let the muSSSic play

This song is about poverty, describing a child who can't overcome his surroundings and turns to crime, which leads to his death. It was the first song Elvis recorded with a socially-conscious message. He was reluctant to do it for that reason, but knew it would be a hit.

This was written by Mac Davis, who entered the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2006. At the ceremony, Davis explained: "It's a simple matter of growing up with a little boy who's father worked with my father. He lived in a part of town that was a dirt-street ghetto. I grew up in Lubbock, Texas, and it was a ghetto in every since of the word, but we didn't use that word back then. I was trying to come up with a song called 'The Vicious Circle,' how a child is born, he has no father, and the same thing happens. The word 'Ghetto' became popular in the late '60s to describe the poor parts of town. A friend of mine, Freddy Weller, who used to play guitar for Paul Revere And The Raiders, showed me lick on the guitar one day. I went home and fiddled around with it, I wrote the song and called him up at 4 in the morning and sang it to him. He knew I'd written a hit with his lick, but that's the way it goes."

Davis wrote this as "In The Ghetto (The Vicious Circle)." RCA Records got Davis' permission to drop the subtitle before presenting it to Elvis.

Davis had written some songs for Elvis that were used in his movies, including "A Little Less Conversation" and "Clean Up Your Own Backyard." When Elvis was making his comeback and recording in Memphis, his management asked Davis if he had anything they could use. Davis sent them a tape with this and "Don't Cry Daddy," as the first 2 songs, and Elvis recorded both of them.

This was Elvis' first Top 10 hit in 4 years.

If Elvis turned this down, the song would have gone to Rosie Grier, a minister and former football player.

Memphis was Elvis' hometown. It was the first time he recorded there since 1956. This was the first release from those sessions.

In 2007, Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley recorded tracks that were composited with Elvis' original version to create a duet with this song - similar to what Natalie Cole did with her father's song "Unforgettable." Some proceeds from the sale of the song went to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina.

As part of a series of re-releases of Elvis songs in the UK in 2007, this re-entered the UK chart at #15.
Source:Songfacts

This was the last #1 hit for Elvis during his lifetime. A remixed version of "A Little Less Conversation" hit #1 in the UK in 2002.

Memphis singer Mark James wrote this. He recorded and released his own version, but it didn't go anywhere. Memphis Soul producer Chips Moman brought this to Presley in 1969, and Elvis immediately fell in love with it and decided he could turn it into a hit, even though it had flopped for James.

This was recorded between 4-7 in the morning, during the landmark Memphis session that helped Elvis reclaim his title of "The King."

This was a big comeback song for Elvis. It was 7 years since his last #1 hit.

Elvis' publishing company, along with his manager Col. Tom Parker, tried to get their usual cut of the royalties from this and threatened to stop the recording if they didn't. Elvis insisted on recording the song regardless.

This song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. (thanks to Eileen for her help with these)

Artists to cover this song include Dwight Yoakam, Waylon Jennings, The Heptones, Candi Staton (#31 UK), B.J. Thomas and even The Fine Young Cannibals, whose 1985 version not only hit #8 in the UK, but was bizarrely referenced on the American TV show Psych, when Shawn tells his partner Gus: "Don't be Fine Young Cannibals cover of Suspicious Minds. We're going to find her."

In the UK, Elvis had a hit with this song three times. First in 1969 when it was originally released, then in 2001 when a live version recorded at The International Hotel, Las Vegas, in August 1970 was issued and went to #15, then in 2007 when it was re-issued to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death, going to #11.
Source:Songfacts

This was written by the songwriting trio of Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson Thompson. It was originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1971.

This song tells the story of a man who admits that he didn't always do the things he should have to show appreciation for his lady, but wants her to know he was always thinking about her.

The Country Music Association named this Single Of The Year in 1982.

Elvis Presley recorded this in 1972. His version reached #9 in the UK. A cover version by The Pet Shop Boys made UK #1 in December 1987. They had released it after performing it on a BBC Elvis tribute show. (thanks, Adam - Dewsbury, England)

Levi's used this in a 2004 commercial where a guy goes to great lengths to retrieve his jeans. He brings his old girlfriend a flower as a peace offering, then grabs his jeans and leaves while she puts it in water.

In the January 2006 issue of Esquire magazine, B.B. King said that this was his favorite song.

In 1987, The Pet Shop Boys released a dance version on their album Introspective which was the Christmas #1 in the UK and reached #4 in the US. Neil Tennant explained to 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, "We were approached by Central TV to be on a program called Love Me Tender, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, and for some reason, we agreed to do it. Rob Holden, who worked with our manager, Tony watkins, got us a load of Elvis cassettes and the first track on the first one Chris picked up, Magic Moments With Elvis, was Always On My Mind. We were originally going to do a house version of Baby Let's Play House but there wasn't time. We wouldn't have done Always On My Mind unless it was very different from the original, so we added an extra chord to it. There's a B flat at the end of each chorus that wasn't in the original. It makes it far more like a pop song." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

As part of a series of re-releases of Elvis songs in the UK in 2007 his version re-entered the UK chart at #17.

