ABBA - DANCING QUEEN

Publicació: 15 d'agost de 1976

Llistes: EUA: número 1 (1 setmana) Regne Unit: 1 (6 setmanes)

"Dancing Queen"" va ser llançada com el single principal de l’àlbum "Arrival" de 1976. A vegades, la cançó més famosa d'una banda també és la millor. Com que ABBA eren les estrelles del pop més populars, fent música que pertanyia a absolutament tothom, es fa poètic. sentir que el seu moment més brillant és també el seu més estimat universalment.

"Dancing Queen" tracta de ballar, però en realitat no és una cançó de ball. Es tracta d'estimar la música rock, però no és una cançó de rock. És una cançó de festa i una elegia. Però anem a veure què és exactament “Dancing Queen”, què vol dir.

Aquesta cançó és un himne de ball que celebra ser jove i lliure. La lletra demana tothom, sense importar l'edat o les circumstàncies, que ballin i gaudeixin. La tornada destaca la importància de passar una bona estona i viure el moment. Els versos destaquen la pista de ball com un lloc per deixar anar les inhibicions i gaudir de la música. La cançó celebra a la jove i despreocupada reina de la pista de ball, l'encarnació d'haver estat-allà, i viure l’experiència. La cançó també fa una crida a les arrels disco d'ABBA i al gènere musical més ampli del qual van sorgir.

Quan Benny va tocar per primera vegada a Frida la part de suport de la cançó, va esclatar a plorar. "I això va ser abans que jo i l'Agnetha fins i tot hi haguéssim cantat!" va somriure a The Guardian. "Sabia que era absolutament la millor cançó que Abba havia fet mai". Elvis Costello, que una vegada va dir que "Dancing Queen" és "manà del cel", va prendre la part de piano i la va utilitzar al seu senzill de 1979 "Oliver's Army". Chris Stein de Blondie reconeix que Blondie estava intentant crear la seva pròpia "Dancing Queen" quan van gravar el seu "Dreaming" de 1979. Segons el DJ de la BBC Radio 2, Chris Evans, quan aquesta cançó es va posar en un esdeveniment al castell de Windsor, la reina Isabel va dir: "Sempre intento ballar quan escolto aquesta cançó perquè sóc la reina i m'agrada ballar". Aparentment, era la cançó pop preferida de la reina.

Agnetha Fältskog va dir: "Sovint és difícil saber quina cançó serà un èxit. L'excepció va ser 'Dancing Queen'. Tots sabíem que seria un èxit massiu". Benny Andersson va estar d'acord, anomenant-la "una d'aquelles cançons en què durant les sessions de gravació saps que serà un gran èxit".

Durant la meva visita a Liverpool, com a bon admirador dels Beatles, vaig visitar els llocs que freqüentaven els quatre fabulosos. I va ser durant la meva visita a The Cavern quan vaig poder veure in situ la màgia d'ABBA i "Dancing Queen". La nit va passar amb normalitat escoltant i ballant els èxits del moment, i després el DJ va posar "Dancing Queen". Es va sentir un crit d'admiració unànime, i aleshores com si es tractés d'una experiència religiosa tothom va començar a cantar i ballar. Va ser meravellós!

En resum, aquesta no és només la cançó més alegre d'Abba, sinó també de la música pop. "Dancing Queen" és un himne a l'eufòria juvenil de la pista de ball que llança els oients directament al mig de la tornada i no els treu d’allà. És perfecte.

ABBA - DANCING QUEEN

Released: August 15, 1976

Charted:  US: #1 (1 wk)  UK: 1 (6 wks)

“Dancing Queen”" was released as the lead single from their 1976 album “Arrival”. Sometimes a band’s most famous song is also their best. Since ABBA were the poppermost of pop stars, making music that belonged to absolutely everybody, it makes poetic sense their most brilliant moment is also their most universally beloved. 

“Dancing Queen” it’s about dancing, but it’s not really a dance song. It’s about loving rock music, but it’s not a rock song. It’s a party song and an elegy. But let's see what exactly is “Dancing Queen”, what does it mean.

This song is a dance anthem that celebrates being young and free. The lyrics urge everyone, regardless of age or circumstance, to dance and enjoy themselves. The chorus emphasizes the importance of having a good time and living in the moment. The verses emphasize the dance floor as a place to let go of inhibitions and enjoy the music. The song celebrates the young, carefree queen on the dance floor, the embodiment of been-there, done-that knowledge and experience. The song also calls back to ABBA’s disco-infused roots and the wider genre of music that it emerged from.

