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Song Stories

“We Will Rock You”

Queen | 1977

After a frenzied Queen gig on May 29, 1977 at New Bingley Hall in Stafford, England, guitarist Brian May was inspired to pen an anthem about rocking out at a concert. "I think I'd gone to sleep thinking, 'Well, what can an audience do?' They're all crammed in there, they can't do much – but they can stamp their feet, clap their hands, and they can sing. So I woke up with 'We Will Rock You' in my head." Queen would often perform the song twice at concerts – as a sped-up set-opener, and later with the better-known arrangement.

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“Like a Virgin”
Madonna | 1984
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“Everything in Its Right Place”
Radiohead | 2000

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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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