Peter Bjorn & John had already released a pair of marginally-successful albums and were even beginning to gain a small amount of notoriety as being one of Sweden's most promising young pop bands by the time 2006 rolled around. But it was their third album, Writer's Block, that really put them on the forefront of indie-pop stateside, thanks almost entirely to the infectious single "Young Folks."
And, to think, it might not have been: According to All Music Guide, that contagious little whistle part was originally just a placeholder until the band could get around to replacing it with an instrument. One has to think the song just wouldn't have been the international earworm it ultimately became had they decided not to leave it in.
We couldn't go anywhere the summer of 2007 without somebody bringing up "that whistling song" to us, and, 100 percent of the time, they were talking about "Young Folks."
After several more popular albums with equally catchy hooks, the band has become a bit of a household name, but "Young Folks" has remained by-and-large their most popular song. Not only did it revolutionize the band's career, but we'll also contend that it did the very same for the act of whistling itself.
While that might sound a tad bold, just try Googling the phrase "that whistling song" and see what the top results are. So, on that note, and because the trio are performing at Granada Theater tonight, we thought we'd come up with a list of some of our other favorite songs with whistling.
Peter Bjorn & John - "Young Folks"
Roger Miller - "Whistle-Stop"
Beatles - "Two of Us"
Otis Redding - "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"
Billy Joel - "The Stranger"
Paul Simon - "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard"
Guns N' Roses - "Patience"
Andy Griffith - "The Fishin' Hole"
Lovin' Spoonful - "Daydream"
J. Geils Band - "Centerfold"
The Bangles - "Walk Like an Egyptian"
Beck - "Sissyneck"
Brother Bones - "Sweet Georgia Brown"
More whistling on the next page.
John Lennon - "Jealous Guy"
Ennio Morricone - "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly"
Maria McKee - "If Love is a Red Dress (Hang Me in Rags)"
Bobby McFerrin - "Don't Worry, Be Happy"
Kenneth J. Alford - "Colonel Bogey March" (from Bridge on the River Kwai)
Focus - "Hocus Pocus"
David Bowie - "Golden Years"
Juelz Santana - "There It Go (The Whistle Song)"
Warren G (feat. Nate Dogg) - "Regulate"
Andrew Bird - "Scythian Empire" (or every song he ever wrote)
Peter Gabriel - "Games Without Frontiers"
Commodores - "Brick House"
The Clash - "Jimmy Jazz"
Supertramp - "Goodbye Stranger"
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - "Home"
