Heart of Rock and Soul Poll: the 1001 Greatest Singles Part 15: 626-650

Stylistics, Gene Vincent, Lovin' Spoonful, Bryan Adams, Animals, Beatles, Harptones, Delfonics, Seeds and the Pretenders always sounds good at Christmas,
But voting for the Sugarhill Gang.

Ooh, very tight race, this one. Top contenders: Sugarhill Gang, Lennon, Animals, Stylistics, Harptones (w/Vincent, Seeds, Adams, and Delfonics not far behind). Probably Animals.

Most mystifying choice: "Get Back." Right up there with my least favourite McCartney/Beatle moments. "Get back Lo-RETTA!" Ugh.

Every poll is like survival.

Sugarhill Gang v. Culture Club for me.

summer of 69

It just occurred to me that some of McCartney's exhortations in "Get Back" aren't that far afield from the "Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah!"s in "Everybody Dance," but for some reason I find it more funny when Chic do it. ("Everybody Dance" should also be in my second-tier list.)

Most mystifying choice: "Get Back." Right up there with my least favourite McCartney/Beatle moments. "Get back Lo-RETTA!" Ugh.

― sw00ds, Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:07 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

otm. don't like the Lennon one in this poll either. voted Delfonics.

Instant Karma gets docked a notch for the producer killing someone. So it's Sweet Soul Music.

my top...er ... seven

1. Lovin' Spoonful Do you believe in magic
2. Parliaments I wanna testify
3. Harptones A Sunday kind of love
4. Miracles I'll try something new
5. Seeds Pushin' too hard
6. Dyke and the Blazers We got more soul
7. Delfonics Didn't I (blow your mind this time)

yeah, i know. i think that lovin spoonful song is kind of amazing.

hey, i know this won't be popular, but i think that arthur conley single sucks. i've always thought that. it's like a bad remedial-class version of a stax/volt single.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8fs4TH9zIg

this is a strong stretch, but i'll have to go with 'karma' -- maybe lennon's best moment, with or without the beatles.

most overrated one: 'karma chameleon.' as dave rimmer aptly puts it in 'like punk never happened,' it's the kind of single everyone buys and no one loves.

karma chameleon is great

I'm not gonna vote for it, but jeez, I'm sure plenty of people on ilm love it

"Do You Believe In Music" over "Sweet Soul Music"

voted marvin gaye

"Got 19 kids at home gotta eat / 18 of them need shoes on their feet"

Stylistics over the Spoonful over Lennon over Marvin.

Useless trivia: This is the first assortment featuring two 45s that I actually bought. And of those two, one was my very first purchase of the '80s (Sugarhill Gang), and the other my very last purchase of the '90s (Parliaments).

Do You Believe in Magic - pure joy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54PV2_b4-ow

If you can watch this without grinning from ear to ear then you have no soul.

Went for Seeds over Sugarhill Gang. But it was a very close fight, and I may well be wrong.

Top ten, in some order:

626 1956 Gene Vincent Be-bop-a-lula
627 1979 Sugar Hill Gang Rapper's delight
628 1971 Marvin Gaye Mercy mercy me (the ecology)
629 1965 Lovin' Spoonful Do you believe in magic
631 1977 Chic Dance dance dance (Yowsah yowsah yowsah)
633 1966 Seeds Pushin' too hard
635 1985 Bryan Adams Summer of '69
639 1965 Animals It's my life
640 1974 Kool and the Gang Hollywood swingin'
649 1974 Stylistics You make me feel brand new

Voting for Bryan Adams, over Seeds and Sugarhill.

And I have no idea what Elvis Costello's "Psycho" is. Did he cover the Sonics' song? (Seems like a stretch, but Flaming Lips once did a medley of "Strychnine" and "What So Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding," so you never know.)

The Chic song is another quirky choice, I think (which I approve of). Though I'm guessing "Good Times" and "Le Freak" probably rank higher?

Stylistics, over Delfonics and Seeds.

"Be-Bop-a-Luba," Gene Vincent's touching tribute to Luba, the Quebecois pop star from the mid-80s (just kidding, I leave typos all over these threads)...Strong group, with at least six contenders for me, and a few more that are close: Sugarhill Gang, Spoonful, Lennon, Delfonics, Stylistics, Harptones. I think I'm actually going to go with "Do You Believe in Magic?" I'm glad (and surprised) it's getting some support already. Such a buoyant, joyous song--Marcus has a great line in Stranded, something about not needing the abyss when you had this.

I voted Pretenders, because it usually makes me tear up if I even think about it.

Costello's "Psycho" is a cover of a weird Nashville murder ballad. The Beasts of Bourbon did it better.

I think Leon Payne wrote "Psycho"? I have a version by country singer Eddie Noack. It's kind of a novelty song. I have no idea why Marsh rates it.

Yeah, some really great songs here but today I feel like voting for Gene Vincent.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

--the hell?! these results suck.