As the 2010s near their end, we’ve all spent a lot of time thinking about the cultural phenomena that have defined the decade. In the same nostalgic spirit, others have reached even further into the past, highlighting the music that filled the ‘00s, ‘90s, ‘80s, and, in the case of an excellent thread detailing “the best-selling single of every decade” from Archie Henderson and Adrian Gray, all the way back through human history to the Stone Age.
We highly recommend going along with them to see what they dug up.
After highlighting Ed Sheeran, James Blunt, Lou Bega, and Cher’s chart-topping control over the last few decades, the thread begins to uncover some less familiar tunes.
There’s a forgotten Bee Gees song called “Haaaah …”
…and long, long forgotten classics from the rest of the 20th century, like Chunky Finchman & The Interrupters’ “She’s My Baby,” Disney’s “Unconscious Tower Maiden,” and The Wright Brothers’ “Ten Feet High Club.”
Putting together these clips from the century’s best loved tracks would be impressive enough on its own, but the thread ventures even further into our history to bring us important songs like Lord Crisp-Banbury’s “Mambo. No.4" (1820s), Handel’s 1770s devotional masterpiece, “Zadok The Priest (Club Edit),” and Cher’s “I Turned Back Time” (1580s).
Incredibly, despite how difficult it must have been to track down (and faithfully recreate!) singles from even earlier centuries, Henderson and Gray continued their work all the way through to the beginning of the Common Era…
… and even further back to the dawn of civilization and humanity’s first, mambo-led steps into the wider world.
Listen to this music and reflect back on the rhythms and melodies connecting the earliest members of our species to us now, never forgetting to give thanks to Henderson and Gray for their landmark archival work.
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