Ft Life Of A Song

Before becoming one of the most sampled tunes in music history, "Apache" was an unexpected UK number 1. Richard Clayton tracks its journey. Credits: Wrasse Records, EMI, Puzzle Productions, Open Records, Sepia, Sanctuary  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How is music streaming changing the experience of listeners? Are the algorithms that guide us through this new world an adequate replacement for DJs, critics and knowledgable record shop owners? Could endless choice paradoxically be making us more conservative in our tastes? Lorien Kite discusses these questions with Spotify's Will Page and FT pop critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"I Feel Love" by Donna Summer changed the future of music, paving the way for today's EDM. David Cheal tracks its incredible influence. Credits: UMC, Vanilla OMP, Warner Music TV, RCA  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Written in a log cabin when Bon Iver had all but given up, "Skinny Love" was an unlikely pop hit. Richard Clayton investigates its rise, from covers by Birdy and Ed Sheeran to X Factor hopefuls the world over. Credit: 4AD, Atlantic, Elle, Sunbiz Sessions, X Factor  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ben Lerner is one of the most highly praised and unconventional writers of his generation. The 37-year-old recently met John Sunyer, a commissioning editor on FT Weekend, to talk about why he's 'doomed to write more novels'. Here, he reads one of his favourite poems.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Miles Davis' "So What" is one of the most famous compositions in jazz. Ian McCann explores its many incarnations, from Ronny Jordan's funk hit to Smiley Culture's musings on racial unrest. Credit: Not Now Music, Columbia/Legacy, Universal-Island Records, Universal.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is the abundance of information in the age of Google and Facebook storing up problems for future generations? Richard Ovenden, who as Bodley's Librarian is responsible for the research libraries of the University of Oxford, talks about the opportunites and concerns of the digitisation of memory with John Thornhill, the FT's innovation editor.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison's Bret Michaels was the last popular flourish of transvestism in rock. Ludovic Hunter-Tilney discovers what inspired the classic power ballad. Credit: Capitol Catalog, Hollywood Records, Kidz Bop, BMB/Poor Boy Records  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Before "Everything I Own" became a reggae classic, it was an ode to paternal love by Bread's David Gates. Ian McCann traces the history of one of the 1970's greatest romantic ballads. Credit: Rhino, Parlaphone UK, Sanctuary, Atlantic Records  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The coolification of Phil Collins is among pop's most curious turnarounds. Richard Clayton explains what the song owes to gangsta rap, "gated reverb" - and a drumming gorilla. Credit: Rhino, Atlantic, Def Jam  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tim Buckley's ode to doomed love has exerted a siren-like attraction for artists including This Mortal Coil, Robert Plant and John Frusciante. David Cheal examines its enduring power. Credit: Rhino, Warner Brothers, Chrome Dreams, 4AD, Virgin EMI, Parlaphone UK, Virgin UK  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" has been used in the campaigns of George HW Bush, Obama and, most recently, Bernie Sanders. Richard Clayton investigates the colonial overtones and contested legacy of America's alternative national anthem. Credit: Smithsonian Folkways Recording, Daptone Records, Delta, North Face and Jib Jab.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jethro Tull's prog rock hit rejected the hippy idealism of Swinging London. Ian McCann explores its influence on musicians from Maynard Ferguson to Francis Dunnery. Credit: Parlophone UK, Wounded Bird Records, Rak, Warner Music.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

David Cheal discovers how this hymn to friendship eventually came to divide its creators Simon and Garfunkel, but went on to inspire more than 200 cover versions. Credit: Columbia, RCA, Legacy, Atlantic Records.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How did Bill Withers' little blues inspire a 1990s R&B hit and a Simon Cowell-produced football anthem? Ian McCann charts its history. Credit: Columbia, Legacy, Sony, Ministry of Sound, Syco  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This song has its roots in an ancient refugee crisis and the more recent struggle for racial equality. Over the years, it's been adopted by Fats Waller, The Four Lads and the rapper M.I.A. Written by Helen Brown and read by Anna Metcalfe. Credit: Hit Wonder, Document Records, Diamond Coast, Sinetone AMR and XL Recordings.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jacques Brel's impassioned tribute to the sailors and drunks of the port of Amsterdam inspired covers by Mort Shuman and Scott Walker. David Cheal traces its journey from David Bowie's stripped down version to Thierry Amiel's performance, which triumphantly returned the song to its original French.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"Lady Marmalade" began life as a sleazy soul anthem by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan before being funked up by Labelle, given an R&B twist by Sheila E and overlaid with cheesy rap for the film "Moulin Rouge". Ian McCann charts its evolution. Credit: Epic, 20th Century Records, Fania, Warner Bros., Polydor Associated Labels  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Blind Willie Johnson's gospelly, moaning adaptation of an 18th-century hymn might have seemed an odd choice for the disc of music attached to Voyager 1 in 1977. But artists from Ry Cooder to Jack White have been drawn to its ethereal power. Credit: Legacy/Columbia, Warner Bros., Alligator Records  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mike Hobart charts the history of the tune that catalysed modern jazz and - through Charlie Parker - saw the beginning of bebop. Credits: Prestige Elite, Wild Plantage, Chronological Classics, Spotlite Records, Essential Jazz Classics  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.