Song titles

Devil Went Down to Georgia: First Rap Song?

Joey

The first rap song I can remember is “Rapper’s Delight” from 1979, which Wikipedia and Google mostly agree with. However, after listening again to “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and checking Wikipedia again, I think it might have a good claim on the title of first (popular) rap song:

  • It was released May 21, 1979. “Rapper’s Delight” was not released for almost another four months, on September 16, 1979.
  • Charlie Daniels is speaking more that singing–could be rapping.
  • It features sampling–“Fire on the Mountain”, “Granny, Does Your Dog Bite?”, etc.
  • Most tellingly, it has cursing on the album version that is not heard in the radio-edit version:
    … I done told you once you son of a [gun] / I’m the best there’s ever been …

Song titles #005 – Do’s and Don’ts

Joey

(Semi-)Consecutive excerpt of my largest playlist when sorted by song title:

Do I Do – Stevie Wonder
Do It (Let Me See You Shake) – The Bar-Kays
Do Right Woman, Do Right Man – Aretha Franklin
Do the Funky Chicken – Rufus Thomas
(Do The) Mashed Potatoes, Pt. 1 – James Brown
(Do The) Push and Pull, Pt. 1 – Rufus Thomas
Do You Love Me – The Contours
Do You Love Me/Mother Popcorn – The Blues Brothers
Do You Wanna Get Funky with Me – Peter Brown

… [i.e., Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? – Chicago; The Dog – Rufus Thomas]

Doing It To Death – James Brown
Don’t Ask Me No Questions – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Don’t Be a Dropout – James Brown
Don’t Go No Farther – Muddy Waters
Don’t Leave Me This Way – Thelma Houston
Don’t Let His Name Go Down - First Independent Holy Church of God-Unity-Prayer
Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight – James Taylor
Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You – Wilson Pickett
Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying – Ray Charles
Don’t Mess with Bill – The Marvelettes
Don’t Mess with the Messer – Koko Taylor
Don’t Stop the Music – Yarbrough & Peoples
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
Don’t Take Your Guns to Town – Johnny Cash

Song titles #004 “Baby-Backs”

Joey

Consecutive excerpt of my largest playlist when sorted by song title:

B-A-B-Y – David Porter
Baby Be Mine – Michael Jackson
Baby Elephant Walk – Henry Mancini & His Orchestra
Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-A-Lot
Baby I Need Your Loving – The Four Tops
Baby I’m A Star – Prince & the Revolution
Baby It’s Cold Outside – Ray Charles
Baby Love – The Supremes
Baby You’re Right – James Brown
Baby, Baby Don’t Cry – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
Baby, Come to Me – James Ingram and Patti Austin
Baby, I’m for Real – The Originals
Baby, What You Want Me to Do [Live] – Etta James
Back in Black – AC/DC
Back in My Arms Again – Diana Ross & the Supremes
Back in the Saddle – Aerosmith
Back in the U.S.A. – Chuck Berry
Back It On Up (Sho’ Ya Right) – Chuck Brown
Backfield in Motion – Mel & Tim

That’s 13 Baby’s and 6 Back’s.

Song titles #003 – The Ain’ts

Joey

Excerpt of my largest playlist when sorted by song title:

Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman) – Joe Tex
Ain’t It Funky Now – James Brown
Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City – Bobby Blue Bland
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Diana Ross
Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers
Ain’t Nobody’s Business – B.B. King
Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love – Van Halen
Ain’t That a Groove – James Brown
Ain’t That Lovin’ You – Bobby Blue Bland
Ain’t That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One) – David Porter and Isaac Hayes
Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – The Temptations

If you’re keeping count, that includes

  • 13 song titles beginning with “Ain’t” (out of 1312 total, or 1%). For comparison, “You …” has 34 songs and “I …” has 66 songs.
  • Two “Ain’t…” titles each by James Brown, Bobby Blue Bland, and Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell, or about half the “Ain’t…” songs (or 0.5% of total).
  • Six titles, almost half, also include double negatives.