{"id":776,"date":"2016-07-22T17:58:06","date_gmt":"2016-07-22T17:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=776"},"modified":"2017-09-23T02:46:52","modified_gmt":"2017-09-23T02:46:52","slug":"10-a-cappella-songs-that-changed-pop-music-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/10-a-cappella-songs-that-changed-pop-music-history\/","title":{"rendered":"10 A Cappella Songs That Changed Pop Music History"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-header-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h3>10 <em>A Cappella<\/em> Songs That Changed Pop Music History<\/h3>\n<font size=\"2\" color=\"grey\"><span style=\"border:1px solid ;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\" class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-glow imageframe-1 hover-type-none author-image\"><a class=\"fusion-no-lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\" target=\"_self\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/big-img-28.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;\"\/><\/a><\/span><p>Written by\u00a0Deke Sharon<\/p>\n<p>July\u00a021, 2016<\/p>\n<\/font><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>A cappella<\/em> is the oldest form of music, and has been a driving force within music ever since the dawn of singing.<em>\u00a0<\/em>Below are the top 10\u00a0<em>a\u00a0cappella<\/em>\u00a0songs that\u00a0changed\u00a0pop music forever!<\/p>\n<h4>1939 &#8211; &#8220;Mbube&#8221; (aka \u201cThe Lion Sleeps Tonight\u201d) by\u00a0Solomon Linda<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mrrQT4WkbNE?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">The song was written in the 1920s in Zulu, and Solomon Linda recorded the song (with its familiar \u201cWimoweh\u201d chant) with his group The Evening Birds. It sparked an entire style of music in South Africa (appropriately called \u201cMbube&#8221;). In 1961, a couple of writers added English lyrics, and it became a #1 hit for The Tokens, having been recorded countless times since then and appearing everywhere including the Disney film \u201cThe Lion King.\u201d Sadly, Mr. Linda died a pauper, but a <em>Rolling Stone<\/em> article in 2000 sparked publicity that lead to his descendants receiving royalties for the first time.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h4>1985 &#8211; &#8220;Something To Fall Back On&#8221; by\u00a0Todd Rundgren<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/g1N9CBezHUI?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Always the pioneer, Todd Rundgren released <em>A Cappella<\/em>\u00a0an album comprised entirely of voices (mostly his own). With the use of sampling technology, he created all the instrumental sounds and drums on his own: a first glimpse into the sound of contemporary <em>a cappella<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h4>1986 &#8211; &#8220;Homeless&#8221; by\u00a0Paul Simon &amp; Ladysmith Black Mambazo<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XBMAXQ28V-w?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Paul Simon was at a low point in his career and life when he heard a bootleg cassette of South African township music. He got on a plane, and the result was the critically acclaimed, multiple Grammy award winning <em>Graceland<\/em> album which sold 16 million copies. Multiple tracks feature the choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo who sings\u00a0<em>a cappella<\/em> in the isicathamiya style, a later development of Solomon Linda\u2019s original Mbube style.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h4>1987 &#8211; &#8220;(Na Na Hey Hey) Kiss Him Goodbye&#8221; \u00a0by\u00a0The Nylons<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hFgMnnyx-AU?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Throughout the Doo-Wop era, many <em>a cappella<\/em> groups wrote and sang what would be hit songs, but their producers invariably added instruments when bringing them in the studio. It wasn\u2019t until DJs started spinning an <em>a cappella<\/em> version of this classic rock song by Steam as performed by the Canadian group The Nylons that <em>a cappella<\/em> made it onto the Billboard Charts (#12).<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h4>1988 &#8211; &#8220;Don\u2019t Worry Be Happy&#8221; by\u00a0Bobby McFerrin<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/d-diB65scQU?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">First heard in the Tom Cruise movie <em>Cocktail<\/em>, this song captured the late 80\u2019s zeitgeist and became an anthem, the first a cappella song ever to hold the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and later won Grammys for &#8220;Song of the Year&#8221;, &#8220;Record of the Year&#8221; and &#8220;Best Male Pop Vocal Performance&#8221;. The song it knocked out of first place? Guns and Roses\u2019 \u201cSweet Child of Mine&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h4>1992 &#8211; &#8220;(Where in the World is) Carmen Sandiego&#8221; by\u00a0Rockapella<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Hsa2nsjmc4Y?