretary character from NewsRadio Beth after this song. The character had "no last name." (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)

Peter Criss married his first wife, Lydia, in 1970. They were still together when this song became a hit, which lent some veracity to the lyric about coming home to see your girl. In 1978, their relationship turned rocky when Criss took up with Debra Jensen, who was Miss January in Playboy that year. Peter and Lydia divorced in 1979 (with Lydia getting a reported $1 million settlement), and Peter and Debra were later married.

In our interview with Lydia Criss , she claims credit for coming up with the name "Beth." According to Lydia, Gene Simmons didn't want to call it "Beck" to avoid confusion with the guitarist Jeff Beck. She says she suggested "Beth" because she was thinking about the woman Neil Bogart of Kiss' label Casablanca Records was married to: the former Beth Weiss. Like the original inspiration for the song, Becky Brand, Beth was also a twin.

Lydia also says that she provided the line "You say you feel so empty that our house just ain't our home." She explained: "I was working for six years of our marriage and supporting Peter. When I finally stopped working, I said, 'I feel so empty. I feel like this house isn't even my home.' And he put that in the song. Because I was used to paying the bills, and being a Scorpio, kind of controlling things. When I moved, I didn't have control anymore, so I felt a little empty, and they put it in a song."

This was used in a 2015 commercial for the Volkswagen Passat where a husband gets a call from his wife, Beth, that shows up on his car information system. He ignores it, and runs off to join their kids for some fun and adventure. Driving home with the kids asleep in the back seat, he tells the vehicle: "Text Beth: What can I do?" The reply: "Pick up milk."

Al Green - Full of Fire

Al Green - Full of Fire Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Full of Fire
Released: 1976

Full of Fire Lyrics

I'm Full of Fire (full of fire, full of fire)
You're my one desire,
Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
You can make me cry,
I can dance to the music,
I can sing, all night long
I can play with the band, until you hear my song

Cause I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
See the party lights,
Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
Its the reason why,
I can dance with the fire,
Burnin', burnin' low,
I can stay until the party is all over

Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
I'm over a twenty one,
Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire full of fire)
Life has just begun,
Oh, oh I can dance to the music,
I, I can under, understand
That there must be an upper power that is holding my hand
Dance, dance, dance

Oh I understand,
Young lady, young man, I say I understand,

Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
I'm over a twenty one,
Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire full of fire)
Life has just begun,
Oh, oh I can dance to the music,
I, I can under, understand
That there must be an upper power that is holding my hand
Dance, dance, dance

Oh I understand,
Young lady, young man, I say I understand,

I can dance dance, dance, dance,
I understand, understand, understand
There's some things that may not know,
But I want the horn to blow,
There's some things that I know,
But I want the horn to blow,
I can dance dance, dance, dance,
I understand, understand, understand
There's some things that may not know,
But I want the horn to blow,
I can dance
Let me say that I can dance
Full of fire, my heart's desire
Full of fire

Writer/s: GREEN, AL L. / MITCHELL, WILLIE / HODGES, MABON
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Full of Fire

Written by Al Green, producer Willie Mitchell and guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, this was the last of six #1 R&B hits for Green.

While his own studio was crowded with other artists, Mitchell was forced to record this Disco-flavored tune in not one, but two different studios. "I recorded part of it in Vegas and part of it in Chicago," he remembered. "The sound changed... because it was a different studio."

This song marks the beginning of the end in Green and Mitchell's partnership. After one more album in 1976, Have a Good Time (and the hit "Keep Me Cryin'") Green became a self-produced Gospel singer and the pair didn't work together again until 1985 for Green's He Is the Light album.

Queen - White Man

Queen - White Man Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: A Day At The Races
Released: 1976

White Man Lyrics

I'm a simple man
With a simple name
From this soil my people came
In this soil remain
Oh yeah, oh yeah

We made us our shoes
We trod soft on the land
But the immigrant built roads
On our blood and sand
Oh yeah, oh yeah

White Man, White man
Don't you see the light behind your blackened skies
White man, White man
You took away the sight to blind my simple eyes
White man, White man
Where you gonna hide
From the hell you've made ?

Oh the Red man knows war
With his hands and his knives
On the bible you swore
Fought your battle with lies
Oh yeah

Leave my body in shame
Leave my soul in disgrace
But by every God's name
Say your prayers for your race
Oh yeah

White man, White man
Our country was green and all our rivers wide
White man, White man
You came with a gun and soon our children died
White man, White man
Don't you give a light for the blood you've shed
Oooh yeah

Oh White man, White man (White man)
White man, White man
Fought your battle with lies, yeah
White man, White man - but weren't too civilized yeah
White man, White man
Take a look around
Every skin and bone
Hey

What is left of your dream ?
Just the words on your stone
A man who learned how to teach
Then forgot how to learn
Oh yeah

Writer/s: BRIAN HAROLD MAY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

White Man

This song was written by Queen guitarist Brain May. The lyrics are about the wars between colonists and Native Americans.

