Pet Shop Boys "Always On My Mind"

Always on My Mind" is a song originally recorded by Brenda Lee. Elvis Presley recorded his version of "Always on My Mind" on March 29, 1972. The song became a huge hit, reaching Gold status in the U.S for sales of over half a million copies. It reached number 16 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart in November 1972. Brenda Lee's version had stalled at #45 on the country charts in 1972. Over thirty years later, Presley's version was played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and included on that year's promotional compilation album Voices from the FIFA World Cup.

In 1987, Pet Shop Boys performed a version of "Always on My Mind" on Love Me Tender, an ITV network television special commemorating the tenth anniversary of Presley's death, in which various popular contemporary acts performed cover versions of his hits. Their performance was so well-received that the group decided to record the song and release it as a single. This version became the U.K.'s Christmas number one single that year and topping the charts for four weeks in total. It also reached number one in Germany in 1988, and peaked at number four in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year, becoming the duo's fifth and last Top 10 hit there. It is their best selling single in the official UK Singles Chart. [Wikipedia]

New Order "Blue Monday"

"Blue Monday" is a dance pop song recorded in 1982 and originally released as a single in 1983 by British band New Order. The Official UK Chart Company (UK Singles Chart) has estimated its total UK sales at over one million. In the all-time UK best-selling singles chart, published in 2002, "Blue Monday" came 76th. "Blue Monday" is often seen as one of the most important crossover tracks of the 1980s pop music scene. Synthpop had been a major force in British popular music for several years, but "Blue Monday" was arguably the first British dance record to exhibit an obvious influence from the New York club scene. [Wikipedia]

Ace of Base "All That She Wants"

"All That She Wants" was a hit single of Swedish pop group Ace of Base. The song was produced by Denniz Pop. In late 1992 and early 1993, the song reached the top of the charts in many countries, including Denmark, the United Kingdom and Australia. The single was certified Platinum in the United States, where it peaked at #2. It is one of the highest-selling #2 songs of all time in the States: it stayed in the top three songs on Billboard's Hot 100 list for three months, but never actually reached the #1 position. [Wikipedia]

La Bouche "Be My Lover"

La Bouche is a German Eurodance/Dance-pop duo formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Thornton and Lane McCray. They scored a major worldwide hit in the mid-1990s with "Be My Lover". The song was released in 1995, which peaked at number one in Germany and Australia, while also reaching the Top 10 in fourteen European countries. It was also number one in US Hot Dance Club Play Chart. La Bouche's album Sweet Dreams including the hit "Be My Lover" was released in 1996. It peaked at number 28 on the Billboard 200 and was certified double-platinum by the RIAA and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. [Wikipedia]

Haddaway "What Is Love"

"What Is Love" is a 1993 dance track by the singer Haddaway, popular with club DJs. Recorded in the early '90s, it later experienced a revival as the song from the Saturday Night Live "Roxbury Guys" sketches, which were later made into the 1998 feature film A Night at the Roxbury. The song was also featured as the background music for the previous night's NBA highlights on NBC's NBA Showtime in the mid-to-late '90s. The music video featured clips from Metropolis. Since 1994, it has been played prior to the opening pitch of every Tulane Green Wave home baseball game.

The song peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom and Germany, but it reached #1 in thirteen other countries, all of them European or Asian. In the United States the song reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #12 in Australia. [Wikipedia]

Scorpions "No One Like You"

"No One Like You" is a song by the German rock band Scorpions, written by band members Rudolf Schenker (guitar) and Klaus Meine (vocals). It first appeared on the band's 1982 album Blackout, and was one of three hits from the album. The song reached #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #1 on the US Rock Tracks chart. The song is included in the video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. [Wikipedia]

Scorpions "When the Smoke Is Going Down"

"When the smoke is going down" is a song from a German band Scorpions album Blackout released in 1982. [Wikipedia]

Blondie "Call Me"

"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie released in 1980. The song topped the singles charts in both the US (where it bacame the band's biggest selling single) and the UK (where it became their fourth no.1 hit). The single was released in the United States in February 1980. It peaked at #1 for 6 weeks, and was certified Gold (for one million copies sold) by the RIAA. It also spent four weeks at number two on the U.S. Dance chart. It was released in the UK two months later, where it became Blondie's fourth UK no.1 single in little over a year. The song was also played on a British Telecom advert from the 1980s. Twenty-five years after its original release, "Call Me" was ranked at #283 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song lists at #44 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. The song was the main theme of the film American Gigolo. [Wikipedia]

