I'm Too SexyRight Said Fred
I'm Too Sexy
1991
A gym joke about mirror preening, built on a riff lifted from Hendrix's Third Stone from the Sun.
★ 0.9
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.
Thank God It's Christmas
1984
May and Taylor wrote it, Mercury sang it, and Queen waited until 2019 to give it a video.
★ 1.0
Oh Girl (Paul Young)
1990
Eugene Record's Chi-Lites ballad, harmonica and all, remade by Young in 1990 for a number eight American hit.
★ 1.2
We Be The CrewThe Wiseguys
We Be The Crew
1999
Track three on The Antidote, cut-and-paste funk from the album Theo Keating built alone after his partner left.
★ 1.6
Wonderful Christmastime
1979
Recorded alone in Sussex in the summer of 1979, every instrument McCartney's own, and a UK number six by January.
★ 1.6
A Bad Dream
2007
Rice-Oxley built it from Yeats's poem about an Irish airman, a pilot too high up to hear the guns below.
★ 1.7
Heart and Soul
1987
Decker's rap began as syncopated nonsense syllables, and she overdubbed herself into a duet nobody could play live.
★ 2.1
Double Bubble Trouble
2013 · From Matangi
Dub reggae bass and Indian strings under a nod to Shampoo's 1994 hit "Trouble", produced by The Partysquad.
★ 2.2
Throw It in the Bag
2009
Loso's Way yielded exactly one charting single, produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, peaking at number fourteen.
★ 2.5
Some Guys Have All the Luck
1985 · From Camouflage
Jeff Fortgang wrote it fresh out of Yale; the Persuaders cut it first, and Stewart took it to number ten.
★ 2.6
Too Close
2011
Diplo and Switch wrapped a breakup song in dubstep, and a Microsoft browser ad made it a worldwide hit.
★ 2.6
Do You Remember
1990
A slow burn, Hugh Padgham at the desk, Stephen Bishop harmonising behind, and Collins's fourteenth and final American top ten.
★ 2.6
You're Beautiful
2005
A glimpse of an ex on the London Underground, her new man beside her, and a transatlantic number one.
★ 2.6
Start the Commotion
1999
A 1966 Ventures instrumental on loop, twice a minor British hit, then a Mitsubishi advert made it inescapable.
★ 2.7
Can't Help Falling in Love (UB40)
1993
Peretti, Creatore and Weiss built the melody on a 1784 French air, and UB40 held number one for seven weeks.
★ 2.8
Life Goes On
2011
Critics heard the Kinks' Lola in the strum, and a Dancing on Ice slot lifted it to number fourteen.
★ 2.8
The Promise
1988
Written in a garden shed at Farrington's father's house, stalled at fifty-eight in Britain, then Napoleon Dynamite happened.
★ 2.9
The Living Years
1988
Rutherford and B.A. Robertson had both just lost their fathers; Carrack, who lost his young, sang it.
★ 2.9
Tubthumping
1997
An anarchist collective from Leeds, a sample from Brassed Off, and a chorus about ordinary people refusing to stay down.
★ 3.0
A Groovy Kind of Love (The Mindbenders)The Mindbenders
A Groovy Kind of Love (The Mindbenders)
1965
Toni Wine and Carole Bayer Sager set lyrics to a Clementi sonatina rondo; Eric Stewart sang it to number two.
★ 3.0
Too ShyKajagoogoo
Too Shy
1983
Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran co-produced it, and Limahl rode the hook to two weeks at UK number one.
★ 3.0
One More Night (Phil Collins)
1984
A DX7 electric piano, a drum machine, and Don Myrick's saxophone taking a number one out quietly.
★ 3.1
King of Wishful ThinkingGo West
King of Wishful Thinking
1990
Three writers, a Pretty Woman soundtrack slot, and the most cheerful denial ever to reach the American top ten.
★ 3.1
Blue Skies
2009
Fink wrote the whole album around his split with Laura Marling; this became its first single, and its way out.
★ 3.1
I Wish it Would Rain Down
1990
Clapton plays the lead over Padgham's production, the closest Collins had then come to writing a blues song.
★ 3.5
Have I Told You Lately
1991 · From Vagabond Heart
Morrison wrote it as a prayer for Avalon Sunset; Stewart's reading turned it into a wedding standard.
★ 3.5
Something Happened on the Way to Heaven
1990
Phenix Horns brass over Nathan East's bass, on a song Collins first wrote for The War of the Roses.
★ 3.6
Perfect Strangers
1984 · From Perfect Strangers
Stowe, Vermont, a mobile studio, the Mark II lineup back after eleven years, and Lord's organ doing the heavy lifting.
★ 3.7
Shiver
2000 · From Parachutes
Martin called it a blatant Jeff Buckley attempt, cut at Rockfield with Ken Nelson, and the chorus soars anyway.