In a 1976 interview on Capital Radio, Freddie Mercury was asked how he managed to get such a loud noise on one record. He replied: "I don't know, it's down to Mike Stone our engineer. We're very bad in the studio for that actually, the poor engineer has to really suffer because we really want as much level as possible. We keep pushing the phasers up and he keeps looking at the meters and going 'Oh it'll never cut'. Then we give him the added task of going over to New York or wherever and saying 'Make sure that cuts as loud as possible'."

The Manhattans - Kiss And Say Goodbye

The Manhattans - Kiss And Say Goodbye Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Manhattans
Released: 1976

Kiss And Say Goodbye Lyrics

This has got to be the saddest day of my life
I called you here today for a bit of bad news
I won't be able to see you any more
Because of my obligations
And the ties that you have
We've been meeting here every day
And since this is our last date together
I want to hold you just one more time
When you turn and walk away
Don't look back
I want to remember you just like this
Let's just kiss
And say goodbye

I had to meet you here today
There's just so many things to say
Please don't stop me 'till I'm through
This is something I hate to do
We've been meeting here so long
I guess what we done was wrong
Please, darling, don't you cry
Let's just Kiss And Say Goodbye (goodbye)
Many months have passed us by
(I'm gonna miss you) I'm gonna miss you, I can't lie
(I'm gonna miss you)
I've got ties and so do you
I just think this is the thing to do
It's gonna hurt me, I can't lie
Maybe you'll meet another guy
Understand me won't you try, try, try, try, try, try
Let's just kiss and say goodbye

(I'm gonna miss you) I'm gonna miss you
(I'm gonna miss you) Understand me, won't you try
(I'm gonna miss you) It's gonna hurt me, I won't lie
(I'm gonna miss you) Take my handkerchief and wipe your eyes
(I'm gonna miss you) Baby you'll find, you'll find another guy
(I'm gonna miss you) Let's kiss and say goodbye, pretty baby
(I'm gonna miss you) Please, don't you cry
(I'm gonna miss you) Understand me, won't you try?
(I'm gonna miss you) Let's just kiss and say goodbye

Writer/s: LOVETT, WINFRED
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Kiss And Say Goodbye

The Manhattans are a Rhythm and Blues vocal group from Jersey City who first formed in 1962 and have performed with changing membership since then. This moving song is about the end of a longtime love due to "obligations" and "ties." He asks the woman he's breaking up with to be stoic and remember him with love rather than falling apart and trying to stay together.

The song became The Manhattans biggest hit, reaching the top of the charts in the US and staying there for two weeks.

The song was written by Manhattans member Winfred "Blue" Lovett. He said in an interview that he envisaged Glen Campbell singing his tune. Said Lovett: "Back then I was into listening a lot to country things. Lionel Richie jumped the gun on me, but I had been listening for three or four years. I liked a lot of things Glen Campbell was doing... and Charley Pride."

"Kiss and Say Goodbye" was produced by the Philadelphia-based record producer Bobby Martin, a former member of the MFSB band of session musicians and recorded in 1975 at Joe Tarsia's Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. It would be a full year until it was released, possibly as the label was concerned about dropping a ballad during the Disco explosion. "We thought that 'Kiss and Say Goodbye' would be the wrong song to release, and we were very much upset with Columbia choosing a R&B-Country song during the disco era," said Lovett. "And how wrong we were!"

Columbia issued two different singles: the full version aimed toward the R&B market, which included a mid-song rap and an edited "pop" edition without the spoken part. Lovett said: "Pop stations didn't like the rap the way I was talking, like Barry White, Isaac Hayes or Lou Rawls. They didn't like that talking in the beginning. They felt it would sell better, if it was without the rap. I was fine with that. Whatever would sell records that was fine." (Source of quotes Soul Express )

This was the second single to earn platinum certification status, after the RIAA established the designation in 1976. (Labelmate Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" had been the first a few months earlier.)

UB40 covered this in 2005 scoring a #19 UK hit with their version.

AC/DC - The Jack

AC/DC - The Jack Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: High Voltage
Released: 1975

The Jack Lyrics

She gave me the queen
She gave me the king
She was wheelin' and dealin'
Just doin' her thing
She was holdin' a pair
But I had to try
Her deuce was wild
But my ace was high
But how was I to know
That she'd been dealt with before
Said she'd never had a full house
But I should have known
From the tattoo on her left leg
And the garter on her right
She'd have the card to bring me down
If she played it right

She's got The Jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack
She's got the jack

Poker face was her name
Poker face was her nature
Poker straight was a game
If she knew she could get you
She played 'em fast
And she played 'em hard
She could close her eyes
And feel every card
But how was I to know
That she'd been shuffled before
Said she'd never had a royal flush
But I should have known
That all the cards were comin'
From the bottom of the pack
And if I'd known what she was dealin' out
I'd have dealt it back