This was the theme song to the first of 31 Elvis movies. The movie was titled The Reno Brothers before it was renamed to capitalize on the song.
Originally, Elvis had just a small role in the movie, but during filming it became apparent that he was a really big deal, and his role was expanded to take advantage of his stardom. His character is killed at the end of the movie, but Elvis re-appears to reprise the song. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The music is based on a 1861 Classical piece called "Aura Lee."

RCA Records received over 1 million pre-orders for this song, making it the first single to ship as a gold record before it was released.

This was released as a single in September 1956. It didn't appear on an album until March 1958, when it was included on Elvis' Golden Records. (thanks to Eileen for above 2)

This was also a hit for Richard Chamberlain in 1962 and Percy Sledge in 1967.

Linda Ronstadt covered this in 1978. US Radio stations edited her version together with Elvis' original, creating a duet. This version became very popular, but was never released as a single or available for sale.

In 1956, this replaced "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog" on the Billboard chart, making Elvis Presley the first artist to replace himself in the #1 position. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France

This was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who also wrote "Hound Dog," which became a huge hit when Elvis recorded it. Leiber and Stoller excelled at writing catchy Pop songs with elements of Blues music. Their songs could be very funny and clever, and often take place in unusual situations. Some of their other hits include "Love Potion #9" and "On Broadway." Mike Stoller played piano on this track.

This was featured in the Elvis movie of the same name, where Elvis plays a wrongly-accused convict who becomes a star when he gets out. The film, which is considered one of the best of his 31 movies, is famous for the scene where Elvis performs this song in an elaborate dance number taking place in prison.
The movie score was the first one that Leiber and Stoller wrote. Stoller recalled to Mojo magazine April 2009: "We flew in to New York from LA, where were living at that time, and we had a hotel suite. We had a piano put in, in case the muse struck us, and Jean Aberbach - he and his brother (Julian) owned Hill & Range Songs and they had to deal with Colonel Parker but created Gladys Music and Elvis Presley Music-handed us a script for a movie. We threw it in the corner with the tourist magazines that you get in hotels. We were having a ball in New York, going to the theatre, going to jazz clubs to hear Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, doing a lot of drinking. On a Saturday morning- we'd been there about a week-Jean knocked on the door and said, in a very Viennese accent, 'Vell boys, you vill haf my songs for the movie.' Jerry said, 'Don't worry Jean, you'll have them' Jean said, 'I know.' And he pushed a big chair in front of the door and sat down and said, ' I'm going to take a nap and I'm not leaving until you have my songs.' So we wrote four songs (including this one) in about five hours and then were free to go out."

The line, "Number 47 said to number 3, You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see," is a sly reference to prison sex but was not offensive enough to create any controversy over the song.

This was a massive hit. It was #1 on the US pop charts for 7 weeks, and also reached #1 on the Country and R&B charts. In the UK, it entered the charts at #1, becoming the first song to do so. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

Elvis joined the army shortly after this song was released.

Ozzy Osbourne played a Heavy Metal version of this in 1987 when he did a tour of prisons.

ABC television ran a series of educational cartoons called "Schoolhouse Rock" in the '70s. Millions of kids learned about grammar, history, and astronomy from them. The title was a play on this song.

Sha-Na-Na played this at Woodstock in 1969. Very few of the attendees saw their performance, as they didn't go on until Monday morning (the event was scheduled to end at midnight on Sunday, but ran long). Jimi Hendrix followed Sha-Na-Na to close out the festival.

January 2005 marked what would have been Elvis Presley's 70th birthday. In commemoration, Elvis' record label re-released this in the UK where it went straight to #1, making it the oldest recording ever to top the UK charts. It also became the third single to hit #1 twice in the UK, following "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "My Sweet Lord," both of which were also posthumous re-releases. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

In 2007, Chris Rock performed this on the Movies Rock TV special, where modern Pop artists performed classic movie songs. Brown re-created Elvis' scene from the movie. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The Cramps recorded a version of this on the CD The Last Temptation of Elvis. All profits went to a music therapy charity. (thanks, Richard - London, England)

This song was covered by the Blues Brothers, and featured at the end of the movie of the same name. The brothers and the band are playing this song to their fellow inmates. (thanks, Supanerd01 - melbourne, Australia)

On November 4, 1957, this topped both the Pop and R&B charts. In an odd twist, the next five positions on both charts were also the same songs: "Wake Up Little Susie" by the Everly Brothers, "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke, "Silhouettes" by the Rays, "Be-Bop Baby" by Ricky Nelson, and "Honeycomb" by Jimmie Rodgers. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

This is a cover of a 1964 song by Soul singer Gloria Jones, whose original version became something of a hit on the UK Northern Soul circuit. She was good friends with Marc Bolan and joined his group T-Rex as a backup singer and keyboard player in 1974. They later married, and she was driving the car (a Mini) at the time of the accident that killed him in Barnes Common, South London in 1977.