★ 3.7
One Thing Leads to Another
1983
Curnin called it an indictment of dishonest politicians, Rupert Hine produced it, and America took it to number four.
★ 3.8
Right Here, Right NowJesus Jones
Right Here, Right Now
1990
Romania in February 1990, weeks of upheaval still fresh, and Edwards came home to write pop's happiest history lesson.
★ 3.9
White Flag
2003
Her brother Rollo co-produced it, and the chorus flatly refuses to concede a relationship everyone knows is over.
★ 3.9
Forever Young (Rod Stewart)Rod Stewart
Forever Young (Rod Stewart)
1988 · From Out of Order
A father's blessing written for the kids Stewart missed while touring, and similar enough to Dylan's song that they share royalties.
★ 4.0
Another Day in Paradise
1989
The last number one of the eighties and the first of the nineties, with David Crosby singing behind Collins.
★ 4.0
Unbelievable
1990
A riff written on a bike ride, a sample Rick Rubin cleared free, and a surprise American number one.
★ 4.0
Is This Love (Whitesnake)Whitesnake
Is This Love (Whitesnake)
1987
Coverdale began it as a Tina Turner idea, Geffen told him to keep it, and it climbed to number two.
★ 4.0
Desert Rose
1999
An Arabic descant improvised by Cheb Mami without hearing Sting's lyric, and both halves came out about longing.
★ 4.1
You Gotta Be
1994
Written out of a breakup and a Shakti Gawain self-help book, then re-released in Britain three times until it stuck.
★ 4.2
Simply Irresistible
1988
Number two in America, three weeks atop the rock chart, and the video that closed Palmer's mannequin trilogy.
★ 4.2
I Want CandyBow Wow Wow
I Want Candy
1982
Criteria Studios in Miami, Kenny Laguna producing, the Strangeloves' 1965 hook over Barbarossa's Bo Diddley drums.
★ 4.2
Father ChristmasThe Kinks
Father Christmas
1977
Ray Davies cut it at Konk in 1977, a department store Santa mugged by kids who want jobs, not toys.
★ 4.2
(I Just) Died In Your ArmsCutting Crew
(I Just) Died In Your Arms
1986
Van Eede scribbled the title down the night it occurred to him; Terry Brown drummed it on Neil Peart's snare.
★ 4.2
Valerie
1982
Every instrument on it is Winwood alone; the 1982 single stalled, and Tom Lord-Alge's 1987 remix reached the top ten.
★ 4.3
Holding Back the Years
1985
Hucknall wrote the words at seventeen, his punk band cut it first, and the chorus made it an American number one.
★ 4.3
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
1972 · From Honky Chateau
Taupin's first New York, gunfire outside the hotel window, a rose borrowed from Spanish Harlem, all cut in France.
★ 4.3
Missing You
1984
Waite heard a guitar melody on cassette and improvised the first verse on the spot; its chorus is pure denial.
★ 4.3
Amsterdam (Coldplay)
2002 · From A Rush of Blood to the Head
Martin wrote the verse in Amsterdam and the outro in Iceland; the closing track waits minutes before the guitars arrive.
★ 4.3
Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me
1991
Elton John joined Michael onstage near Chicago in October 1991, and the live duet topped both charts.
★ 4.3
5 Years Time
2007
Laura Marling's ukulele and Charlie Fink's deadpan flopped in 2007; a 2008 re-release carried the sunshine to number seven.
★ 4.4
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
1982 · From Too Low for Zero
Cut at AIR Montserrat with the classic band reunited, and Stevie Wonder's harmonica lifting it clean off the ground.
★ 4.5
Hold Me NowThompson Twins
Hold Me Now
1983
Three days at RAK Studios in London, a row patched up, and marimbas in place of the usual dance-floor sheen.
★ 4.5
Change the World
1996
Wynonna Judd cut it first as country; Babyface gave Clapton a soul groove and the Grammys gave back three.
★ 4.5
Warning SignColdplay
Warning Sign
2002 · From A Rush of Blood to the Head
Buckland gave up on a guitar part and played maracas instead, and Martin's slow crawl back still aches.
★ 4.5
She Blinded Me With ScienceThomas Dolby
She Blinded Me With Science
1982
Dolby storyboarded the video before writing a note, then had TV scientist Magnus Pyke shout the title's last word.
★ 4.5
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
1978 · From Blondes Have More Fun
Stewart heard Jorge Ben's Taj Mahal at Rio Carnival, absorbed the melody unwittingly, and signed the royalties over to UNICEF.
★ 4.5
I Want Your Sex
1987
A MIDI malfunction at Sarm West handed Michael that squelching bassline; the BBC then confined it to after the watershed.
