THE LAST TURKEY

Omitting a couple of rogue entries, here is the top 20 to 2:

02. Hey Jude/Let it be - The Beatles
03. All You Need is Love - The Beatles
04. Wouldn't it be Nice - The Beach Boys
05. California Girls - The Beach Boys
06. Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
07. In my Life - The Beatles
08. She Loves You - The Beatles
09. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles
10. Surfin' USA - The Beach Boys
11. Do it again - The Beach Boys
12. Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys
13. I want to hold your hand - The Beatles
14. Help me Rhonda - The Beach Boys
15. With a little help from my friends - The Beatles
16. Sloop John B - The Beach Boys
17. Twist and Shout - The Beatles
18. Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles
19. I Get Around - The Beach Boys
20. Can't Buy me Love - The Beatles

But the greatest of them all is yet to come. At number one is song that I not only rate as the best by either of The Beatles/Beach Boys, but also one of, if not the greatest song ever made. Even Paul McCartney rates it as the greatest of time, it is the perfect "God Only Knows" by Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys:



"God Only Knows" is the eighth track on the Pet Sounds album and one of the most widely recognized songs performed by American pop band The Beach Boys. It was composed and produced by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Tony Asher, and the lead vocal was sung by Carl Wilson.

The song broke new ground in many ways. It was one of the first pop songs to use the word 'God' in its title. The song was also far more technically sophisticated than anything the Beach Boys, or arguably any pop group, had ever attempted before - particularly the complicated melodic structure and vocal harmonies. As producer, Brian Wilson also used many unorthodox instruments for the genre, including the harpsichord and French horns that are heard in the song's famous introduction.

Tony Asher has noted the irony that this, one of the all-time great love songs, opens with the line 'I may not always love you' (although the line is turned on its head by the subsequent lines).

Mojo Magazine ranked the song as the 13th greatest song of all time. Pitchfork Media named it the best song of the 1960s. The song is 25th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

"God Only Knows" was one of the first pop songs to use the word "God" in its title (a decision that Wilson and Asher agonized over, fearing it would not get airplay as a result). As Brian's former wife Marilyn describes "The first time I heard it, Brian played it for me at the piano. And I went, 'Oh my god, he's talking about God in a record.' It was pretty daring to me. And it was another time I thought to myself, 'Oh, boy, he's really taking a chance.' I thought it was almost too religious. Too square. At that time. Yes, it was so great that he would say it and not be intimidated by what anybody else would think of the words or what he meant."

Tony Asher also explains that he and Brian "had lengthy conversations during the writing of 'God Only Knows', because unless you were Kate Smith and you were singing 'God Bless America', no one thought you could say 'God' in a song. No one had done it, and Brian didn't want to be the first person to try it. He said, 'We'll just never get any air play.' Isn't it amazing that we thought that? But it worked, and 'God Only Knows' is, to me, one of the great songs of our time. I mean the great songs. Not because I wrote the lyrics, but because it is an amazing piece of music that we were able to write a very compelling lyric to. It's the simplicity - the inference that 'I am who I am because of you' - that makes it very personal and tender.

Brian explains that although he feared putting the word 'God' in the title of the song, he eventually agreed to keep it. He explains that he agreed to keep the word 'God' in the title firstly, "because God was a spiritual word, and secondly, because Brian and The Beach Boys would "be breaking ground."

Brian Wilson originally intended to sing lead vocal on 'God Only Knows' but in the end he sacrificed the lead vocal to his brother Carl: "Well, I thought I was gonna do it. As the song progressed, I said, 'Hey, I feel kind of natural doing this.' But when we completed creating the song, I said my brother Carl will probably be able to impart the message better than I could, so I sacrificed that one. But he had a good time singing it."

Carl Wilson later described how lucky he felt being given the opportunity to sing 'God Only Knows': "I was honored to be able to sing that one. It is so beautifully written, it sings itself. Brian said something like, 'Don't do anything with it. Just sing it real straight. No effort. Take in a breath. Let it go real easy.' I was really grateful to be the one to sing that song. I felt extremely lucky."

Paul McCartney has expressed on a number of occasions his love for the song. In an interview with David Leaf in 1990, he stated that "It's a really, really great song—it's a big favorite of mine. I was asked recently to give my top ten favorite songs for a Japanese radio station...I didn't think long and hard on it, but I popped that [God Only Knows] on the top of my list. It's very deep. Very emotional, always a bit of a choker for me, that one. There are certain songs that just hit home with me, and they're the strangest collection of songs...but that is high on the list, I must say...God Only Knows' ' lyrics are great. Those do it to me every time."

