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Song Stories

“Every Morning ”

Sugar Ray | 1998

Some artists fight the temptation of replicating the sound of their breakthrough hit for subsequent tunes. Not Sugar Ray, who embraced the laid-back, feel-good sound of "Fly" once again for their next hit, "Every Morning." "I don't want to sound premeditated, but 'Fly' is the blueprint now for experimentation," Mark McGrath admitted to Rolling Stone. "A lot of it we owe to David Kahne, who produced those records. He said, 'Let's build songs around your voice.'" The song features samples of two songs: Malo's "Suavecito" and Hugh Masekela's "Grazing in the Grass."

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“I Was Made to Love Her”
Stevie Wonder | 1967
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“Whoomp! (There It Is)”
Tag Team | 1993

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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