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Hello.

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This is 6 Minute English

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from BBC Learning English.

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I'm Sam.

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And I'm Neil.

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[Singing] Du du dum dum!

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Da-da-da!

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What's that song you're singing, Neil?

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Is it The Rolling Stones?

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Well, I've had this song stuck

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in my head all day!

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It's a real earworm – you know,

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a song you keep hearing over

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and over again in your head.

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Well, The Rolling Stones, for example,

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are famous for their catchy songs.

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But writing a memorable song isn't easy.

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Not only do you have to write a good tune,

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you also need to match it to

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the lyrics - the words of the song.

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In this programme, we'll be discussing

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the art of songwriting –

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combining lyrics and music

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to make a hit song.

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And of course,

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we'll be learning some new vocabulary as well.

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But first I have a question for you, Neil.

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Every week from 1964 until it

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ended in 2006, the BBC television programme,

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Top of the Pops, had a countdown of the

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most popular songs in the British music charts,

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from number forty up to number one.

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So who's had the most number

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one hit songs in the UK over

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the years?

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Is it:

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a) The Rolling Stones?

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b) The Beatles?

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or,

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c) Elvis Presley?

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You're showing your age there, Sam

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– those musicians were famous decades ago!

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I'm going to go for c),

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the King of rock'n'roll, Elvis Presley.

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OK, Neil.

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I'll reveal the answer

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later in the programme.

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Professor Adam Bradley is

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the author of The Book of Rhymes,

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a study into the lyrics of hip-hop music.

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He knows a lot about how words

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and music combine to make hit songs.

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When he spoke to BBC Radio 4 programme,

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Word of Mouth, the presenter,

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Michael Rosen, asked Adam what

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music he was listening to at the moment.

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These days I have a little

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bit of a nostalgic streak,

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so I go back to some of the

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earliest music that mattered to me

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as a young person, music that

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my mother played for me, things

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like Crosby, Stills and Nash

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'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes'...

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things like the earliest music

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that I discovered as an independent

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tastemaker for myself, things like

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De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest.

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Adam says he's currently listening

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to the music his mother played

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him when he was young because

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he has a nostalgic streak -

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an affectionate feeling for

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a happy time in the past.

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His mum liked 1960s American

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singer-songwriters like Crosby, Stills and
Nash.

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Adam is also listening to hip-hop

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groups like De La Soul -

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the music he chose when he started

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finding his own taste in music,

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becoming a tastemaker for himself.

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A tastemaker is someone who influences

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what is considered fashionable

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or popular at the moment.

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As well as hip-hop, Adam also

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loves rock'n'roll music, and

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– like me – is a big fan of The Rolling
Stones

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whose singer, Mick Jagger, and guitar player,

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Keith Richards, are two of the most

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successful songwriters ever.

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Here Adam tells BBC Radio 4's,

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Word of Mouth, how the rock stars

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worked together to write

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some of the best known songs

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in rock'n'roll history:

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Often Keith Richards would

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go on one of his historic benders

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and wake up with a recording device

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next to him in the morning

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where he had put the melody down

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for a song, and had the chord structure

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and everything in place.

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And he might take that to Mick,

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and Mick would listen through

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and he would write lyrics...

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And in Mick's mind, as he said

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in an interview once,

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he would impose his melodies as a singer

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on Keith's chord structure.

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So there would be this give and

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take, this tension.

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Keith Richards is famous

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for going on benders –

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a period of time spent in heavy

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alcohol drinking and non-stop partying.

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During these, he often thought up

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the chord structure for a song.

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A chord is three or more musical

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notes played together, so

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a chord structure is a sequence

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of chords played one after the other.

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Later, Mick Jagger would listen

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to the music Keith had thought up,

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and write lyrics to match.

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Adam describes this relationship

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as give and take – a compromise

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where you are willing to accept

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suggestions from another person

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and give up some ideas of your own.

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Mick and Keith's legendary friendship

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has certainly been up and down over

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the years, and there's no doubt

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they've written some of the best

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rock songs ever.

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But have they been

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top when it comes to number one hits?

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It's time to reveal the answer to my question…

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Yes, you asked who has had the

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most number one hits in the UK music charts,

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and I said it was Elvis Presley.

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Which was... the correct answer, Neil!

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With twenty-one number one hits, Elvis,

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the King of rock'n'roll,

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is the most successful chart-topper,

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followed by The Beatles with seventeen number ones,

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and further down the list,

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The Rolling Stones with eight.

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OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've

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learned starting with earworm -

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a song that you can't stop hearing

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over and over in your head.

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A nostalgic streak is an affectionate

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or bittersweet feeling you have

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for a happy time in the past.

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A tastemaker is a person that influences

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what people think is popular

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or fashionable at the moment.

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If you go on a bender,

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you spend time drinking alcohol heavily.

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A chord structure is a

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sequence of musical chords.

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And finally, give and take between

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two people is a compromise in which

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they are willing to accept suggestions

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from each another, and give up

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some of their own ideas.

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Don't forget that there is

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more to BBC Learning English than

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6 Minute English!

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Why not try

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to improve your vocabulary through

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the language in news headlines?

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Try the News Review video on our website

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or download the podcast.

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And, of course, we have a free app –

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it's full of useful programmes and

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activities to help you improve your English.

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Once again, our six minutes are up.

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Bye for now!

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Bye!