This was written by Ed Cobb, who was the manager of the Standells and the Chocolate Watchband, for whom he also wrote songs, including "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White." (thanks, nick - London, England)

Soft Cell is the duo of Marc Almond and David Ball. They started recording this as a "throwaway cover song." The choices were "Tainted Love" or a Frankie Valli song.

In the book 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, Marc Almond called this song "A mixture of cold electronics with an over-passionate, over-exuberant, slightly out of key vocal." Almond recalls, "Dave (Ball) introduced me to the record and I loved it so much and we wanted an interesting song for a encore number in our show. Dave loved Northern Soul and it was a novelty to have an electronic synthesizer band doing a Soul song. When we signed with our record company, they wanted to record it. They told us to put bass, guitar and drums on it as they said it was too odd. They put it out anyway and the next thing it was gathering radio play and then it was #1. I was fascinated that it was originally by Gloria Jones, the girlfriend of Marc Bolan and I'd always been a T-Rex fan." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

The whip-crack sounds were made on hand-held synth-drums.

The style of the backing vocals were copied from "Heart Full of Soul" by the Yardbirds.

As AIDS began to spread, this song took on new meaning. Soft Cell's Mark Almond thinks there is an unintentional relation to this song to the rise of AIDS in gay communities when it was released.

In the US, Soft Cell is a one-hit-wonder, but they did very well in the UK, scoring many other hits like "Bed Sitter," "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" and "Torch."

In 1981, this was Britain's Top Single of the Year. It recharted there in May 1991, hitting #5.

The 12-inch dance single features a medley of "Tainted Love" and "Where Did Our Love Go." (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL)

This was used in a Levi's commercial where the sound of an EKG in an operating room starts to sound like the song and the staff begins singing along.

Marilyn Manson covered this in 2001 for the film Not Another Teen Movie. While performing at Glastonbury in 2002, Mark Almond jokingly said "This is a Marilyn Manson song" before performing it. (thanks, Adam - Dewsbury, England)

This was used in the movie Coneheads in the scene where Dan Akroyd's character is bringing his daughter and some friends to school. The friends mock the musical notes after the vocal phrase, "Sometimes I feel I have to...Get away" (thanks, chet - saratoga springs, NY)

Gloria Jones has said that she considers the Soft Cell version to be the best one: "I loved the emotion in his voice. Their version was far better than mine."

This reached #1 in 17 different countries. In the US, it spent 43 weeks on the Top 100 chart, which was a longevity record at the time. (thanks, Adam - Dewsbury, England, for above 2)

Rhianna's sampled this on her 2006 song "S.O.S (Rescue Me)." (thanks, nathan - l-burg, KY)

This was covered by the Palast Orchester and their singer, Max Raabe - German performers who play in the style of 1920s-1930s dance bands. It's on their 2002 album Super Hits Nummer 2, which also features renditions of "Lady Marmalade," "Uptown Girl" and "Let's Talk About Sex." (thanks, Katie - Melbourne, Australia)

This song is a description of the way you need to survive in capitalistic society. It deals with Manson's personal struggle of being a wormboy (or middle class loser) to being a famous Rock Star. He's making a link between the American Media and Nazi propaganda, as well as the need to to be physically perfect because of the hyper-reality we are brainwashed by. It's also about the Rock Star looking down on the worms that make him what he is - this need to be more then a worm is what made him a star. The average rebel can relate to the song because Manson is making ugly fashionable, which is easier to achieve than the perfection we see on other CD covers and on MTV. (thanks, Mac TheKnife - Cape Town, South Africa)

The "Antichrist Superstar" is a character Manson took on to make people question their belief in God. It is a play on "Jesus Christ, Superstar," which was the name of a Broadway play.

Radio stations usually play an edited version that says "every other hater" rather than "every motherf***er." (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ)

The Eurythmics originally recorded this in 1982. Manson gave it a much more ominous sound fitting of the band.

The album is a collection of remixes and covers, with a few originals. This was the only song to get a lot of attention.

This paved the way for Manson's next record, Antichrist Superstar, to debut at #3 on the US pop album charts. The top 2 spots were held by Celine Dion and Kenny G.

Around the time this was released, Manson was gaining a cult following of alienated white suburban teens.

This became a hit thanks to MTV, which declared this a "Buzzworthy" video and put it in heavy rotation.

This was produced by Nine Inch Nails leader and Manson's mentor, Trent Reznor.

Manson often comes up with song inspiration in his dreams, but the idea to cover this song came from his first acid trip, according to his autobiography The Long Hard Road out of Hell. He says that he hallucinated a "slower, meaner" version of the dance hit playing, sung in his voice. (thanks, Stefano - Old Bridge, NJ)

In Manson's auto-biography, he related to this song by mentioning that he met people who wanted to be abused by him; and who wanted to use him as well. (thanks, Renae - Mill Grove, PA)

This song is a duet between Furtado and Timbaland, who produced the album. The lyrics are a flirtation between the two, typical of a couple who meets at a dance club or other social gathering. They are both sexually active, but the girl doesn't want the guy to take advantage of her and think of her as a slut, so even though she is attracted to him, she will tease him and test him to make sure he has strong "game," meaning he is a good talker and exudes confidence. As the song progresses, he proves himself and she agrees that they both want the same thing. At this point, there is no need to play games, as he has passed the test.