★ 4.5
Everybody's Changing
2004
Rice-Oxley wrote it after the guitarist quit, which is why a rock band's biggest hook is played on piano.
★ 4.5
Tough Love
2014
Recorded low at first until BenZel pushed her up an octave, and the falsetto turned touring loneliness into something weightless.
★ 4.6
Love Hurts
1975
A 1960 Boudleaux Bryant song the Everly Brothers cut first, remade by McCafferty's rasp into the version everyone knows.
★ 4.6
Notorious
1986 · From Notorious
Nile Rodgers brought the riff and the Borneo Horns; the band, down to three, answered its own bad press.
★ 4.7
Don't Go Breaking My HeartElton John
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Elton John and Kiki Dee
1976
Ann Orson and Carte Blanche on the credits, a Motown duet pastiche that held British number one for six weeks.
★ 4.7
Bleeding Love
2007
Hollywood Records turned it down for McCartney; Tedder recut it in a new key and Cowell called it the one.
★ 4.7
Alive and Kicking
1985 · From Once Upon a Time
Robin Clark, credited as additional lead singer, answers Kerr line for line while Iovine pushes everything skyward.
★ 4.7
Baby I Love Your Way
1975
Stalled at 43 as a studio single until the live version on Frampton Comes Alive! reached the top twelve.
★ 4.7
Come UndoneDuran Duran
Come Undone
1993 · From Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)
One drum loop, a phone call that brought Nick Rhodes over, and Tessa Niles unleashing the diva on the chorus.
★ 4.7
Lights
2011
Goulding wrote it about a childhood fear of the dark, and the Hot 100 kept it fifty-two weeks.
★ 4.7
Boom Clap
2014
Charli offered it to Hilary Duff, whose team passed; a film soundtrack turned that chorus into a top-ten smash.
★ 4.7
Fascination
1983 · From Fascination!
Martin Rushent's last Human League production for seven years, with four band members trading lines over a restless synth hook.
★ 4.7
Walking on Sunshine
1985
Kimberley Rew called it simple fun; the 1985 re-recording added horns and carried the band into the American top ten.
★ 4.8
Human
1986 · From Crash
Jam and Lewis wrote it in Minneapolis, and Oakey called that vocal the best he ever gave.
★ 4.8
Your Love (The Outfield)
1986
Guitarist John Spinks wrote it, Tony Lewis sang it, and producer William Wittman pushed the band past their softer demo.
★ 4.8
Madman Across the Water
1971 · From Madman Across the Water
Buckmaster spilled ink across his orchestral score and rewrote all of it in a day; Spedding's electric guitar prowls underneath.
★ 4.8
Never Gonna Give You Up
1987
Waterman handed Astley the title after hearing him talk about his girlfriend; five weeks at number one followed.
★ 4.8
Unwritten
2004
Cut in Venice Beach with Danielle Brisebois, then adopted by The Hills and every graduation slideshow since.
★ 4.8
You Wear It Well
1972 · From Never a Dull Moment
A letter to an ex, sung over acoustic guitar, fiddle and McLagan's Hammond, and another UK number one.
★ 4.9
Fields of Gold
1993
Barley fields outside Sting's Wiltshire house, Kathryn Tickell's Northumbrian smallpipes, and a promise meant to last a lifetime.
★ 4.9
Goodbye Stranger
1979
Davies wrote and sang it, Hodgson answered in falsetto, and that Wurlitzer figure runs the whole drifter's farewell.
★ 4.9
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
1975 · From Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Baldry talked Elton out of a wedding in 1968, and Taupin wrote him into the chorus as Sugar Bear.
★ 5.0
Day Is Done
1969 · From Five Leaves Left
Voice, guitar and strings went down together at Sound Techniques, Robert Kirby scoring the sound of coming up short.
★ 5.0
Fly
1970 · From Bryter Layter
John Cale's viola and harpsichord circle Drake's plea for a second chance, and Wes Anderson later borrowed it.
★ 5.1
Here I Go Again
1982
Jon Lord's Hammond organ on the 1982 original, a heartbreak song Coverdale wrote in Portugal, later a number one.
★ 5.1
The Mother We Share
2012
Cut in the trio's Glasgow basement studio, sibling estrangement wrapped in synth glitter and Mayberry's bright clean vocal.
★ 5.1
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
2003
Justin Hawkins in full falsetto, cut at Chapel Studios, on a riff Q placed among its 101 greatest guitar tracks.
★ 5.1
Karma Chameleon
1983
Judd Lander's harmonica, six weeks at number one in Britain, and Boy George singing about pleasing everybody.
★ 5.1
April Skies
1987
Gillespie had gone off to Primal Scream, so a drum machine drives the Reids' highest UK charting single.
★ 5.2
If You Leave
1986
John Hughes reshot Pretty in Pink's ending and asked for 120 BPM; OMD turned it around in a day or two.
