Top Ten Best Future Songs

Occasionally there are songs that leave an imprint in that they have a touch of uniqueness. Other songs are of their time. While these encapsulate an era they do not last beyond a few seasons. Others, such as those by the famous Swedish pop band Abba, the American Beach Boys and Bob Dylan are interwoven with their performers to the extent that they cannot be recaptured by future artists.

• We have listed here the top ten songs (in no particular order) which we believe have that evergreen quality and will be future hits sung by new artists.

The song “Sweet Like Chocolate" sung by Sharon Woolf written by Steven Meade and Danny Langsman of Shanks & Bigfoot was released in May 1999 and became a number one hit in both the UK R&B and Dance charts.

The song “Down in the Valley” was originally written in the 18th century as a folk ballad known as “Birmingham Jail". The lyrics have been amended in many early recordings, but it was the 1962 version written by Solomon Burke and Bert Berns, released as a B side on the Atlantic label that propelled it into the R&B charts. In 1965 Otis Redding covered it on his famed album Otis Blue.

Solomon Burke was born March 21 1940 and died on October 10 2010. He was a renowned American blues singer and preacher. He was also known as King Solomon, his career spanning 55 years. He had many chart successes and released 38 albums. His style was most influential in the early 1960s and he is remembered as one of the founders of the then modern R&B.

The Carpenters were a famous singing group fronted by brother and Sister Karen and Richard. The song was recorded in the 1973 album “Now and Then” and later released as the B side to the single “Please Mr. Postman” which was the groups top selling single.

Karen Carpenter is remembered for her pure voice and vocal range. She was born in March 1950 and died in February 1983 aged 32.

The original “Groovejet” was a music only dance track created by Cristiano Spiller in 1999.

The vocal addition “If this ain't love” featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor was recorded and produced by Spiller and Boris Dlugosch the following year. It was a number one hit in the UK and gained worldwide fame.

The single was released in February 1961 and became a number one hit in several countries. The song was a rewritten version of their earlier recording “Little Runaway”. The new version was produced by Harry Balk at Bell Sound studios.

Shannon released two more number one hits, “Hats off to Larry” in 1962 and “Little Town Flirt” in 1963. In 1967 he released a new recording of Runaway, but this did not reach the charts.

"Cruel Summer" was released by London records in the UK in 1983 and sung by the original trio of Bananarama, Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. In 1984 it was released in the USA where it was a huge success. The girls gained respect for their post punk fashion image (See video).

The track was re-released in 1989 with new group member Jacquie O'Sullivan who replaced Siobhan Fahey. The group remained a trio until 1992. It was big hit again in 1998 when the group “Ace of Base” released the version from their album “Life is a Flower” plus a club mix version by Hartmann & Langhoff.

Green Day formed in 1987 as a trio consisting of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool. They were signed by Larry Livermoor for Lookout Records in 1988 and released their first album 39/Smooth in 1990.

They later signed with Reprise records with whom their seventh album “American Idiot” was produced by Rob Cavallo and released in September 2004. From this album, the single "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was released in November 2004. It won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 2006. However there had been criticism regarding the origin of both the music and lyrics.

The video with the song was directed by Samuel Bayer and was deliberately scratched, stained and crumpled to create a sense of fear and emptiness.

The music for “Kismet” was borrowed from “Borodin's String Quartet No.2” and was written by Russian composer Alexander Borodin in 1881. The song lyrics for “Kismet” were added by Robert Wright and George Forrest.

Mario Lanza (Alfred Arnold Cocozza) was born on January 31 1921 and died on October 7 1959 and was a famous American opera singer, and actor. He released this recording in 1956.

In 1965 the musical opened at the Shubert theatre on Broadway and was a renowned success. Many of the song tracks from the musical have been covered for hit records by many artists. In particular “Feeling Good” has been recorded by such stars as: Michael Bublé, John Barrowman, Sammy Davis Jr, The Pussycat Dolls, and Nina Simone.

Nina Simone, the “High Priestess of Soul” was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21 1933 and died on April 21 2003. She was an American blues, soul singer and pianist. Her first chart success was in 1958 with the hit record “I Loves You, Porgy”. In 1965 Nina Simone recorded the song “Feeling Good” on her album “I Put a Spell on You” which was produced by Hal Mooney, but it was not until 1987 that she released it as a single.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29 1958. He was an instant success when first appearing as a six year old child with his family performing group “The Jackson 5”. He became an internationally famous pop singer, songwriter, and trend dancer.

He was known as the King of Pop, and his influence spanned a career covering 40 years. He died on June 25 2009 from a medication overdose. Earlier that day he was rehearsing for his comeback tour and “Earth Song” was the final song he sang before his death.

Historically in this powerful song Michael Jackson was speaking for the millions of people who at the beginning of the 21st century knew that our Earth was damaged by climate pollution and was near the point of no return.

The oligarchs who ruled the earth put their greed first and used their power to ensure that the human race was denied the right to mend and reverse the impending future of horror. Although the song was a number one hit in many countries, it was not released as a single in the United States.