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Learning Guitar Pop Song 10 'Blackbird' The Beatles 1968 My Piano version https://rumble.com/v14kmsp-pop-song-204-blackbird-the-beatles-1968.html It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, and performed as a solo piece by McCartney. When discussing the song, McCartney has said that the lyrics were inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird in Rishikesh, India, and alternatively by racial tension in the United States. McCartney explained on Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road, aired in 2005, that the guitar accompaniment for "Blackbird" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's Bourrée in E minor, a well-known lute piece, often played on the classical guitar. As teenagers, he and George Harrison tried to learn Bourrée as a "show off" piece. The Bourrée is distinguished by melody and bass notes played simultaneously on the upper and lower strings. McCartney adapted a segment of the Bourrée (reharmonised into the original's relative major key of G) as the opening of "Blackbird", and carried the musical idea throughout the song. Since composing "Blackbird" in 1968, McCartney has given various statements regarding both his inspiration for the song and its meaning. In one of these scenarios, he has said he was inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird one morning when the Beatles were studying Transcendental Meditation in Rishikesh, India. In another, he recalls writing it in Scotland as a response to racial tensions escalating in the United States during the spring of 1968. In May 2002, following a show in Dallas, Texas, McCartney discussed the song with KCRW DJ Chris Douridas, saying: I had been doing some [poetry readings] in the last year or so because I've got a poetry book out called Blackbird Singing, and when I would read "Blackbird", I would always try and think of some explanation to tell the people … So, I was doing explanations, and I actually just remembered why I'd written "Blackbird", you know, that I'd been, I was in Scotland playing on my guitar, and I remembered this whole idea of "you were only waiting for this moment to arise" was about, you know, the black people's struggle in the southern states, and I was using the symbolism of a blackbird. It's not really about a blackbird whose wings are broken, you know, it's a bit more symbolic. In 2018, McCartney further elaborated on the song's meaning, explaining that "blackbird" should be interpreted as "black girl",[6] in the context of the civil rights troubles in southern 1960s US. A third scenario came from the recollection of his stepmother, Angie McCartney. She said that McCartney wrote it for her elderly mother, Edith Stopforth, who was staying at Jim McCartney's house while recovering from a long illness. Angie recalled that McCartney visited the house and sat at Edith's bedside, where Edith told him that she would listen to a bird singing at night. The lyrics have invited similarly varied interpretations – as a nature song, a message in support of the Black Power movement, or a love song. Writing in the 1990s, Ian MacDonald noted the theory that "Blackbird" was intended as "a metaphor for the black civil rights struggle", but pointed to the composition's romantic qualities, arguing that the early-morning bird song "translates … into a succinct metaphor for awakening on a deeper level". However, during an informal rehearsal at EMI Studios on 22 November 1968, before he and Donovan took part in a Mary Hopkin recording session, McCartney played "Blackbird", telling Donovan that he wrote it after having "read something in the paper about the riots" and that he meant the black "bird" to symbolize a black woman