At the time, Furtado was romantically linked to fellow Canadian Steve Nash, who was the MVP point guard of the Phoenix Suns basketball team. Furtado mentions Nash in the line, "Is that the truth or are you talkin' trash, is your game MVP like Steve Nash?"

The verses are rapped, which was familiar territory for Timbaland, who often raps on his productions, but was a departure for Furtado, who was known for her singing on hits like "I'm Like A Bird" and "Turn Out The Light."

In an interview with Blender magazine, Furtado said that the song is not about sex, but verbal foreplay: "Tim and I called it 'The BlackBerry Song' because everything we say in the song you could text-message to somebody."

Justin Timberlake appears in the video dancing with the extras. (thanks, Donovan Berry - El Dorado, AR)

Furtado and Timbaland perform this in the video, which cuts between scenes of them on the phone and in a dance club. They also performed the song on Saturday Night Live, acting out the flirtation with Furtado playing up her sexuality and Timbaland displaying a relaxed cool.
Source:Songfacts

Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake perform on this with Timbaland. Furtado duetted with Timbaland on her 2006 hit single "Promiscuous," making this track something of a favor returned. He has also produced a number of tracks for her, including "Promiscuous," "Maneater," "All Good Things (Come To An End)" and "Say It Right." For Justin Timberlake, he produced "SexyBack," "My Love" and "What Goes Around."

The single is a dig at several unnamed music stars. Timbaland has confirmed in an interview with MTV that fellow producer Scott Storch, with whom he co-wrote Timberlake's 2002 single "Cry Me A River," is the target of his verse. Though the production of "Cry Me a River" is credited solely to Timbaland, Storch has claimed that he was responsible for producing it.

There are contradictory reports that Justin Timberlake's target is either Janet Jackson or Prince, while Nelly Furtado has denied in interviews that her verse is about Fergie despite many reports to the contrary.

On the same day that MTV premiered the music video for this song, Scott Storch responded by releasing "Built Like Dat," featuring the Latino rapper Nox, which makes various accusations against Timbaland.

Furtado expressed regret about contributing to this track in a December 2010 interview with The Metro: "I wish Justin, Timbaland and I hadn't put out that dis song Give It To Me," she said. "It was like the first ever pop dis song – a genre usually reserved for rap. We put a lot of negative energy out into the world."
Source: Songfacts

This features Timbaland's protégé Keri Hilson along with Nicole Scherzinger of The Pussycat Dolls. Timbaland and Hilson wrote "Wait A Minute" for The Pussycat Dolls, which peaked at #28 in the US in 2007.

Hilson also featured on 3 other tracks from the Shock Value album: "The Way I Are," "Hello" and "Miscommunication."
Source:Songfacts

The song is about the pain of a relationship going wrong and the necessity of moving on. The group OneRepublic performs on the track.

OneRepublic was formed in Colorado by songwriter and record producer Ryan Tedder and his high school friend Zach Filkins. The pair relocated to Los Angeles, where they recruited guitarist/keyboardist Drew Brown, bassist Brent Kutzle and drummer Eddie Fisher. OneRepublic garnered much support from the online community, especially on MySpace. Their guitar anthem "Apologize" got a lot of attention, but it was still a surprise when Hip-Hop, Dance and R&B producer Timbaland produced a remix and included it on his Timbaland Presents: Shock Value album. It was this version that bought the song to an international audience.

Ryan Tedder is a Grammy nominated writer for Paul Oakenfold's A Lively Mind album. He also co-wrote and produced "Do It Well" for Jennifer Lopez and Leona Lewis' UK chart topper "Bleeding Love."

In an interview with ilikemusic.com, Tedder was asked how his collaboration with Timbaland came about: "Well I've known Tim for about 6 years. I used to be signed as a solo artist back in the day. So he just kept tabs on me as my career progressed and we used to be signed to Columbia records and we got dropped a little over a year ago, and right after we got dropped our band exploded on MySpace out of nowhere, so all these labels starting calling us. Timbaland was one of them and he offered us the most interesting situation. He told me 'Aplogize would've been a hit with or without me', as it was already a hit on the internet but what he did was speed up the process tremendously."

This was a massive international hit. Among the countries "Apologize" topped the chart in were Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland. It also spent 14 weeks at the top of the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart before being dethroned by Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love."

This song had a 25-week run in the US Top Ten. It was the longest any song has been in the Top 10 since 1999, when Santana featuring Rob Thomas' "Smooth" spent 30 weeks in that section of the survey.
Source:Songfacts

Timbaland told MTV News that this was inspired by a Black Eyed Peas track. He explained: "When I did this song, I was in love with this record called... you're gonna be surprised. The record didn't have anything to do with [this song], but when I heard 'I Gotta Feelin',' I said, 'I want a record just like that on my album.' I said, 'I gotta do me a 'I Gotta Feeling' record.' Me and one of my producers, Jim Beanz, we came up with this concept. I said, '['I Gotta Feeling'] is happy, but I like it.' It gives a good feeling."

