My FIFTH 100 Songs

My 100 Songs | My SECOND 100 Songs | My THIRD 100 Songs

My FOURTH 100 Songs | My FIFTH 100 Songs

Okay I did it, 500 of my favorite songs of all time divided into five 100 songs playlists!

To finish this last group of 100, I actually had to go back to the other four playlists and ended up reshuffling and organizing all 500 songs. I also went back to the four blogs and included a written song list to track my selections as YouTube songs get routinely deleted (damn you Don Henley), and I forget what was actually missing from the previous playlist. So be my guest and revisit the other four blogs in this series at you leisure as everything is updated.

This FIFTH 100 SONGS was an exercise in trying to find all the other songs I didn't put in the other four playlists. I found myself deleting songs like Elvis' Jailhouse Rock because there's that Tom Petty song I just could not exclude. Over time with a 500 cap, some songs are going to bite the dust to another new or rediscovered song. In any event, if the song has a personal connection to my past or present, it's probably going to even replace a classic.

Now before I get into this playlist I thought I'd revisit a few other lists of my music favorites.

My Top Ten Favorite Bands 
Notice if a band started their name with "The" they were making a statement, at least with me. Note- Glenn Fry refused the 'The' in front of the Eagles.

I also flunk the 'critic' test by choosing the Eagles as most hip critics go out of their way to make sure they are on their most hated band list. Same for the Buckingham/Nicks Fleetwood Mac, but I've always embraced all the iterations of their band.

1. The Beatles
2. The Rolling Stones
3. The Who
4. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
5. The Byrds
6. Eagles 
7. Fleetwood Mac
8. The Jayhawks
9. The Kinks
10. The Bangles

My Top Ten Favorite Solo Artists

1. Bob Dylan
2. Neil Young
3. James Taylor
4. Jackson Browne
5. Paul Simon
6. Joni Mitchell
7. Paul McCartney
8. Linda Ronstadt
9. John Prine
10. Mark Knopfler

My Favorite Duo's and a Special Trio

1. Simon and Garfunkel
2. Crosby, Stills & Nash
3. The Everly Brothers
4. The Milk Carton Kids
5. Mandolin Orange (now called Watchhouse)
6. The Cactus Blossoms
7. The Weepies

My Favorite Concert

1. Elton John at The Troubadour, August 27, 1975
   My girlfriend Mary Kit Smith had entered a raffle contest to fill several audiences for celebrating Elton's fifth anniversary of his triumphant debut in America at The Troubadour club in Los Angeles CA, in 1970. She won two tickets and we drove up and back from San Diego with a barely working clutch in my car. We were 15 feet from Elton, loved the show, and Mary Kit was even kissed by Bernie Taupin expressing her admiration for Bernie and Elton in the wings. I didn't mind.

My Favorite Album

1. After The Gold Rush, Neil Young
   I would say if I had to pick one album it would be The White Album, but this week in the cold and rainy weather, it's After The Gold Rush.

My Favorite Song

1. Penny Lane, The Beatles
   In 1980, I started my teaching career with a group of students with multiple physical and mental challenges. One student Kenny Lane, responded to me playing and singing along to a mix tape I had made for the class. When Penny Lane came on, all the adults in the room would get around Kenny and sing the chorus, inserting "Kenny" for Penny. Kenny would rock back and forth in his wheelchair, laugh and had the biggest smile when we did that.
   
   Kenny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.