Speaking on a special Radio 1 show to mark the British station's 40th anniversary, McCartney said "'God Only Knows' is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It's really just a love song, but it's brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian. "I've actually performed it with him and I'm afraid to say that during the sound check I broke down. It was just too much to stand there singing this song that does my head in, and to stand there singing it with Brian."

Bono said in October 2006 during Brian Wilson's induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame that "the string arrangement on 'God Only Knows' is fact and proof of angels."

Also at number two is the poetic masterpiece and the Beatles' last ever release as a quartet (what a way to go!), "Let it Be". Quite simply amazing. Enjoy.



"Let It Be" is a song by The Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. Although credited to Lennon/McCartney it is generally accepted to be a Paul McCartney composition.

The single reached #1 in the U.S., Australia, Italy, Norway and Switzerland and #2 in the UK. It was the final single released by the Beatles while the band was officially considered an active group. Both the Let It Be album and the single The Long and Winding Road were released after Paul McCartney's announced departure and subsequent break-up of the group.

McCartney said he had the idea of "Let It Be" after a dream he had about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles (the "White Album"). McCartney explained that his mother—who died of cancer when McCartney was fourteen—was the inspiration for the "Mother Mary" lyric. McCartney later said, "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'." He also said in a later interview about the dream that his mother had told him, "It will be all right, just let it be."

Critical reception for "Let It Be" has been positive. In 2004, it was ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Allmusic said it was one of "The Beatles' most popular and finest ballads". Ian MacDonald had a dissenting opinion, writing that the song "achieved a popularity well out of proportion to its artistic weight" and that it was "'Hey Jude', without the musical and emotional release."

John Lennon also commented on "Let It Be". Prior to a take during the 31 January 1969 recording session, he asked, "Are we supposed to giggle in the solo?" (This is a similar quote to Lewisohn's "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions" (p170) but Lennon says "during the solo" not "in the solo" as quoted here). In Lennon's Playboy interview in 1980, he disavowed any involvement with composing the song. He said,

That's Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could've been Wings. I don't know what he's thinking when he writes [sic] 'Let It Be.' I think it was inspired by 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters.' That's my feeling, although I have nothing to go on. I know that he wanted to write a 'Bridge over Troubled Waters.'

As MacDonald explained, Lennon is wrong about "Bridge over Troubled Water" being McCartney's inspiration: "Let It Be" was recorded approximately a year before 'Bridge over Troubled Water' was released. According to Allmusic, Simon and Garfunkel performed the song live in 1969 prior to releasing it, but it is unlikely that McCartney could have heard it before the recording session on 31 January 1969.

Interestingly, "Let It Be" knocked "Bridge over Troubled Water" out of the top spot as Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, 11 April 1970.

So there we have it, 20 down to 2. What on earth can better the likes of "Hey Jude", "Let it be", "All you need is Love", "Good Vibrations" or "California Girls"? Find out tomorrow...

I have had a little cheat at number two as I have had to accept that I cannot decide between two songs and no other song in this list deserves to go either. So number 2 is in two parts.

Both these songs are very similar in my mind and both are beyond just music: they are absolute epics. At number two is "Let it be" and "Hey Jude" by The Beatles.

When I listen to one of them I think that it is unsurpasable, then I listen to the other and think the very same thing. Intertestingly, both songs were written towards the bitter end of the Beatles' years and both were pretty much solo efforts by McCartney (a further reason in my mind as to why McCartney was the greater genius of the Lennon/McCartney partnership).

First up, "Hey Jude"...



"Hey Jude" is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon/McCartney, and released as a single by The Beatles in 1968. Originally titled "Hey Jules", McCartney wrote the ballad to comfort John Lennon's son Julian during his parents' divorce.

"Hey Jude" was the first single from The Beatles' record label Apple Records. Over seven minutes in length, "Hey Jude" was at the time the longest single ever to top the British charts. It also spent nine weeks as number one in the United States—the longest run at the top of the American charts for a Beatles single. The single has sold approximately eight million copies and is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best songs.

"Hey Jude" begins with a verse-bridge structure based around McCartney's vocal performance and piano accompaniment; further details are added as the song progresses to distinguish sections. After the fourth verse, the song shifts to a fade-out coda that lasts for more than four minutes.