When Benny first played Frida the song's backing track, she burst into tears. "And that was before me and Agnetha had even sung on it!" she smiled to The Guardian. "I knew it was absolutely the best song Abba had ever done." Elvis Costello, who once said that “Dancing Queen” is “manna from heaven,” took the piano part and used it on his 1979 single “Oliver’s Army.” Chris Stein of Blondie acknowledges that Blondie were trying to come up with their own “Dancing Queen” when they recorded their 1979 “Dreaming”. According to the BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, when this song was played at a Windsor Castle event Queen Elizabeth said: "I always try to dance when this song comes on because I am the Queen and I like to dance." It was apparently the Queen's favourite pop song ever. 

Agnetha Fältskog said of the song: "It's often difficult to know what will be a hit. The exception was 'Dancing Queen.' We all knew it was going to be massive." Benny Andersson agreed, calling it "one of those songs where you know during the sessions that it's going to be a smash hit."

During my visit to Liverpool, as a good Beatles fan, I visited the places that the fab four frequented. And it was during my visit to The Cavern when I was able to see in situ the magic of ABBA and “Dancing Queen”. The night passed normally listening and dancing to the hits of the moment, and then the DJ played “Dancing Queen”. A unanimous cry of admiration was heard, and then as if it were a religious experience everyone began to sing and dance. It was wonderful!

Summarizing, this is not just Abba’s most joyous song, but arguably pop music’s itself. “Dancing Queen” is a hymn to youthful dancefloor euphoria that launches listeners straight into the middle of the chorus and doesn’t let up from there. It’s so perfect.

 

BEE GEES - JIVE TALKIN’

Publicació: maig de 1975

Llistes: Regne Unit: #5 EUA: #1

"Jive Talkin'" és una cançó llançada com a senzill el maig de 1975. Aquest va ser el senzill principal de l'àlbum "Main course". Va ser el seu primer èxit al top 10 dels Estats Units des de "How can you Mend a broken heart" el 1971. Els Bee Gees van tenir molt d'èxit com a cantants contemporanis a finals dels 60 i principis dels 70, però els dos àlbums que van publicar abans de "Main Course" va fracassar, i semblava que la seva carrera estava acabada. És per això que "Jive Talkin'" va ser reconeguda en gran mesura com la cançó de retorn del grup.

"Main Course" és una porció perfecta de pop i R&B dels anys 70. L'àlbum es va gravar a Miami, Florida, un suggeriment fet al grup per Eric Clapton. Amb “Main Course”, el productor Arif Mardin i els germans Gibb van continuar exposant temes explorats per primera vegada a “Mr. Natural”: l'ús de sintetitzadors en comptes de cordes i números pop suaus. Aquest també és el primer àlbum on destaca el falset característic de Barry Gibb, que mostra la impressionant profunditat del seu rang vocal.

Barry Gibb és el solista en aquesta cançó, eliminant les seves frustracions amb una dona que li diu mentides. Ella el tracta cruelment, com si fos un ximple boig, i ell n'està fart. Va escriure la cançó amb els seus germans Robin i Maurice. La història és fictícia: Barry Gibb estava casat des de 1970 amb la seva dona Linda, una antiga Miss Edimburg.

"Jive Talkin'" inicialment va tenir un nom diferent. Originalment titulat "Drive Talkin", el ritme de la cançó es va modelar a partir del so que feia el seu cotxe quan travessava la carretera interestatal 195 cada dia des de Biscayne Bay fins a Criteria Studios a Miami, Florida quan els Bee Gees estaven gravant l'àlbum "Main Course". Robin Gibb va explicar a The Mail On Sunday 1 de novembre de 2009: "Ja havíem pensat el títol d'aquesta cançó, però no va ser fins que Barry, Maurice i jo vam anar de Biscayne Bay a Miami que no ens vam adonar de quin era el ritme adequat per a la cançó. La idea la vam tenir al passar per un pont. Uns sorolls de quitrà feien un so rítmic a les rodes del nostre cotxe, que creava la sensació al tipus de cançó que volíem escriure. Vam acabar la cançó als estudis Criteria aquell dia". El títol es va canviar a "Jive Talkin'" després que Barry cantés accidentalment "Ji-Ji Jive Talkin'" durant la gravació, després el productor Arif Mardin va suggerir el canvi a "jive" per lligar-ho amb sensibilitat dels adolescents. "Jive talkin'" és un terme utilitzat com a l'argot.

Sabent que un nou senzill de Bee Gees seria rebut amb escepticisme pels programadors de ràdio, el seu segell va enviar senzills promocionals a les emissores amb etiquetes blanques, sense donar cap indicació de quin era el nom de la cançó ni de qui cantava. El pla va funcionar: la cançó es va afegir a les llistes de reproducció i va fer reviure la sort del grup. Va arribar al número 1 a Amèrica el 9 d'agost de 1975, quatre anys i dos dies després del seu anterior número 1, "How can you Mend a broken heart". La cançó va romandre al capdamunt de la llista durant dues setmanes.