She's got the jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack, and who knows what else?
She's got the jack, yeah, yeah
She's got the jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack
She's got the jack

She's got the jack, she's got the jack,
Oh, it was a bad deal, (jack)
She gave me the (jack), hey
She's got the (jack), she's got the (jack)
She's got the (jack), ooh can't you tell
She's got the (jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack)
(she's got the jack, she's got the jack)
She's got the jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack, you never know
She's got the jack, she's got the jack
She's got the jack
She's got the jack, and it hurts!
(she's got the jack)
She's got the jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack
She's got the jack
Aaaaaah
Oooooh
Thank you, thank you, thank you people, thank you, thank you
I'm glad you like the show, yes, thank you very much folks
Goodnight and god bless

Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Jack Song Chart

This song is about a venereal disease - "The Jack" is Australian slang for Gonorrhea, which is also known as "The Clap." AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott explained the origin of the song in a 1976 interview with Sounds. Said Scott: "We were living with this houseful of ladies who were all very friendly and everyone in the band had got the jack. So we wrote this song and the first time we did it on stage they were all in the front row with no idea what was goin' to happen. When it came to repeatin' 'She's got the jack' I pointed at them one after another." Added guitarist Angus Young: "After that, wherever we did the song the girls in the audience would run to the back of the hall."

Bon Scott was known for his outrageous behavior both on and off stage. He told this story in the same Sounds interview: "One time I had the jack and this girl wanted f--kin' and she was so ugly I figured, s--t! Nobody else would have her so she wouldn't spread it. But when we'd finished she went next door to Phil (Rudd, their drummer) and gave it to him. And a few weeks later she sent him a doctor's bill for 35 dollars for the cure. Well, next time she came to a show I got her up on stage in the middle of 'The Jack' and explained how she'd got it wrong and it was me owed her the money." On mike that was.

AC/DC takes the music in their songs much more seriously than their lyrics. They would often finish songs by writing lyrics that amuse them, and this is a good example of that technique.

This was released in Australia in 1975 on AC/DC's second album, T.N.T. Their first two Australian releases were combined to form High Voltage in 1976, which was their first album released worldwide.

In concert, Bon Scott would sometimes share with the crowd a more direct set of lyrics than the one on the recording. He also did a bit where he would introduce the song by singing (to the tune of "Maria" from West Side Story):

Gonorrhea, I've just had my first dose of gonorrhea

Such poetry can be heard on AC/DC's 1978 live album If You Want Blood, You've Got It.

AC/DC played this before a crowd of 500,000 at show in Toronto in 2003. The concert, which also featured The Rolling Stones, Rush, and others, was a benefit for the city, which suffered a drop in tourism due to the spread of a rare disease called SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome). AC/DC had no problem singing about one disease at a benefit for another, and the fans didn't mind either.

Morris Albert - Feelings

Morris Albert - Feelings Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Feelings
Released: 1975

Feelings Lyrics

Feelings, nothing more than feelings,
Trying to forget my feelings of love.
Teardrops rolling down on my face,
Trying to forget my feelings of love.

Feelings, for all my life I'll feel it.
I wish I've never met you, girl; you'll never come again.

Feelings, wo-o-o feelings,
Wo-o-o, feel you again in my arms.

Feelings, feelings like I've never lost you
And feelings like I've never have you again in my heart.

Feelings, for all my life I'll feel it.
I wish I've never met you, girl; you'll never come again.

Feelings, feelings like I've never lost you
And feelings like I've never have you again in my life.

Feelings, wo-o-o feelings,
Wo-o-o, feelings again in my arms.
Feelings

Feelings, wo-o-o feelings,
Wo-o-o, feelings again in my arms.
Feelings...

Writer/s: ALBERT, MORRIS / GASTE, LOUIS FELIX PIERRE MARIE
Publisher: Peermusic Publishing
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Feelings

The singer's full name is Morris Albert Kaiserman. He was born in Brazil.

Albert originally recorded this as a Portuguese-language bolero, which became a major hit in latin America in 1975.

This song made headlines in 1999 when an Indonesian army leader sang it at a formal dinner to describe his position on the unrest in East Timor (A former Portuguese colony that was annexed by Indonesia in 1976. After a quarter century of unrest, East Timor became independent in 2002). (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL, for above 3)

The Offspring recorded this for their 1998 album Americana. (thanks, Cynthia - sacramento, United States)

In 1987, Morris Albert was found guilty of plagiarism, with a jury finding that this borrowed heavily from a French song from 1956 called "Pour Toi." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

James Taylor - A Junkie's Lament

James Taylor - A Junkie's Lament Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: In The Pocket
Released: 1976

A Junkie's Lament Lyrics

A Junkie's Lament

This is an autobiographical song about Taylor's battles with addictions (primarily heroin), the "monkey on his back."

