John Richards

#70 on our countdown.... -- This track is built around a sample of the 1973 song, "Sometimes I Cry" by the jazz pianist Les McCann. It's taken from a vinyl record with lots of pops and scratches that are essential to the sound. When Massive Attack performed the song live in 2019, they replayed the sample from a reel-to-reel tape recorder to preserve the analog sound. -- The vocals are performed by Elizabeth Fraser, former lead singer of Cocteau Twins, who also wrote the lyrics. "Teardrop" was originally set to feature vocals from Madonna, whom Massive Attack turned down in favor of Fraser. -- While recording the song, Elizabeth Fraser learned of the death of her friend and former lover, Jeff Buckley. Here are the lyrics: www.azlyrics.com

#69 -- The five biggest supermodels of the 1990's were persuaded by George Michael to appear in his music video for the song 'Freedom! '90'. Here, they recall intimate moments and "naughty" antics from the making of that iconic video for "Freedom! 90": https://bit.ly/3pitevm -- Oh, and here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYAc7gB-0A -- This drum break by Clyde Stubblefield, aka "The Funky Drummer," has been sampled by other artists over 1000 times according to Rolling Stone. -- www.kexp.org/donate

A wonderful bonus song for you!! --Queen and George Michael pay tribute to Freddie Mercury. Check out this video of George Michael rehearsing this song in 1992 (while David Bowie and Seal watch in the background): youtu.be --- Are you somebody who loves KEXP? Show your support now: www.kexp.org

#68 in our countdown of listeners' favorite songs from the last 50 years... -- “Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision,” Stevie Wonder once said. -- Stevie Wonder wrote this 1976 song as a tribute to music, specifically to Duke Ellington, who had passed away in 1974. "I knew the title from the beginning but wanted it to be about the musicians who did something for us," Stevie said. "So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation. They gave us something that is supposed to be forever. That's the basic idea of what we do and how we hook it up." In addition to Ellington, musicians referenced in this song are "Satchmo" Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Glenn Miller.

I've been listening to KEXP for less than a year, just became an amplifier after already donating in this drive. Take all my money! You all make every day better and I'm endlessly grateful for the words, music, love and community you share and that I am now a part of. --Kate -- #67 -- That's Mick Jones singing lead vocals on this song. The song became a live favorite for the band, introduced to their live set in December 1979 and played consistently until Mick Jones was fired in 1983. The music video is taken from one of these many live performances, a February 1980 show in Lewisham, featuring an amusing introduction from Joe Strummer: "We'd like to take the soul train from platform one... and if you don't want to come, there's always the toilet!": youtu.be

#66 on our countdown! -- This 1983 single was written on an omnichord by Matt Johnson, lead singer of London post-punk band The The. -- In an interview, Johnson talked about this track: "I always thought that a life was very different from the outside looking in and the inside looking out, and it’s very difficult to make judgements on people’s lives. Some people seem to have incredibly well-balanced, happy lives and I’ve known a few people over the years who’ve committed suicide out of the blue. You’re horrified and deeply saddened, and have no idea what they were going through, because you would think they had everything going for them. You know, their health, their career, their personal life. It’s very difficult to make judgements on that, but at that time, I suppose I had gone from being on the dole to suddenly signing a big recording contract with a very glamorous record company and people assumed that all of my life problems were in the past, but that wasn’t the case. People’s lives are far more complex and multi-layered." bit.ly

Even though I help amplify KEXP everyday, I like to give a little more during the drives. I do this because KEXP really is powered by ordinary people like you and me. As the world continues to remind us how little control we have over things, it's nice to know that I can make a difference by contributing to something bigger than myself. ---Mike in Renton -- #65 -- Can you believe that Dolly Parton wrote this song on the same day that she wrote "I Will Always Love You"? --- Here's a young Dolly Parton performing this song on The Porter Wagoner Show in 1974: www.youtube.com

A little bonus Dolly for you! -- In a 2009 interview with 60 Minutes, Parton talked about the unlikely inspiration for this song: her fingernails. She had very long, acrylic nails, and discovered that when she rubbed them together she could create a rhythm that sounded like a typewriter, and since the movie was about secretaries, she was able to use that sound to compose the song on the set. She even played her fingernails as part of the percussion sound when she recorded the track.

Ahhh....the Friday song! (Thanks, Henry, calling from West Seattle!) -- If this song (or these conversations with Henry) have brought you joy, donate today.: www.kexp.org

#64 -- "This is my message to you--- Don't worry about a thing...": genius.com -- In 2020 — to spread positivity during this pandemic — Bob Marley’s estate shared a new animated video for the reggae legend’s “Three Little Birds.” Marley’s daughter Cedella said in a statement of the new video, “This song has helped provide hope and light for so many over the years, including me, and I hope it does the same for people now, especially with all that is going on in the world.”: www.youtube.com --- Has a song ever made you feel like everything was going to be alright? KEXP brings you that feeling everyday. Donate now: www.kexp.org

#63 -- "'Hey Ya!' is a song written and produced by André 3000 for his 2003 album "The Love Below," part of the hip hop duo OutKast's double album "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below." 'Hey Ya!' takes influence from funk, rap and rock music. Its music video features a live performance by a band, all eight of whose members are played by André 3000, that mimicks the Beatles' 1964 performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.: www.youtube.com

