"Strings of Life" is a 1987 single by Americanelectronic musicianDerrick May, under the name Rhythim Is Rhythim. It is his most well-known song and considered a classic in both the house music and techno genres. May is credited with developing the futuristic variation that would be dubbed "techno".
Background and release
Born in Detroit, May began exploring electronic music at early age. His high school friends were Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson. They were commonly known as the Belleville Three. In 1987, May started his production career with the release of "Nude Photo", a single co-written by Thomas Barnett. The single helped kickstart the Detroit technomusic scene. A year later he followed it with the release of "Strings of Life," which was named by Frankie Knuckles. It "hit Britain in an especially big way during the country's 1987-1988 house explosion." "Strings of Life" is based on a piano sequence by May's friend Michael James. He dropped in for a visit at May's house and sat down to play a piano ballad he had been working on called, "Lightning Strikes Twice". This piece went into Derrick's sequencer and was kept there until Derrick decided to listen to it all the way through. He found some portions which interested him, and he started to work with it. The song was originally at 80 BPM before May increased the tempo, chopped it up into loops, and added percussion and string samples. According to Frankie Knuckles, the track "just exploded. It was like something you can't imagine, the kind of power and energy people got off that record when it was first heard. Mike Dunn says he has no idea how people can accept a record that doesn't have a bassline." The song was featured in video game . In 1989, the song was remixed by Juan Atkins and released as "Strings of Life '89". It peaked at #74 in the UK.
Track listing
Impact and legacy
Mixmag ranked the song #17 in its "100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time" list in 1996. DJ Magazine ranked "Strings of Life" #25 in their list of "Top 100 Club Tunes" in 1998. BBC Radio's 2008 listeners & DJs poll, "The Greatest Ever Dance Record", ranked "Strings of Life" at #4, after Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", James Brown's "Sex Machine" and Donna Summer's "I Feel Love". The Guardian featured the song on their "A History of Modern Music: Dance" in 2011. Mixmag ranked the song #28 in their list of "50 Greatest Dance Tracks of All Time" in 2013. Complex included it in their list of "Songs Every Dance Music Fan Should Know, Vol. 1" in 2014, noting, "It's amazing that a record that encapsulates piano and orchestral samples but has no bassline can still resonate today." LA Weekly ranked "Strings of Life" #1 in its "The 20 Best EDM and Dance Music Tracks in History" in 2015. Time Out's 2015 list of "The 20 Best House Tracks Ever" included "Strings of Life" at #12.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Cover versions
duo Soul Central covered the song in 2004 featuring vocals from American house singer Kathy Brown. The single reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. It also became an underground club hit. British electronic artist Kieran Hebden and American jazz drummerSteve Reid covered the song during their improvisational performances in the late 2000s, a live version being released after Reid's passing to raise funds for a foundation started in his name.