My FIFTH 100 Songs

1. Strawberry Fields, The Beatles
2. Get Off Of My Cloud, The Rolling Stones
3. My Generation, The Who
4. A Higher Place, Tom Petty
5. The Bells of Rhymney, The Byrds
6. I'm Not Like Everybody Else, The Kinks
7. New Kid In Town, The Eagles
8. Everywhere, Fleetwood Mac
9. Save It For A Rainy Day, The Jayhawks
10. Hazy Shade Of Winter, The Bangles
11. Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan
12. My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), Neil Young
13. For A Dancer, Jackson Browne
14. Mother And Child Reunion, Paul Simon
15. Play With Fire, The Rolling Stones
16. Your Smiling Face, James Taylor
17. Blue Bayou, Linda Ronstadt
18. Brothers in Arms, Mark Knopfler
19. Help Me, Joni Mitchell
20. Some Humans Ain't Human, John Prine
21. Don't Come Around Here No More, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
22. Yellow Submarine, The Beatles
23. What's The Frequency, Kenneth?, REM
24. Leaving On A Jet Plane, Peter, Paul & Mary
25. Rip It Up, Little Richard
26. At The Chime Of A City Clock, Nick Drake
27. He's Got A Secret, The Bangles
28. Go To The Mirror, The Who
29. Loves Me Like A Rock, Paul Simon
30. Watching The Wheels, John Lennon
31. Paper Wings, Gillian Welch
32. Sailing To Philadelphia, James Taylor
33. I Knew I'd Want You, The Byrds
34. Let The Mystery Be, Iris Dement
35. The Last Resort, The Eagles
36. The World Spins Madly On, The Weepies
37. Tiny Dancer, Elton John
38. Mustang Sally, Buddy Guy
39. Radio Free Europe, REM
40. I Can't Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt
41. [What's So Funny 'Bout] Peace, Love And Understanding
42. Mannish Boy, Muddy Waters
43. Sympathy For The Devil, The Rolling Stones
44. Caroline, No, The Beach Boys
45. The Only Living Boy In New York, Simon and Garfunkel
46. 96 Tears, ? & The Mysterians
47. The End Of The Innocence, Don Henley 
48. Southern Cross, Crosby, Stills & Nash
49. California, Joni Mitchell
50. Rainy Day Man, James Taylor
51. These Days, Jackson Browne
52. Fast Car, Tracy Chapman
53. New York, The Milk Carton Kids
54. All I Have To Do Is Dream, The Everly Brothers
55. Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
56. Don't Worry Baby, The Beach Boys
57. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, James Brown
58. Tangled Up In Blue, Bob Dylan
59. Rubylove, Cat Stevens
60. Under African Skys, Paul Simon
61. Down In Liverpool, The Bangles
62. In My Life, The Beatles
63. Golden Embers, Mandolin Orange/Watchhouse
64. The Times Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan
65. Brand New Day, Sting
66. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
67. Something, The Beatles
68. Lo And Behold, James Taylor
69. Somewhere In Time, John Berry
70. Better Way, Mandolin Orange/Watchhouse
71. If I Cant Win, The Cactus Blossoms
72. Across the Universe, The Beatles
73. I Need to Know, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
74. Everyday Is A Winding Road, Sheryl Crow
75. Everybody Knows, The Jayhawks
76. The Kids Are Alright, The Who
77. 25 Or 6 To 4, Chicago
78. Refuge Of The Road, Joni Mitchell
79. The Road And The Sky, Jackson Browne
80. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles
81. Sunny Day, The Kinks
82. She's A Rainbow, The Rolling Stones
83. All I Want, Toad The Wet Sprocket
84. You Don't Know How It Feels, Tom Petty
85. Gravity, Sarah Bareilles
86. You've Got To Be Carefully Taught, James Taylor
87. Crying In The Rain, The Everly Brothers
88. Bitch, The Rolling Stones
89. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me, The Jayhawks
90. The Wind, Cat Stevens
91. Tumbling Dice, Linda Ronstadt
92. For Everyman, Jackson Browne
93. Duncan, Paul Simon
94. Sentimental Lady, Fleetwood Mac
95. After The Gold Rush, Neil Young
96. Yesterday, The Beatles
97. You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio, Joni Mitchell
98. The Last DJ, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
99. The Song Is Over, The Who
100. Abbey Road Medley, The Beatles
     1: You Never Give Me Your Money
     2: Sun King
     3: Mean Mr. Mustard
     4: Her Majesty
     5: Polythene Pam
     6: She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
     7: Golden Slumbers
     8: Carry That Weight
     9: The End 

With all this listed, I could have easily slipped in another song from one of my favorite bands or artists over many of the 500 total songs I have selected to date. I think of these 500 songs as a good representative grouping of music that have influenced me, provided a lifetime of therapy, and essentially opened my mind. It's a great 'stuck on a marooned island' list, if not an 'in my room' list from my teenage years, or even, a good mix of tunes running and walking this past week in Lincoln Park (West Seattle). 