In 1968, John Lennon and his wife Cynthia Lennon separated due to his affair with Yoko Ono. Soon afterwards, Paul McCartney drove out to visit Cynthia and Julian, her son with Lennon. "We'd been very good friends for millions of years and I thought it was a bit much for them suddenly to be personae non gratae and out of my life," McCartney said. Later, Cynthia Lennon recalled, "I was truly surprised when, one afternoon, Paul arrived on his own. I was touched by his obvious concern for our welfare.... On the journey down he composed 'Hey Jude' in the car. I will never forget Paul's gesture of care and concern in coming to see us."

Although McCartney originally wrote the song for Julian Lennon, John Lennon thought it had actually been written for him. Other people believed McCartney wrote the song about them, including Judith Simons, a journalist with the Daily Express. Still others, including John Lennon, have speculated that McCartney's failing long-term relationship with Jane Asher when he wrote "Hey Jude" was an unconscious "message to himself". In fact, when John Lennon mentioned that he thought the song was about him, McCartney denied it, and told Lennon he had written the song about himself.

"Hey Jude" was nominated for the Grammy Awards of 1969 in the Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal categories, but failed to win any of them. It did win the 1968 Ivor Novello Award for "A-Side With the Highest Sales". In the NME 1968 Readers' Poll, "Hey Jude" was named the best single of the year. In 2001, "Hey Jude" was inducted into the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, it was ranked number 8 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It came in third on Channel 4's list of 100 Greatest Singles. The Amusement & Music Operators Association ranked "Hey Jude" the 11th-best jukebox single of all time.

Loads more on one of the greatest songs ever written at wikipedia.

We really are at the business end now of the countdown - any one of these remaining songs are worthy of the top and all are truly great songs.

At number 3 it is the Beatles' classic "All You Need is Love".

The video is taken from the song's first public performance on the programme "Our World" in 1967. "Our World" was, at the time, the world's biggest live broadcast event ever attempted reaching 400m people world wide.

Each of the 26 countries participating had a short slot on the programme to show the world what their country was like. The Canadians showed a short segment of a rancher herding cattle, the Japanese showed a segment on the construction on their new metro system, the Australians talked about trams, while the Americans went for a shot of a building in New Jersey said to have President Johnson inside. Then the cameras turned to London and this happened...



"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Broadcast to 26 countries and watched by 400 million, the programme was broadcast via satellite on June 25, 1967. The BBC had commissioned the Beatles to write a song for the UK's contribution. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #362 in their 500 greatest songs of all time.

Asked to come up with a song containing a simple message to be understood by all nationalities, Lennon's "All You Need Is Love" extended the message he first tried in "The Word", from The Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul. "It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the world a message," said Brian Epstein. "The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything." Lennon was fascinated by the power of slogans to unite people and never afraid to create art out of propaganda. When asked in 1971 whether songs like "Give Peace a Chance" and "Power to the People" were propaganda songs, he answered, "Sure. So was 'All You Need Is Love'. I'm a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change."

The Beatles decided the song should be their next single the day before the Our World broadcast. Released in the UK on July 7, it went straight to No. 1 and remained there for three weeks. It was similarly successful in the US, reaching No. 1 for a week (appearing on the American LP version of Magical Mystery Tour in November).

For the broadcast, the Beatles were (except for Ringo) seated on stools, accompanied by a small studio orchestra. They were surrounded by friends and acquaintances seated on the floor, who sang with the refrain during the fade-out, including Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Graham Nash, and Kim McLagan. Lennon, affecting indifference, was said to be nervous about the broadcast, given the potential size of the international TV audience. Dissatisfied with his singing, he re-recorded the solo verses for use on the single.

At number four is a song that captures the anxiety and innocent hopes of youth, "Wouldn't it be nice" by the Beach Boys.



"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is the opening track on the 1966 album Pet Sounds and one of the most widely recognized songs by the American pop group The Beach Boys. It was composed and produced by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Tony Asher and Brian Wilson, and the lead vocal was sung by Brian Wilson with Mike Love singing lead vocals on the bridge.

The layering of harmonies upon harmonies, and lyrics on top of harmonies make this one of the quintessential Beach Boys songs. In the Endless Harmony documentary, Brian Wilson described this song as "what children everywhere go through… wouldn't it be nice if we were older, or could run away and get married".

In a 1996 interview, Wilson stated, "'Wouldn't It Be Nice' was not a real long song, but it's a very 'up' song. It expresses the frustrations of youth, what you can't have, what you really want and you have to wait for it."

Wilson also used the title of this song for the title of his autobiography.

At number 5 is The Beach Boys' brilliant "California Girls". A song that marries the teenage sound of their early hits and the brilliant harmonies of their more grown up masterpieces.

