Ten Great Songs With An “N”!

For those following along, I share ten songs that begin with the same letter of the alphabet…I have landed on the letter “N” and thanks to Prince, it’s going to get off to a raucous start!

10 – “1999” by Prince

He was one of music’s most iconic Artists – who doesn’t know “Purple Rain” or this song, among so many others!

Here are some of the classic lyrics from the song:

I was dreaming’ when I wrote this
So sue me if I go too fast
Life is just a party
And parties weren’t meant to last

War is all around us
My mind says prepare to fight
So if I gotta die
I’m gonna listen to my body tonight, yeah

They say, 2000-00, party over
Oops, out of time
So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999
Yeah, yeah

The album also included his smash hit “Little Red Corvette” – let’s take a listen to Prince’s iconic hit “1999”:

I am a huge Prince fan, and shared this video as well:

His guitar solo during a live performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is stunning, and you can see it by clicking on my story here:

Next up, “Babs!”

9 – “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough” by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer

In 1979, Barbra Streisand teamed up with Disco Queen Donna Summer for an empowered anthem for all women:

If you’ve had enough, don’t put up with his stuff, don’t you do it

If you’ve had your fill, get the check pay the bill, you can do it

Tell him to just get out,

Nothing left to talk about

Pack his raincoat show him out

Just look him in the eye and simply shout:
Enough is enough
I can’t go on, I can’t go on no more no
Enough is enough
I want him out, I want him out that door now

Enough is enough
Enough is enough
That’s enough

Indeed!

As the great YouTuber Marc Marcia Jenkins points out, there was no music video or live performance by the two, so he put together this terrific video himself!

Enjoy an absolutely terrific duet!

Next up, one of the great Southern California bands ever, with a terrific song from a classic album:

8 – “New Kid In Town” By The Eagles! 

Yep, the brilliant album “Hotel California” introduced us to a “New Kid In Town”:

This was the first single from this album, which is a classic slice of Southern California rock – the story of the “new kid in town” who everyone is waiting to see if he will fail:

“There’s talk on the street; it sounds so familiar.
Great expectations, everybody’s watching you.
People you meet, they all seem to know you.
Even your old friends treat you like you’re something new.
Johnny come lately, the new kid in town.
Everybody loves you, so don’t let them down.”

Here is a flawless live version of the song, with the late Glenn Frey on lead vocals…

“Hotel California” celebrated it’s 40th anniversary a few years back with an incredible special edition of the album…see more about it here, plus lots of great videos as well – click here:

I grew up in Seattle, and when the grunge era of music hit in the early 90’s, this band was at the forefront:

7 – “Nothing Man” by Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam ushered in an era of music that was angry, confrontational, and reflective as well and this is one of the best examples of that:

From the band’s third album, “Nothin Man” was a quiet, sobering bit of self-reflection:

Once divided, nothing left to subtract
Some words when spoken can’t be taken back
Walks on his own with thoughts he can’t help thinking
Future’s above, but in the past he’s slow and sinking

Caught a bolt of lightning, cursed the day he let it go

Nothingman
Nothingman
Isn’t it something, nothingman

Here is a terrific live performance by the band in 2010:

As I said, I grew up in Seattle, so it was a blast to return home and stay at the iconic Edgewater Inn – in the Pearl Jam suite!

That’s my wife Alex shredding the guitar that comes with the room, plus a speaker too! Click here to see what else is inside the room!

Next up is a less known song by one of rock’s greatest groups:

6 – “No Line On The Horizon” by U2

U2 is still going strong decades after exploding onto the music scene. This is the title track from the band’s twelfth album.

Here are some of the lyrics:

The songs in your head are now on my mind
You put me on pause, I’m trying to rewind and replay
Every night I have the same dream
I’m, I’m hatching some plot, scheming some scheme, oh yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

I’m traffic cop, Rue de Marais
The sirens are wailing but it’s me that wants to get away
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

No line on the horizon, no, no line
No, no line on the horizon, no, no line

Here’s a great music video of the band doing the song live in a studio loft:

Next up is a popular 90’s band still making music and about to embark on a tour!

