The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 721

Friday, November 24, 2006

Number 721 - Rickie Lee Jones

Number 721

Rickie Lee Jones

"Chuck E's In Love "

(1979)

Genre:Singer/Songwriter

Ok it was me, i admit it. I just didn't digg this song back in '79, i thought it was to overplayed and repetitive. I know so many people back then that thought this song was the "Bee's Knee's". Now, to me it just reminds me of a quaint sound and a whistling tune, but its not "Kashmir" or even The Knack with "My Sharona" do you know what i mean?

As Jon Stewart says...." Its just nnnnnnnghnnn"

Born in Chicago, she grew up in a family she has described as "lower-middle-class-hillbilly-hipster" in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Arizona, and Olympia, Washington. She settled in L.A. when she was nineteen, where she waited tables and played at local clubs. A 1979 contract with Warner Brothers Records resulted in her first, self-titled album. Commercially and critically well-received, it included a hit single, "Chuck E's in Love", and won her the Best New Artist Grammy award along with five other nominations.

She was featured twice in two years (1979-1980) on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, and appeared three times as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live between 1979 and 1989. Since her debut, Jones has released several albums, none as successful as the first, though she won another Grammy (and two other nominations) for a cover of "Makin' Whoopee" with Dr. John. As a songwriter, she achieved an unexpected measure of commercial success by co-writing "The Horses" with Walter Becker, a #1 hit in Australia for Daryl Braithwaite in 1991. She is the organizer of the web community "Furniture for the People", which is involved in gardening, social activism, bootleg exchange and left wing politics. She hosts a weekly talk radio on KAOS (Evergreen State College radio) in Olympia, Washington. She has produced records (including Leo Kottke's Peculiaroso), and provided a voiceover for a 1980s cartoon version of Pinocchio, in which she played the Blue Fairy. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

For Daryl Braithwaite see Number 731

What does Rolling Stone think about Rickie Lee Jones (as if we can't tell)

But Rickie Lee Jones can sing up any number of storms. When I saw her at Carnegie Hall two years ago, I was amazed at her emotional and stylistic range, which encompassed Billie Holiday's guttural purr, June Christy's elegant cool and Laura Nyro's torchy street wail, sometimes all in the same song. Yet Jones is certainly no imitator. From her influences, she's forged a slurred, feline cry for love that has both the defiance of rock and the sophistication of jazz. And I've never heard any singer (outside of grand opera) who can sustain such a high level of intensity for so long. It's Rickie Lee Jones' voice that carries Pirates to the stars and makes her whole crazy vision not only comprehensible but compulsive, compelling and as welcome as Christmas in July. ~ [Source: RS 351]

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Ooops.. we forgot her..Uh) and the Album ranked at Number (Oh shit... we're in trouble now) (hillarious)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 67.4 out of 108 pts

Rickie Lee Jones - Chuck E's in Love
Uploaded by yanndirtybastard