10 Best Songs With The Word 'Something' In The Title

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This list of the 10 best songs with “something” in the title explores how artists across genres and decades have transformed one simple word into something completely their own. James Taylor used it in a gentle song that helped inspire George Harrison, while the Beatles turned it into one of their greatest love songs. Boston, Level 42, Peter Frampton, Bruce Springsteen, Nikka Costa, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, and Utopia all took the word in very different musical directions. That variety is exactly what makes these title lists so much fun.

# 10 – Everybody Got Their Something – Nikka Costa

“Everybody Got Their Something” is a perfect introduction to the funk, soul, and rock mix Nikka Costa brought to her 2001 album of the same name. Costa co-wrote the song with Justin Stanley, while the track also carries additional writing credits connected to its sampled material. Costa and Stanley were both deeply involved in shaping the album, with Mark Ronson also contributing to the production. The song moves on a hard groove while Costa sings with the kind of confidence that makes every line sound bigger than the arrangement around it. Its energy helped define the album and introduced many American listeners to a singer who had already been recording for years. This is the kind of opening entry that immediately gives the list some attitude.

Read More: Top 10 Nikka Costa Songs

# 9 – Something So Strong – Crowded House

“Something So Strong” became one of Crowded House’s biggest American hits and remains one of the most uplifting songs in the band’s catalog. Neil Finn co-wrote the song with producer Mitchell Froom, and it appeared on the group’s 1986 self-titled debut album. Released as a single in 1987, the track reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Finn’s melody carries a bright surface, but the lyric recognizes that love can be powerful enough to comfort you or knock you completely off balance. Nick Seymour and Paul Hester keep the arrangement light and propulsive while Froom’s production gives the song plenty of space. It is catchy without being shallow, which is one of the reasons Crowded House songs have aged so well.

Read More: Top 10 Crowded House Songs

# 8 – Somethin’ Stupid – Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra

“Somethin’ Stupid” gave Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra one of the most unusual number one records of the 1960s. Written by C. Carson Parks, the song had first been recorded by Parks with Gaile Foote before the Sinatras made it famous in 1967. Their version topped the Billboard Hot 100 and also reached number one in the United Kingdom. The father and daughter vocal blend gives the song an intimacy that could easily have become awkward, yet the performance remains warm and understated. The entire idea turns on that nervous moment when somebody says too much and risks changing everything. Its simplicity is exactly why the record still works.

Read More: Top 10 Frank Sinatra Songs

Read More: Top 10 Nancy Sinatra Songs

# 7 – Something’s Happening – Peter Frampton

“Something’s Happening” opens Frampton Comes Alive! with exactly the kind of excitement the title promises. Released in January 1976, the live album opens with this performance, immediately establishing the energy that helped turn the record into a phenomenon. Frampton had first recorded the song in studio form as “Baby (Somethin’s Happening)” for his 1974 album Somethin’s Happening. On the live version, his guitar and vocal are pushed by a band that sounds completely locked into the audience. The song does not need the talk box fireworks of “Do You Feel Like We Do” to make its point; it simply rocks from the first minute. As an album opener, it is a perfect invitation into one of the most famous live records ever released.

# 6 – Something In The Night – Bruce Springsteen

This one has always been one of my favorite songs from Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town album. It is the perfect song for driving late at night and doing some pretty deep thinking. Released on the 1978 album, “Something in the Night” has Springsteen singing about escape, loss, and the damage people carry even as they keep moving. Roy Bittan’s piano gives the song its lonely opening mood, while Max Weinberg, Garry Tallent, Danny Federici, Steven Van Zandt, and Clarence Clemons slowly build the track around Springsteen’s vocal. Nothing about the performance feels rushed, and that space gives every line more weight. Few songs capture the feeling of driving alone with too much on your mind as powerfully as this one.

# 5 – Something About You – Boston

“Something About You” is one of the great deeper cuts on Boston’s massive 1976 debut album. Written by Tom Scholz, the song sits late in a record where even the album tracks sound like they could have been radio singles. Brad Delp’s voice rises effortlessly over the layered guitars and polished production that made Boston sound unlike almost anybody else at the time. The song has all the precision associated with Scholz, but the melody keeps it from ever feeling cold or mechanical. Coming after songs such as “More Than a Feeling,” “Peace of Mind,” and “Foreplay/Long Time” would bury a lesser track. Instead, “Something About You” proves just how deep that first Boston album really was.

Read More: Top 10 Boston Songs

# 4 – Something About You – Level 42

Level 42’s “Something About You” brought the band’s jazz and funk roots into one of the sleekest pop records of the mid 1980s. Released in 1985 from World Machine, the song reached number six in the United Kingdom and later climbed to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Mark King’s bass remains a major part of the sound, but the track works because the band does not let the musicianship overwhelm the melody. Mike Lindup’s vocals and keyboards add another layer of smoothness to the arrangement. The production by Level 42 and Wally Badarou gives the record the clean finish of its era without draining away the groove. It became the band’s American breakthrough for a very good reason.

Read More: Top 10 Level 42 Songs

# 3 – Something in the Way She Moves – James Taylor

“Something in the Way She Moves” is one of the songs that helped introduce James Taylor to the world. Taylor performed it when he auditioned for Paul McCartney and George Harrison, and it helped him secure a recording contract with the Beatles’ Apple Records. The song appeared on Taylor’s self-titled 1968 debut album with a spare arrangement that keeps the focus on his voice, guitar, and writing. Its most famous legacy came when George Harrison borrowed the phrase “something in the way she moves” while writing the Beatles’ “Something.” Taylor has always treated the connection with good humor and has said he never considered it a problem. Two beautiful songs came out of that shared phrase, and this was the one that came first.

Read More: Top 10 James Taylor Songs

# 2 – Something – The Beatles

“Something” stands as one of George Harrison’s greatest compositions and one of the most beautiful recordings the Beatles ever made. The song appeared on Abbey Road in 1969 and became Harrison’s first Beatles composition released as an A-side. Paired with “Come Together,” the single reached number one in the United States and number four in the United Kingdom. George Martin’s string arrangement and Harrison’s guitar work give the recording elegance without overwhelming the melody. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Billy Preston all contributed during the sessions that developed the final track. Harrison had stepped completely out of the shadow of Lennon and McCartney with a song that belongs beside anything they ever wrote.

# 1 – Something’s Coming – Utopia

If you are not familiar with Utopia or Todd Rundgren’s enormous catalog, their version of “Something’s Coming” is a great example of just how adventurous the band could be. The song was originally written for West Side Story, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Utopia included its live progressive rock reinterpretation on the 1975 album Another Live. Todd Rundgren is joined by Roger Powell on keyboards, John Siegler on bass, and John “Willie” Wilcox on drums, with the band turning Broadway material into something that sounds completely at home in a 1970s rock set. The arrangement keeps the original’s tension and rhythmic movement while giving it much more electric weight. Putting this at number one is exactly the kind of left turn that makes a title list more interesting.