Tom Petty

Today we're talking about our favorite songs by the Manchester lads who went on to become the biggest rock stars in the world - that's right listeners, today we're talking about the bad boys of Britpop - it's OASIS! Famous for songs 'Wonderwall', 'Live Forever', 'Don't Look Back In Anger' and 'Cigarettes and Alcohol', the band started in 1991, when Noel Gallagher joined his brother Liam,  Paul Bonehead Arthurs, (guitar), Paul McGuigan (bass guitar), and Tony McCarroll (drums). The band was called The Rain before Noel joined, but they swiftly changed the name to Oasis. With various lineup changes over the years, the Gallagher brothers remained the core members throughout.   Signing to Alan McGee's Creation Records in '93, they put out what's been often labelled as one of the best debut albums ever - Definitely Maybe. Lined with hits like 'Live Forever', 'Supersonic' and 'Cigarettes and Alcohol', they become overnight rock'n'roll stars, with their chaotic antics filling front pages of the tabloids. Their second album took them to a whole other level. Replacing drummer Tony McCarroll with Alan White, they embarked on What's The Story (Morning Glory), which was released to much hype and expectation in 1995 at the peak of Britpop rivalry with Blur,. Although at first receiving negative reviews in the press, the album went on to become one of the highest selling albums of all time, and the biggest selling UK album of the '90s. Declaring themselves 'bigger than God', they then put out one of the most hyped albums in history, 'Be Here Now', which, despite it's lavish Rolls Royce in a mansion's pool album cover and initial critical acclaim, failed to live up to expectation. Disbanding in 2009, Oasis ended up releasing 7 studio albums, and remain one of the highest selling bands of all time, with eight UK number one singles, and eight UK number one albums, as well as three platinum albums in the US - not to mention a swag of awards including 6 Brits and 2 Grammys.  Let's roll with it,  don't look back in anger, and stock up on cigarettes and alochol, because its time to to discuss our favorite songs by Oasis.

We’re switching gears in today’s episode and focusing on one of the world’s true pop divas. We’re talking about the Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey! Get excited everyone!  Born on March 27, 1970 in Huntington, New York, Carey overcame adversity in her family life and struggled with racism to break onto the music scene with force. Starting out singing jingles for local radio advertisers, she signed a record deal at the age of just 19 when she released her first single, “Vision of Love”, and self-titled album.  It  went on to earn her 5 Grammy nominations and 2 wins for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female Artist and Best New Artist in 1990. Mariah Carey swiftly became a household name and one of the world's top-selling recording artists. She has been known in the music industry as a multi-faceted talent, writing and co-writing most of her songs, producing, and also arranging. These talents have garnered 35 Grammy nominations with a total of 5 wins to her name.   Her countless accolades are too many to name for our short time here, but range from numerous Billboard and BMI Pop Music Awards, including the Billboard Icon Award in 2011; and the achievement she states she’s most proud of, the Congressional Horizon Award in 1999 for her humanitarian work with Fresh Air Fund and Camp Mariah. She’ll also be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022.   Mariah Carey has smashed a multitude of records. She’s had 19 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, the most for any solo artist. 1995’s “Fantasy” was the first single to debut at #1 by a female artist. And, “One Sweet Day” was the  longest running #1 single in American history at 16 weeks, a record that was held for 23 years. Carey is also the only artist to have a number-one song in each year of a single decade, the 90’s.  But, her career has extended far beyond the 90’s alone. Having famously paired her pop vocals with rappers like ODB and Puff she was free to expand her sound and move further into hip hop and R&B after she broke from her Columbia record deal in 2001. She went on to release smash hits like “We Belong Together” and ”Shake It Off”.  Before I wrap up, let’s not forget her worldwide Christmas Hit, All I Want for Christmas Is You. It  topped the charts in 2019, 25 years after it’s initial release,  and stayed there into January of 2020, giving Mariah number one songs in every decade for 4 decades running.   Mariah Carey truly is one of the greatest influential singers of all time. Her magic ingredient isn't just her buttery 5-octave vocal range. She says that the magic lays in always believing in herself.