#62 on our countdown!! -- The track was the lead single of one of Bush’s most incredible works; "Hounds of Love" remains a pop masterpiece. Bush said about this song: “I was trying to say that, really, a man and a woman can’t understand each other because we are a man and a woman. And if we could actually swap each other’s roles, if we could actually be in each other’s place for a while, I think we’d both be very surprised! [Laughs] And I think it would lead to a greater understanding.” Read the story behind this masterpiece: faroutmagazine.co.uk -- She's joined by David Gilmour in this live version: www.dailymotion.com

#61 on our eclectic countdown of listeners' favorite songs of the last fifty years.... -- Singer Hamilton Leithauser said this song originated in a jam session when the band were "just screwin' around." The band's drummer Matt Barrick instigated the track by playing a fast drum pattern. The band then quickly built this foundation into the full track, Leithauser said "we threw some chords on it, I wrote the words in five minutes and then we all started slammin'!" -- Someone wrote, "I love the urgency, pain, anger, and sadness all wrapped up in this one song. Such a diverse span of emotions for a 4 1/2 minute song.": www.youtube.com

Your message about finding clarity during moments of grief touched my heart, especially when you mentioned inspiring people to get sober. Celebrating 5 years without alcohol on the 2022. Thank you for the authenticity! ---Kate -- #60 -- "In lesser hands, it might be confusing. When Robyn does it, it's human. Contrary emotions wrapped up in one package, happiness and sadness living together in a groove: Everything about this song is a juxtaposition. That's what makes it an anthem." NPR featured this breakup song as an American Anthem: www.npr.org -- Here's a link to KEXP's "Afternoon Dance Party" with our listeners dancing in isolation, but together, to this fabulous song: www.youtube.com

#59 -- This electronic track has been described by lead singer Thom Yorke as "the happiest song we've ever written." He's being ironic, since the song takes place in a bunker during what appears to be an apocalypse. --- This features two samples taken from the 1976 album First Recordings-Electronic Music Winners. The composer is Paul Lansky and the title is "Mild Und Liese." Says Lansky on his website: "I like the effect they get in 'Idioteque' by combining sustained and percussive sounds." -- Go here for an in-depth feature about the production of Morgan's favorite song, "Idioteque": alijamieson.co.uk

I've always listened, but it was really during the pandemic and listening from my home office every day, all day, for the last two years, that really made me feel like I was part of something bigger. Thank you for introducing me to new music every day. Thank you to every DJ for sharing themselves so openly and bravely. You are all making an enormous difference in peoples' lives! --Tara -- #58 -- ‘Enjoy the Silence’ is probably Depeche Mode’s most widely recognized song. It’s about being satisfied with exactly what you have. -- At first, this was a ballad played on an organ. Alan Wilder got the idea to speed up the song. Martin Gore recalled: "The original demo of 'Enjoy the Silence' was very slow and minimal, just me and a harmonium, and Alan (Wilder) had this idea of putting a beat to it. We added the choir chords and (producer) Flood and Alan said, 'Why don't you play some guitar over the top?' That's when I came up with the riff. I think that's the only time in our history when we all looked at each other and said, 'I think this might be a hit.'"

#57 -- "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was named Rolling Stone and NME Single of the Year for 1997 and is considered one of the defining songs of the Britpop era. -- The opening strings on this track are sampled from the 1965 Andrew Oldham Orchestra recording of the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time". "Bitter Sweet Symphony" came with a legal dispute with the Stones that was finally resolved in 2019 -- read more at NPR: tinyurl.com -- The classic video for the Verve hit (directed by Walter A. Stern) is a homage to the single continuous shot docu-fiction music video for Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy". www.youtube.com

I'm upping my Amplifier gift because my wife and I are getting ready to welcome our son to the world in May/June and I am so excited to introduce him to KEXP and show him that even when the world is scary, there is a place that is home where you are not alone and you can explore the world through music. --Chris in Burien -- #56 on our countdown... -- "U2's four musicians met when they were teenagers in Ireland in the 1970s, a turbulent time known as the Troubles. Bono once wrote that on May 17, 1974, he 'dodged one of the bloodiest moments in a history that divided an island,' simply because he rode his bike to school that day — otherwise, he'd have been on one of the Dublin streets where three car bombs killed 33 people. That same year, Bono's mother died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. He was 14." Read NPR's wonderful essay about the origins and power of this rock and roll hymn: www.npr.org

#55 -- Someone wrote KEXP: ""The song has helped me, and I’m sure thousands of others, make sense of the insurmountable pain that comes from losing someone great. It has given me hope and has even allowed me to dance through the pain." -- In “Someone Great,” Murphy takes you on a journey through the entire grieving process, starting at the very beginning — the moment you get that phone call. Even if you were expecting it, even if you feared it was going to happen soon or were thankful it didn’t happen earlier, you’re never ready to hear those words." Read why "Someone Great" is the best song about loss ever written: bit.ly

Dammit John and Morgan, I’m trying to put on eye makeup and crying at the same time. You two and KEXP are just the greatest things to happen to my life in a long time. Thank you for connecting all of us in our beautiful brokenness and healing.🖤🦇 --Sheila -- #54 in the countdown of KEXP listeners' top songs in the last 50 years... -- "From the iconic first notes of the song’s soaring guitar riff to its anthemic chorus to its rock god-inspired solo to the last second of its trash can ending, Pearl Jam’s 1991 song “Alive” is pure and true rock and roll..." Here's an in-depth look at "Alive": medium.com -- See Pearl Jam perform "Alive" in 2018 at The Home Show in Seattle: www.youtube.com