Speaking with Rolling Stone in 2015, Taylor explained: "This one's a warning not to think of a junkie as a complete functioning human being. Heroin should've killed me about five times, but it never did. My kids suffered from their father being an addict. I think there's no way they can't. People take drugs to be in control. They want to short-circuit any risk that they might take in life, any uncertainty, any anxiety. They just want to find the chemical route, to just push the button that gets the final result. So all of your relationships suffer, no question about it."

Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock

Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Greatest Hits
Released: 1955

Rock Around The Clock Lyrics

One, two, three o´clock, four o´clock, rock
Five, six, seven o´clock, eight o´clock, rock
Nine, ten, eleven o´clock, twelve o´clock, rock
We´re gonna Rock Around The Clock tonight

Put your glad rags on and join me, hon
We´ll have some fun when the clock strikes one
We´re gonna rock around the clock tonight
We´re gonna rock, rock, rock, ´til broad daylight
We´re gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight

When the clock strikes two, three and four
If the band slows down we´ll yell for more
We´re gonna rock around the clock tonight
We´re gonna rock, rock, rock, ´til broad daylight
We´re gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight

When the chimes ring five, six and seven
We´ll be right in seventh heaven
We´re gonna rock around the clock tonight
We´re gonna rock, rock, rock, ´til broad daylight
We´re gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight

When it´s eight, nine, ten, eleven too
I´ll be goin´ strong and so will you
We´re gonna rock around the clock tonight
We´re gonna rock, rock, rock, ´til broad daylight
We´re gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight

When the clock strikes twelve, we´ll cool off then
Start a rockin´ round the clock again
We´re gonna rock around the clock tonight
We´re gonna rock, rock, rock, ´til broad daylight
We´re gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight

Writer/s: MYERS, JAMES / FREEDMAN, MAX
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ROBERT W. CINQUE, ESQ.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Rock Around The Clock Song Chart

There is some dispute over what was the first rock song ever recorded (The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says it's Rocket 88, which Haley covered in 1951), but this is indisputably the first rock song to top the charts, and generally considered the beginning of the "Rock Era," at least for chart purposes.

At the time, Billboard magazine compiled charts in three different categories: Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played By Disc Jockeys, and Most Played in Juke Boxes - many songs like "Rock Around The Clock" topped all three and were a consensus #1. Elvis had his first chart-topper in 1956 with "Heartbreak Hotel," and rock music made steady gains from there, but to give you some idea of what the charts looked like before Haley hit the pinnacle, the 1955 #1s that hit before Haley were by Joan Weber, The Fontane Sisters, The McGuire Sisters, Bill Hays, Perez Prado, Georgia Gibbs and Les Baxter.

This was written in 1953 by a Philadelphia songwriter named named Max Freedman (who was nearly 60 years old), and by James Myers, who was a local musician and song publisher, who published it under the name "Jimmy De-Knight." In addition to owning half the composer credit on the song, Myers had 100% of the publishing. Haley wanted to record the song, but Dave Miller, who owned his label Essex Records, refused because of a dispute over the publishing. Myers then placed the song with a veteran Country act called Sonny Dae and His Nights, and their version was released in 1953 to little acclaim. In 1954, Myers helped Haley leave Essex records and sign with Decca; as part of their agreement, one side of every single Haley recorded had to be a song from Myers' catalog, and the first one they picked was "Rock Around The Clock," which was originally released as the B-side of a Dickie Thompson song called "Thirteen Women," which was about a nuclear bomb that leaves just one man and 13 women alive.

"Rock Around The Clock" first appeared on the charts on June 3, 1953, selling 75,000 copies and convincing Decca to pick up Haley's option. Haley then recorded a successful cover of the Big Joe Turner song "Shake, Rattle And Roll," and on March 25, 1955, "Rock Around The Clock" was featured in the movie Blackboard Jungle, which gave it a surge in popularity and prompted Decca to re-release the single. This time, the song surged to the top of the charts, entering the Top 40 on May 14, 1955 and hitting #1 on July 9, where it stayed for eight weeks.

Haley first recorded this song on April 12, 1954 at his first session for Decca Records. Haley went to New York to cut his first Decca session. Musicians were: Billy Williamson on steel guitar, Johnny Grande on piano, Joey d'Ambrosio on tenor sax, Danny Cedrone on lead guitar and Marshall Lytle on bass. A session drummer, named Billy Gussack played on this recording. Haley recorded the song a few other times, but this recording was the original single.

The term "Rock 'n' Roll" was a relatively new way of describing music when this came out. A lot of early "Rock" was based on the blues, and was far too racy for most white listeners. Many white singers made careers out of sanitizing R&B records for pop appeal, but Haley added a country/swing element to his covers that kept a lot of the edge. When Elvis came along, he did the same thing, transforming R&B songs like "Hound Dog" without sucking the life out of them.