Timbaland enlists Katy Perry to accompany him in this song about two people being attracted to each other in a bar but being too shy to do anything about it.

Unusually for Timbaland, he sings on this number rather than raps. He explained to MTV News: "It's not like it's incredible singing, but it made sense for me and it fits my voice. To get somebody else to sing it, it might sound too overdone. I like it better with mistakes - I make mistakes. With me singing it, it gives it a different kind of swagger to it."
Source:Songfacts

This is the first single from Timbaland's third studio album, Shock Value II.

The song features the seductive vocals of French-American singer SoShy, who is a recent signing of Timbaland's Mosley Music Group. Frequent Timbaland collaborator Nelly Furtado also contributes a verse.

Timbaland told MTV News that the song was inspired in part by the popular vampire franchise, Twilight. He said: "The song, I can't describe it, it's so different. It's not different for me, but I can tell you this - it fits everything going on with the vampire theme. It fits everything with Twilight."

Featured artist SoShy (real name Deborah Epstein) was born in France to a French-Argentine-Italian mother and French-Russian father, She split her childhood between Los Angeles and New York City. Timbaland told MTV News: "She's like Amy Winehouse to the 10th power. But not crazy. Sane. Not saying Amy Winehouse is crazy; she's ambitious. Soshy is ambitious, but she has a point to prove."

Two more pieces of SoShy trivia:
1. She co-wrote "Lost Cause" for alternative rock/pop artist Chris Cornell on his 2009 album Scream.
2. Her single "Dorothy" is featured on the FIFA 10 soundtrack.
Source:Songfacts

This song features 2 performers who are signed to Timbaland's Mosely Music Group: singer Keri Hilson and rapper D.O.E. The song is a role reversal from the common rap music theme of rich, braggadocios singer allowing a hot girl to impress him with her womanly charms in anticipation of a sexual encounter. In this song, Hilson is in control as the male rapper has no money. She likes him anyway, and takes the position of financial power by offering him a "tip" if he "strips."

This was popularized in a commercial for McDonald's where the song plays in a roller skating rink where a bunch of kids are having some good, wholesome fun. At the beginning of the spot, we see the record with the name of the song. This kind of marketing is very effective as the commercial reaches such a wide audience.

Hilson was 24 when this was released. In addition to her work as a singer, she is a member of the songwriting collective known as The Clutch. Her songwriting credits include Mary J. Blige's "Take Me As I Am," Pussycat Dolls' "Wait a Minute," Ciara's "Ooh Boy," and Omarion's "Ice Box." Before working with Timbaland, she sang on singles by Xzibit and Lloyd. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
Source:Songfacts

Unlike the Amy Winehouse song of the same name, this is a metaphorical song. Rehab means we have to get over the guy. So we talk about checking ourselves into rehab, and we compare the guy to a disease or an addiction. (thanks, Amber - mocksville, NC)

This was written by Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Hannon Lane. Timbaland also produced the song and contributed backing vocals with Timberlake on the tune's bridge.

Rihanna told Entertainment Weekly about Timberlake's contribution to this song: "Well, Timbaland was on tour with Justin and we had to follow Timbaland, really. So we went to Chicago first and one night after the show, Justin just came into the studio and he started messing around, making a beat. And it was fun. We played around with that one, too. And when we came to New York, Justin came back to the studio and he was like, 'I wanna write this song for Rihanna.' So Timbaland had an idea and he knew he wanted to call the song 'Rehab' and he had a beat. So then Justin Timberlake came in and he just put his thing on it. He wrote the song in his head. He didn't write anything on paper. He went into the booth and sang it and I was very, very impressed. We all loved it."

This was Rihanna's eighth single to be taken from her album Good Girl Gone Bad.

This song's arrival on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 2008 meant that all eight releases from Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad album had become hits. It was the first time an artist had extracted eight Hot 100 hits from one album since Shania Twain achieved an octet of chart entries from Come On Over between 1997 and 1999.

This is the third single from American record producer Timbaland's third studio album, Shock Value II. The long player is Timbaland's first not to carry a Parental Advisory or to contain the "n word".

The song features Justin Timberlake with whom Timbaland has collaborated several times previously, including on the Grammy-nominated "Give It To Me." He told MTV News: "We got a chemistry that cannot be described. People ask, 'Well, what are you and Justin like?' Can't tell you what it's like - it's a chemistry that can't be described. Something you would have to see for yourself and be, like, 'Them two got magic.'"

Timbaland told MTV that this is his favorite track on Shock Value II. He explained: "That is my favorite, favorite record. Me and my best friend J.T. - Justin Timberlake. That [song] reminds me of a 2010 'Drop It Like It's Hot.' All these sounds from all over."

Timbaland told MTV News that the studio session for this song was similar to their previous collaborations. Timberlake came in, heard the track, and without a pad or pen, composed the lyrics in his head. The producer explained the lyrical content to MTV News: "We tried to give another slang for women. Instead of 'Your phat butt' or 'Your big breasts,' we say, 'Oh, I need you. Can I be your carry out? Be my carry out. I want you to be my dinner, my leftovers, my everything.' It's a different slang. We're grown men, I wanna be subliminal to females. Like, 'Oooh, carry out? That's kinda sexy.'"