Today we’re talking about our favourite songs from one of our favourite bands, The White Stripes. Formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1997 by singer/ guitarist Jack White and drummer Meg White, the band emerged from a vibrant local scene and were soon taking their unique blues rock sound around the globe with a relentless touring schedule. Their first three albums won them a serious cult following– their third album White Blood Cells got a re-release in 2002, which coincided with the garage rock explosion that year, and they never looked back. They earned 3 Grammy's for Best Alternative Music Album over their career, with a catalogue that consists of six studio albums, a best of, two live albums, one EP, a concert film, a documentary, and 14 very cool music videos. The White Stripes stood out with their lo-fi recording and writing process, their blues rock influences, their fashion and design concepts with the red white and black theme across all albums, their genius music videos and their brilliant publicity ideas, such as the great mystery of if they were brother and sister as originally specified, or if they were actually ex-husband and wife. For the record, it was the latter, with Jack White originally being Jack Gillis the upholsterer before taking Meg’s surname. Disbanding in 2011, they recently put out a Greatest Hits album via Jack White’s label, Third Man Records, a name which goes all the way back to his first company, Third Man Upholstery. Let’s talk about our favourite songs from The White Stripes.

In today’s episode of Favorite Songs By, we are featuring not just an artist, but an entire group; a first for this podcast. Hailing from their loft in Chicago, Illinois, Rolling Stone has described them as “one of America’s most consistently interesting bands”, and  I couldn't agree more. Ladies and gentleman, today we give you Wilco.   Rising from the ashes of roots rock band Uncle Tupelo in 1994, Wilco was formed by frontman Jeff Tweedy along with other Uncle Tupelo members, Max Johnston, John Stirrat and Ken Coomer. Their lineup has been a bit of a revolving door over the years, but the music has remained distinct and highly crafted. Categorized as alternative rock and alternative country, they matured into an eclectic indie rock ensemble with a number of critically acclaimed albums to boot.   Wilco saw their first major success after a highly publicized dispute with their label, Reprise, from which they were dropped after their 2001 album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was deemed by the label head as “unmarketable”. Wilco proved that there was, in fact, an audience for their sound when they subsequently released the album for free on their website and sold out a string of US shows as a result. They were later picked up by Nonesuch records, sold over 55,000 copies in the first official week and debuted at number 13 on the Billboard pop-album chart.  And, in 2004, they won their first Grammy for Best Alternative Album for another one  of their more ambitious releases, A Ghost Is Born.  Today they have their own label, dBpm Records, and the current Wilco lineup includes Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt (bass), Pat Sansone (multi-instrumentalist), Glenn Kotche (drum), Mikael Jorgensen (piano and keyboard),  and Nels Cline (guitar). Tweedy is a songwriting force and is thought of as one of the best of his generation. Wilco as a whole have redefined the role of record labels today and have truly tested the boundaries of “alternative” music.

Karen Lee Orzolek, or as the world knows her, Karen O, is a South Korean-born American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, director, and it must be said, style icon. She is also famously the lead singer for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who along with members Nick Zinner and Brian Chase, have produced a highly alternative and hugely popular body of work over the years, which is further complimented by her own solo and collaborative releases.  Born to a Korean mother and Polish father in 1978, she grew up in New Jersey before attending college in Ohio where she met drummer Brian Chase, and after transferring to an art college in New York, she met guitarist Nick Zinner - the three formed the art-rock group Yeah Yeah Yeahs in 2000. With their first gig opening for The White Stripes, and their debut self-titled EP cracking number 1 in the UK indie charts, they quickly became a vital band in New York’s rock scene of the 2000s. Their albums Fever To Tell, Show Your Bones, It’s Blitz! and Mosquito all received critical acclaim and commercial success, with the NME ranking Fever To Tell in 2009 as the Number 5 in their Best Albums of the Decade poll. Alongside the success of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O also became heavily involved in the art, fashion and film world, providing soundtrack contributions for director’s including Spike Jonze, David Fincher, Tim Burton and David Lynch. This also extended into a long list of collaborations with artists such as Flaming Lips, Har Mar Superstar, Deerhunter, Santigold, Peaches, Parquet Courts, and most notably her Danger Mouse collaboration album, 2019’s Lux Prima. This followed up from her gorgeous 2014 solo album ‘Crush Songs’, released on Julian Casablancas’ label Cult Records. She even recently released a song written for Kenzo’s Spring/Summer collection.  So come along for the ride as we delve into selecting our favourite songs from the queen of modern rock Karen O and rulers of the art-rock world, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