One of my favourite pointless chats is discussing whether the Beach Boys are saying that they wish all the girls around the world were Californian girls or that all the girls in the world were in California. It becomes pretty clear when you listen to the lyrics it is the latter - that Brian Wilson et al. wishes all the girls from around the world were in California, presumably so they didn't have to travel around too much to see them.



"California Girls" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and recorded by The Beach Boys in 1965. It features contrasting verse-chorus form. The song was released as a single, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also appeared on the album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!).

The song "California Girls" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. In 2004, it was ranked #71 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The music for the song came from Brian Wilson's first LSD experience. According to Brian Wilson himself in the Beautiful Dreamer documentary, shortly after taking LSD, he ran up to a bedroom and hid under a pillow, shouting "I'm afraid of my mom, I'm afraid of my dad." Some time later he left the room and went to a piano. He started playing in the bass the B-F#-G# pattern over and over, and then added in the right hand after a few minutes a B chord, moving to an A chord. Within a half hour, he had come up with the "well east-coast girls are hip, I really dig the styles they wear" part of the song. The next day, he and Mike Love supposedly finished off the remainder of the song.

"California Girls" was the first Beach Boys recording to feature vocals from Bruce Johnston, who had joined the group to substitute for Brian Wilson on concert tours.

The song has been prominently referenced by other artists on more than one occasion. Most notably, the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." is considered an homage to the song.

And now, the greatest fact you will read in this entire countdown:

Principal Belding from Saved by the Bell tells Zack that it is his all time favourite song and walks off screen, humming the song.

If it's good enough for Principal Belding, it's good enough for me!

At number six is Brian Wilson's masterpiece; it was their first UK number one and perhaps the Beach Boys' most famous song of all. It is also the highest placed song from Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All-time" on The Summer of Love countdown, a track that took months to write - it's the brilliant "Good Vibrations".



"Good Vibrations" is a pop single by The Beach Boys. The song was composed by and produced by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Wilson and Mike Love.

Released as a single on October 10, 1966 (backed with the Pet Sounds instrumental "Let's Go Away For Awhile"), it was the band's third U.S. number-one hit, after "I Get Around" and "Help Me, Rhonda", reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1966, as well as being their first British chart-topper. Initiated during the sessions for the Pet Sounds album, it was not taken from or issued as a lead single for an album, but as a stand-alone single, and later placed on the album Smiley Smile eleven months after its release.

Wilson's publicist Derek Taylor described "Good Vibrations" as a "pocket symphony". It featured instruments unusual for a pop song, including prominent use of the cello and an electro-theremin. It is #6 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song "Good Vibrations" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.

Wilson recounted the genesis of the title "Good Vibrations" in his 1995 biopic, I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, and at other times. When he was a child, his mother told him that dogs could pick up "vibrations" from people, so that the dog would bark at "bad vibrations". Wilson turned this into the general idea of vibrations (and Mike Love putting "good" in front of vibrations), and developed the idea of people being able to do the same with emotions.

Originally composed during the Pet Sounds sessions with original lyrics by Tony Asher, Wilson recorded the song in sections, at different studios in order to capture the sound he heard in his head. Building upon the layered production approach he had begun to use with the Pet Sounds album, Wilson devoted months of effort to this single track.

"Strawberry Fields Forever" and "A Day in the Life" records, [were] both inspired by the works of Brian Wilson (according to Paul McCartney).

The distinctive high-pitched sliding electronic sound in the choruses and at the end of the track was created with an electro-theremin.

David Leaf, author of the critically-acclaimed biography, The Beach Boys and The California Myth, said of the song, "Nothing but perfection here. The Beach Boys' first million-selling #1 hit...was a major technical breakthrough...the record that showed that anything was possible in the studio."

"Good Vibrations" earned The Beach Boys a Grammy nomination for Best Vocal Group performance in 1966 and the song was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994. It has featured highly in many 'Top 100 Records of All Time' charts and was voted #1 in the Mojo Top 100 Records of All Time chart in 1997. Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Good Vibrations" as the sixth best song of all time. The song was also voted #24 in the RIAA and NEA's listing of Songs of the Century. "Good Vibrations" is currently ranked as the #3 song of all time in an aggregation of critics' lists at acclaimedmusic.net.

At number seven a sentimental classic by the Beatles; it's hard to listen to this song without conjuring up some memories of your own - "In My Life"



"In My Life" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song originated with Lennon, and while McCartney contributed to the final version, the extent of his contribution is in dispute. Released on the 1965 album Rubber Soul, it is ranked 23rd on the Rolling Stone article "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and placed second on CBC's 50 Tracks. Mojo magazine named it the best song of all time in 2000.