Enjoy all these little gems my friends!

The song is over

The song is over

Excepting one note, pure and easy

Playing so free, like a breath rippling by

–Pete Townshend, The Song Is Over

My FIFTH (and final) 100 Songs

My FOURTH 100 Songs

My 100 Songs | My SECOND 100 Songs | My THIRD 100 Songs

My FOURTH 100 Songs | My FIFTH 100 Songs

I posted My 100 Songs 11/2016,

SECOND 100 Songs 4/2019,

THIRD 100 Songs 6/2020, and

FOURTH 100 Songs today.

I should have My FIFTH 100 Songs and LAST, sometime in the near future.

Over the years I chipped away at this project, slowly adding, moving around, or even deleting songs from the playlists.

This past week, I spent some extra time and updated all four playlists and created a custom top menu for your convenience. Hopefully no videos will have been blocked or deleted by YouTube as I'm moving to using the original artist's song video from their YouTube Channel.

In getting to this FOURTH 100 playlist, I've created a bit of a shuffle exercise for myself. A pecking order pattern has emerged where ultimately, the five 100 playlists will sequentially move from all-time favorites to favorites. Within each 100 songs, I will not rank them other than the first 10 songs or so of the first playlist are ranked as special special to me. 

Now, what do I do when I have curated 500 favorite songs and then want to add another great song? Well, I have thought that through and decided that a song from the FIFTH playlist will just get deleted and replaced with a song I like a bit more! 

And now, an imaginary scene rolling around in my brain. I'll be playing Meathead.

INTERIOR- LIVING ROOM 

Archie seated in his sofa chair, Edith in her chair, Meathead standing by the dinner table.

Archie 

Edith can you believe dis guy... look hows he spends his time deez daze.

Edith

Now Archie be nice.

Meathead

Arch I do other things... I write a music blog every week.

Archie

Whoop di do... didnit ju used to have a real job?