From Minneapolis, Minnesota, this episode's featured artist was born Prince Roger Nelson on June 7th 1958. His parents were both musicians and he grew up playing covers of Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone tunes. Prince released his debut record, For You, at the age of just 19. Save for one co-write on the track Soft and Wet, he produced, wrote and played all 27 instruments on the album.   Since that first release in 1978, his talents crossed genres from r&b, funk, pop, rock, and jazz. Prince is remembered for his music that focuses on sex and sexuality as well as it’s political and social commentary. We have his song “Darling Nikki” to thank for those little Parental Advisory stickers we used to see on CDs.  Like many mega stars, he made his way onto the silver screen most notably with the classic, Purple Rain. The soundtrack earned him his first chart topping hit, “When Doves Cry” followed by “Let’s Go Crazy”.  Prince went on to earn 3 more #1 Billboard Hits, with 19 total reaching Top Ten status, and a whopping 47 songs total to break the top 100. There are far too many accolades to list here, but some of Prince’s award highlights include 8 Grammys ranging from Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group for Purple Rain in 1984 to Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Future Baby Mama in 2004. He earned 7 Billboard Music Awards, and 7 Brit Awards. He was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame,  3 of his records have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and I would be remiss if I didn’t remind our listeners about his life altering 2007 Superbowl Halftime Show performance, arguably the best Superbowl performance to date.  Folks, I could go on and on, but I’d like to end with mentioning that Prince was a vegan, and a philanthropist supporting causes like Yes We Code and Green for All. He was someone the world lost far too early.  This week on Favorite Songs By we give you The Purple One, the Love Symbol, his name is PRINCE and he is funky! Let’s make it rain!

‘Like A Virgin’, ‘Papa Don’t Preach’, ‘Respect’, ‘Vogue’, ‘Express Yourself’ – yes, music fans, today we’re talking about your ‘Material Girl’, the woman in a league of her own, the one and only Madonna. Controversial and ground-breaking throughout her career, Madonna remains the most successful female musician of all time. Born in Bay City, Michigan in 1958, Madonna Louise Ciccone was raised in the Detroit suburbs, and tragically lost her mother to breast cancer at a young age.  Beginning her career as a dancer, Madonna relocated to New York in 1978, where she became a touring backup dancer and singer, before starting her own bands and eventually going solo. It was a wise decision, as she was signed to Sire records soon after, and her debut selt-titled album released in 1983 went top ten and achieved three top ten singles – ‘Holiday’, ‘Borderline’ and ‘Lucky Star’. She never looked back. With her mix of edgy hit songs and provocative music videos, MTV proclaimed her as ‘Artist of the Decade’. Her third album True Blue became the best-selling album by a woman of all time, and was followed by Like A Prayer, with video clips full of Catholic symbols, cross burning, and sex with saints. Appearances in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan, Who’s That Girl, Dick Tracy, A League of Their Own and Evita, solidified her as a global star, not to mention the successful and highly controversial tour documentary film In Bed With Madonna (or Truth Or Dare if in North America), which chronicled her Blonde Ambition tour. It became the highest-grossing doco of all time.Throughout her career, she has continually broken boundaries and reinvented herself, with albums Ray of Light, Music and even her recent Madame X all proving to be highly successful comebacks. From music, dance, fashion, film, and business, she has proven unstoppable with every move. Put simply, Madonna changed the game by reinventing pop-culture forever, and continues to be an influential reference for emerging artists today. She currently holds the record for the most top 10 hits of all time, and is the highest-charting female musician and highest-grossing female touring musician in history. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. She is an icon. She is… Madonna.

Beck was born Bek David Campbell, on July 8th 1970 in Los Angeles California, and started playing music around the age of 10 riding the Los Angeles buses and improvising lyrics to old folk and country blues songs, influences you can hear in his span of releases. With roots in folk music he has become one of the most genre-defying artists of all time with a knack for beautifully blending a range of other influences from country, jazz, hip hop, R&B, pop and rock.

Born Thomas Earl Petty in Gainsville, Florida in 1950, Tom Petty quit high school at the age of 17 to join southern-rock group Mudcrutch. Moving to LA, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were formed in 1975 out of the remnants of Mudcrutch, and the rest is history.

Join us as we break down our favorite songs by Sheryl Crow! This artist is a 9-time Grammy Award winner, a former backup singer for Michael Jackson, and once was a piano school teacher. With hits like If it Makes You Happy, and Run Baby Run, all she wants to do is Have a Little Fun. The artist for our first episode of Favorite Songs By is none other than the gorgeous, the rockin, Sheryl Crow.