Category: Music

“I Want to Break Free” is a song performed by Queen, which was written by bassist John Deacon. It featured on their 1984 album The Works. In the UK Chart, it peaked at number 3, and remained in the chart for fifteen consecutive weeks from its release in late April 1984.

Having featured in serious music videos, the band decided to do a parody. The music video “I Want to Break Free”, directed by David Mallet, was a spoof of the northern British soap opera Coronation Street. During part of the video, the band members dressed in drag, the idea of which came from Roger Taylor, as mildly similar characters found in the soap at the time; Mercury’s character was loosely based on Bet Lynch, while May’s character was based on Hilda Ogden. The video also depicted the band in what appeared to be a coal mine in their normal look, and it also features a ballet piece choreographed by Wayne Eagling with the Royal Ballet (one of the dancers was Jeremy Sheffield), for which Freddie Mercury shaved his trademark moustache to portray Nijinsky as a faun in the ballet L’après-midi d’un faune (though he had kept it for the parody part of the video). According to Brian May in an interview about Queen’s Greatest Hits, the video ruined the band in America, where many people – unlike the case in the UK – failed to see the soap-opera connection and interpreted the video as an open declaration of transvestitism and Mercury’s homosexuality. The song, a hit in the UK where it went to number three, only managed to reach number forty-five on Billboard. The video was initially banned by MTV in the U.S., but the ban was lifted in 1991 when it aired on VH1’s My Generation two-part episode devoted to Queen hosted by guitarist Brian May. The song received renewed attention when it was used in a media advertising campaigns for Coca-Cola C2 and Safeway.

“Song Sung Blue” is a 1972 song written and recorded by Neil Diamond. The song was released off his album, Moods and later appeared on many of Diamond’s live and compilation albums.

It was his second #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, after 1970’s “Cracklin’ Rosie”. The song spent twelve weeks in the Top 40. In addition, “Song Sung Blue” spent seven weeks at #1 on the adult contemporary chart. In addition, the song made the pop chart in the United Kingdom, reaching #14 on the UK Singles Chart.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/DHN16DCAy1E”Mickey” was a 1982 U.S. New wave song recorded by singer and choreographer Toni Basil. Written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn as “Kitty”, it was first recorded by UK popular music group Racey during 1979.

The single scored number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 1 week and number two in the UK singles chart. The song was Basil’s only top 40 success, making her a “one-hit wonder”.[1] It is named #5 on VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of all time, #16 on 20 to 1’s top 20 One Hit Wonders Countdown and #7 on VH1’s 100 greatest songs of the 80’s. It has also appeared on countless Greatest or Best lists and countdowns.

“I Can See Clearly Now” is a song written and recorded by Johnny Nash. It was a single from the album of the same name and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972.

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel’s final album together, released January 26, 1970. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at the top of the chart for six weeks. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” also topped the adult contemporary chart in the U.S. for six weeks.

This song’s recording process exposed many of the underlying tensions that eventually led to the breakup of the duo after the album’s completion. Most notably, Paul Simon has repeatedly expressed regret that he insisted that Art Garfunkel sing this song as a solo, as it focused attention on Garfunkel and relegated Simon to a backing position. Art Garfunkel initially did not want to sing lead vocal, feeling it was not right for him. “He felt I should have done it,” Paul Simon revealed to Rolling Stone in 1972.
Garfunkel said that the moment when he performed it in Madison Square Garden in 1972 was “almost biblical”.