Aquest va ser el primer gran èxit d’estil disco dels Bee Gees. Es van convertir en icones de l'època, cantant en harmonies de falset sobre ritmes de ball. Van tenir set número 1 més a l'era de la música disco, però la banda va passar de moda al mateix temps que sortir de festa vestits de blanc.  

Juntament amb altres èxits del moment, "Jive Talkin'" es va incloure a la banda sonora de "Saturday Night Fever" l'any 1977. Amb "You should be dancing", van ser les dues cançons de Bee Gees publicades anteriorment, després van escriure cinc cançons més específicament per a la pel·lícula. El disc es va convertir en la banda sonora més venuda de tots els temps, fins que “The Bodyguard “ la va superar anys més tard. 

BEE GEES - JIVE TALKIN’ 

Released: May 1975

Charted:  UK: #5  US: #1

"Jive Talkin'" is a song released as a single in May 1975. This was the lead single from the album “Main course”. It was their first US top-10 hit since "How can you Mend a broken heart" in 1971. They were very successful as contemporary singers in the late '60s and early '70s, but the two albums they released before “Main Course flopped, and it looked like their careers were over. That’s why "Jive Talkin'" was largely recognized the comeback song for the group.

“Main Course” is a perfect slice of 70s pop and R&B. The album was recorded in Miami, Florida, a suggestion made to the group by Eric Clapton. With Main Course, producer Arif Mardin and the Gibb brothers continued to expound upon themes first explored in Mr. Natural—the use of synthesizers as opposed to sweeping strings, and smooth pop numbers. This is also the first album where Barry Gibb’s hallmark falsetto is prominent, showcasing the impressive depth of the his vocal range.

Barry Gibb sings lead on this track, taking out his frustrations on a jive talkin' woman telling him lies. She treats him cruel, like a dumbstruck fool, and he's sick of it. He wrote the song with is brothers Robin and Maurice. The story is fictional: Barry Gibb had been married since 1970 to his wife Linda, a former Miss Edinburgh.

The chart-topping “Jive Talkin'” once had a different name. Originally titled “Drive Talkin,” the song’s rhythm was modeled after the sound their car made when crossing Interstate 195 each day from Biscayne Bay to Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida. The Bee Gees went over it were recording the “Main Course” album. Robin Gibb explained to The Mail On Sunday November 1, 2009: "We'd already thought up the title for this song, but it wasn't until Barry, Maurice and I drove from Biscayne Bay to Miami that we realized what the tune was going to be. We had the idea as we passed over a bridge. Some tar noises made a rhythmic sound on the wheels of our car, which created the feel to the type of song we wanted to write. We finished the song at the Criteria Studios that day." The title was changed to “Jive Talkin'” after Barry accidentally sang “Ji-Ji Jive Talkin'” while recording, then producer Arif Mardin suggested the change to "jive" to play to teenage sensibilities. "Jive talkin'" is a term for slang.

This was the first big disco hit for The Bee Gees. They became icons of the era, singing in falsetto harmonies over dance beats. They had seven more #1 hits in the disco era, but the band went out of style at the same time as white leisure suits. 

Knowing that a new Bee Gees single would be met with scepticism by radio programmers, their label sent promotional singles to stations with plain, white labels, giving no indication as to what the name of the song was, or who it was by. The plan worked: the song was added to playlists and revived the fortunes of the group. It hit #1 in America on August 9, 1975, four years and two days after their previous chart topper, "How can you Mend a broken heart". The song remained number 1 for a total of two weeks.

Along with several other Bee Gees hits, this was featured on the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever” in 1977. Along with "You should be dancing" it was one of two previously released Bee Gees songs used, they wrote five more specifically for the film. The set became the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, until it was outsold by The Bodyguard soundtrack.

 

DURAN DURAN - HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF

Released: May 4, 1982 (UK); June 8, 1982 (US)

Charted:  US: #3  UK: #5 

“Hungry Like The Wolf” is a song written by the band members, and produced by Colin Thurston for the group's second studio album “Rio”. It’s the song that broke them out in America, with an exotic, adventurous video that had Le Bon, with an Indiana-Jones-inspired fedora perched on his head, chasing a beautiful woman through Sri Lanka.

The band attributed the inspiration for “Hungry Like The Wolf” to an interpolation of Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind” and the children’s fable “Little Red Riding Hood.” If we add that the band's girlfriends provided the makeup that helped shape their look, a strange tangle of influences was formed that contributed to increasing both, the visual and musical aesthetics of the new musical trend that was making its way around the world.

The song is about someone who is determined and passionate in pursuing their lover. In the song, the lyrics and imagery suggest that the singer is like a wild animal who will not be deterred in their pursuit of their love. The chorus of "hungry like the wolf" conveys a sense of determined longing; the singer is focused on persisting in their search and willing to take whatever risks necessary to find it. This metaphor of being "hungry like the wolf" then speaks to a powerful need and desire that is stronger than any obstacles or doubts that might arise.