Pop Song 204 'Blackbird' The Beatles 1968 It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, and performed as a solo piece by McCartney. When discussing the song, McCartney has said that the lyrics were inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird in Rishikesh, India, and alternatively by racial tension in the United States. McCartney explained on Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road, aired in 2005, that the guitar accompaniment for "Blackbird" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's Bourrée in E minor, a well-known lute piece, often played on the classical guitar. As teenagers, he and George Harrison tried to learn Bourrée as a "show off" piece. The Bourrée is distinguished by melody and bass notes played simultaneously on the upper and lower strings. McCartney adapted a segment of the Bourrée (reharmonised into the original's relative major key of G) as the opening of "Blackbird", and carried the musical idea throughout the song. Since composing "Blackbird" in 1968, McCartney has given various statements regarding both his inspiration for the song and its meaning. In one of these scenarios, he has said he was inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird one morning when the Beatles were studying Transcendental Meditation in Rishikesh, India. In another, he recalls writing it in Scotland as a response to racial tensions escalating in the United States during the spring of 1968. In May 2002, following a show in Dallas, Texas, McCartney discussed the song with KCRW DJ Chris Douridas, saying: I had been doing some [poetry readings] in the last year or so because I've got a poetry book out called Blackbird Singing, and when I would read "Blackbird", I would always try and think of some explanation to tell the people … So, I was doing explanations, and I actually just remembered why I'd written "Blackbird", you know, that I'd been, I was in Scotland playing on my guitar, and I remembered this whole idea of "you were only waiting for this moment to arise" was about, you know, the black people's struggle in the southern states, and I was using the symbolism of a blackbird. It's not really about a blackbird whose wings are broken, you know, it's a bit more symbolic. In 2018, McCartney further elaborated on the song's meaning, explaining that "blackbird" should be interpreted as "black girl",[6] in the context of the civil rights troubles in southern 1960s US. A third scenario came from the recollection of his stepmother, Angie McCartney. She said that McCartney wrote it for her elderly mother, Edith Stopforth, who was staying at Jim McCartney's house while recovering from a long illness. Angie recalled that McCartney visited the house and sat at Edith's bedside, where Edith told him that she would listen to a bird singing at night. The lyrics have invited similarly varied interpretations – as a nature song, a message in support of the Black Power movement, or a love song. Writing in the 1990s, Ian MacDonald noted the theory that "Blackbird" was intended as "a metaphor for the black civil rights struggle", but pointed to the composition's romantic qualities, arguing that the early-morning bird song "translates … into a succinct metaphor for awakening on a deeper level". However, during an informal rehearsal at EMI Studios on 22 November 1968, before he and Donovan took part in a Mary Hopkin recording session, McCartney played "Blackbird", telling Donovan that he wrote it after having "read something in the paper about the riots" and that he meant the black "bird" to symbolize a black woman

Learning Guitar Pop Song 9 'Just Breathe' Pearl Jam 2009 My piano version https://rumble.com/vfwldj-song-66-just-breathe-pearl-jam.html Yes I understand that every life must end, aw huh,.. As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw huh,.. I'm a lucky man to count on both hands The ones I love,.. Some folks just have one, Others they got none, aw huh,.. Stay with me,.. Let's just breathe. Practiced are my sins, Never gonna let me win, aw huh,.. Under everything, just another human being, aw huh,.. Yeah, I don't wanna hurt, there's so much in this world To make me bleed. Stay with me,.. You're all I see. Did I say that I need you? Did I say that I want you? Oh, if I didn't now I'm a fool you see,.. No one knows this more than me. As I come clean. I wonder everyday As I look upon your face, aw huh,.. Everything you gave And nothing you would take, aw huh,.. Nothing you would take,.. Everything you gave. Did I say that I need you? Oh, Did I say that I want you? Oh, if I didn't now I'm a fool you see,.. No one knows this more than me. I come clean. Nothing you would take,.. Everything you gave. Hold me till I die,.. Meet you on the other side