Many listerners had never heard of "rock and roll" when this was released, so the record company had a hard time describing the song. The label on the single called it a "Novelty Foxtrot."

Haley's guitarist Danny Cedrone played pretty much the same solo on "Rock Around The Clock" that he did on Haley's 1952 cover of the Jimmy Preston "Rock The Joint," which was a big break for Haley, selling over 150,000 copies, and established the swinging blues style he would use on his famous hit.

This was the original opening theme song for the TV show Happy Days . The song was re-released in 1974 to capitalize on its new popularity, and charted at #39 in the US. In 1976 theme was changed to "Happy Days."

In the UK, this was the biggest-selling single of the '50s.

Elton John took a swipe at this in his song "Crocodile Rock." Elton thought this was kind of overrated, so he put a line in about how they were doing the Crocodile Rock while the other kids were "Rocking 'round the clock."

Haley was never able to duplicate the massive success of "Rock Around The Clock," but he did have a few more hits in the '50s, including "See You Later Alligator" and "The Saints Rock 'N Roll." Haley is a key figure in the evolution of rock music, helping transform the sound out of Country music, but he couldn't sustain his early success. Elvis stole his thunder, and Haley recorded many substandard songs because wanted to cut tracks owned by his publishing company. He remained somewhat popular overseas, but lawsuits and financial problems took their toll on the singer, and he died in 1981 at age 55. Bill Haley and His Comets were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

According to Rolling Stone in their "100 Greatest Guitar Songs" issue, Comets guitarist Danny Cedrone was paid $21 for his work on this track, which became a classic rock solo. Unfortunately, he died in a fall months after he recorded it. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

There is a different snare drum pattern on each verse. (thanks, Greg - Barking, England)

In 1956, Bill Haley and the Comets starred as themselves in a low-budget movie called Rock Around The Clock, where they performed nine songs. The film was far from scandalous, but was targeted to teenagers and caused a stir among theater owners who feared bad behavior. Possibly spurred on by these reports, there were incidents of dancing in aisles and other breaches in etiquette that helped fuel the perception among many adults that rock music would lead to mayhem in America's youth.

The Beatles - The Long and Winding Road

The Beatles - The Long and Winding Road Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Let It Be
Released: 1970

The Long and Winding Road Lyrics

The Long and Winding Road that leads to your door,
Will never disappear,
I've seen that road before It always leads me here,
Leads me to your door.

The wild and windy night the rain washed away,
Has left a pool of tears crying for the day.

Why leave me standing here, let me know the way
Many times I've been alone and many times I've cried
Anyway you'll never know the many ways I've tried, but
Still they lead me back to the long and winding road
You left me standing here a long, long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here, lead me to you door

Writer/s: Lennon, John / Mccartney, Paul James
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Long and Winding Road Song Chart

One of the last Beatles songs, Paul McCartney wrote this based on tensions within the band.

The road McCartney is talking about is the B842 which runs down the east coast of Kintyre and on into Campbeltown near his Scottish farmhouse. (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, WA)

McCartney: "I just sat down at my piano in Scotland, started playing and came up with that song, imagining it was going to be done by someone like Ray Charles. I have always found inspiration in the calm beauty of Scotland and again it proved the place where I found inspiration." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The Beatles recorded this in January 1969 as a fairly simple ballad. By 1970, The Beatles were breaking up and and Phil Spector was brought in to go through the tapes and produce the album. Spector was known for his "Wall Of Sound" recording technique, where he added many instruments and layered the tracks to create a very full sound. On this track, he took out most of The Beatles instruments and added a string section and choir (The Mike Sammes Singers). The result was very different from what the group originally had in mind.

Even though he wrote this song, Paul McCartney didn't go to the sessions where Spector produced it. When McCartney heard the results, he made it clear that he hated what Spector did to his song, and tried to get the original version, which was mixed by engineer Glyn Johns, on the album. The band was already falling apart, and this caused further turmoil within the group, as Harrison and Lennon both supported Spector. Paul has not changed his stance over the years, and still believes Spector butchered it. Lennon and Harrison felt otherwise, and each had Spector produce their next solo efforts. Lennon said of Spector's work on Let It Be: "Phil was given the s--ttiest load of badly recorded s--t with a lousy feeling to it, and he made something of it."

The Beatles performed this in the movie Let It Be. Both the movie and album were the last The Beatles released. Abbey Road was the last album they recorded.

Paul McCartney offered this song to Tom Jones in 1968 on the condition it be his next single. He had "Without Love (There is Nothing)" set for release so he turned down the offer, something he would later regret. Speaking with Media Wales in 2012, Jones explained: "I saw him (McCartney) in a club called Scotts Of St James on Jermyn Street in London. I said to him When are you going to write me a song then Paul? He said, aye I will then. Then not long after he sent a song around to my house, which was 'The Long And Winding Road,' but the condition was that I could do it but it had to be my next single.

