Many songs use non-words—ones with no semantic meaning—to add color or texture. Non-word examples include mmmm, ooh, la, ah, hmmm, whoo, doo, and bah. Usually, these are sung in the background to harmonize with the melody. Sometimes however, these non-words take the center stage in a song. Listen below to the non-word sections from 40 songs that were hits in the US between 1961 and 2006, then see how many song titles and artists you can name. Once you have gone through them, check your answers.

NOTE: If the sample starts to play, pauses by itself, then continues to play, you can hear the sample uninterrupted by playing the sample again.

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