According to Lennon, the song's origins can be found when English journalist Kenneth Allsop made a remark that Lennon should write songs about his childhood. Afterwards, Lennon wrote a song in the form of a long poem reminiscing on his childhood years. The original version of the lyrics was based on a bus route he used to take in Liverpool, naming various sites seen along the way, including Penny Lane and Strawberry Field.

However, Lennon found it to be "ridiculous", calling it "the most boring sort of 'What I Did On My Holidays Bus Trip' song"; he reworked the words with Paul McCartney, replacing the specific memories with a generalized meditation on his past. "Very few lines" of the original version remained in the finished song. According to Lennon's friend and biographer Peter Shotton, the lines "Some [friends] are dead and some are living/In my life I've loved them all" referred to Stuart Sutcliffe (who died in 1962) and to Shotton.

The song was played at Kurt Cobain's memorial. Cobain was an avid Beatles fan.

At number 8, it's the biggest selling Beatles song of all time: "She Loves You"



"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney based on an idea by McCartney, originally recorded by The Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record in the United States by being one of the five Beatles songs which held the top five positions in the American charts simultaneously, a record which is still unchallenged. It is the Beatles' best-selling single in the United Kingdom, and was the best selling single in Britain in 1963.

The song was also the first time Lennon's name had taken precedence over McCartney in the credits — until then, they had traditionally been credited as "McCartney/Lennon."

In November 2004, Rolling Stone ranked "She Loves You" as the 64th Greatest Song of All Time. In October 2005, Uncut Magazine named "She Loves You" the third biggest song that changed the world, behind Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".

It was the best-selling single of 1963, and remains the best-selling Beatles single in Britain today. It remained the best-selling single in the United Kingdom for fourteen years, only to be surpassed by Paul McCartney and Wings' "Mull of Kintyre".

When "She Loves You" came out as a single in America on 16 September 1963, nobody paid attention to it. Three months later, the Beatles released "I Want to Hold Your Hand", which climbed all the way to number one, launching the British invasion of the American music scene, paving the way for more Beatles records, and releases by other British artists. Swan re-released the "She Loves You" single, which began a fifteen-week run on the American charts on January 25, 1964, two of those weeks at number one. On March 21, Beatlemania had landed in America, spurred by the Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in February, where they performed, among other songs, "She Loves You". During its 15-week run in the American charts, "She Loves You" was joined by four other Beatles songs — at the top five in the American charts.

The lyrics were largely unconventional, again contrasting with the simplicity of "I Want to Hold Your Hand". Critics panned the song, dismissing the "yeah, yeah, yeah," as an uncouth slang from a fad band. The "yeah"s were to have a great effect on the Beatles image — in Europe, they became known as the Yeah-Yeahs.

At number 9, from the movie "Yellow Submarine", it is the psychedelic classic "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds":



"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by English rock band The Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney for the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Inspiration for the song came from a drawing by John Lennon's son, Julian, which Julian called "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The song also sparked controversy when released, including being banned by the BBC because of the supposed reference to the drug LSD, with the letters of the title spelling Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Lennon would later deny the reference during an interview with Rolling Stone.

In later interviews, Lennon expressed disappointment with the Beatles' arrangement of the recording, complaining that adequate time was not taken to fully develop his initial idea for the song. He attributed this outcome to his extensive use of LSD at the time, which made him unusually passive and pliant in the studio.

According to the Beatles, one day in 1966 Lennon's son, Julian, came home from nursery school with a drawing he said was of his classmate, a girl named Lucy, whom Julian drew with diamond-shaped eyes. Showing the artwork to his father, young Julian described the picture as "Lucy — in the sky with diamonds." Julian later said, "I don't know why I called it that or why it stood out from all my other drawings, but I obviously had an affection for Lucy at that age. I used to show dad everything I'd built or painted at school, and this one sparked off the idea for a song about 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds'."

The Lucy referred to in the song was a classmate of Julian's at Heath House School named Lucy O'Donnell, born in Weybridge in 1963. Her married name is Lucy Vodden.

In 1974, Elton John released a cover version as a single. Recorded at the Caribou Ranch, it featured background vocals and guitar by John Lennon under the pseudonym Dr. Winston O'Boogie. The single topped the Billboard pop charts for two weeks in January 1975 and also appeared on the 1976 musical documentary, All This and World War II.