Eurythmics "Thorn In My Side"

"Thorn in My Side" is a song recorded by British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was released as a single from the duo's Revenge album in the UK and the U.S. in 1986. Written by band members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, the song is a cast-off to an unfaithful lover. After one mid-charting UK hit from Revenge, "Thorn in My Side" became Eurythmics' ninth Top 10 single, reaching number five in the UK singles chart. To date, it is their last appearance in the UK Top 10. In the United States, the track stalled at number sixty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100. [Wikipedia]

Lynyrd Skynyrd "Sweet Home Alabama"

"Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd that first appeared in 1974 on their second album, Second Helping. "Sweet Home Alabama" was written as an answer to two songs, "Southern Man" and "Alabama" by Neil Young, which dealt with themes of racism and slavery in the American South. "We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van Zant at the time. Van Zant's musical response, however, was also controversial, with references to Alabama Governor George Wallace (a noted supporter of segregation) and the Watergate scandal:

In Birmingham, they love the governor (boo boo boo)
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth

In 1975, Van Zant said: "The lyrics about the governor of Alabama were misunderstood. The general public didn't notice the words 'Boo! Boo! Boo!' after that particular line, and the media picked up only on the reference to the people loving the governor." "The line 'We all did what we could do' is sort of ambiguous," Kooper notes "'We tried to get Wallace out of there' is how I always thought of it." Journalist John Swenson argues that the song is more complex than it is sometimes given credit for, suggesting that it only looks like an endorsement of Wallace. "Wallace and I have very little in common," Van Zant himself said, "I don't like what he says about colored people."

As of 2009, the State of Alabama has begun using the phrase "Sweet Home Alabama" as an official slogan on license plates for motor vehicles, with Governor Bob Riley noting that Lynyrd Skynyrd's anthem is the third most-played song referencing a specific destination. (This is also the second Alabama license plate in a row to reference a popular song. Sweet Home Alabama has appeared in many commercials, movies, and subsequent recordings by other bands. It remains a popular request on classic rock radio stations and has been featured in many movies, including True Romance, To Die For, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), Con Air, The Waterboy, Forrest Gump, Joe Dirt, 8 Mile, The Girl Next Door, Sweet Home Alabama, "Crimson Tide" and Sahara. The song was alluded to in Warren Zevon's "Play It All Night Long" (from his 1980 album Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School): "Sweet home Alabama! Play that dead band's song! Turn those speakers up full blast!". The song is also prominently mentioned in Kid Rock's "All Summer Long." The song's reach also extends to "virtual" sporting events. It was featured on the PS2 and Xbox versions of NASCAR Thunder 2002 because the game creators, EA Sports, had just announced sponsorship of the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway, located in Alabama.

In May 2006, National Review ranked the song #4 on its list of "50 greatest conservative rock songs". In July 2006, CMT ranked it #1 of the "20 Greatest Southern Rock songs". In 2004, the song was ranked #398 on Rolling Stone's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2007, the song was used in the Top Gear Greatest Driving Songs album. [Wikipedia]

Joe Cocker "Unchain My Heart"

"Unchain My Heart" is a song written by Bobby Sharp and recorded first in 1963 by Trini Lopez and later by Ray Charles. Sharp, a drug addict at the time, sold the song to Teddy Powell for $50. Powell demanded half the songwriting credit. Sharp later successfully fought for the rights to his song. In 1987, he was also able to renew the copyright for his publishing company, B. Sharp Music. The song was a hit for Charles when released as a single in late 1961. Accompanied by his Raelettes, Charles sang about wanting to be free from a woman "who won't let (him) go". It was also accompanied by his longtime saxophonist, David "Fathead" Newman and other members of Charles' band. The song reached #9 on the pop singles chart and number one on the R&B singles chart and was the working title of Charles' 2004 biopic Ray.

In 1963, doo-wop band The Rivingtons covered "Unchain My Heart" on their Doin' The Bird LP. The track was further popularised by Joe Cocker when he named his 1987 album after the song. His version of the song was re-released in 1992 and reached #17 in the UK. Another a cappella group, The Bobs recorded a version in 1994. Also, the Australian government used the Joe Cocker version - illegally - to promote the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2000. [Wikipedia]