19 January 2023 - Christina Aguilera ft. Redman - Dirrty

The birth of Xtina happened in 2002, as Ms. Aguilera was looking to blast the virginal image that her record label was trying to push.

If the song didn't accomplish that, the video sure as hell did.  A dirrty, gritty affair, featuring mud wrestling, furries, and a relatively scantily clad Xtina ended up being an immediate hit and propelled the song to #5 on the pop charts.

The songwriting team included Redman, whose 2001 song "Let's Get Dirty" was a strong inspiration for this single, which Aguilera fought to be the first single from her Stripped album (over eventual megahit "Beautiful").

To go a little bit into how the sausage is made, I like to add a live performance in a lot of these posts.  In the case of this song, there are a lot of performances from 2002 and 2003 in which it is not clear whether or not Christina is singing or just lip-syncing (I believe she is singing but using a helper track).  Sure, there are a lot of assless chaps, but I like to give you, the reader, a different perspective of the song.

Then I found this full-band performance.  No doubt she's singing the hell out of this song here.

18 January 2023 - Nicki Minaj - Super Freaky Girl

It was really only a matter of time before Nicki Minaj sampled Rick James, right?  

Released in August 2022, this song was an instant hit - and by instant, I mean huge Spotify debut, #1 Billboard Hot 100 debut, a spot on her Greatest Hits album (she's been around long enough to have one of those!).  

The bigger deal is that it was only her third #1 - and her first in a couple of years.  

16 January 2023 - The All-American Rejects - Gives You Hell

This may be the angriest song we've ever posted - and we have posted songs with the F word in their title.  

The All-American Rejects scored their biggest hit to date - #4 on the Hot 100 in addition to topping the US Rock charts - with this angry, angry song.  Of course, the band had someone in mind - some real asshole, in their words - but they're not saying - or telling the subject.

Anyway, it's a great straight-ahead rock song that was a refreshing take in 2008.

13 January 2023 - The Arrows - I Love Rock N Roll

If you read Totally Covered, you know the Joan Jett version(s) of this song is(are) a() cover(s).  

The Arrows wrote and performed this song in 1975.  This creepy, creepy song about picking up an underage girl ended up getting them a recurring TV gig on their own eponymous show.  Ah, the 70s.  It was on that TV show that Joan Jett saw the band perform the song - and her recordings became history.

The song is a classic because of what Joan Jett did, and despite the creepy, creepy subject matter, I have come to appreciate this version.  

12 January 2023 - Kim Petras - Future Starts Now

Kim Petras has been releasing compelling alt-synth pop music for years that has been really really good.  This post is about one that didn't get a real release, though.

This song was supposed to be the big single from her third album, which would have been her major label debut, Problématique, That album, for unknown reasons, never got released and was scrapped by the Republic Records, supposedly due to the fact that many songs, including this one, were leaked ahead of time (some speculate there are other reasons related to Dr. Luke, who we have mentioned before in not-complimentary terms).

Anyway, Petras says it's OK to listen to the leaks, and she has released this song as a single - and it ended up being something of a club hit - so if she's OK with it, we are, too.  

11 January 2023 - Dolly Parton - I Will Always Love You

I grew up with country music loving parents.  

My mother's nickname was Dolly.  (Not a joke - a lot of people thought it was her real name)

So, naturally, I grew up listening to a lot of Dolly Parton.  That includes this song.  I used to not really like it.  I found it boring.  As I grew older, I see the beauty of it.  

The song was written for Porter Wagoner, on whose show Dolly Parton (not my mom) got her start.  She had been on his show for five years and was leaving for a solo career - and this song was her resignation letter.  

You thought it was a romantic breakup song, didn't you?  It wasn't.  

Anyway, the song topped the country charts twice.  The first time was in 1974, and this was what the song sounded like then.

In 1982, Dolly Parton (not my mom) did a movie with Burt Reynolds called The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and she rerecorded and rereleased this song - and it topped the country charts AGAIN.

She would, of course, release the song AGAIN, as a duet with Vince Gill, in 1995.  This version didn't top the country charts - it only reached #15.  

Disappointing.

This version started off as THIS live performance, and was picked up by country music radio, which pressured Dolly's label to release it as a single - and it became a hit again.  

As big a hit as this song was, it was an even bigger hit for another artist who shall remain nameless.

10 January 2023 - Steve Winwood - Valerie

In 1982, Steve Winwood released an album - Talking Back to the Night - that featured this single, which ended up being a minor hit - hitting #70 on the Billboard charts, and getting the former Spencer Davis Group member some attention.  

The song is about a former lover that the narrator hopes will return to him someday.

In 1986, Steve Winwood had a huge enough year to warrant a greatest hits album - Chronicles - in 1987. Included on that album was a remix of "Valerie", which ended up being a much bigger hit (US Top 10) than the original.  

Both are among my favorite unsung songs by any artist.