Elton John once said, "[Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds] is a song that I never do in a set at a concert simply because it reminds me too much of John Lennon. This is the same with Empty Garden". Today, John does occasionally perform it. The single was later released on the 1996 re-release of Elton John's album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.

It's The Beach Boys archetypal classic at number 10, and their first song to chart in the UK - "Surfin' USA".



Surfin' U.S.A." is the title of a song with lyrics written by Brian Wilson for The Beach Boys, set to the melody from Chuck Berry's Sweet Little Sixteen. "Surfin' USA" was recorded by The Beach Boys released as a single on March 4, 1963 and it also appeared on the 1963 album of the same name.

At the time that the song was written, Brian Wilson was dating a girl named Judy Bowles. Her brother, Jimmy Bowles, was an avid surfer. Brian thought to himself "what about doing surf lyrics and mentioning every surf spot in the state? They're doing it here, there, in this city and that, like Chubby Checker's 'Twistin' U.S.A.'." According to Brian, "I asked [Jimmy] to make a list of every surf spot he knew, and by God he didn't leave one out."

Frank Sidebottom recorded a verion as Surfin Timperley (Timperley being nowhere near the sea, and therefore not a place where surfing is possible). Redgum parodied this track as "Servin' USA". Alvin and the Chipmunks also released a cover version of the song. Pennywise have also covered the song at various live performances.

In the song the following surfing spots are mentioned, the majority of places being situated in California, two in Hawaii and one in Australia:

• "Del Mar" - Del Mar, San Diego County, California
• "Ventura County Line" - Ventura County, California
• "Santa Cruz" - Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California
• "Trestles" - San Onofre State Park, San Diego County, California
• "Australia's Narrabeen" - Narrabeen, New South Wales
• "Manhattan" - Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County, California
• "Doheny" - Doheny Beach, Dana Point, Orange County, California
• "Haggerty's" - Haggerty's, Torrance, Los Angeles County, California
• "Swami's" - Swami's Beach, Encinitas, San Diego County, California
• "Pacific Palisades" - Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California
• "San Onofre" - San Onofre State Park, San Diego County, California
• "Sunset" - Sunset Beach, Oahu, Hawaii - or - Sunset Beach, Orange County, California
• "Redondo Beach" - Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County, California
• "LA" - Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
• "La Jolla" - La Jolla, San Diego County, California
• "Waimea Bay" - Waimea Bay, Hawaii

At number 11, it's the Beach Boys with "Do it again"



"Do It Again" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American pop band The Beach Boys. It was first released as a single by The Beach Boys in 1968 on Capitol Records. The song was recorded in May and June of 1968 and was included on the bands 1969 album 20/20. On the song there are some hammering sounds at the end of the track that originated from the Smile workshop session.

The lyrics to the song, originally entitled "Rendezvous", were inspired after a day Mike had spent at the beach in which he had gone surfing with an old friend named Bill Jackson. Mike then showed the lyrics to Brian, who succeeded to write the music to Mike's lyrics of nostalgia. Brian has stated in the past that he believes the song was the best collaboration that he and Mike ever did.

Many critics and fans noted the return to the surfing style, which the band had generally avoided since 1964.

Released on July 19 1968 in the United Kingdom the single, forty days after its release, peaked at #1 on the chart on August 28 1968, and thus becoming the band's second number one hit in the United Kingdom after "Good Vibrations" two years earlier.

The song was first featured on the 1986 film One Crazy Summer. The song was also featured in the 1996 film Flipper and the 2005 film Life on the Longboard. More recently the song was featured in the 2006 movie Happy Feet and subsequently was featured on the film's soundtrack. It was also the first song to be played after WCBS-FM reverted from the Jack FM format back to their oldies format on July 12, 2007.

At number 12 it's the B b b b Beach Boys with Barbara Ann:



"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert and performed (as "Barbara Anne") by The Regents in 1961. The recording reached a peak position of #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart.

The most famous cover version is by the American pop band The Beach Boys. The song was released as a single on December 20, 1965, with the B-side "Girl Don't Tell Me". The song peaked at #2 in the U.S. and at #3 in the U.K.

In the "House Party" episode of the early 1990's television series Saved by the Bell, Zach, Slater and Screech lip-sync to the song while "cutting loose" at Screech's house when his parents are away on vacation.

The song at number 13 marked the invasion of the British music industry into America: I want to hold you hand by the Beatles.



"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English pop and rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963.

