We don't have a list as of yet, but with some debate between all of us members, I thought I would start off this conversation in order to get ideas to compile a list of 50 songs that defined A&M Records.
These shouldn't be favorites of yours (although they can be), but instead, songs that were landmark recordings for A&M. A few examples for the list so far, to get an idea of what we're looking for:
"The Lonely Bull" - Herb Alpert & The TJB: the single (a #6 hit at that!) that put A&M on the map.
"(They Long To Be) Close To You" - Important for being the first #1 single for A&M, Carpenters, and the composing duo of Bacharach/David.
The Police: "Every Breath You Take" - A&M's biggest hit in terms of chart performance.
Procol Harum: "A Whiter Shade of Pale" - Marked A&M's entry into British rock.
"Rise" - Herb Alpert: a rebirth of sorts for Herb's chart career, and also a part of pop culture due to being a club hit as well as a central part of a daytime soap opera.
"Wave" - Antonio Carlos Jobim: "the master" himself debuts on A&M with one of his best-known signature tunes.
"God Save The Queen" - The Sex Pistols: an important part of A&M's history. Record Collector magazine named the single the most collectible single of all time, due to its rarity. The record also showed A&M's gutsy move in signing a raw punk band, and also showed their character by dumping the group after their "bad boy" behavior (wreaking havoc at A&M's London office) in order to avoid being associated with the m.
"Mas Que Nada" - Brasil '66: while there are a lot of other songs, this debut hit set the tone for Sergio's most successful formula to date, as well as the sound of popularized Brazilian music for A&M.
"What Have You Done For Me Lately?" - Janet Jackson: while A&M had dabbled in R&B, funk and disco from the mid 70s onward, Jackson's LP Control not only launched her "real" career (after two pleasant but overlooked earlier LP on A&M), it set the stage for A&M as a major player in this kind of music. Jackson also came into her own, rather than being marketed as "Michael's baby sister," through a series of gutsy tracks produced by Minneapolis wunderkinds Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
"Find One Hundred Ways" (or "Just Once") - James Ingram/Quincy Jones: the best example of smooth L.A. styled downtempo pop R&B, and timeless classic.
"Call Me" - Chris Montez: from pop hit artist to young crooner, this personified A&M's mid 60s sound.
"Feels So Good" - Chuck Mangione: one of the earliest and most popular examples of "pop jazz" (which would eventually turn into "smooth jazz" decades later).
There are likely plenty of others we can list, but it is not necessary to pick all early artists (I'd hardly call Sandpipers or Claudine "hits" artists, for instance) just to have them represented in a list. But there are hundreds of other artists, and many made their own impression on A&M's sound and history. My knowledge isn't wide enough to go much further with this list, so I'm throwing this out there for feedback and a hopefully a lot more ideas to work with. (Or you may even try to talk me out of one of my picks!
)
These shouldn't be favorites of yours (although they can be), but instead, songs that were landmark recordings for A&M. A few examples for the list so far, to get an idea of what we're looking for:
"The Lonely Bull" - Herb Alpert & The TJB: the single (a #6 hit at that!) that put A&M on the map.
"(They Long To Be) Close To You" - Important for being the first #1 single for A&M, Carpenters, and the composing duo of Bacharach/David.
The Police: "Every Breath You Take" - A&M's biggest hit in terms of chart performance.
Procol Harum: "A Whiter Shade of Pale" - Marked A&M's entry into British rock.
"Rise" - Herb Alpert: a rebirth of sorts for Herb's chart career, and also a part of pop culture due to being a club hit as well as a central part of a daytime soap opera.
"Wave" - Antonio Carlos Jobim: "the master" himself debuts on A&M with one of his best-known signature tunes.
"God Save The Queen" - The Sex Pistols: an important part of A&M's history. Record Collector magazine named the single the most collectible single of all time, due to its rarity. The record also showed A&M's gutsy move in signing a raw punk band, and also showed their character by dumping the group after their "bad boy" behavior (wreaking havoc at A&M's London office) in order to avoid being associated with the m.
"Mas Que Nada" - Brasil '66: while there are a lot of other songs, this debut hit set the tone for Sergio's most successful formula to date, as well as the sound of popularized Brazilian music for A&M.
"What Have You Done For Me Lately?" - Janet Jackson: while A&M had dabbled in R&B, funk and disco from the mid 70s onward, Jackson's LP Control not only launched her "real" career (after two pleasant but overlooked earlier LP on A&M), it set the stage for A&M as a major player in this kind of music. Jackson also came into her own, rather than being marketed as "Michael's baby sister," through a series of gutsy tracks produced by Minneapolis wunderkinds Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
"Find One Hundred Ways" (or "Just Once") - James Ingram/Quincy Jones: the best example of smooth L.A. styled downtempo pop R&B, and timeless classic.
"Call Me" - Chris Montez: from pop hit artist to young crooner, this personified A&M's mid 60s sound.
"Feels So Good" - Chuck Mangione: one of the earliest and most popular examples of "pop jazz" (which would eventually turn into "smooth jazz" decades later).
There are likely plenty of others we can list, but it is not necessary to pick all early artists (I'd hardly call Sandpipers or Claudine "hits" artists, for instance) just to have them represented in a list. But there are hundreds of other artists, and many made their own impression on A&M's sound and history. My knowledge isn't wide enough to go much further with this list, so I'm throwing this out there for feedback and a hopefully a lot more ideas to work with. (Or you may even try to talk me out of one of my picks!
)