5 – “Narcolepsy” by Third Eye Blind

I have always liked this band, with hits like “Losing A Whole Year” and “Semi-Charmed Life”, but this song really shows their ability to set a tone and mood and then blast out a great hook.

Here is the original music video:

I shared another of the band’s great songs, which seemed to sum up 2020: 

“Losing A Whole Year” Indeed!

A great song that describe #QuarnatineLife….and you can see the video plus more from the band by clicking on my story here:

Next up is a gorgeous ballad – sung by a twelve-year-old Michael Jackson!

4 – “Never Can Say Goodbye” by The Jackson Five

Originally, this song was going to be recorded by Diana Ross & The Supremes, but Motown decided to give it to The Jacksons instead, and it was a huge hit in 1971.

Here is a real time capsule – the brothers performing the song on a TV show in the early 70’s…look how young Michael is – and make sure to watch the incredible “Wwirling Jacksons” behind him!

I just love that synchronized dancing behind Michael – did you know he sang at the Academy Awards a year later – because of a love song to a rat?

Yes, the song was nominated for an Academy Award – see Michael performing it live on the Oscar telecast by clicking here:

Here’s another great “song with an N” that uses a date as the title:

3 – “1979” by Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins were one of alternative rocks’ breakthrough bands in the 90’s and this double album is one reason why:

“1979” was just one of the smash hits from the album, a moody yet captivating song with a terrific groove:

Shakedown 1979
Cool kids never have the time
On a live wire right up off the street
You and I should meet

Junebug skippin’ like a stone
With the headlights pointed at the dawn
We were sure we’d never see an end to it all

And I don’t even care
To shake these zipper blues
And we don’t know just where our bones will rest
To dust, I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below

Here is the music video:

Another massively popular band is next, with a tragic ending:

2 – “Need You Tonight” by INXS

That’s lead singer Michael Hutchence, sporting a fellow Australian rockers AC/DC t-shirt!

The band had a number of big hits throughout the 80’s before Hutchence died from accidental asphyxiation in 1997.

Here is their catchy hit “Need You Tonight”:

I shared a look at all of the band’s music as an homage to the lead singer…you can see much more of them here:

Finally, a very catchy song from three brothers were soared to the top of the music charts before disco brought them down:

1 – “Nights On Broadway” by The Bee Gees

In the mid-70’s, disco reigned on the radio….and the biggest stars of the genre were the Gibb brothers, because their 13th album, called “Main Course”, included this massive disco hit:

The album also included the #1 hit “Jive Talkin'” as the group tapped into the disco craze…this was one of the many songs included on the “Saturday Night Fever” movie soundtrack – that soundtrack was for a while the biggest selling album of all time!

Here are some of the lyrics to “Nights On Broadway”:

Here we are
In a room full of strangers
Standing in the dark
Where your eyes couldn’t see me

Well, I had to follow you
Though you did not want me to
But that won’t stop my lovin’ you
I can’t stay away

Blamin’ it all on the nights on Broadway
Singin’ them love songs
Singin’ them straight to the heart songs
Blamin’ it all on the nights on Broadway
Singin’ them sweet sounds
To that crazy, crazy town

Here they are performing it on TV:

As I said, it was their 13th album, but that long career came crashing to earth when the disco music crazed collapsed…they continued to make music but it took years to remind fans they were much more than disco…this didn’t help either:

This disastrous film didn’t help…see the trailer and more stories about how turning a classic Beatles album into a movie musical was a really bad idea!

There you go, ten “songs with an ‘N’!”

Want to see how it all started? Here’s my “Songs In The Key Of ‘A” story:

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Let me know your favorite “Songs With An N”!

Categories: 70's Cinema, 70's Music, Art, Classic Rock, Cult Movies, Music, Obscure Music, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities

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