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" was the band's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, starting the British Invasion of the United States music charts. The song entered the chart on January 18 1964 at number 45 before it became the number one single for 7 weeks and went onto last a total of 15 weeks in the chart. It also held the top spot in the United Kingdom charts. A million copies of the single had already been ordered on its release. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" became The Beatles' best-selling single worldwide.

Brian Epstein was getting worried about The Beatles' lack of commercial success in America—their earlier singles had flopped there—and so he encouraged Lennon and McCartney to write a song that would appeal to American listeners.

McCartney had recently moved into 57 Wimpole Street, London W1, where he was living as a guest of Dr. Richard and Margaret Asher. Their daughter, actress Jane Asher, had become McCartney’s steady girlfriend since first meeting earlier in the year. This location briefly became Lennon and McCartney’s new writing base, taking over from McCartney’s Forthlin Road home in Liverpool. Margaret Asher taught the oboe in a "small, rather stuffy music room" in the basement and it was here that Lennon and McCartney sat at the piano and composed 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'.

Capitol threatened to seek a court order banning airplay of "I Want to Hold Your Hand", which was already being spread by [Carroll] James [WWDC DJ] to a couple of deejays in Chicago and St. Louis. James and WWDC ignored the threat, and Capitol came to the conclusion that they could well take advantage of the publicity, releasing the single two weeks ahead of schedule on 26 December.

Read more at Wikipedia - a great entry which gives the full story of how The Beatles conquered America and left the door open for the Rolling Stones, The Kinks and a whole host of other British exports.

Number 14, a real little belter: Help Me, Rhonda by The Beach Boys:



"Help Me, Rhonda" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for their American pop band The Beach Boys. The song is notable for being the first Beach Boys song other than on their Christmas Album and first single to feature a lead vocal by Al Jardine.

The single peaked at number one in the United States, becoming their second U.S. number one single after "I Get Around". It peaked at number twenty-seven in the United Kingdom. The song is featured on most Beach Boys hits compilations; typically the single version is used.

The recording session of this song was infamously interrupted by the Wilson brothers' father, Murry, who openly criticized the Boys' enthusiasm. His criticisms drove Brian Wilson to the breaking point to where Brian screamed an expletive, removed his headphones and confronted his father. Shortly after defending his actions, Murry Wilson left the studio and The Beach Boys continued with the session. The recording reel continued to roll and recorded the entire confrontation which circulates among fans.

At number 15, The Beatles and "With a little help from my friends":



"With a Little Help from My Friends" (originally titled A Little Help from My Friends) is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released on The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. The song was written for and sung by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr as the character "Billy Shears"; it is ranked #304 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Lennon and McCartney deliberately wrote a tune with a limited range - except for the last note, which McCartney worked closely with Starr to achieve.

Speaking in the Anthology, Starr insisted on changing the first line which originally was "What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you throw ripe tomatoes at me?" He changed the lyric so that fans would not throw tomatoes at him should he perform it live. (In the early days, after George Harrison made a passing comment that he liked jelly babies, the group was showered with them at all of their live performances.)

The song is largely in the form of a conversation, in which the other three Beatles sing a question and Starr answers, for example: "Would you believe in a love at first sight? / Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time."

The band started recording the song the same day that they posed for the Sgt. Pepper album cover (30 March 1967). The session finished at 7:30 the following morning.

There are numerous interpretations of the the song and it has achieved the number one position on the British singles charts three times; by Joe Cocker in 1968, Wet Wet Wet in 1988 and by Sam and Mark in 2004.

At Number 16, the Beach Boys with Sloop John B



"Sloop John B" is the seventh track on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album and was also a single which was released in 1966 on Capitol Records. It was originally a traditional West Indies folk song, possibly recorded earliest by The Weavers under the title "Wreck of the John B", the song taken from a collection by Carl Sandburg (1927). Alan Lomax made a field recording of the song in Nassau, 1935, under the title "Histe Up the John B. Sail". This recording appears on the album Bahamas 1935: Chanteys And Anthems From Andros And Cat Island. The song was adapted by Weavers member Lee Hays. The recording of the song which directly influenced The Beach Boys was by The Kingston Trio.

This version was ranked #271 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The John B. was an old sponger boat whose crew were in the habit of getting notoriously merry whenever they made port. It was wrecked and sunk at Governor's Harbour in Eleuthera, the Bahamas, in about 1900.

The single, backed with the B side "You're So Good to Me", was released on March 21, 1966. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on April 2, and peaked at #3 on May 7, remaining on the chart, in total, for 11 weeks. It also charted highly throughout the world, remaining as one of the Beach Boys' most popular and memorable hits.