Pop Song 203 'America' Simon & Garfunkel 1968 The song was written and composed by Paul Simon, and concerns young lovers hitchhiking their way across the United States, in search of "America", in both a literal and figurative sense. It was inspired by a 1964 road trip that Simon took with his then-girlfriend Kathy Chitty. The song has been regarded as one of Simon's strongest songwriting efforts and one of the duo's best songs. A 2014 Rolling Stone reader's poll ranked it the group's fourth-best song "America" was inspired by a five-day road excursion Simon undertook in September 1964 with Chitty. Producer Tom Wilson had called Simon, living in London at the time, back to the United States to finalize mixes and artwork for their debut studio album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.[3] Simon, reluctant to leave Chitty, invited her to come with him; they spent five days driving the country together.[3] Several years later, "America" was among the last songs recorded for Bookends, when production assistant John Simon left Columbia Records, forcing Simon, Garfunkel, and producer Roy Halee to complete the record themselves.[1] In 2004, Bob Dyer, a former disc jockey from Saginaw, Michigan, explained the song's genesis in an interview with The Saginaw News. According to Dyer, Simon wrote the song while visiting the town in 1966 after Dyer had booked him for Y-A-Go-Go, a concert series hosted by the Saginaw YMCA.[4] I asked Paul Simon if they were still charging the $1,250 we paid them to play and he said they were getting about four times that much then. Then I asked him why he hadn't pulled out, and he said he had to see what a city named Saginaw looked like. Apparently, he liked it; he wrote 'America' while he was here, including that line about taking four days to hitchhike from Saginaw. America" is a song that "creates a cinematic vista that tells of the singer's search for a literal and physical America that seems to have disappeared, along with the country's beauty and ideals."[5] Art Garfunkel once described the song as "young lovers with their adventure and optimism". The song has been described as a "folk song with a lilting soprano saxophone in its refrain as a small pipe organ paints acoustic guitars, framed by the ghostly traces of classic American Songbook pop structures The narrator spends four days hitchhiking from Saginaw to join Kathy in Pittsburgh, where together they board a Greyhound bus to continue the journey.[9] The narrator begins with a lighthearted and optimistic outlook ("Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together") that fades over the course of the song. To pass time, he and Kathy play games and try to guess the backgrounds of their fellow passengers. Over the course of their journey, they smoke all their cigarettes. Kathy reads a magazine before falling asleep, leaving the narrator awake to reflect on the meaning of the journey alone.[9] In the final verse, the narrator is able to speak his true emotions to Kathy, now that she is sleeping and cannot hear or answer. "I'm empty and aching and I don't know why" captures the longing and angst of the 1960s in nine simple words. The narrator then stares out the window "counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike". Many other empty, aching, and lost souls are on the highway, each on their own journey alone even if someone is traveling with them. The soaring harmony lines and crashing cymbals create a powerful and poignant end to the song's final verse: "They've all come to look for America." [10] Pete Fornatale interprets this lyric as a "metaphor to remind us all of the lost souls wandering the highways and byways of mid-sixties America, struggling to navigate the rapids of despair and hope, optimism and disillusionment

Learning Guitar Pop Song 8 ''Running to Stand Still' U2 1987 Thank you Nelson Wu for being a wonderful, supportive and understanding Director of Music! With people like you, people can overcome anything. My piano version https://rumble.com/vtp68p-pop-song-145-running-to-stand-still-u2-1987.html A slow ballad based on piano and guitar, it describes a heroin-addicted couple living in Dublin's Ballymun flats; the towers have since become associated with the song. Though a lot of time was dedicated to the lyrics, the music was improvised with co-producer Daniel Lanois during a recording session for the album. The group explored American music for The Joshua Tree, and as such, "Running to Stand Still" demonstrates folk rock and acoustic blues influences. The song was praised by critics, many of them calling it one of the record's best tracks "Running to Stand Still" was written by U2 in the context of the heroin addiction epidemic in Dublin of the 1980s, much like "Bad" (and to some extent "Wire") had been from their 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire. Bassist Adam Clayton has referred to the song as "Bad Part II". Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott's decline and death from addiction also resonated with Clayton at the time. Until their 2014 album Songs of Innocence, U2 had written relatively few songs directly related to their growing up in Dublin, often giving higher priority to works about The Troubles in Northern Ireland or to international concerns. When they have written about Dublin, allusions to it have often been disguised. But "Running to Stand Still" was one of those with specific Dublin connections I see seven towers But I only see one way out This lyric was a reference to the Ballymun flats, a group of seven local authority, high-rise residential tower blocks built in the Ballymun neighborhood of Dublin during the 1960s. Paul Hewson (later known as U2's lead vocalist Bono) had grown up on Cedarwood Road in the adjacent Glasnevin neighborhood, in a house across fields behind the towers, near his friends and future artists Fionán Hanvey (later known as Gavin Friday) and Derek Rowan (later known as Guggi). Bono had played in the towers' foundations as they were being built, then traveled in their elevators for the novel experience. Over time, poor maintenance, lack of facilities for children, transient tenancies, and other factors caused social conditions and communal ties to break down in the flats. The place began to stink of urine and vomit, and glue sniffers and used needles were common sights, as were appearances of the Garda Síochána. Guggi later lived in the towers during years that he was struggling personally with drugs. It was through his exposure to people without hope in the flats that Bono began to develop his social consciousness. Bono may have used Ballymun as the inspiration (without any explicit lyrical references to it) for the 1980 U2 song "Shadows and Tall Trees", and later likened living in the area to some of the scenes portrayed in the 1992 Mike Newell film Into the West. Driving by there in 1987, Bono said, "See the seven tall buildings there? They're 'the seven towers.' They have the highest suicide rate in Ireland. After they discovered everywhere else in the world that you don't put people living on top of each other, we built them here. The song's title phrase originated from Bono asking his brother how his struggling business was going, and the brother responding, "It's like running to stand still." Bono had not heard the phrase before, and he thought it expressed what heroin addiction and the effects of the drug on the body were like; a writer later described the title as a "perfect distillation of the dynamic of feeding on addiction." Bono had heard a real story about a pair of heroin addicts, a man and a woman, who lived in the Ballymun towers. Out of money and unable to pay the rent due to their habit, the man became a heroin smuggler, operating between Dublin and Amsterdam and taking enormous risks for a big payday. Bono felt the man was decent at heart but was constrained by his squalid living conditions, as well as poor choices, and Bono wanted to illustrate how these poor conditions affected their lives. The resulting lyric does not describe any of this explicitly, but instead limns the emotional atmosphere that the couple live in. In doing so, the song is not judgmental and shows sympathy for the woman. A character monologue from Wim Wenders' 1984 film Paris, Texas, was also a significant influence on Bono's writing of the song.

