470The Four Tops, 'Standing in the Shadows of Love'
Writers:Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie
HollandProducers:Brian Holland, DozierReleased:Dec. '66, Motown10
weeks; No. 6Like so many other Motown hits, "Standing" features the
popping bass of James Jamerson. He was such a monster player, his
fellow musicians called him "Igor";Marvin Gayecalled him a
genius.Appears on:The Ultimate Collection(Motown)RELATED:100
Greatest Artists of All Time: The Four Tops 469The Beatles,
'Rain'
Writers:John Lennon, Paul McCartneyProducer:George
MartinReleased:June '66, Capitol7 weeks; No. 23The B side of
"Paperback Writer" wasLennon's response to people moaning about the
wet British weather. It featured one of the earliest uses of
backward tape, which Lennon said was the result of being stoned and
spooling up the tape wrong. It also included virtuoso drumming
fromRingo Starr. "I feel as though that was someone else playing,"
Starr said. "I was possessed!"Appears on:Past
Masters(Capitol/Apple)RELATED:100 Greatest Artists of All Time: The
Beatles 468The Staple Singers, 'Respect Yourself'
Writers:Luther Ingram, Mack RiceProducer:Al BellReleased:Oct.
'71, Stax14 weeks; No. 12Stax singer Ingram, frustrated with the
state of the world, told house songwriter Rice that "black folk
need to learn to respect themselves." Rice liked the comment so
much that he built a funk groove around it, then gave the song to
the Staples. "This is the song I've been waiting [for]," said
producer Bell, who laid it down with the famous Muscle Shoals
Rhythm Section.Appears on:Bealtitude: Respect
Yourself(Stax)RELATED:100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Mavis
Staples 467Jay-Z Featuring UGK, 'Big Pimpin''
Writers:Jay-Z, Bun B, Pimp C, Timbaland, Kyambo
JoshuaProducer:TimbalandReleased:Dec. '99, Roc-A-Fella20 weeks; No.
18For this thumping ode to conspicuous consumption, the king of New
York rap hooked up with Houston rap dons UGK over a beat that
sounds like it was cut in Cairo.Timbalandallegedly based the melody
on a 1957 song by Egyptian Abdel Halim Hafez.Appears on:Vol. 3:
Life and Times of S. Carter(Roc-A-Fella) 466Missy Elliott, 'Get Ur
Freak On'
Writers:Elliott, TimbalandProducer:TimbalandReleased:March '01,
Gold Mind/Elektra25 weeks; No. 7Elliott was convinced thatMiss
Eneeded one more track. SoTimbalandcooked up a stuttering,
tabla-laden beat based onbhangra, an Indian dance genre he heard
while traveling, and plucked out the signature six-note riff on
atumbi, a one-stringed Punjabi guitar.Appears on:Miss E So
Addictive(Atlantic/ATG) 465Muddy Waters, 'Rollin' Stone'
Writer:McKinley MorganfieldProducers:Leonard and Phil
ChessReleased:1948, Chesspredates chartFor Chess Records' first
single,Watersturned Mississippi bluesman Robert Petway's "Catfish
Blues" into a spare track he named "Rollin' Stone." "We wouldn't do
it exactly like those older fellows," Waters said. "We put the beat
with it, put a little drive to it."The Rolling Stonestook their
name from it, as did, in part, this magazine.Appears on:The
Anthology: 1947-1972(Chess/MCA)RELATED:100 Greatest Artists of All
Time: Muddy Waters100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Muddy Waters
464Prince and the Revolution, 'Kiss'
Writers:Prince and the RevolutionProducers:Prince and the
RevolutionReleased:Feb. '86, Paisley Park18 weeks; No. 1The Paisley
Park band Mazarati askedPrincefor a song, so he dashed off a bluesy
acoustic demo for them. Mazarati added a funk groove, and Prince
was smart enough to take the song back.Appears on:Parade(Warner
Bros.)RELATED:100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Prince100 Greatest
Artists of All Time: Prince 463Sam and Dave, 'Soul Man'
Writers:Isaac Hayes, David PorterProducers:Hayes,
PorterReleased:Sept. '67, Stax15 weeks; No. 2For the follow-up to
"Hold On, I'm Comin'," writer-producers Hayes and Porter decided to
tinker with their formula: Porter asked singer Sam Moore to give
him "the Bobby Bland squall," guitarist Steve Cropper came up with
the licks that set up the familiar blast of the Memphis Horns, and
voil! another soul classic was born. "We had no idea how good we
were," Hayes said of the partnership.Appears on:Soul Men(Rhino)
462Nirvana, 'All Apologies'
Writer:Kurt CobainProducer:Steve AlbiniReleased:Sept. '93,
Geffen22 weeks; No. 45Written in the L.A. apartmentCobainshared
with Courtney Love, this haunting meditation on remorse was
originally produced by punk malcontent Albini, but
thenR.E.M.producer Scott Litt was brought in to smooth it out the
original had a long stream of feedback on it. Cobain's shredded
vocals maintain the punk edge in the hushedMTV Unplugged in New
Yorkrendition.Appears on:In Utero(Geffen)RELATED:100 Greatest
Guitarists of All Time: Kurt Cobain100 Greatest Singers of All
Time: Kurt Cobain100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Nirvana500
Greatest Albums of All Time: Nirvana'sIn Utero 461Ramones, 'Sheena
Is a Punk Rocker'
Writers:RamonesProducers:Tony Bongiovi, T. ErdelyiReleased:May
'77, Sire13 weeks; No. 81This was cut twice: first as a single that
was rushed to radio and became one of theRamones' few modest hits,
then in a slightly souped-up version for the band's albumRocket to
Russia. "I combined Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, with the
primalness of punk rock," said Joey Ramone. "It was funny, because
all the girls in New York seemed to change their names to Sheena
after that."Appears on:Rocket to Russia(Rhino)
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