"Carry Out" is a southern name for a shop or restaurant where customers pick up food for consumption elsewhere, and in this song Timba and Timber use the term as a metaphor for what they would like to happen with some eye candy of the female persuasion.
Source:Songfacts

This song is Eminem's way of telling his fans that he has to go eventually, that he's afraid of losing his daughter Hailie, and he wants to have a normal life with his daughter and wife. He's telling us not to be sad that he is going to go, and that he's always thinking of his fans and his family. (thanks, Danielle - Justice, IL)

In the line, "Take another pill, yeah I bet you you will" Eminem is quoting Hailie. This refers to his stay at rehab for his dependency on sleeping pills. (thanks, Jeffrey - West Jordan, UT)

On this melancholy song Eminem raps about his struggles with drug addiction. In August 2005 Eminem entered drug rehabilitation in order to treat a dependency on sleep medication. He subsequently took a break during which he battled his addiction whilst industry insiders speculated that Shady had ended his rapping career. Eminem is now sober and he told Vibe magazine that this song is the only one he kept from the recordings he made during that dark period in his life. He explained: "One of the only reasons that I put that track on there is that I feel like it's the best song out of that batch that I did when I wasn't sober. At the time I felt like, 'This is it for me.' I wrote the first verse and a half in rehab, and when I came out, I finished it. It was the only song that marks that period without bringing me back to that place. Every other track not only didn't fit with the album, but when I listened to it, it would bring up bad memories."

This is the only track on Relapse that Eminem produced himself.

This samples Paul Rodgers and Queen's version of Rock Therapy's 1996 charity single "Reaching Out."

Eminem expanded to the Observer Music Monthly May 2009, on why this is the only song that he retained from the dark period in his life when he wasn't sober. He explained: "It's the only one I could actually listen to and feel OK about. It brings me back to a time when I was really depressed and down, but at the same time it reminds me of what that space is like and what never to go back to. There is a lot of honesty in that song that I wouldn't want to just throw away. I started writing the first verse and half of the second when I was in rehab going through detox. I didn't have a beat in my head or anything like that… I wrote the verse and just knew I wanted it to be a bounce-style, I guess. I got that first bit out and finished it when I got out of rehab, when I relapsed right back into taking pills. If you listen to that song and how it starts off, I'm just so f--king depressed."

Eminem told The Observer Music Monthly that he when he wrote this song he was "sitting on the end of the bed in detox, not fully committed to it and not fully detoxed. They give you medicine to make your detox not as rough." He added: "I wrote it during that period – the first two days. I was sitting there not knowing where I wanted to be in my career. I didn't even know if I wanted a career any more, because this s--t was too much. It just wasn't worth it."

This was the 5th song of that title to chart in the Hot 100. The four previous "Beautiful" songs were by Gordon Lightfoot (#58, 1972), Christina Aguilera (#2, 2003), Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell & Uncle Charlie Wilson (# 6, 2003) and Akon featuring Colby O'Donis & Kardinal Offishall (#19, 2009).

Paul Rogers told Spinner he was not a great fan of the way Eminem sampled his song. Said the frontman: "It was interesting, the Eminem thing because it wasn't quite what I had planned. When we were touring, they tossed around a version of that song and how they planned to sample it. And it was very different to the final result. I wasn't actually crazy about the final result, in all honesty. I never use foul language onstage or on records. It's just not my thing. I do like Eminem, and I think he has a very credible point and lots to say, but he does it in a different way than I would ever do."

This reflective cut is the first single from American rapper Eminem's seventh studio album Recovery. Originally Marshall Mathers planned to do a sequel to his 2009 album, Relapse, but the rapper scrapped that idea to go in a different direction. He said on Twitter: "The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and it deserves its own title."

In a pre-release interview with Billboard magazine, Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg, said that Recovery will be "more accessible to more fans. He [Eminem] had pretty much completed a whole second album worth of material but at some point he took a step back, looked at it and said, 'I think I want to record some more.' But in recording, the album started to sound so different and was going in such a different direction that he decided to keep it going and turn it into a whole new album. The last album was really for the core Eminem fans. I think this record will open that up a bit."

"Not Afraid" reflects the more positive mood of the album and finds Eminem rapping on how he has tried to overcome his personal troubles such as his battles with drug addiction. He goes on to admit to some artistic mistakes including dissing his previous album: "Let's be honest/ That last Relapse CD was ehh." Eminem finally declares that he wants to concentrate just on his family and music. Rosenberg commented to Billboard magazine, "It's an uplifting song. It's not a dark song, it's an uplifting song."

The single was produced by Toronto beatmaker Boi-1da, whose résumé also includes "Best I Ever Had" for Drake, "4 My Town (Play Ball)" for Birdman and the all star MC gathering including Eminem, "Forever."