Paul wanted it out straight away. At that time I had a song called 'Without Love' that I was going to be releasing. The record company was gearing up towards the release of it. The timing was terrible, but I asked if we could stop everything and I could do 'The Long And Winding Road.' They said it would take a lot of time and it was impractical, so I ended up not doing it. I was kicking myself. I knew it was a strong song."

"Without Love" did well for Jones - it reached #5 in the US and #10 in the UK, but didn't have anywhere near the staying power of this Beatles classic. Jones did eventually record a Paul McCartney song, but not until 2012 when Paul wrote "(I Want To) Go Home," which was released on Jones' album Spirit In The Room.

This was the only Beatles song where John Lennon played bass. He was ordinarily their rhythm guitarist. Harrison and Ringo had their parts removed by Phil Spector, so they don't appear on this at all.

Alistair Taylor, the General manager at Apple Records, witnessed Paul McCartney's recording of the original demo version of this at 3 in the morning. He recalls in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: "He was picking out a melody and I said 'I like that, it's a fabulous melody,' and he said, 'It's just an idea.' He told the engineer to switch on the tape and he recorded 'The Long And Winding Road' then and there: it was full of la-las as he'd only written a few lines, but it was quite fantastic."

McCartney blocked release of the song as a single in the UK, but he could not prevent its release in the US where it topped the charts for 2 weeks. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for above 2)

This was one of 5 Beatles songs McCartney played on his 1976 Wings Over America tour.

n 2002 a cover version by Pop Idol winner Will Young and runner-up Gareth Gates topped the UK chart.

In 2003, Apple Records released a new version of the album called Let It Be... Naked, with Spector's production removed. For this song, a previously unreleased take was used when it was remixed. This version is what McCartney had in mind when he wrote the song.

Ringo's drums can be heard both on the Anthology 3 version and Spector's version (Spector's version just has the strings on top of the Anthology 3 version). (thanks, Adrian - Wilmington, DE)

Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso begins his song "It's a long way" with the lines, "Woke up this morning singing an old Beatles song." A few verses later he says, "It's a long and winding road." The song is in his 1972 British album Transa. (thanks, Marcos - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Some of the many artists who covered this song: Tony Bennett, George Benson, Cilla Black, Ray Charles, Cher, Judy Collins, Peter Frampton, Aretha Franklin, Richie Havens, Cissy Houston, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Liberace, The London Symphony Orchestra, Barry Manilow, Mantovani, Johnny Mathis, Bill Medley , George Michael, Olivia Newton-John, Billy Ocean, Stu Phillips, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Kevin Rowland , Sarah Vaughan, Andy Williams and Nancy Wilson. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

In an interview shortly before he became British Prime Minister, after five years of Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron told Q magazine that this is his favorite Paul McCartney song. He explained; "It has a wonderful melody and emotion and pretty much sums up the life of the Leader of the Opposition."

This became The Beatles 20th and last US #1 song on June 13, 1970.

Eagles - The Last Resort

Eagles - The Last Resort Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Hotel California
Released: 1976

The Last Resort Lyrics

The Last Resort

Don Henley wrote the lyrics about how people from the Eastern United States ruined the West early on. They killed the Native Americans, and the more West America goes, the more commercial it gets. (thanks, Bill - Johnstown, PA)

In a 1987 interview with Rolling Stone, Henley said: "The Last Resort, on Hotel California, is still one of my favorite songs... That's because I care more about the environment than about writing songs about drugs or love affairs or excesses of any kind. The gist of the song was that when we find something good, we destroy it by our presence - by the very fact that man is the only animal on earth that is capable of destroying his environment. The environment is the reason I got into politics: to try to do something about what I saw as the complete destruction of most of the resources that we have left. We have mortgaged our future for gain and greed."

Al Stewart - Year of the Cat

Al Stewart - Year of the Cat Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Year Of The Cat
Released: 1976

Year of the Cat Lyrics

On a morning from a Bogart movie
In a country where they turn back time
You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre
Contemplating a crime
She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running
Like a watercolor in the rain
Don't bother asking for explanations
She'll just tell you that she came
In the Year of the Cat

She doesn't give you time for questions
As she locks up your arm in hers
And you follow 'till your sense of which direction
Completely disappears
By the blue tiled walls near the market stalls
There's a hidden door she leads you to
These days, she says, I feel my life
Just like a river running through
The year of the cat

While she looks at you so cooly
And her eyes shine like the moon in the sea
She comes in incense and patchouli
So you take her, to find what's waiting inside
The year of the cat

Well morning comes and you're still with her
And the bus and the tourists are gone
And you've thrown away your choice you've lost your ticket
So you have to stay on
But the drum-beat strains of the night remain
In the rhythm of the new-born day
You know sometime you're bound to leave her
But for now you're going to stay
In the year of the cat

Year of the cat

Writer/s: WOOD, PETER / STEWART, AL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CARLIN AMERICA INC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Year of the Cat

Stewart is Scottish born, and has been recording since 1967. His songs have lots of very catchy tunes, many historical and political themes, and lots of clever lyrics that seem to paint pictures in your mind. He was once described as the chief scribe of English music. (thanks, steve - worcester, England)

Many of the lyrics were inspired by the 1942 Humphrey Bogart movie Casablanca.

