Aquarius (Let the Sunshine In)
1969
A wallet lost in a New York cab sent the group to Hair; Bones Howe spliced two songs into one.
★ 6.2
The Songs canon
Sourced and sung.
Every song chosen by hand, with the recording to play it.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Hot Fun in the SummertimeSly and the Family Stone
Hot Fun in the Summertime
1969 · From Greatest Hits
Violins in the upper register, rare for Sly, on a single released weeks before the band played Woodstock.
★ 6.4
Standing in the Shadows of LoveThe Four Tops
Standing in the Shadows of Love
1966
Holland-Dozier-Holland cut the vocals at Golden World in October 1966, and Levi Stubbs sings like the blow already landed.
★ 6.4
Shining Star (Earth, Wind and Fire)
1975
A night walk at Caribou Ranch gave White the title, and the band their only Hot 100 number one.
★ 6.8
I Want to Take You HigherSly and the Family Stone
I Want to Take You Higher
1969 · From Stand!
Freddie Stone's bluesy riff, the band trading vocal lines, and a B-side that Woodstock turned into a Top 40 A-side.
★ 6.8
Just My Imagination
1971
By Otis Williams's account Kendricks stayed for hours of takes; his final Temptations single spent two weeks at number one.
★ 7.4
Dance to the Music
1968 · From Dance to the Music
Clive Davis wanted a hit, so Sly wrote a roll call: each player steps forward, Cynthia Robinson shouting the title.
★ 7.4
Everyday People
1968 · From Stand!
A band mixed in race and gender, four weeks at number one, and "different strokes for different folks" ever since.
★ 7.7
Papa Was a Rollin' Stone
1972
Nearly four minutes of bass, hi-hat and lone trumpet before anyone sings, and the groove never sags.
★ 8.3
I Heard it Through the Grapevine
1968 · From In the Groove
Motown shelved Gaye's version for over a year; it came out sounding like paranoia set to a Funk Brothers groove.
★ 9.3