Russell Mulcahy, who was Duran Duran's go-to director, did the video which was filmed in Sri Lanka, in tribute to Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and loosely based on Apocalypse Now too, with the rest of the band searching for Simon Le Bon in an exotic locale. It was shot in the city of Galle, with scenes of Simon running through a market. The night before the shoot, Le Bon went to a stylist to get blond highlights in his hair, but she botched the job and his hair turned orange. That's why he's wearing a hat in the video. MTV executives loved this video, playing it frequently each day, and the single made it to number three in the U.S. The video was the first to win the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video; both the song and the video have ranked on several “best of” lists. It remains one of their most streamed songs, and one of the most definitive songs from that era of music.

Keyboard player Nick Rhodes' girlfriend Cheryl appeared on this song, providing the laugh at the beginning and the moaning at the end, possibly the sounds of the wolf sating his hunger. Cheryl also did the laughing you hear on "Rio”.

This is perhaps the band's most rocking song in their early days, with a catchy interplay of guitar with synths and Simon LeBon's exhilarating chorus, driving the song so that it becomes embedded in your brain and repeats while you are humming the do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do. For many, it’s the first song that comes to mind with mention of Duran Duran, specially in the US.

 

OLIVIA RODRIGO - VAMPIRE

Released: June 30, 2023

Charted:  UK: #1 (1 week)   US: #1 (2 weeks)

"Vampire" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. Geffen Records released it as the lead single from her second studio album, Guts (2023). Rodrigo co-wrote the song with its producer Dan Nigro. The shape-shifting song begins as a piano ballad before to explode into a pop-rock spectacle, unleashing a wave of nervous percussion and powerful vocals that embody wounded yet dramatic emotions.

"Vampire" is a haunting piano-backed lament that delves into the depths of a toxic relationship. In this maudlin and semi-gothic pop-rocker, Olivia Rodrigo recounts the tale of a boyfriend who manipulated her, fed her lies, and leeched off her fame. Rodrigo compares her ex-lover to a vampire, a creature that thrives on sucking the life force out of others. In this case, he took and took from her, leaving her emotionally depleted while offering nothing in return but empty promises.

"It's just a song about feeling used, and all of the anger and regret and heartbreak that comes with it," Rodrigo told Billboard. "And I think that's a common feeling, whether or not someone's famous. That was something that was just really bubbling inside of me - it's kind of an angry song, and I think I have a lot of trouble expressing feelings like anger and regret, those are particularly tough ones for me to express. I go to songwriting to get those feelings out that aren't super comfortable to express in everyday life. So it was a very therapeutic experience, writing this song."

Filmed in Los Angeles, the Petra Collins-directed video shows Rodrigo performing the song at an awards show. She captivates the audience until an unexpected twist takes center stage: A rogue stage light swings down, striking her shoulder with a powerful blow. But does that stop our fearless star? Absolutely not. As the pounding beat intensifies, a resilient and bloodied Rodrigo continues to pour her heart into the performance. When security guards surround her, she flees the auditorium, setting off a heart-pounding chase through the city streets. As she runs, Rodrigo ascends above the bustling traffic, defying the laws of physics. Perhaps she has a hidden secret, a vampire-like power coursing through her veins.

 

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT - (DON’T FEAR)THE REAPER

Released: July 1976

Charted:  UK: #16    US: #12 

"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the band's 1976 album “Agents of Fortune”. The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, was rumored to be about suicide, but it actually deals with the inevitability of death and the belief that we should not fear it. When Dharma wrote it, he was thinking about what would happen if he died at a young age and if he would be reunited with loved ones in the afterlife.

Dharma was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, which got him thinking about his mortality and inspired the song. "I thought I was going to maybe not live that long," he said in an interview. "I had been diagnosed with a heart condition, and your mind starts running away with you, especially when you're young-ish. So, that's why I wrote the story. It's imagining you can survive death in terms of your spirit. Your spirit will prevail."

Some of the lyrics were inspired by Shakespeare's “Romeo And Juliet”. In Shakespeare's play, Romeo swallows poison when he believes Juliet is dead. Juliet responds by taking her own life. This led many people to believe the song was about suicide, but Dharma was using Romeo and Juliet as an example of a couple who had faith that they would be together after their death.

The song is a metaphor for death. The lyrics compare death to different parts of life like seasons, wind, the sun, the rain, Valentine's Day, Romeo and Juliet, and 40,000 people. The chorus urges the listener to not fear the reaper and implies that death is nothing to be afraid of, since everyone's time eventually comes. The song also highlights that even though we all eventually pass away, we have the opportunity to find love, experience life, and cherish our time on earth.