The King of Pop got one more good song from the Dangerous album out in 1993, and was featured in the hit movie Free Willy. While it is commonly referred to as the Free Willy song, it remains one of my personal favorites from his 90s period. Coming in at #15 in the top 20 songs turning 30 years old countdown is Will You Be There by Michael Jackson.
The purpose of these countdowns is to highlight that there are some songs that don’t seem to be big until they remain at the top of charts and radio for a couple of years, and then years later you still hear it in different avenues, be it sports, movies, etc. Those are the kinds of song that continue to be recognized, and this song is a great example, which also spawned a huge rock career for this band. Landing at #16 in this countdown is Shine by Collective Soul.
This next song holds a special place in my wife’s heart. It is the kind of song she get seriously behind, knows all the words and changes into a different person when it comes on, haha. Ms. Jackson busted back after Rhythm Nation with a couple major hits, one of which was this very rockin’, empowering song. Arriving at #17 in the Top 20 1993 songs countdown is If by Janet Jackson.
Next in my 1993 countdown is the second entry by the man known as Sting. While the previous song was a big hit, this song was the one that shot him back into the public consciousness. He alerted the world that he was back and taking no prisoners as a songwriter. The song still gets plenty of airplay today, and it was a great return to form. At #18 is If I Lose My Faith in You by Sting.
Our next entry is a song that has been called the ultimate Gen-X/Grunge era song. It has some of my favorite lyrics written by this great songwriter, and is still a song that is heard a lot today. He would go on to have some really big songs (which may make a future countdown) and continues to have a huge career, but this is where it pretty much began. Coming in at #19, it’s Loser by Beck.
The 1993 countdown turned out to be tough one, not because of the amount of great material to parse through, but the lack thereof that was released that year. The previous year had a lot of songs that remained high on the charts into this year, but we start our current list with a great song that has actually continued to be a well-played song. This artist’s album was another revelation of how good he was at songwriting and that he could still write beautiful ballads, like this one. Beginning our Top 20 songs that turn 30 years old this year countdown …..more →