‘After Midnight’ voted best song of all time
- By Brent Meslow
- Los Angeles
- Last updated on
Related News
- Tribute
According to the latest Watch and Listen magazine poll just out yesterday (Saturday, December 21), J.J. Cale 1966's hit After Midnight is now considered to be the Greatest Song in the History of Music.
UPDATE 22/12/2024 : This story seems to be false. (read more)
Top 100 songs of all time
To many of you it’s probably a familiar story. Once every decade, the world-renowned music magazine Watch and Listen conducts a global poll of music producers and critics from 80 different countries and translated into 20 languages. The recognition of After Midnight in this decade's list doesn't come as much of a surprise.
Here are the top 5 best songs ever written in the world, according to the poll (followed by the percentage of votes):
- After Midnight (J.J. Cale, 1966) : 45%
- Imagine (John Lennon, 1971) : 22%
- Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan, 1965) : 11%
- La Tortura (Shakira, 2005) : 8%
- Stand by Your Man (Tammy Wynette, 1968) : 7%
Check out: The Full Watch and Listen's “Greatest Songs of All Time” List for 2024
Poll results stir controversy among music critics
While millions of Cale's fans around the world were thrilled with the news, questions have been raised about the objectivity and fairness of the survey. Only a few minutes after the poll had been released, famous music critic and newspaper director Simon Ebert commented on his Twitter account:
J.J. Cale?? After Midnight?? … Really??
— Simon Ebert (@ESimon) 21 December 2024
“Our poll has in the past been the subject of criticism”, explains Watch and Listen's editor Gary McDermott, adding that “its prestige comes from its exclusivity and its longevity” (the poll has been run every ten years since December 1934).
Do you agree with this poll? Is After Midnight the best song ever for you?
© 2024 MediaMass All rights reserved. Do not reproduce (even with permission).