The title comes from Vietnamese astrology. The Year of the Cat is also called the Year of the Rabbit... It comes every 12 Years and it is supposed to be a stress free year. The Last Year of the Cat was 1999. It was also the Year of the Cat in 1975, the year before this came out. But, there is no guarantee that the Year of the Cat that Stewart sang about was 1975, since it could have been 1963, 1951,1939, 1927 and so forth. We'll look forward to the next one in 2011. (thanks, Brian - Grand Forks, ND)

Alan Parsons produced the album. Parsons was a prominent recording engineer long before going on to his own solo success. He had previously worked on the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon.

This started off as a completely different song. Al Stewart originally wrote the lyrics after seeing the British comedian Tony Hancock in Bournemouth, England in 1966. Hancock was very depressed, and the show was a disaster, with the comedian going to the front of the stage and addressing the audience directly and pouring out his soul. In Al Stewart: The True Life Adventures of a Folk Rock Troubadour , Stewart is quoted: "He came on stage and he said 'I don't want to be here. I'm just totally pissed off with my life. I'm a complete loser, this is stupid. I don't know why I don't just end it all right here.' And they all laughed, because is was the character he played... this sort of down-and-out character. And I looked at him and I thought, Oh my god, He means it. This is for real." Hancock killed himself in 1968 with a drug overdose. Stewart's song was originally titled "Foot Of The Stage," with the chorus, "Your tears fall down like rain at the foot of the stage.
Many of Stewart's songs have alternate lyrics, and he wasn't happy with the Hancock-inspired words, as he didn't want to take advantage of the man's tragedy and besides, no one in America knew who Hancock was. Al re-wrote the lyrics as "Year Of The Cat," which he delivered to Parsons. (thanks, mike - Edinburgh, United Kingdom)

Traditional - Happy Birthday

Traditional - Happy Birthday Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Happy Birthday
Released: 1893

Happy Birthday Lyrics

Happy Birthday

This song was written by two sisters from Kentucky: Mildred Hill and Patty Hill. They both taught nursery school and/or kindergarten. Patty invented the "Patty Hill blocks" used in schools nationwide, and served on the faculty of the Columbia University Teachers College for thirty years. Mildred, who was the older sister, studied music and became an expert on Negro spirituals. In 1893, while Mildred was teaching at the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School where her sister served as principal, she came up with the melody to this song. Patty added some lyrics and it became a song called "Good Morning to All," which was a way for teachers to greet students.

Here are the original lyrics:

Good morning to you
Good morning to you
Good morning, dear children
Good morning to all

Later in 1893, the song was published in the songbook Song Stories For The Kindergarten, and other schools started singing it. After a while, it became more popular for kids to sing it to teachers, and the song became commonly known as "Good Morning To You," since the third line could be changed to fit the subject.

It's unclear who wrote the words "Happy Birthday To You," but the lyrics first appeared in a songbook in 1922 as the optional third verse of "Good Morning to You" (listed as "Good Morning and Birthday Song") with the lyrics to "Happy Birthday" as the optional third verse, and instructions on how to insert the birthday child's name.

Various movies and radio shows started using the song as a birthday greeting, and "Good Morning To You" morphed into "Happy Birthday To You." It was used in the 1931 Broadway musical The Band Wagon and was part of Western Union's first "singing telegram" in 1933. It was also used in the Irving Berlin musical As Thousands Cheer. The Hill sisters were not compensated for use of "Happy Birthday To You," so their other sister Jessica filed suit to prove that "Happy Birthday To You" was their song with different lyrics. The court agreed and gave the Hill sisters the copyright to "Happy Birthday To You" in 1934, which meant that anytime it was used in a movie, radio program, or other performance, the Mildred and Patty Hill were compensated. (In the case of Mildred, her estate was compensated, since she died in 1916.)

The Clayton F. Summy Company, working with Jessica Hill, published and copyrighted "Happy Birthday" in 1935. Under the laws in effect at the time, the Hills' copyright would have expired after one 28-year term and a renewal of similar length, falling into public domain by 1991. However, the Copyright Act of 1976 extended the term of copyright protection to 75 years from date of publication, and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 added another 20 years, bringing copyright protection to "Happy Birthday" until at least 2030. Challenges to the copyright itself (see below) nullified this copyright in 2015.

Warner Chappell, the largest music publishing company in the world, got the rights to this song when they bought what was The Clayton F. Summy Company in 1998 for a reported price of $25 million. They spun off the company as Summy-Birchard Music, which became a part of Time Warner.

