Kings For a Day

Ten songs with the same title. Which one reigns supreme?

Photo by Willian B. onUnsplash

I recently listened to XTC’s gorgeous 1989 album Oranges and Lemons (for approximately the 500th time). While the record’s 3rd track, “King for a Day,” played, my inner jukebox jumped sideways over to the Thompson Twins' song by the same title. The two began to morph into each other. Finishing each other’s lines.

Well the way that we're living,
Is all take and no giving,
There's nothing to believe in,
The loudest mouth will hail the new found way,
To be king for a day

This XTC verse is followed by the Thompson Twins’ chorus:

If I was king for just one day
I have just one thing to say
You know that love is all
We need to get us through

And then, as if that weren’t enough, a third “King” entered the picture. This time from Green Day.

Their fantastic 15th (of 18) track on Nimrod, “King For a Day” (for a song about a drag queen, I’m surprised it’s not called “Queen For a Day”) has that recognizable Green Day energy, but this one adds horns and a festive carnival vibe to it.

This dueling (trueling?) song-title earworm got me thinking: what other songs with the title “King for a Day” are out there?

The short answer: a lot.

Surprisingly, in addition to XTC, Thompson Twins, and Green Day, I found several other Kings that deserve more attention. I decided to cap the list at ten.

A Spotify playlist of all 10 “Kings For a Day” is at the end of the piece.

1. XTC — King For A Day (1989)

Bassist Colin Moulding takes lead vocal duties on this, XTC’s 2nd single from Oranges and Lemons. The band played “King for a Day” on the David Letterman Show in 1989, their first live performance since Andy Partridge’s on-stage nervous breakdown while touring 1982’s English Settlement. This, unfortunately, turned XTC into a studio band for the rest of their career. You can watch this rare return to performing here.

2. Thompson Twins — King for A Day (1985)

Thompson Twins’ (a trio, but Ben Folds 5 was a trio, and they pulled it off) 1985 hit song definitely sounds like 1985. I mean that in all the best ways. Sure, the twinkly keyboards are cheeseball incarnate, but few songs exude joy more than this one.

3. Green Day — King for a Day (1997)

This was always one of my favorite Green Day songs. It makes me want to mosh and flip around my living room like a young 20-something. It’s got elements of ska, punk, polka and sounds perfectly, awesomely Green Day. The horns take the song from really good to fantastic.

4. Faith No More — King For a Day (1995)

Being the follow-up to a worldwide smash album (1992’s Angel Dust) is always challenging. But history has proven King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime to be as defining an album of the 1990s as Angel Dust. This track is just as epic as “Epic,” if a bit less catchy. Mike Patton whisper-growling the line “Don’t let me die with that silly look in my eyes” over and over is downright creepy.

5. Battle Beast — King For a Day (2017)

If I were to ask you which country you think has the most heavy metal bands per capita, would you have guessed Finland? This small Nordic country is rich in all metal subgenres: symphonic, death, black, doom, etc. If you are a metal fan, you might already have a few Finnish favorites.

How does Battle Beast rank? That’s for you to decide. They’re more from the pop/old-school ’80s metal mold. Lots of dramatic vocals, keyboard flourishes, and screaming guitar solos. It’s hard to believe this song wasn’t recorded in the mid-80s. It’s chock-full of hard-rock cliches, but I dare you to listen and not pump your fist in the air!

Lead vocalist Noora Louhimo’s power growl separates her and Battle Beast from their testosterone-fueled peers.

6. Jamiroquai — King For a Day (1999)

It’s the rare soul-funk dance mix (that I compile) that doesn’t include at least one Jamiroquai song. Sure, his biggest hit, “Virtual Insanity,” is probably his best song, but Jason Kay has dozens that would via for a close 2nd, including this one.

7. Planet P Project — King For a Day (1983)

Planet P Project, led by producer Peter Hauke and multi-instrumentalist Tony Carey (keyboardist for Rainbow in the early ’80s), had some success with their radio hit, “Why Me?” From the same self-titled album, “King for a Day” also received a bit of radio play back in ’83 but did not chart nearly as well. It does sound dated but fits in quite well with the prog-pop songs of the early ’80s.

8. George Clanton & Nick Hexum — King For a Day (2019)

George Clanton is an electronic musician widely considered one of the originators of the vaporwave genre.

I don’t know if I’m clear on what vaporwave means (and people have tried to explain it to me), but I have liked everything I’ve heard from Clanton, and this collaboration with Nick Hexum is super intriguing.

Hexum, if you aren’t familiar (and I wasn’t), is the lead vocalist and guitarist for ’90s alt-rock/rap/reggae band 311. It does seem like an odd mix, but apparently, 311 was Clanton’s favorite band growing up, and upon learning of this, Hexum checked out Clanton’s music, loved it, and suggested they collaborate.

Have the two of them created a new genre? And if so, should it be called vaporwrap?

And a big thanks to fellow Substacker

Kiley Larsen

of Check This Out! for first turning me on to this tune!

9. Anderson East — King for a Day (2018)

Anderson East blends soul, Americana, blues, and ‘70s classic rock, all with a touch of classic country. Without sounding excessively retro. This track sounds like Sam Cooke meets early Van Morrison. Impressive.

10. The Steppas — King for a Day (2019)

While compiling this list, the Steppas were the only band new to me. They are from Hawaii and describe themselves as Pacific Island Reggae. I checked out a few of their other tracks, and they’re just as good as this one. Many are better. The Steppas reminded me of the incomparable joy finding an unexpected new band brings. You can find some more of their music here. They also have a couple of albums on Spotify.

• So, which “King” should be crowned the winner?

• Which should never get anywhere near the crown? Any ties?

• Leave your ratings and your rationales in the comments!

• I explored songs with the same title before, here on Earworms & Song Loops, in a piece that also tells the story of how I was born with a tail and had it surgically removed at age 18. The song/earworm?: “Monkey to Man.” But was it Rolling Stones? Toots and the Maytals? Or The Smithereens? You can check this popular archive post below.

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Thanks for reading! And for checking out these great Kingly tracks!

Steve