This was the sixteenth single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at #1. The previous artist to do so was Britney Spears whose hit "3" opened at the top position on the chart dated October 17, 2009.

The song was Eminem's third chart-topper following "Lose Yourself" in 2002-03 and "Crack a Bottle" in 2009.

The song became a sports anthem after receiving repeat play on national network TV during the NBA playoffs. It also aired frequently during HBO's 24/7, whilst showcasing the preparations of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley fight and was featured on the commercial of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Recovery was Eminem's sixth #1 album in a row in the UK. In doing so, the Detroit MC became the American act with the most consecutive UK #1 albums, overtaking Bon Jovi's five successive sets between 1988 and 2000. Eminem also became the solo act with the most consecutive UK #1 albums beating Robbie Williams' five long players in a row between 1998 and 2002. Recovery was also Eminem's sixth consecutive #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. In a similar fashion to the UK Eminem became the solo act with the most consecutive US #1 albums beating three artists with five long players in a row:
Elton John (1972-74)
Paul McCartney (1973-77)
DMX (1998-2003)

The Detroit MC also became the American act with the most consecutive US #1 albums, overtaking the five consecutive chart-toppers of DMX and Chicago (1972-75).

Recovery sold 741,000 copies in its first week, the best weekly sales figure since AC/DC's Black Ice debuted at #1 with 784,000 copies in November 2008.

Recovery's seven non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the US album chart were the most for any album since Taylor Swift's Fearless topped the charts for 11 non-consecutive weeks in late 2008/ early 2009. It was also the most for any male artist since Usher's Confessions spent nine weeks on top of the chart summit in 2004.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, Recovery was the United States' best-selling album of 2010, with 3.42 million copies sold. This was the second time that Eminem had achieved the top-selling album of the year, as back in 2002 The Eminem Show moved 7.61 million.

In this song, Rihanna comforts her partner by singing about how she will be there for him in good times and bad. She knows that even though he is a star, there will be some rough times, which she articulates in the lyrics, "Baby cause in the dark you can't see shiny cars, and that's when you need me there, with you I'll always share." The umbrella is a metaphor for her support, which she promises to provide. (thanks, sierra - sactown, CA)

Jay-Z, who runs Rihanna's record label Roc-A-Fella Records, performs a somewhat gratuitous rap at the beginning of the song emphasizing his wealth and business success. His presence on the song made it much more marketable even if it didn't advance the storyline.

This was written by Terius "The-Dream" Nash, who helped write "Me Against The Music" for Britney Spears as well as several songs for B2K and Nivea. Jay-Z also got a songwriting credit on this.

This was an instant hit in the UK, where it debuted at #1 on the strength of download sales. The song went to #1 in most of the countries where it was released.

Chris Brown recorded his own version of this song, changing the chorus from "You can stand under my umbrella" to "You can be my Cinderella."

Following the success of this song, Rihanna launched a line of umbrellas through the Totes company.

Mandy Moore recorded a new version of this song, which was used on an episode of MTV's The Hills. (thanks, Mathura - Newport Coast, CA)

In an interview with MTV News, Mary J. Blige revealed that this song was originally written for her by Tricky Stewart and The-Dream. She said, "They did the song for me. And it was during the Grammy time and I was really, really busy, and I heard it, and I was like, 'Oh my goodness, that's a smash. I love this song.' And it was like, 'It's yours.' So in the midst of it being mine, they were probably telling [Rihanna] it was hers. She's such a beautiful lady, and I love her to death. I was so glad that she caught it and knocked it out of the park, and it's still one of my favorite songs to date."

In an interview with Q magazine (January 2008), Rihanna was asked if she always knew that "Umbrella" was destined for greatness. The singer replied: "I definitely knew that it was one of the most original sounds that I'd heard for a while. But a lot of people didn't really understand it. They thought the repetition was annoying. But I knew that was what people would catch on to right away, because that's what stuck in my head. People didn't get the lyric either."

Rihanna was then asked if this song was about proving protection. She replied: "An umbrella is protection, it protects you from rain. The rain in this case is negativeness and vulnerability."

In the same interview with Q, Rihanna said that she thought the weather "definitely helped the song stay there for so long. People hate the rain, but here was this song that speaks about the rain and makes you feel great. Even if the weather is horrible."

At the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, this won for Video of the Year. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

At the inaugural 2007 VH1 Soul Presents: Vibe Awards Special, "Umbrella" won the Video of the Year accolade.

This entered the UK chart at #1, then spent 10 weeks at the top. In its 11th week it tumbled to #3, thus breaking a record that had stood for nearly 55 years. No other single has had to wait so long into its chart career to occupy a position other than #1. The previous record holder was the very first UK chart topper, Al Martino's "Here In My Heart," which occupied the summit on the very first singles chart in November 1952. It remained there for 9 weeks, and only registered a different chart placing on its tenth week on chart.

In addition, it overtook the 9 week run at the top of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" to become the longest running #1 of the 21st century in the UK. Indeed it's the longest running UK #1 since "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet in 1994, which spent 15 weeks at the top. "Umbrella" also became the first single to be #1 in both the UK and US for at least 5 weeks each since Elton John's two-sided hit, "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight," which was #1 in the UK for 5 weeks and in the US for 14 weeks in 1997.