In the film Forrest Gump, based on Winston Groom's novel, the song can be heard in the background playing on a radio as Lieutenant Dan, played by Gary Sinise, finishes his very cynical, revelatory lecture to Forrest and Bubba, played by Tom Hanks and Mykelti Williamson, respectively. The words, "This is the worst trip I've ever been on," help accentuate Forrest and Bubba's realization that they have arrived in a very tumultuous setting.

At number 17, Twist & Shout by The Beatles... at least as performed by the Beatles - this is one of their few hits that was not a Lennon/McCartney composition. Seeing as this is case, it is a good excuse to put a bit of Ferris Bueller up on the Turkey... (Just in case you are wondering - it was John Lennon singing, not actually Matthew Broderick!):



"Twist and Shout" is a song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns. It was originally recorded by the Top Notes and then covered by The Isley Brothers. It was covered by The Beatles, with John Lennon on the lead vocals, and originally released on their first album Please Please Me.

The recording session for that album was their first album session, and is notable for ten songs having been recorded in a mere 10 hours (the remaining four songs had previously been released as singles). "Twist and Shout" was the last song recorded; producer George Martin knew John Lennon's voice would suffer from the performance, so he left it until last, with only 15 minutes of scheduled recording time remaining for the album.

Lennon was suffering from a cold, and was drinking milk and sucking on cough drops to soothe his throat. His coughing is audible on the album, and the cold's effect on his voice is audible in this recording. Even so, he produced a memorable vocal performance, a raucous, dynamic rocker. He later said his voice was not the same for a long time afterward, and that "every time [he] swallowed, it felt like sandpaper."

The Beatles' version of the song enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in 1986 after Matthew Broderick lip synced it in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Coincidentally, the Rodney Dangerfield film Back to School (released two days after Ferris) also featured the song, this one sung by Dangerfield himself and patterned after the Beatles' arrangement. The use in the two films help propel the single up the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at #23 that summer, giving the group their second chart single of the 1980s (the other being "The Beatles' Movie Medley" in 1982).

At Number 18, Strawberry Fields by The Beatles...



"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Recorded at the end of 1966, the song was written by John Lennon during the filming of How I Won The War and is formally credited to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team. It is named after a Salvation Army house in Beaconsfield Road, Woolton, Liverpool where Lennon played as a child.

"Strawberry Fields Forever" was originally recorded for the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), but was instead released in February 1967 as a double A-side single backed with Paul McCartney's "Penny Lane". "Strawberry Fields Forever" reached number eight in the US, with numerous critics describing it as one of the group's best recordings. It is one of the defining works of the psychedelic rock genre and has been covered by many other artists. The song was later included on the Magical Mystery Tour LP (1967). The Strawberry Fields memorial in New York City's Central Park (near the site of Lennon's murder at The Dakota apartment building) was named after the song.

Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys said that "Strawberry Fields Forever" was partially responsible for the shelving of his group's legendary unfinished album, SMiLE. Wilson first heard the song on his car radio whilst driving, and was so affected that he had to stop and listen to it all the way through. He then remarked to his passenger that The Beatles had already reached the sound The Beach Boys had wanted to achieve.

At number 19, The Beach Boys classic and their first number one in the US: I Get Around



"I Get Around" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for The Beach Boys. The song features Love on lead vocal for the verse, and Wilson for the chorus. It is noteworthy for its back to front structure - it starts with a chorus and has two short verses.

The "I Get Around" single backed with "Don't Worry Baby" was released in the United States on May 11, 1964. The single entered the Billboard chart on June 6 at #17. The song reached the #1 spot on the Billboard charts on July 4, replacing "A World Without Love" by Peter and Gordon and thus becoming the band's first #1 hit in the United States.

The first film in which the song appeared was the 1984 film Surf II. In 1986, the song was heard in the Disney science-fiction comedy, Flight of the Navigator. The song was later featured in two films in 1987, both Good Morning, Vietnam and The Big Bang. Two years later the song was used in the 1989 film Look Who's Talking. The 1990 film Downtown also used the song during the movie. It was also featured in the 1997 film Bean. It was again used in the 1999 film Three Kings. More recently the song was used in the 2000 film Last Resort.

A version of the song was featured on various Hoveround advertisements, advertising electronically powered wheelchairs.

In one episode of The Muppet Show, Ms. Piggy along with other pig members of the cast, sing this song while riding Harley Davidson motorcycles.

In an episode of The Wonder Years, the song appears during the ending credits.