'Childhood' My first original song. For my mother on her birthday 'Childhood' My first song for my mother on her birthday Dreaming, Dreaming of that summer day, I'm walking with you, in the rain Oh I'm dreaming, of a life far away One more chance, to be with you. Oh Dreaming, Dreaming of the time spent away, Thinking of you, while in the shade Time has passed, and I'm here all alone with just sorrows and regrets, they don't matter now Tears of memories that are fading away don't need hurt And now I'm walking along thinking of you knowing you're here with a smile

Learning Guitar Pop Song 7 'Tear Stained Eyes' Son Volt 1995 My Piano Version https://rumble.com/v12gjtc-pop-song-202-tear-stained-eyes-son-volt-1995.html Thank you Michael Pratt for introducing me to this wonderful group! Son Volt is an American rock band formed in 1994 by Jay Farrar after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. The band's current line-up consists of Farrar (vocals, guitar), Andrew DuPlantis (bass guitar), John Horton (guitar), Mark Patterson (drums), and Mark Spencer (keyboard, steel guitar). In addition to playing alternative rock, the band is considered a staple of the alternative country rock movement of the 1990s. The band's sound also is rooted in folk rock and Americana. The song "Tear Stained Eye," deals with the 1993 flood. St. Genevieve, on the Mississippi about 70 miles south of St. Louis, is a French settlement that dates from the early 1700's. It's oldest homes are of significant historical importance as they are built with the wood/logs that make up the walls sitting vertically. It is the largest collection of such buildings in the U.S. Most of the town survived the flood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ste._Ge... Founded around 1740 by Canadian settlers and migrants from settlements in the Illinois Country just east of the Mississippi River, Ste. Geneviève is the oldest permanent European settlement in Missouri. It was named for Saint Genevieve (who lived in the 5th century AD), the patron saint of Paris, the capital of France. While most residents were of French-Canadian descent, many of the founding families had been in the Illinois Country for two or three generations. It is one of the oldest colonial settlements west of the Mississippi River Genevieve (French: Sainte Geneviève; Latin: Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; c. 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast is on 3 January