My Fourth 100 Songs

1. Hello Goodbye, The Beatles
2. Nobody But You, Loggins and Messina
3. Music is Love, David Crosby
4. I Don't Mind, Sturgill Simpson
5. A Light In The Dark, Darlingside
6. I've Seen All Good People, Yes
7. Machine, No. 2, Leo Kottke
8. We Can Work It Out, The Beatles
9. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, The Band
10. I'll Get By, Crazy Horse
11. Song For The Asking, Simon and Garfunkel
12. Take Five, Dave Brubeck
13. Wanderlust, Paul McCartney
14. If You Saw Thro' My Eyes, Iain Matthews
15. I'm Just Another Soldier, The Staple Singers
16. On The Way Home, Neil Young
17. Sloop John B, The Beach Boys
18. Pre-Roads Downs, Crosby, Stills & Nash
19. One Of These Things First, Nick Drake
20. Broken Arrow, Neil Young
21. Heart Of A Girl, The Killers
22. Come Together, The Beatles
23. Last Train to Clarksville, The Monkees
24. Up On The Roof, Laura Nyro
25. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, Bob Dylan
26. Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
27. Love Her Madly, The Doors
28. Long Ago And Far Away, James Taylor
29. Dear Prudence, The Beatles
30. The Thrill Is Gone, B.B. King
31. Shut Up And Sing, Brent Cobb
32. Bad Fog Of Loneliness, Neil Young
33. Sunday Morning Coming Down, Kris Kristofferson
34. Fall Apart Again, Brandi Carlille
35. Traction In The Rain, David Crosby
36. Cassiopeia, Sara Bareilles
37. Walk On By, Dionne Warkwick
38. The Last Time, The Rolling Stones
39. Dear Boy, Paul McCartney
40. Best Of The Best, Josh Ritter
41. Be Yourself, Graham Nash
42. My Favorite Mistake, Sheryl Crow
43. Ain't No Sunshine, Bill Withers
44. Any Time At All, The Beatles
45. Late For The Sky, Jackson Browne
46. Chain Of Fools, Aretha Franklin
47. Roy Rogers, Elton John
48. Heroes, Davie Bowie
49. Behind Blue Eyes, The Who
50. Two Angles, The Jayhawks
51. Time Is A Runaway, The Alternate Routes
52. Famous Blue Raincoat, Jennifer Warnes
53. Ticket To Ride, The Beatles
54. Keep On Tryin', Poco
55. Here Comes My Girl, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
56. Good Golly Miss Molly, Little Richard,
57. Angel From Montgomery, Bonnie Raitt
58. White Room, Cream
59. What I Love About Rain, Art Garfunkel
60. Taxman, The Beatles
61. You Keep Me Hangin' On, The Supremes
62. Who'll Stop The Rain, Creedence Clearwater Revival
63. Rockin' In The Free World, Neil Young
64. Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran
65. Somebody To Love, Jefferson Airplane
66. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, Bob Dylan
67. Honky Tonk Women, The Rolling Stones
68. Creeque Alley, The Mamas & The Papas
69. Alone Again (Naturally), Gilbert O'Sullivan
70. Sweet Jane, The Velvet Underground
71. Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Tears For Fears
72. Positively 4th Street, Bob Dylan
73. Running On Empty, Jackson Browne
74. Woman Of Heart And Mind, Joni Mitchell
75. Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix
76. God Only Knows, The Beach Boys
77. I'm Looking Through You, The Beatles
78. Nick Of Time, Bonnie Raitt
79. Long Monday, John Prine
80. Mr. Spaceman, The Byrds
81. The Weight, The Band with the Staple Singers
82. Falling Star, Karla Bonoff
83. Wear Your Love Like Heaven, Donovan
84. Rock Me, Steppenwolf
85. If She Knew What She Wants, The Bangles
86. I'll Be Gone, Sarah Jarosz
87. You Really Got Me, The Kinks
88. Fishes And Scorpions, Stephen Stills
89. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, The Beach Boys
90. Don't Let Me Down, The Beatles
91. Bitter Creek, Eagles
92. The Shadow Of Your Smile, Tony Bennett
93. Hot Fun In The Summertime, Sly & The Family Stone
94. One, Harry Nilsson
95. Woodstock, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
96. Friends, Elton John
97. [One Man Dog Medley] Hymn, James Taylor
98. [One Man Dog Medley] Fanfare, James Taylor
99. Smile, Nat King Cole
100. Rain, The Beatles

My FOURTH 100 Songs Playlist

Fifty Years of Music • Tapestry

Update - 2/19/21

James Taylor's Quote
from The Guardian - 'It shook me to my core': 50 years of Carole King's Tapestry - 2/12/21

"The singer-songwriter genre was named around 1970, give or take, and was said to apply to me and, among others Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and Jackson Browne. Why that supposed movement didn’t begin with Bob Dylan or even Woody Guthrie or Robert Johnson beats me – maybe they were still “folk”. But, if it means anything, Carol King deserves to be thought of as its epitome. I’d been deep into her songs – Up on the Roof, Natural Woman, Crying in the Rain – for a decade before Danny Kortchmar introduced us in Los Angeles in 1970. She played piano on my Sweet Baby James album while working on the songs for her own Tapestry. Our collaboration, our extended musical conversation over the next three or four years was really something wonderful. I’ve said it before, but Carole and I found we spoke the same language. Not just that we were both musicians but as if we shared a common ear, a parallel musical/emotional path. And we brought this out in one another, I believe.

It was a big change for Carole to leave New York for LA. She left behind an established, hugely successful career as a Brill Building [era] tunesmith, with her husband and lyricist, Gerry Goffin, and went west, on her own, with two young daughters. She started writing by herself, about herself – that is to say, from her own life. It came out of her so strong, so fierce and fresh. So clearly in her own voice. And yet, so immediately accessible, so familiar: you knew these songs already. I had that experience the first time I heard Carole sing You’ve Got a Friend from the stage of the Troubadour: “Oh yeah, that one.” Incredible that this song didn’t always exist. Carole’s focus was her family: [children] Louise and Sherry, and imminently, Levi and Molly. She had no time for the stuff the rest of us in Laurel Canyon were up to. She had her family and her songs. Certainly she would have her adventures, dramatic emotional switchbacks, in years to come. But in those days, she seemed to watch the dancers with a kind, wry detachment. To me, she was a port in the storm, a good and serious person with an astonishing gift, and, of course, a friend."

