1001 Songs Challenge #939: Crazy in Love (2003)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be… legendary!

 

Beyoncé – Crazy in Love (2003)

 

 

We bring an end to 2003, dear reader, so depart from the UK and head back to the US. We find ourselves in Texas and in the company of Beyoncé Knowles. She began her career in 1997 as a member of Destiny’s Child who would disband in 2006. However, we pick up Knowles in 2003 when Destiny’s Child are on hiatus and the individual members are working on solo projects. Knowles released her debut album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003 and from there 1001 Songs have gone with the track, Crazy in Love.

For Crazy in Love, Beyoncé wrote the track with other lyricists and late in the recording she asked her then boyfriend, now husband, Jay Z, to contribute some vocals. Jay Z helps introduce the song and joins with Beyoncé throughout in support rather than dominating the track. The song itself is all about being in love, in particular early on. The singer herself has divulged that this is an almost unhealthy kind of love, the obsessive kind where you find yourself doing things you never thought you would have before, such is the desire and passion you feel for this person.

Both Crazy in Love and Dangerously in Love were critically acclaimed upon release and proved that Beyoncé was more than just a member of Destiny’s Child. Since then she has seen Destiny’s Child disband, continued a successful solo career, married Jay-Z, pursued acting and has become one of the biggest selling artists in history. Crazy in Love was just the start but it seems like a lot more is still to come from Beyoncé.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)

Radiohead – Paranoid Android (1997)

Snow Patrol – Run