Related Notes:
489. The Drifters - "Under the Boardwalk"
Writers: Arthur Resnick, Kenny Young
Producer: Bert Berns
Released: June '64, Atlantic
33 weeks; No. 4
A staple of beach-town jukeboxes every summer since its release, "Under the Boardwalk" evokes the carefree sounds of the shore. But its recording was no day at the beach. Johnny Moore was drafted to sing lead because the track's original singer, Rudy Lewis, died of a heroin overdose in his hotel room the night before the session.
Appears on: The Very Best of the Drifters (Rhino)
490. Coldplay - "Clocks"
Writers: Coldplay
Producers: Ken Nelson, Mark Phythian
Released: Aug. '02, Capitol
22 weeks; No. 29
Coldplay were scrambling to finish their second album and wanted to save "Clocks," with a churning piano riff inspired by the band Muse, for a later album. Luckily, a friend intervened. "He said, 'You're going on [in the lyrics] about urgency, and you're talking about keeping this song back,' " said Chris Martin. " 'That doesn't make sense.' "
Appears on: A Rush of Blood to the Head (Capitol)
491. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - "I Love Rock 'N Roll"
Writers: Jake Hooker, Alan Merrill
Producers: Ritchie Cordell, Kenny Laguna
Released: Jan. '82, Boardwalk
20 weeks; No. 1
Attempting to jump-start a solo career after her stint in the Runaways, Jett had her demo tape to "I Love Rock 'N Roll" rejected by 23 record labels. Tiny Boardwalk Records finally bit, but the label sold her the radio rights to the track for $2,500. Today, the song is worth nearly $20 million.
Appears on: I Love Rock 'N Roll (Blackheart)
493. MGMT - "Time to Pretend"
Writers: Ben Goldwasser, Andrew VanWyngarden
Producer: Dave Fridmann
Released: Jan '08, Columbia
Did Not Chart
The rhythm was inspired by the wriggling of a praying mantis that VanWyngarden and Goldwasser kept in college. VanWyngarden wrote about rock-star fantasies ("I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin"), though it's unclear how facetious the words are. "Some think we're druggies. Others see the tongue-in-cheek element," he said. "That's what I hope for as a lyricist: confusion!"
Appears on: Oracular Spectacular (Columbia)
494. R. Kelly - "Ignition (Remix)"
Writer: Kelly
Producer: Kelly
Released: Oct. '02, Jive
42 weeks; No. 2
R. Kelly's automotive metaphors for booty-knockin' in "Ignition" are subtler than they might've been; the lyrics were toned down at the request of a Chicago radio station. On Chocolate Factory, the original version of the song segued immediately into the hit remix.
Appears on: Chocolate Factory (Jive)
495. Rolling Stones - "Brown Sugar"
Writers: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards
Producer: Jimmy Miller
Released: April '71, Rolling Stones
12 weeks; No. 1
The Stones take on slavery, sadomasochism, interracial sex — and make it catchy as hell. At Muscle Shoals studios, Jagger scrawled three verses on a pad, and Richards supplied an impossibly raunchy riff. Add some exultant punctuations and you have a Stones concert staple.
Appears on: Sticky Fingers (Virgin)
496. Jackson Browne - "Running on Empty"
Writer: Browne
Producer: Browne
Released: Jan. '77, Asylum
17 weeks; No. 11
The Running on Empty album was Browne's grand experiment: a set of all-new songs recorded onstage, in hotel rooms and on the tour bus. The title track was actually written while Browne was driving to the studio each day to make The Pretender. "I was always driving around with no gas in the car," he said. "I just never bothered to fill up the tank because — how far was it anyway? Just a few blocks."
Appears on: Running on Empty (Elektra)
497. Bruce Springsteen - "The Rising"
Writer: Springsteen
Producer: Brendan O'Brien
Released: July '02, Columbia
11 weeks; No. 52
Springsteen wrote the track about 9/11, taking the viewpoint of a firefighter entering one of the Twin Towers ("Can't see nothin' in front of me …") before unleashing the gospel-tinged chorus. It was the title track from an album intended to help his fans cope with the tragedy. "The fundamental thing I hear from fans is, 'Man, you got me through' — whatever it is," he told Rolling Stone in 2002.
Appears on: The Rising (Columbia)
498. Rolling Stones - "Miss You"
Writers: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards
Producers: The Glimmer Twins
Released: May '78, Rolling Stones
20 weeks; No. 1
The Stones were in Toronto, rehearsing for their classic gigs at the El Mocambo Club, when Jagger, jamming with R&B legend Billy Preston, came up with "Miss You." With a disco groove and a touch of the blues via a harmonica player they found in a Paris subway, it became the band's first Number One hit in five years. "It's not really about a girl," Jagger said. "The feeling of longing is what the song is."
Appears on: Some Girls (Virgin)
499. Weezer - "Buddy Holly"
Writer: Rivers Cuomo
Producer: Ric Ocasek
Released: Aug. '94, DGC
21 weeks; No. 18
In the early 1990s, Cuomo had an awkward girlfriend who was routinely picked on. His efforts to stick up for her inspired Weezer's breakthrough, a track whose bubble-grunge hooks and lines such as "I look just like Buddy Holly/And you're Mary Tyler Moore" helped the band reach a nation of pop-minded suburban punks. It also earned Weezer autographed photos from the real Mary Tyler Moore.
Appears on: Weezer (Geffen)
500. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - "Shop Around"
Writers: Berry Gordy, Robinson
Producer: Gordy
Released: Dec. '60, Tamla
16 weeks; No. 2
Robinson thought Barrett Strong should record "Shop Around," but Gordy persuaded Smokey that he was the right man for the song. After it came out, Gordy heard it on the radio and found it way too slow. He woke Robinson at 3 a.m. and called him back to the studio to re-cut it — faster and with Robinson's vocal more prominent. That one worked.
Appears on: The Ultimate Collection (Motown)
