This episode is dedicated to songs about the three letter word, tracks with suggestive lyrics on baby making activity.
| Title | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Addicted To Love | Robert Palmer | “Addicted to Love” is a song by English rock singer Robert Palmer released in 1986 with members of the Power Station. Andy Taylor of Duran Duran (and a bandmate of Palmer’s from the Power Station) provides lead guitar. The other guitar part on the song is played by Eddie Martinez, while keyboards were played by Wally Badarou. As well as producing the song, Bernard Edwards also played the bass. The song is also notable for its opening drum solo by Tony Thompson, another Power Station alumnus. |
| Whole Lotta Rosie | AC/DC | “Whole Lotta Rosie” by AC/DC, released in 1977 is about a woman called “Big Bertha”, a very large woman lead singer Bon Scott had relations with early in the band’s career. Bertha kept a black book where she recorded her conquests. When Scott did the deed with Bertha, she called to her friend, “that’s the 37th this month,” Scott turned the incident into a song, this time naming the woman “Rosie.” |
| Sledgehammer | Peter Gabriel | “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel is about sex, and the lyrics are loaded with phallic symbols. In addition to the word “sledgehammer,” other references to the male member include the train, bumper cars, and the big dipper. The innuendo was typical of the blues music Gabriel drew from. Gabriel said regarding the theme of this song: “Sometimes sex can break through barriers when other forms of communication are not working too well.” Some of the lyrics were inspired by a quote from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who said a good book breaks through like “an ax in a frozen sea.” |
| The Seed (2.0) (ft. Cody Chestnutt) | The Roots | “The Seed 2.0” is a reworking of the original recording, “The Seed,” by Cody Chestnutt, who is a featured vocalist on this track. It’s one of those songs that becomes more convoluted the more you try to put together a precise linear narrative. Either way, the general spirit is that the guy wants to get as many women pregnant as possible. |
| Wild Thing (Peaches remix) | Tone-Lōc | Wild Thing by Tone-Lōc, released in 1988. Loc, whose writer credit appears as his real name, Anthony Smith, got the idea for the song after watching the 1986 Spike Lee movie She’s Gotta Have It, where hip-hop scenester Fab 5 Freddy tells a woman, “Let’s do the wild thing!” “The Wild Thing” is slang for sex. It was a popular and benign euphemism that worked well in the late ’80s when people like Arsenio Hall needed to talk about sex without arousing censors (the phrase “making whoopie” was hopelessly outdated). |
| Push it | Salt-N-Pepa | This follows the tradition of edgy-but-ambiguous songs about “it,” which can mean just about anything. The big hook is the “Oooh, baby, baby” section, which complements the percussive production. Another memorable section is the vocal interlude, where Hurby implores us to get on the dance floor, but “only the sexy people.” |
| Walk This Way | Aerosmith | “Walk This Way” is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith, released in 1975. The lyrics, which tell the story of a high school boy losing his virginity. The “walk this way” line is the experienced girl showing the young man where to put his finger – showing him how to walk. |
| Steamy Windows | Tony Joe White | Tony Joe White released in 1991 his album “Closer to the Truth”, recorded in the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Alabama, and produced by Dan Hartman. The album featured “Steamy Windows” and “Undercover Agent for the Blues” songs Tony Joe White originally wrote for Tina Turner. |
| Private Dancer | Tina Turner | This song is about either a prostitute or stripper who prefers to consider herself a “private dancer,” describing how empty she feels inside. Mark Knopfler wrote this song for his band Dire Straits, but realized that it didn’t work with a guy singing it, so he pitched it to Turner, who was beginning her comeback. |
| Physical | Olivia Newton-John | “Physical” is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John released in 1981. The song had also been offered to Tina Turner by her manager Roger Davies, but when Turner declined, Davies gave the song to Newton-John, another of his clients. Physical” (originally “Let’s Get Physical”) was written by Terry Shaddick and Newton-John’s longtime friend Steve Kipner, and initially was intended for a “macho male rock figure like Rod Stewart”, according to Kipner. |
| The Sweetest Taboo | Sade | The “Sweetest Taboo” is the height of sexual pleasure. In this song, Sade sings lovingly about a man who gets her there. With him, every day is Christmas, every night is New Year’s Eve. The line, “There’s a quiet storm,” is a reference to the Quiet Storm radio format, which is filled with baby-making music like this song. The Quiet Storm indicates a sensual sexual experience. |