My garden community in Nanshan District Shenzhen, China I am homeschooled

Pop Song 199 'More than I can say' The Crickets 1959 Thanks to Mr. Li Dong for reminding me of this song. "More Than I Can Say" is a song written by Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison, both former members of Buddy Holly's band the Crickets. They recorded it in 1959 soon after Holly's death and released it in 1960. Their original version hit No. 42 on British Record Retailer Chart in 1960. It has been notably performed by singers Bobby Vee and Leo Sayer. "More Than I Can Say" was the third single from the Crickets' second release, In Style With the Crickets. The song was written by guitarist Sonny Curtis and drummer Jerry Allison in around an hour in 1959.[1] The hook was left unfinished at the time, and at the time of recording, the hook was left this way with no lyrics, only the "wo-wo yay-yay," which became a memorable part of the song. The single went on to become a minor hit in the UK, entering the top 40 and peaking at 26. Curtis considers this song to be one of his most enduring, looking back at the success subsequent artists have had performing it

Learning Guitar Pop Song 6 'I won't back down' Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 1989 My piano version https://rumble.com/vdwmh9-i-wont-back-down-tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers.html etty recalled the recording of this song to Mojo magazine: "At the session George Harrison sang and played the guitar. I had a terrible cold that day, and George went to the store and bought a ginger root, boiled it and had me stick my head in the pot to get the ginger steam to open up my sinuses, and then I ran in and did the take. A message of defiance against unnamed forces of difficulty and possibly oppression, the lyric is set against a mid-tempo beat: Well I know what's right, I got just one life in a world that keeps on pushin' me around but I'll stand my ground, and I won't back down

My Piano Version: https://rumble.com/v10gz4t-pop-song-195-only-you-yazoo-1982.html "Only You" is the debut single by English synth-pop duo Yazoo. It was written by member Vince Clarke, while he was still with Depeche Mode In September 2015, Moyet performed "Only You" as part of a four-song set at the Burberry Woman's Spring/Summer 2016 Collection Fashion Show in London. The performance was later released on Alison Moyet – Live for Burberry EP. Audience members included Anna Wintour, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paloma Faith and Kate Moss. The performance featured a live orchestra as accompaniment. its on youtube and it has beautiful orchestration. In 1981, English musician Vince Clarke left the electronic band Depeche Mode, citing touring fatigue and disdain for pop stardom as his reasons for the departure. Clarke was worried Mute Records would drop him as a result, and decided to write for the label a song called "Only You". Clarke originally wrote the music for the song on a guitar, and transposed the riff into synthesizer notes. While writing the lyrics, Clarke remarked "It was a very simple arrangement. I just formed words on a piece of paper. I was just hoping Daniel Miller, Mute Records founder, would like it". Before Clarke presented the song to Miller, he offered it to Andy Fletcher and Martin Gore of Depeche Mode, although the two of them rejected it. Clarke had written "Only You" as a sentimental ballad, and wanted to find a vocalist who could sing with emotion.Around this time, the rhythm and blues band The Screamin' Ab Dabs split, and singer Alison Moyet placed an ad in Melody Maker looking for a new band.Clarke had heard Moyet perform with a few other bands in the pub circuit, and felt she was a good fit for the song. He responded to the ad and asked Moyet if she was interested in singing for a demo.Moyet was reluctant at first, as she never aspired to perform pop songs, and noted "A part of me was thinking I'll never hear the end of it if I go and sing with this pretty boy". She eventually agreed, saying she needed the money and had no way of making a demo on her own. When asked about the song, Moyet said: "'Only You' has a nursery rhyme simplicity and a lack of pretension. You don't need to be a great instrumentalist to play it. It's a universal, everyman song." Marcos Hassan of Tiny Mix Tapes agreed with this statement. He wrote that although "Only You" is a traditional synth-pop song, its softer and intimate sound is more reminiscent of Motown records, and ultimately described the song as "a warm and familiar extraterrestrial creature Lyrically, "Only You" is a torch song about the resignation of a relationship. The singer knows the conflict laden relationship is over, but desperately wants to be proven wrong. NME's Priva Elan wrote that the song may have initially been about Clarke's uneasy relationship with Depeche Mode, but Moyet turned the lyrics into the story of a person "looking through a scrapbook of photo-like memories