★ 5.2
Kiss From a RoseSeal
Kiss From a Rose
1994
Written in 1987 and abandoned in a corner, it took Batman Forever to make it Record of the Year.
★ 5.3
Stay With Me
2014
One voice layered roughly twenty times into a choir, and a settlement that added Petty and Lynne.
★ 5.3
She Drives Me Crazy
1989
Cut at Paisley Park with David Z, the snare a drumhead struck with a wooden ruler under Gift's falsetto.
★ 5.3
Mony Mony
1987
Idol's 1981 studio take missed the Hot 100 entirely; the live 1987 version knocked Tiffany off number one.
★ 5.4
For Your Love
1965
Brian Auger's harpsichord and Denny Piercy's bongos on a pop single, with Clapton confined to the middle break before quitting.
★ 5.4
Trouble
2000 · From Parachutes
Recorded four times before Ken Nelson kept one, and Martin, by his account, apologizing for behaving badly toward his band.
★ 5.4
Candle in the Wind 1997Elton John
Candle in the Wind 1997
1997
Taupin rewrote his Marilyn Monroe lyric for Diana, George Martin added strings hours after the funeral, and 33 million sold.
★ 5.5
Somewhere Only We Know
2004
Rice-Oxley hammered it out on piano after "Heroes", and Keane proved a rock band could skip guitars entirely.
★ 5.5
Your Woman
1997
Mishra cut it in his bedroom on an Atari ST, sampling a 1932 muted trumpet, and topped the UK chart.
★ 5.5
Strange BrewCream
Strange Brew
1967 · From Disraeli Gears
Pappalardi and Gail Collins wrote new words over a shelved "Lawdy Mama" take, and Clapton borrows Albert King wholesale.
★ 5.5
Back for Good
1995
Barlow says it took fifteen minutes to write; the BRIT Awards debut pushed the release forward to an instant number one.
★ 5.5
Planet Telex
1995 · From The Bends
Originally called Planet Xerox until the trademark intervened, drums spliced from other sessions, piano soaked in delay.
★ 5.5
Weapon of Choice
2001
Bootsy Collins doubled in both channels, a Sly Stone sample, and Christopher Walken dancing through a Los Angeles hotel lobby.
★ 5.5
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
1988
Craig and Charlie Reid wrote it in an Edinburgh flat, sang it in undisguised Scottish accents, America followed in 1993.
★ 5.5
What Is and What Should Never Be
1969 · From Led Zeppelin II
Among Plant's first songwriting credits, a CBS contract having blocked him on the debut, over guitars panning across both channels.
★ 5.6
Paradise
2011 · From Mylo Xyloto
Eno took a co-writing credit and played synthesizers; it became Coldplay's second UK number one and a stadium fixture.
★ 5.6
Care of Cell 44
1967 · From Odessey and Oracle
Argent's working title was "Prison Song", and the sunniest harmonies of 1967 are addressed to someone awaiting release.
★ 5.6
I Melt With You
1982
Producer Hugh Jones talked Grey out of shouting, and the nuclear-apocalypse lyric arrives as the warmest chorus of 1982.
★ 5.6
Dry The Rain
1997
Six minutes that drift, then lift; the track Rob plays in High Fidelity to sell five copies on the spot.
★ 5.7
Shangri-La
1969 · From Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
Davies wrote it after seeing his sister's house on an Australian housing estate, turning suburban comfort into a cage.
★ 5.7
Wonderful Tonight
1977
Clapton wrote it on a Martin D-28 while Pattie Boyd got ready for a Buddy Holly party, by his account.
★ 5.7
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
1984
Ridgeley scrawled a note to his parents, doubled a word by mistake, and George Michael built a number one on it.
★ 5.7
Cruel SummerBananarama
Cruel Summer
1983
Jolley and Swain built it around oppressive heat, and The Karate Kid carried it into the American top ten.
★ 5.7
Levon
1971 · From Madman Across the Water
Cut in February 1971 with Paul Buckmaster conducting, a character sketch about a balloon seller and the son who leaves.
★ 5.7
You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)
1984
Seventeen weeks climbing to a UK number one, the first for Stock Aitken Waterman, and Burns devours it.
★ 5.8
Holidays in the Sun
1977 · From Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
Marching boots open the record, and a collapsed Jersey holiday sent the band to Berlin for their subject.
★ 5.8
Set Fire to the RainAdele
Set Fire to the Rain
2011 · From 21
Rosie Danvers wrapped the strings around Adele's biggest crescendo, and 21 took its third straight American number one.
★ 5.8
Northern Sky
1970 · From Bryter Layter
Boyd handed Cale the demo and he improvised celeste, piano and organ around Drake's most openly loving song.
★ 5.9