"Umbrella" has reached the summit of many other countries' charts including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal and Spain. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for above 2)

The December 2007 Observer Music Monthly asked Rihanna what she thought about when she's singing this song. The Barbados-born singer replied: "At first, I tried to channel the emotions of the lyrics as best I could. Now when I perform it, I'm just blown away when the whole audience is singing the words back to me. So I have to just concentrate on remembering them and not get distracted!"

Rihanna and British band The Klaxons performed this in a mash-up with the Klaxons' "Golden Skans" at the 2008 Brit Awards ceremony. The Barbadian singer told BBC 6Music: "It was really different, very cool, unexpected. But when I hear it, I just want to hear it more. It makes it so much more rock and roll. It's a different tempo and everything. But I actually want to release a version like that. Maybe the same version. I really, really liked it."

Rihanna told the Daily Mirror that mass outbreaks of umbrellas on dancefloors and at her shows have rid her of the superstition that it's bad luck to put them up indoors. She said: "I believed that when I was younger, but after all the rehearsals for videos and live shows it kind of fell away. People bring umbrellas to the show and you see them opening - it's the most amazing sight."

Rihanna told Men's Fitness magazine about filming the silver scene in the song's video: "It was actually fun doing it because it's probably something that I'll only do once in my lifetime. Two women painted me, spraying coat after coat. Then I stood in a big black box so that no one could see me in the nude while they filmed. There were only, like, eight people in the box including the director and my manager. The body paint was really oily. I couldn't wait to get it of my face. That was the worst part about it - getting it off. I was in the shower for two and a half hours! My best friend had to come and shower with me, because after I tried to do it myself, the silver would just go back to where I just washed myself. She was just like, 'Take your hands off and let me do it.' Days after, I still had some in my hair, ears, even my belly button. It would not come off. [Laughs]"

English R&B singer and producer Taio Cruz told The Daily Telegraph that when he was working as part of Tricky Stewart's Redzone production team, they were asked to submit songs for Britney Spears's Blackout album and Stewart put forward "Umbrella." He revealed: "They sent it back saying it doesn't work for her. So I demo-ed it and brought it to my record company in London, but they didn't think it was that much of a hit." The song was then sent to Mary J Blige, but before she could record it, Jay Z decided it was just right for his protégée Rihanna.

The Welsh rock band The Manic Street Preachers recorded a version of this for an album of covers by various acts for the New Musical Express. Released as a digital only single, it climbed to #47 in the UK chart. Their bassist Nicky Wire told the New Musical Express: "This was my favorite track of 2007. It's just so razor-sharp. And who'd have thought a song called 'Umbrella' would be #1 all over the world? It's such an un-pop word. I love it when a record seems to come from another universe. I just wanted us to have a stab at it!"

Rihanna was not impressed by the fact that "The Dream" Nash and the co-writer Christopher "Tricky" Stewart hawked this song around to Mary J Blige and Britney Spears as well as Rihanna. She told the Guardian newspaper May 23, 2008: "No one wants to be teased. How can you bring a record to me when you took it to a million people at the same time? I thought Mary J Blige was going to get it for sure. But at the back of my mind I was thinking, No wait, I'm never giving this up. I went up to the guy [Nash] at the Grammys and I was like, 'Umbrella is my.' And he just kind of giggled. And I really held his face" - she grabs her own jaw to demonstrate - "like, 'No you're not hearing me, Umbrella is my record.'"

"Tricky" Stewart told MTV News that he was originally unsure whether Rihanna was the right choice for the song, but when the Barbadian singer nailed the "ella" refrain, he knew they were all onto something. He said: "When she recorded the 'ellas,' you knew it was about to be the jump-off, and your life was about to change if you had anything to do with that record."

In the same MTV interview Stewart explained how Jay-Z altered his guest verse. He said: "There was actually another version before that one that he did. And the first one was perfect. And right before they were about to press it up, he went and changed his verse. And nobody even knew he changed his verse. At the time when he did, I didn't really understand. But now, when I go back every once in a while and listen to the old rap, what he wrote [instead] makes so much better sense. And from a songwriter's standpoint, he just really made it more about the song, with the metaphors about umbrellas and about the weather versus what he had before."

At around 2:35 this samples the chant "mama-se, mama-sa, ma-ma-koo-sa" from Michael Jackson's 1982 track, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Jackson originally borrowed the line from Cameroon Saxophonist Manu Dibango's 1972 song "Soul Makossa (Funky Soul Makossa)" without permission and was forced to compensate Dibango in an out-of-court settlement over it's use. 26 years later Dibango launched another compensation claim against Rihanna, as the Barbadian singer's use of the line came with permission from Jackson, but not the Cameroonian.

This won the International Song Of The Year at the 2008 French NRJ Music Awards.

This outperformed "Umbrella" in the French singles chart reaching #1, while "Umbrella peaked at #6. It also reached #1 in Australia where it became the first single to top the charts solely on download sales.