Pop Song 198 'Ain't no mountain high enough' Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson 1966 "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a pop/soul song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes frontwoman Diana Ross. The song became Ross's first solo number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The song was written by Ashford and Simpson prior to joining Motown. British soul singer Dusty Springfield wanted to record the song but the duo declined, hoping it would give them access to the Detroit-based label. As Valerie Simpson later recalled, "We played that song for her (Springfield) but wouldn't give it to her, because we wanted to hold that back. We felt like that could be our entry to Motown. Nick called it the 'golden egg'." The original 1967 version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was a top twenty hit. According to record producers, Terrell was a little nervous and intimidated during the recording sessions because she did not rehearse the lyrics. Terrell recorded her vocals alone with producers Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, who added Gaye's vocal at a later date. "Ain't No Mountain" peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard pop charts, and went to number three on the R&B charts. Billboard's original review of the single stated "Chalk up another pulsating fast smash for Gaye with his new partner Tammi Terrell. The electricity of the duo combined with the blockbuster rhythm material grooves all the way." This original version of "Ain't No Mountain", produced by Fuqua and Bristol, was a care-free, danceable, and romantic love song that became the signature duet between Gaye and Terrell. Its success led to a string of more Ashford/Simpson penned duets (including "You're All I Need to Get By", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and "Your Precious Love"). In 1999, the Gaye/Terrell version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The Gaye/Terrell version was included in the soundtrack for the 2000 film Remember the Titans as well as the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy.

Pop Song 197 "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution' Tracy Chapman 1988 For blue collar progressives

Learning Guitar Pop Song 4 'The Last Goodbye' The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 2014 Billy Boyd My piano version https://rumble.com/vyfbp3-pop-song-187-the-last-goodbye-the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies-2014.html Billy Boyd, who portrayed loyal hobbit Pippin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, collaborated with Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens to write “The Last Goodbye,” the song that will play over the credits in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Pop Song 196 'I'm shipping up to Boston' Dropkick Murphys 2005 "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" is a song by the Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys, with lyrics written by the folk singer Woody Guthrie. The song's lyrics describe a sailor who lost a prosthetic leg climbing the topsail, and is shipping up to Boston to "find my wooden leg." These were taken from a fragment of paper that Ken Casey found while looking through Woody Guthrie's archives. The Dropkick Murphys put music to the lyrics The song gained worldwide attention for its use in The Departed, which boosted the band's popularity. Good movie

Pop Song 195 'Only You' Yazoo 1982 "Only You" is the debut single by English synth-pop duo Yazoo. It was written by member Vince Clarke, while he was still with Depeche Mode In September 2015, Moyet performed "Only You" as part of a four-song set at the Burberry Woman's Spring/Summer 2016 Collection Fashion Show in London. The performance was later released on Alison Moyet – Live for Burberry EP. Audience members included Anna Wintour, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paloma Faith and Kate Moss. The performance featured a live orchestra as accompaniment. its on youtube and it has beautiful orchestration. In 1981, English musician Vince Clarke left the electronic band Depeche Mode, citing touring fatigue and disdain for pop stardom as his reasons for the departure. Clarke was worried Mute Records would drop him as a result, and decided to write for the label a song called "Only You". Clarke originally wrote the music for the song on a guitar, and transposed the riff into synthesizer notes. While writing the lyrics, Clarke remarked "It was a very simple arrangement. I just formed words on a piece of paper. I was just hoping Daniel Miller, Mute Records founder, would like it". Before Clarke presented the song to Miller, he offered it to Andy Fletcher and Martin Gore of Depeche Mode, although the two of them rejected it. Clarke had written "Only You" as a sentimental ballad, and wanted to find a vocalist who could sing with emotion.Around this time, the rhythm and blues band The Screamin' Ab Dabs split, and singer Alison Moyet placed an ad in Melody Maker looking for a new band.Clarke had heard Moyet perform with a few other bands in the pub circuit, and felt she was a good fit for the song. He responded to the ad and asked Moyet if she was interested in singing for a demo.Moyet was reluctant at first, as she never aspired to perform pop songs, and noted "A part of me was thinking I'll never hear the end of it if I go and sing with this pretty boy". She eventually agreed, saying she needed the money and had no way of making a demo on her own. When asked about the song, Moyet said: "'Only You' has a nursery rhyme simplicity and a lack of pretension. You don't need to be a great instrumentalist to play it. It's a universal, everyman song."[8] Marcos Hassan of Tiny Mix Tapes agreed with this statement. He wrote that although "Only You" is a traditional synth-pop song, its softer and intimate sound is more reminiscent of Motown records, and ultimately described the song as "a warm and familiar extraterrestrial creature Lyrically, "Only You" is a torch song about the resignation of a relationship. The singer knows the conflict laden relationship is over, but desperately wants to be proven wrong. NME's Priva Elan wrote that the song may have initially been about Clarke's uneasy relationship with Depeche Mode, but Moyet turned the lyrics into the story of a person "looking through a scrapbook of photo-like memories

