Several hours of epic songs from my music library, classic tracks distinct either by length or by structure.
| Title | Artist | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Mama Loo | Les Humphries Singers | The Les Humphries Singers was a pop vocal group formed in Hamburg, West Germany by English singer John Leslie Humphreys in 1969, inspired by the success of the Edwin Hawkins Singers gospel group. “Mama Loo“ was released on February 5th in 1973 and was one of the Les Humphries Singers’ biggest hits. |
| Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag (ft. Pigbag) | Paul Hardcastle | “Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag” is an instrumental written and performed by British dance-punk band Pigbag, first released in 1982. It was developed from an idea band members Chris Hamlin and James Johnson had had before the band was formed. The title is a play on the James Brown song “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”. Paul Hardcastle released his version with Pigbag in 1985. |
| Does Your Mother Know | ABBA | “Does Your Mother Know” is ABBA’s very few hits to feature a male lead vocal, written by Benny Andersson and Bjoern K Ulvaeus and released in 1979. |
| Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep | Middle Of The Road | “Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep” is a song recorded in 1970 by its composer Lally Stott, and made popular in 1971 by Scottish band Middle of the Road for whom it was a UK #1 chart hit. |
| Mother And Child Reunion | Paul Simon | Paul Simon got the title for “Mother and Child Reunion” from a chicken-and-egg dish on a Chinese restaurant’s menu. The song was recorded at Dynamic Sounds Studios at Torrington Bridge in Kingston, Jamaica, with Jimmy Cliff’s backing group and Cissy Houston on the recording. |
| Toutes les mamas | Maurane | “Toutes Les Mamas” by Maurane celebrates the strength, beauty, and diverse cultures of mothers from various backgrounds. Maurane (born Claudine Luypaerts), was often referred to as a “golden voice of francophone song”. |
| Running In The Family | Level 42 | “Running in the Family” is a single released in 1987 by the British band Level 42, with frontman Mark Raymond King (born 20 October 1958) known for his slap style of playing the bass guitar. MusicRadar described him as “the guy who put the slap in pop during the 80s”. |
| My Perfect Cousin | The Undertones | “My Perfect Cousin” is a song by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones, inspired by an actual cousin of one of the band members. |
| Brother Louie | Ian Lloyd & The Stories | “Brother Louie” is a song by British soul band Hot Chocolate first released in 1973, featuring lyrics that touch on themes of interracial romance and the societal disapproval that often accompanies it. Ian Lloyd & The Stories covered the song the same year. Lloyd Buonconsiglio, known professionally as Ian Lloyd, is an American rock singer and songwriter best known as the lead singer and basist of the band Stories. |
| Papa Don’t Preach | Madonna | “Papa Don’t Preach” by Madonna, released in 1986, is a song is about teenage love, written by Brian Elliot. |
| Ode To My Family | The Cranberries | “Ode to My Family” is a song by Irish band the Cranberries, released in 1994. The song, written by singer Dolores O’Riordan and guitarist Noel Hogan, is about O’Riordan’s yearning for her simple life as a child after having achieved success. |
| Ain’t Your Mama | Jennifer Lopez | “Ain’t Your Mama” is J.Lo,’s anthem celebrating her independence and distaste in overly dependent partners, reminding about the Second-wave feminism. |
| Sisters | Natalie Prass | Natalie Prass stated that “Sisters” was written from her feeling that people don’t want to listen to women, people don’t want women leaders, women cut each other down, men cut women down, there are so many deep stereotypes, and women are pitted against one another. |
| Madre | Orishas | “Madre” by Orishas pays tribute to the selflessness, unconditional love, and resilience of mothers, acknowledging the sacrifices they make to provide for their children. Orishas is a Cuban hip-hop group from Havana, Cuba, founded in 1999. |
| Children Of The Ghetto | Waldeck | “Children of the Ghetto” was first released in 1986 by Philip Bailey. “Children Of The Ghetto” by Waldeck, with British singer Joy Malcolm, was released in 1998. Klaus Waldeck was born on March 23, 1966 in Vienna. Known as just “Waldeck” or “Dr. Waldeck”, in the 1990ies Waldeck became a defining force for the type of dub/trip-hop-inspired downtempo “Vienna sound”. |
| Mama Leone | Bino | “Mama Leone” by Bino (born in Italy as Vittorio Benedetto), written by Umberto Tozzi, reflects the hardships and struggles faced by individuals growing up in poverty. “Mama Leone” showcases the universal theme of maternal love and the enduring bond between a mother and her child. |
| Calling My Children Home | Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris | The three longtime friends Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt released the original ‘Trio’ album in 1987. With its mournful harmonies and plaintive lyrics sung from the perspective of a mother missing her children and beckoning them to return home, the traditional tune “Calling My Children Home” is one of the most deeply moving a cappella songs of all time. |
| Song For My Father | Horace Silver | Pianist Horace Silver’s “Song for My Father” was released in 1965. His mother was of Irish and Negro descent, his father of Portuguese origin ( born John Tavares Silva on the Cape Verdean island of Maio). When he realized he had written a new song with a Brazilian rhythmic concept and a Cape Verdean melodic concept, he immediately thought about dedicating the song to his Dad and titled it ‘Song for My Father’.” The song has had a noticeable impact in pop music. The opening bass piano notes were borrowed by Steely Dan for their song “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”, while the opening horn riff was borrowed by Stevie Wonder for his song “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”. Earth Wind & Fire also borrowed the opening bass notes for their song “Clover”. In the booklet of their box set, Paul Weller noted that he ‘nicked ‘the chords for The Style Council’s 1984 song ‘Me Ship Came In!’ |
| Les Yeux De Ma Mère | Arno | Arno (born Arnold Charles Ernest Hintjens), also known as the ‘Belgian Tom Waits’, released in 1995 “Les Yeux De Ma Mère” (my mother’s eyes), an intimate ode to his mother. |
| Mama Said | The Shirelles | “Mama Said” by The Shirelles, released in 1961, was written by Luther Dixon and Willie Denson. All of the band members went to the same high school, Passaic High School New Jersey, which is where they met each other. This song was the inspiration for “Days Like This” by Van Morrison. |
| Family Affair | Sly & The Family Stone | “Family Affair” is a 1971 hit by Sly & the Family Stone, written by Sly Stone, with the Bobby Womack on rhythm guitar and electric piano played by Billy Preston. |
| La Mamma | Charles Aznavour | “La mamma”, also known as “For Mama” in English, is a song written in 1962 by French lyricist Robert Gall and Armenian-French artist Charles Aznavour and first released in France by Les Compagnons de la chanson. Robert Gall is the father of singer France Gall. |
| Bébé comme la vie | France Gall | “Bébé comme la vie” (“Bebe, How Life (passes quickly)”) by France Gall, is written by her husband Michel Berger. France Gall, born Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall, married Michel Berger in June 1976 and they had a daughter and a son. Her daughter Pauline Isabelle died at age 19 from a rare genetic disorder. |
Sources
The information sources of the song facts include, but are not limited to, Wikipedia, songfacts.com, discogs.com, secondhandsongs.com, YouTube and artists’ related websites.