| Afternoon Delight | Starland Vocal Band | This is a double-entendre song named after the late-afternoon appetizer menu at the restaurant Clyde’s Of Georgetown in Washington, DC, where they have a Gold record from the song hanging in the bar. That’s the official explanation at least – the other meaning is daytime sex. The inspirational menu heading read: “Afternoon Delights.” The Starland vocal band delivered four-part harmonies with the married couple Bill and Taffy Danoff (Taffy Nivert after they split up), and another couple: Margot Chapman and Jon Carroll (the baby of the bunch, he was just 19 when the song was released). Taffy spiced up the stage banter when they performed this song, explaining that the title came from the menu, but adding some version of “…then Bill came home and we had our own Afternoon Delight. We wrote the song instead of having a cigarette.” |
| Do That To Me One More Time | Jheena Lodwick | “Do That to Me One More Time” was written by Toni Tennille and a hit for the duo Captain & Tennille, here covered by the Asian jazz singer Jheena Lodwick. This song is clearly about foreplay, although ambiguously enough to keep the censors at bay. |
| The Bad Touch | Bloodhound Gang | “Bad Touch” by the ‘Bloodhound Gang’, released in 1999, refers to what children are told to shout to avoid being sexually molested. The title is not part of the lyrics, and the song is often referred to as “Discovery Channel” or “Mammals.” |
| Cream | Prince & The New Power Generation | A playfully sexual song, this was Prince’s last #1 hit. The lyrics are very suggestive, but tame compared to Prince’s previous single “Gett Off,” which had more trouble getting pop airplay. He probably didn’t put too much effort into the words (“You got the horn so why don’t you blow it… You’re filthy cute and baby you know it”), as it is the distinctive track that made this song stand out. |
| Beep (ft. Will.i.am) | The Pussycat Dolls | “Beep” is a song recorded by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls for their debut studio album PCD (2005). “Beep” is a hip hop song written by William Adams, Kara DioGuardi, and Jeff Lynne, |
| Freak Like Me | Adina Howard | “Freak Like Me” is a song by American R&B singer Adina Howard, released on January 25, 1995 The song’s drum beat is sampled from Sly & the Family Stone’s “Sing a Simple Song”. The song also interpolates “I’d Rather Be with You” by Bootsy’s Rubber Band. |
| Candy Shop | 50 Cent | The lyrics are about oral sex (“Lick the lollipop”). The sexual imagery is pretty blatant, and many radio stations played a heavily edited version. The line “I melt in your mouth girl, not in your hand” is another metaphor for oral sex. It is a reference to advertising slogan for M&M chocolate candy. |
| Relax (Come Fighting) | Frankie Goes To Hollywood | “Relax” was the debut-single for the British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in 1983. BBC Radio initially banned the record because of its record sleeve and lyrics. |
| Need You Tonight | INXS | |
| I’m on Fire | Bruce Springsteen | The song was recorded in May 1982 and released in 1984. The song is about a man who wakes up with night sweats lusting for a woman – he feels like he’s on fire when he suddenly awakes. |
| Slow Hand | The Pointer Sisters | In the early ’80s, Karen Carpenter wanted her lover to Touch Me When We’re Dancing and Olivia Newton-John wanted to get “Physical,” but The Pointer Sisters made it clear that slow, sensual love was their priority. The songs were all written by men – this one by John Bettis and Michael Clark. |
| Let’s Get It On | Marvin Gaye | Originally written by 1950s one-hit-wonder Ed Townsend (“For Your Love” in 1958), the song originally addressed the author’s desire to get on with life after beating alcoholism. Marvin Gaye completely changed the lyrics (and meaning) to the song after meeting Janis Hunter, the woman who would become his second wife. The song helped cement Gaye’s reputation as one of the greatest singers of baby-making music. Song writing credits on the song went to both Gaye and Townsend. |
| Ring My Bell | Blood Sisters | The invitation to relax, “Ring My Bell” was a disco hit for Anita Ward in 1979 written by Frederick Knight. Blood Sisters covered the legendary song in reggae dub style. |
| Honky Tonk Women | The Rolling Stones | Like many Rolling Stones songs, it has highly suggestive lyrics, but they are just subtle enough to keep it from getting banned by radio stations. British rock bands often wrote lyrics that were ambiguously offensive, falling just in line with BBC guidelines for airplay. A good example in this song is, “She blew my nose and then she blew my mind,” which implies both cocaine and sex, but didn’t give the BBC any specific reason to ban it. |
| December ’63 (Oh What A Night) | The Four Seasons | Franki Valli and The Four Seasons with drummer, Gerry Polci, as lead vocals in 1975 with “December ‘63”, “about losing your cherry” (a guy having sex for the first time). |
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.
