#043 Ben Folds Five - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Original by B.J. Thomas (click)

"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. David and Bacharach also won Best Original Score. The version by B. J. Thomas was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States in January 1970 for four weeks and the first number-one single of the 1970s. It also spent seven weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart.^[1]

The song was recorded in seven takes, after Bacharach expressed dissatisfaction with the first six.

Ray Stevens had been first offered the opportunity to record the song for the motion picture, but turned it down. He chose instead to record "Sunday Morning Coming Down," which was written by Kris Kristofferson.Bob Dylan is also supposed to have been approached for the song, but he too reportedly turned down the offer.^[2]

The song is featured in the Leslie Nielsen movie Spy Hard, which parodies the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where the song plays. It also is featured on the soundtracks of Forrest Gump and thesuperhero film, Spider-Man 2, in the latter accentuating Peter Parker's blissful mood after abandoning his Spider-Man identity and its responsibilities. Most recently it was used in the Kevin Smith film Clerks II. It was also sung in The Simpsons episode, "Duffless". Also, the first episode of the second season from Grey's Anatomy is named after the song.

B.J. Thomas's version was listed at #12 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.[1]

#042 Eric Clapton-Cocaine

Original by J.J. Cale (click)

"Cocaine" is a song written and recorded by J.J. Cale in 1976 and most widely known in a cover version recorded by Eric Clapton. Allmusic calls the latter "among [Clapton's] most enduringly popular hits" and notes that "even for an artist like Clapton with a huge body of high-quality work, 'Cocaine' ranks among his best."^[1]

Glyn Johns, who had previously worked with The Who, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, produced the Clapton recording, which was released on Clapton's 1977 album Slowhand and as a single in 1980. "Cocaine" failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 except as the 'B' side of "Lay Down Sally", which was a No. 3 hit in early 1978. "Cocaine" was one of several of Cale's songs recorded by Clapton, including "After Midnight" and "Travelin' Light".

#041 Paul Weller - Close to You

Original by The Carpenters (click)

"Close to You" is a popular song written by Jerry Livingston, Carl Lampl and Al Hoffman.

It has been recorded three times by Frank Sinatra; on June 7, 1943, again on December 26, 1943 for Columbia Records and on November 1, 1956 for Capitol Records. The 1956 version was issued as the title track of an album, Close to You and More, in 1957 for Capitol.

Close to You, the Willie Dixon cover, appears on many of The Doors' live releases, including originally on Absolutely Live in July, 1970.

This song should not be confused with the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song, "(They Long to Be) Close to You", a major 1970s hit for The Carpenters, which was also recorded by Sinatra on October 29, 1970 for his album Sinatra And Company.