Pop Song 194 'Joy to the World' Hoyt Axon made famous by Three Dog Night 1970 "Joy to the World" is a song written by Hoyt Axton and made famous by the band Three Dog Night. The song is also popularly known by its opening lyric, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog". The song is featured prominently in the film The Big Chill. (GOOD MOVIE) Some of the words are nonsensical. Axton wanted to persuade his record producers to record a new melody he had written, and the producers asked him to sing any words to the tune. A member of Three Dog Night said that the original lyrics to the song were "Jeremiah was a prophet" but no one liked it. When Hoyt Axton performed the song to the group, two of the three main vocalists – Danny Hutton and Cory Wells – rejected the song, but Chuck Negron felt that the band needed a "silly song" to help bring the band back together as a working unit. Negron also felt that the song "wasn't even close to our best record, but it might have been one of our most honest." The song was recorded by Three Dog Night at American Recording Company, produced by Richard Podolor, and engineered by Bill Cooper. Unlike most Three Dog Night songs recorded at that point, instead of having just the three main vocalists singing harmony, the song was recorded with all seven members of the band singing. Drummer Floyd Sneed sings the deep lyric "I wanna tell you" towards the end of the song. When the song hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1971, Axton and his mother, Mae Axton, became the first mother and son to each have written a number one pop single in the rock era. Mae Axton co-wrote "Heartbreak Hotel", which was the first number one hit for Elvis Presley.

(1 of 12) Self goal memorize 12 Chopin Etudes 25-6 Étude Op. 25, No. 6, in G-sharp minor, is a technical study composed by Frédéric Chopin focusing on thirds An étude or study is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. Will work on form and speed after memorization. Playing of the pieces will improve as I work toward memorization of 12. Its my own way of trying to improve.

Pop Song 193 'A Little Respect' Erasure 1988 Metro Weekly placed "A Little Respect" at number-one in their ranking of Erasure's 40 Greatest Tracks in 2014. Chris Gerard wrote, "Opening with that distinct, stately keyboard riff before an acoustic guitar comes in and adds to the rhythm, "A Little Respect" is Erasure at their apex. Very few pop songs can be considered perfect, and this is one of them. It is guaranteed even to this day to get a room full of people singing at the top of their lungs. It just feels good. The heavily rhythmic background, the positive and self-affirming lyrics, Andy Bell's note-perfect vocal delivery… it's a combination that came together to form a song for the ages. It reached #14 in the US and #4 in the UK, but it's had the lasting impact of a #1 hit." Treblezine included the song in their A History of Synth-Pop in 50 Essential Tracks. They wrote, "If there's a synth-pop Mount Rushmore, surely Vince Clarke is one of the figures carved on its rockface. He appears here twice, as does a former band, and there are a handful of other short-lived projects we left out. But Clarke's most enduring project is also his most purely pop, with the chart performance to prove it. Erasure had 13 top-10 singles in the UK since 1986, plus three US top-40 singles, including this standout opener of 1988's The Innocents. At a lean 3:33, Clarke and Andy Bell compress synth-pop innovation and disco-pop immediacy into a perfect moment of transcendent pop glory.