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">For the first time ever, all of the music on a game show was created by the five voices of Rockapella, first seen on Spike &amp; Co\u2019s <em>Do It A Cappella<\/em> special (both on PBS). The show won several Emmys for its 295 educational shows spread across five seasons, with Rockapella not only providing all of the music, but also playing various characters (in increasingly silly outfits).<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h4>1994 &#8211; &#8220;Chant&#8221; by\u00a0Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo De Silos<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GbBlbqTocW8?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">You had to be alive then to believe it: somehow an order of Monks in Spain became a huge international sensation, with their album \u201cChant\u201d climbing to the #5 spot on the Billboard pop album chart. That\u2019s right, the POP chart! Singing chants from the 11<sup>th<\/sup> century, they were inescapable, appearing on every show from <em>Good Morning America<\/em> to the <em>Tonight Show<\/em>. You can\u2019t make this stuff up!<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h4>2010 &#8211; &#8220;Teenage Dream&#8221; by\u00a0Darren Criss &amp; the Tufts Beelzebubs (<em>Glee<\/em>)<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yr1p7BvCQ0U?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>The Sing Off<\/em> was a hit on NBC, and The Tufts Beelzebubs came in second place. When the creators of <em>Glee<\/em> wanted to add an <em>a cappella<\/em> group to the second season of their show, they asked the guys to create the vocals, over which Darren Criss would sing the lead vocal. The result? Their first collaboration, &#8220;Teenage Dream&#8221;, was the first song from <em>Glee<\/em> to go to #1 on the Billboard charts. Rumor has it the show was initially going to be about <em>a cappella<\/em> groups, not show choirs\u2026 perhaps it should have been!<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h4>2013 &#8211; &#8220;Cups&#8221; by\u00a0Anna Kendrick (<em>Pitch Perfect<\/em>\u00a0soundtrack)<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/weqDCGg0GYs?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">A sleeper hit released in 2012, <em>Pitch Perfect<\/em> smashed many expectations, not the least of which was the stratospheric rise of a 1938 song sung by a single woman and\u2026 a plastic cup! (Is that even <em>a cappella<\/em>?! We\u2019ll let it slide.) The song was such a breakout hit rising up the charts that Anna Kendrick went in the studio and added instruments, eventually selling quadruple platinum (4 million copies). (We prefer the original version.)<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h4>2015 &#8211; &#8220;Daft Punk Medley&#8221; by Pentatonix<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3MteSlpxCpo?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">After an explosive decade of a cappella growth, the Grammys finally decided to include <em>a cappella<\/em> in one of their categories: \u201cBest Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella\u201d (it was previously \u201cBest Instrumental Arrangement\u201d). The result? Pentatonix wins with their &#8220;Daft Punk Medley&#8221;, currently with over 200 million views on Youtube. Then, in 2016, the instruments fought back, right? Nope, PTX won it again with their version of Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cDance of the Sugar Plumb Fairy&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><hr \/>\n<h5><em><strong>Deke Sharon<\/strong>\u00a0is a singer, arranger, composer, director, producer, and teacher of a cappella music. He produced NBC&#8217;s<\/em> The Sing-Off<em> and founded the Contemporary A Cappella Society.\u00a0Deke\u00a0was the arranger, music director, and\u00a0vocal producer for <\/em>Pitch Perfect<em> and <\/em>Pitch\u00a0Perfect 2<i> and is currently preparing for the filming of <\/i>Pitch Perfect 3<i>. For more about Deke, check out Performer Stuff&#8217;s\u00a0introductory article, &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=585\">Introducing&#8230;Deke Sharon!<\/a><\/span>&#8221; and his <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DekeSharon\/\">Facebook page<\/a><\/span>.<\/i><\/h5>\n<h5>Thumbnail image from the <em>Pitch Perfect.\u00a0<\/em>Photo<em>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a9 2012\u00a0Universal Pictures.<\/h5>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259,260,262],"tags":[91,349,98,350,72,92,99,351,93],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}