100 SONGS THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING. This post: THE MESSAGE. Continues tomorrow.

Caffè Lattè pays tribute to 100 songs that innovated, changed the rules, defied convention and had a significant impact on the evolution of pop and rock music, presented in chronological order…

Check out the playlist on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1j1WNc1Txp4Loh4txnqu7S?si=01aa2a187ada4e3d

100 SONGS THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

1982

💥74 The Message

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5

Grandmaster Flash began spinning records while in his teens at local dances and beat parties around the Bronx area of New York. He pioneered innovative techniques such as cutting (switching between tracks); phasing (controlling turntable speeds) and back-spinning (manually repeating short pieces on a record). He then teamed up with rappers like Kurtis Blow and- later - The Furious Five. The chart success of “Rapper’s Delight” proved that music fans would purchase hip-hop records. Flash & the Furious 5 signed with the same label: Sugarhill Records. After a couple of R&B Chart hits, the act released “The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel” in 1981. This was a new watershed for hip-hop. In 1982, “The Message” was unleashed. This new recording proved to be even more revolutionary. Previous rap tracks featured rappers talking themselves up and partying. “The Message” used the new form of expression to reflect social concerns. Here was a song where the rap dealt with the raw detail of life in the ghetto. It opens with the line: “It’s like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under”. Lyrics such as “broken glass everywhere, people pissing on the stairs you know they just don’t care” describe the urban decay. The chorus emphasizes the frustration and anger in the streets with the warning: “Don’t push me, ‘cos I’m close to the edge, I’m trying not to lose my head”. Throughout, the scene depicted by producer / lyricist Duke Bootee is grim. It laid the foundation for gangsta rap, where Public Enemy and N.W.A. would follow in the wake of this landmark release.

1982-      Planet Rock

1981-      Radio Free Europe

               Ghost Town

1980-      Rapture

               Vienna

               Back In Black

               Love Will Tear Us Apart

1979-      London Calling

               Rapper’s Delight

               Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough

               Good Times

1978-     Wuthering Heights

1977-     Stayin’ Alive

              Heroes

               I Feel Love

1976-     Dancing Queen

              Anarchy In The U.K.

              Blitzkrieg Bop

1975-     Gloria

              Bohemian Rhapsody

              Love To Love You Baby

              Autobahn

              No Woman, No Cry Live

1973-     Personality Crisis

              Living For the City

              Time

              Soul Makossa

1972-    I Am Woman

1971-    American Pie

              Imagine

             Theme From ‘Shaft’

             What’s Going On

             The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

1969-   Whole Lotta Love

1968-   Helter Skelter

            Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

            Folsom Prison Blues Live

1967-   Sunshine Of Your Love

             A Day In The Life

             Respect

             Light My Fire

            Venus In Furs
             Strawberry Fields Forever

1966-   Good Vibrations

            Tomorrow Never Knows

            Eight Miles High

1965-   The Sounds Of Silence

            My Generation

            Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag

            (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

            I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)

1964-  You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’

           You Really Got Me

           The House Of The Rising Sun

           Where Did Our Love Go

1963-  I Want To Hold Your Hand

           Blowin’ In The Wind

           Be My Baby

1962- Misirlou

1961- Crazy

1960- The Twist

          Cathy’s Clown

1959- There Goes My Baby

          What’d I Say (Parts 1 & 2)
1957- Great Balls Of Fire
          Jailhouse Rock

          You Send Me

          That’ll Be The Day

1955- Tutti Frutti

           Maybellene

1955- Rock Around The Clock

1954- That’s All Right Mama

1951- Rocket 88