Pop Song 192 ' I Swear' 1993 John Michael Montgomery "I Swear" is a song written by Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers that became a hit for American country music artist John Michael Montgomery in 1993 and for American R&B group All-4-One in 1994. Several months after Montgomery had released his original version, American male R&B and pop group All-4-One recorded their own version with record producer David Foster for their debut album, All-4-One (1994). This version of the song is slightly different from the original, in that the line "And when there's silver in your hair" from the second verse was replaced by "And when just the two of us are there."

Pop Song 191 'Mambo No. 5' Dámaso Pérez Prado 1949 "Mambo No. 5" is an instrumental mambo and jazz dance song originally composed and recorded by Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado in 1949 German singer Lou Bega sampled the original for a new song released under the same name on Bega's 1999 debut album, A Little Bit of Mambo

Pop Song 190 'Foolish Heart' Steve Perry 1984 "Foolish Heart" is a song written by Steve Perry, formerly of the band Journey, and Randy Goodrum, and was performed by Perry from his first solo album, Street Talk. The music video for "Foolish Heart" is unusual in the fact that it is one continuous shot from beginning to end. The setting is a darkened hall with the camera overlooking a balcony rail towards the stage. On the stage, in a blue spotlight, is a boom mic and a stool. Perry walks onto the stage, sits and the song begins. Over the course of the video, the camera pans towards the stage, pauses a brief moment on Perry and then slowly returns to its original position over the balcony rail. At the end of the song, Perry walks off stage. There is an alternate 'holiday' ending to this video which is rarely included. A second camera shot shows Perry walking off the stage towards the camera. The rest of the members of Journey (Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Steve Smith, Ross Valory) greet Perry as he approaches. With champagne in hand, the band wishes their fans a Happy Holiday and Happy New Year. Perry then says "Let's go cut a track" and they exit via the stage. Many believe this was a nod to the fans that Perry was returning to write and perform with Journey

Pop Song 189 'Build me up buttercup' The Foundations 1968 "Build Me Up Buttercup" is a song written by Mike d'Abo and Tony Macaulay, and released by The Foundations in 1968

Pop Song 185 'Come On, Let's Go' Ritchie Valens 1958 Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed in a plane crash eight months into his music career. Valens had several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which he had adapted from a Mexican folk song. Valens transformed the song into one with a rock rhythm and beat, and it became a hit in 1958, making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement. He also had an American number-two hit with "Donna". On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as "The Day the Music Died", Valens died in a plane crash in Iowa, an accident that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson. Valens was 17 at the time of his death. In 2001, Valens was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Pop Song 184 'La Bamba' Ritchie Valens version 1958 Thanks to miguelavendano for encouraging me to try some spanish language songs. "La Bamba" (pronounced [la ˈβamba]) is a Mexican folk song, originally from the state of Veracruz, best known from a 1958 adaptation by Ritchie Valens La Bamba has its origin in the state of Veracruz, Mexico.The oldest recorded version known is that of Alvaro Hernández Ortiz,[ who recorded the song with the name of "El Jarocho". His recording was released on the Victor label in Mexico in 1938 or 1939. According to a 1945 article in Life magazine, the song and associated dance were brought "out of the jungle" at Veracruz by American bandleader Everett Hoagland, who introduced it at Ciro's nightclub in Mexico City. It became popular, and the song was adopted by Mexican presidential candidate Miguel Alemán Valdés who used it in his successful campaign. Later in 1945, the music and dance were introduced at the Stork Club in New York City by Arthur Murray.[4] A popular version by Andrés Huesca (1917–1957) and his brother Victor, billed as Hermanos Huesca, was issued on Peerless Records in Mexico around 1945–46. Huesca re-recorded the song for RCA Victor in 1947,[5] and the same year the song featured as a production number in the MGM musical film Fiesta, performed by a group called Los Bocheros. The Swedish-American folk singer William Clauson recorded the song in several languages in the early and mid-1950s. He claimed to have heard the song in Veracruz, and in performance slowed down the tempo to encourage audience participation. Another version, "somewhat bowdlerized", was recorded by Cynthia Gooding on her 1953 Elektra album, Mexican Folk Songs.