The song brought in about $2 million in royalties every year, with the proceeds split between Summy-Birchard and the Hill Foundation. Both Hill sisters died unmarried and childless, so their share of the royalties presumably went to charity or to nephew Archibald Hill ever since Patty Hill passed away in 1946.

When this song was under copyright (1949-2015), you could sing it at a birthday party without paying royalties, but anytime it was performed in public in front of a large gathering of people (like at a concert) or broadcast, a performance license was required. This is normally issued in the US by three companies: ASCAP, BMI and SESAC - The Hill Foundation is a member of ASCAP.

Companies that are required by law to have performance licenses operate radio stations, TV stations, concert venues, and restaurants and other retail outlets over a certain size where music is played. A blanket deal with ASCAP means these venues could sing "Happy Birthday" as much as they'd like, but many outlets didn't have such a deal, which is where it got tricky.

Some TV networks, for instance, clear songs on an individual basis, so if a host decided to serenade an audience member with "Happy Birthday," the station was on the hook, and ASCAP would send them a bill for pretty much any amount they deemed reasonable. Broadcasters in these situations were under strict orders NOT to sing it. Many restaurants created their own birthday songs in large part to avoid legal trouble.

On September 22, 2015, a judge ruled that the copyright to "Happy Birthday to You" was invalid, putting the song in the public domain.

The lawsuit was filed in 2013 by Jennifer Nelson, a filmmaker working on a documentary about the song. After researching the song, she decided that it should be free to the public, and she objected to the $1,500 payment Warner Music asked for its use in her film, prompting the legal action.

As evidence in the case, Nelson presented the 1922 songbook where the song's lyrics first appeared. Since the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 states that any work created before 1923 is public domain (keeping Mickey Mouse and other Disney copyrights valid), "Happy Birthday" would thus be free.

The case had an impact not just on those hoping to use the song gratis, but on those who had already paid royalties for its use, since those could possibly be recouped. In December 2105, a settlement was reached with Warner Music agreeing to pay $14 million to thousands of people and entities in a class action who had paid to license the song. Months later, the same law firm was employed in effort to bring the song "We Shall Overcome" into the public domain.

It was rumored that Paul McCartney owned the rights to this song. McCartney bought the publishing rights to a lot of songs (including most of Buddy Holly's), but he does not own this one.

One of the most famous performances of this song was Marilyn Monroe's rendition to US President John F. Kennedy in May 1962 at Madison Square Garden. Monroe was accompanied on the piano by jazz pianist Hank Jones who recalled in a 2005 interview on National Public Radio: "She did 16 bars: eight bars of 'Happy Birthday to You' and eight bars of 'Thanks for the Memories. So in 16 bars, we rehearsed eight hours. She was very nervous and upset. She wasn't used to that kind of thing. And, I guess, who wouldn't be nervous singing 'Happy Birthday' to the president?"

In our interview with Tom Gabel of Against Me!, he told us: "If I could have written any song in the world it would have been 'Happy Birthday.' It's the only song that groups of people annually sing specifically for someone specifically in an attempt to make them feel special. It's a completely unique song and it's ubiquitous." (Gabel would later identify as female and take the name Laura Jane Grace.)

This was named the highest-earning song of all time in the documentary The Richest Songs In The World, which aired on BBC Four on December 28, 2012. Runner-up was Irving Berlin's "White Christmas."

This was the first song to be performed in outer space. On March 8, 1969, the astronauts on Apollo IX sang it to celebrate the birthday of Christopher Kraft, who at that time was director of NASA space operations.

In a 1989 Time Magazine article, this was one of the three most popular songs in the English language, along with "Auld Lang Syne" and "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow." (thanks, Jimmy - Bronxville, NY)

Manic Street Preachers - 30 Year War

Manic Street Preachers - 30 Year War Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Rewind The Film
Released: 2013

30 Year War Lyrics

30 Year War

Bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire told The Quietus about this angry critique of the establishment's attack on the working classes since the Margaret Thatcher-led government of the 1980s: "It doesn't matter what government is around," he said, "we always love to portray ourselves as this holier than thou country, and yet we have scandal after scandal uncovered, right to the root of power, government, Murdoch, the police, Hillsborough, this stupification of the class I grew up in, which I think all stems from Thatcherism really. The idea that if you break down any power that we had we're going to be fu--ed forever."

The lyric "hiding Lowry's paintings" refers to L.S. Lowry (1887-1976), an English artist who became famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of northern England during the middle of the 20th century. They were peopled with spindly human figures who looked like matchstick men. Wire explained to The Quietus: "The idea of connoisseurs of taste is such a London-centric thing: 'We'll keep these in storage because he's a Sunday painter.' He's not, he's a true genius - it's not just matchstick men, there's true depth to his painting. I find that elitist, 'We know what's better' is so all pervading, from the monarchy to fu--ing Cameron."