1000 Years of Popular Music


1000 Years of Popular Music is a 2003 live album by Richard Thompson.
The album was originally conceived after Richard Thompson, along with many other artists, was asked by Playboy magazine to nominate his choice of the best songs of the last 1000 years. He took them exactly at their word and served up a list that included the oldest-known English-language songs, a medieval Italian dance tune and various other folk songs alongside slightly more contemporary fare. The list was never published by Playboy; it was subsequently released into CD format. The songs comprising the track list cover a roughly thousand-year period, 1068–2001, starting with "Sumer Is Icumen In". The most recent song included on the album is Britney Spears' hit "Oops!... I Did It Again".
The songs, arranged for play on a single guitar, are played by Thompson, vocalist Judith Owen, and percussionist Michael Jerome, when needed.
A DVD with the same name was released in 2006. This was recorded sometime later during a different tour, has a slightly different track listing and features Debra Dobkin replacing Michael Jerome on percussion and vocals.

Track listing of original CD version

  1. "Sumer Is Icumen In"
  2. "King Henry V's Conquest of France"
  3. "When I Am Laid In Earth"
  4. "So Ben Mi Chi Ha Bon Tempo"
  5. "Shenandoah"
  6. "Blackleg Miner"
  7. "Waiting at the Church"
  8. "Trafalgar Square"
  9. "There Is Beauty in the Bellow"
  10. "Why Have My Loved Ones Gone?"
  11. "Old Rocking Chair's Got Me"
  12. "Orange-Coloured Sky"
  13. "Cry Me a River"
  14. "Drinking Wine Spo-dee-o-dee"
  15. "The Fool"
  16. "A Legal Matter"
  17. "Tempted"
  18. "Kiss"
  19. "Oops!… I Did It Again"
  20. "Sam Hall"
  21. "Money, Money, Money"
  22. "It Won't Be Long"
  23. "Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt" – introduced as a "medieval tune from Brittany", but actually a medieval-style version of Britney Spears' "Oops!… I Did It Again"

    Track listing of 2CD/DVD version

  24. "Sumer Is Icumen In"
  25. "King Henry"
  26. "So Ben Mi Ca Bon Tempo"
  27. "Bonnie St. Johnstone"
  28. "O Sleep Fond Fancy"
  29. "Remember O Thou Man"
  30. "Shenandoah"
  31. "Blackleg Miner"
  32. "I Live in Trafalgar Square"
  33. "There Is Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast"
  34. "Java Jive"
  35. "Night and Day"
  36. "Orange-Coloured Sky"
  37. "Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"
  38. "A-11"
  39. "See My Friends"
  40. "Friday on My Mind"
  41. "Tempted"
  42. "Oops!… I Did It Again"
  43. "Cry Me A River"
  44. "1985"
  45. "Sam Hall"

    Personnel