490Coldplay, 'Clocks'

Writers:ColdplayProducers:Ken Nelson, Mark PhythianReleased:Aug. '02, Capitol22 weeks; No. 29Coldplaywere scrambling to finish their second album and wanted to save "Clocks," with a churning piano riff inspired by the bandMuse, for a later album. Luckily, a friend intervened. "He said, 'You're going on [in the lyrics] about urgency, and you're talking about keeping this song back,'" said Chris Martin. "'That doesn't make sense.'"Appears on:A Rush of Blood to the Head(Capitol)RELATED:500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Coldplay'sA Rush of Blood to the Head 489The Drifters, 'Under the Boardwalk'

Writers:Arthur Resnick, Kenny YoungProducer:Bert BernsReleased:June '64, Atlantic33 weeks; No. 4A staple of beach-town jukeboxes every summer since its release, "Under the Boardwalk" evokes the carefree sounds of the shore. But its recording was no day at the beach. Johnny Moore was drafted to sing lead because the track's original singer, Rudy Lewis, died of a heroin overdose in his hotel room the night before the session.Appears on:The Very Best of the Drifters(Rhino)RELATED:100 Greatest Artists of All Time: The Drifters 488The Cure, 'Just Like Heaven'

Writers:Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Lol Tolhurst, Boris WilliamsProducers:David Allen, SmithReleased:May '87, Elektra19 weeks; No. 40"I've never been a big fan of irony," Smith said, which might be why this reverie of love, cut at a vineyard in the South of France, is his favoriteCuresong. The band's girlfriends influenced the music. "The girls would sit on the sofa in the back of the control room and give the songs marks out of 10," he said. "So there was a really big female input."Appears on:Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me(Elektra) 487Alice Cooper, 'I'm Eighteen'

Writers:Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton, Cooper, Dennis Dunway, Neal SmithProducers:Bob Erzin, Jack RichardsonReleased:Feb. '71, Warner Bros.13 weeks; No. 21Before "I'm Eighteen,"Cooperwas just another hairy rock oddball. But this proto-punk smash defined the age when, in Cooper's words, you're "old enough to be drafted but not old enough to vote." A few years later, Johnny Rotten sang this at his audition for theSex Pistols; by then, Cooper was a guest onThe Muppet Show.Appears on:Love It to Death(Warner Bros.)RELATED:500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Alice Cooper'sLove It to Death 486David Bowie, 'Young Americans'

Writer:BowieProducer:Tony ViscontiReleased:March '75, RCA11 weeks; No. 28In 1975,Bowietraded his glammed-out Ziggy Stardust persona for an exploration of what he called "plastic soul." Yet this R&B homage is one of his warmest, wildest tales, recorded in Philadelphia with a then-unknownLuther Vandrosson backing vocals and David Sanborn wailing on sax. "It's about a newlywed couple who don't know if they really like each other," Bowie said.Appears on:Young Americans(Virgin)RELATED:100 Greatest Artists of All Time: David Bowie100 Greatest Singers of All Time: David Bowie 485LaBelle, 'Lady Marmalade'

Writers:Bob Crewe, Kenny NolanProducer:Allen ToussaintReleased:Jan. '75, Epic18 weeks; No. 1This hit about a Big Easy streetwalker remains in rotation 35 years after it hit Number One. The group was from Philadelphia, but the nasty groove was classic New Orleans, with producer Toussaint and his house band, legendary R&B stalwarts the Meters, funking up the beat. Thanks to the ladies of LaBelle, every disco fan now knows at least one line of French: "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?"Appears on:Nightbirds(Epic)RELATED:100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Patti LaBelle500 Greatest Albums of All Time: LaBelle'sNightbirds 484Justin Timberlake, 'Cry Me a River'

Writers:Timbaland, Scott Storch, TimberlakeProducer:TimbalandReleased:Nov. '02, Jive20 weeks; No. 3This breakup aria marked the formation of theTimberlake-Timbalandteam, a match made in pop heaven. The stunning video in which Justin stalks an actress dressed to look like his exBritney Spears made clear the inspiration for "River." "It's a good-ass video," Timberlake toldRolling Stone. "I didn't want anyone to come off smelling like roses."Appears on:Justified(Jive) 483Jefferson Airplane, 'White Rabbit'

Writer:Grace SlickProducer:Rick JarrardReleased:Sept. '67, RCA10 weeks; No. 8"White Rabbit" was a trippy rock & roll bolero written byAirplanevocalist Slick. "Our parents read us stories likePeter Pan,Alice in WonderlandandThe Wizard of Oz," Slick said. "They all have a place where children get drugs, and are able to fly or see an Emerald City or experience extraordinary animals and people And our parents are suddenly saying, 'Why are you taking drugs?' Well,hello!"Appears on:Surrealistic Pillow(RCA)RELATED:500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Jefferson Airplane'sSurrealistic Pillow 482Kelly Clarkson, 'Since U Been Gone'

Writers:Dr. Luke, Max MartinProducers:Dr. Luke, MartinReleased:Nov. '04, RCA46 weeks; No. 2Pop gurus Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald wrote this indignant track withPinkin mind, butClarkson's A&R rep snatched it up for the first-ever American Idol. The result was a career-making hit that gave teen pop a feisty new template. "I went to seeFoo Fighterswhen I was off in Texas," Clarkson said, "and the first thing Dave Grohl said to me was, 'I love that song!'"Appears on:Breakaway(RCA) 481Rick James, 'Super Freak'

Writers:James, Alonzo MillerProducer:JamesReleased:Aug. '81, Gordy24 weeks; No. 16James wasn't exactly modest about his ambitions. As he declared in 1981, "I wanna makePaul McCartneywhite-boy money!" He got it with the self-described "punk funk" of "Super Freak," from his breakthrough album,Street Songs. James enlisted theTemptationsfor background vocals. The song got a second life when MC Hammer jacked it for the 1990 megasmash "U Can't Touch This."Appears on:Street Songs(Motown)

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