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Song Stories

“54-46 Was My Number”

Toots & the Maytals | 1969

Toots Hibbert coined the term "reggae," and Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff became the faces of the genre. But it might have been different had Hibbert not been arrested for marijuana possession in 1966. At the time, his group was planning a breakthrough European tour. But an 18-month jail term stalled Hibbert while others carried on. Hibbert, who wrote this song about the ordeal, suspects he was set up by a threatened competitor. "They flopped," he said. "They helped me more because I think about it, and I keep singing about it. And I get a Number One record about it."

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“Ridin'”
Chamillionaire | 2005
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“Biko”
Peter Gabriel | 1980

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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