Breaking News - 2/10/21

Carole King Gets Rock Hall Nomination on Tapestry’s 50th Birthday

Original Blog - 2/8/21

February 9th is Carole King's 79th birthday, Happy Birthday Carole!

Released in April, 1971

Tapestry, with all of its songs written, co-written and performed by Carole King was recorded 50 years ago in January and released February 10, 1971. It was recorded at the same time James Taylor was recording his new album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. Both Joni Mitchell and James (a couple at the time) sing/play on Tapestry as well as James loving and recording King's song from Tapestry, You've Got a Friend. It became a #1 hit for Taylor from Mud Slide Slim as this cross-pollination of friendship and musicianship puts the 'singer-songwriter' as the driving force in rock 'n' roll in 1971. 

 

Tapestry has sold 10 million copies in the U.S. and 25 million worldwide.

It received four Grammy Awards in 1972, including Album of the Year. The lead singles from the album—"It's Too Late" and "I Feel the Earth Move"—spent five weeks at number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts. 

Tapestry, topped the U.S. album charts for 15 weeks in 1971 and remained on the charts for more than six years. [The album] held the record for most weeks at No. 1 by a female artist for more than 20 years.

In 2020, Tapestry was ranked number 25 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
–Wikipedia

By the spring of 1971, everybody in America knew Carole King and her equally famous Tapestry album cover with her long flowing golden curly hair, sweater and jeans in a teenage boy's hippie dream, perched by the window sill with her gray tabby cat (Telemachus). Most of the Tapestry songs were playing all the time across the radio dial, and the album itself was selling at a blistering pace. 

Joni Mitchell's, Ladies of the Canyon (1970) may have gotten a lot of teen girls (boys too) starting to buy records by female singer-songwriters, but Tapestry kicked that up to a whole new mass market level. Women were breaking barriers across the culture, including the growing number of female solo singer-songwriters not relegated to just being a singer or singer in a band. Carole King had in fact, written or co-written many hits for women singers in the 1960's, now she was helping to launch a new day where women could start to create and control their own destiny in the very male-oriented music business. For many young aspiring women musicians in the early 70's, Joni may have planted the dream, and Carole may have planted the plan.

In the summer of 1971, I remember coming home in the car from the beach with friend Tim Patterson driving. I have the distinct memory of that day. I was in the front passenger seat, window rolled down, looking out west at the ocean heading south from Avila Beach, somewhere between Pismo Beach and Shell Beach on the U.S. 101. The sun was shining not a cloud in the sky, Carole King's, It's Too Late*, comes on the radio as Tim and I are silent, just listening to the song, absorbing the sun and central coast. There's a common association of long-term memory with time, place and song. This was obviously one of those moments for me as I can't remember more important details from 50 years ago, but that specific memory came to mind this past week thinking about Tapestry.

Steve Patterson

That memory triggered a couple more of 1971 or thereabouts, as I briefly hung out with Tim in high school as we both grew up in the same church and also just lived a couple of blocks from each other. Tim Patterson was just a year older than me, and our star center on the Santa Maria High School basketball team. In 1971, Tim a Junior was just getting taller and taller, as I'm going to guess around 6' 8'' or thereabouts at the time. Tim would go on to play four years of basketball as center at Stanford, then two years of professional basketball in Sweden, and later become a lawyer and settle around Palo Alto, California. 

By 1971, Tim's older brother, Steve Patterson was the star center at UCLA and is known as the center between Kareem Abdul Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) and Bill Walton years. Steve as starting center at UCLA won back to back NCAA National Championships in 1970 and 1971 with legendary coach John Wooden. Steve Patterson went on to play five years in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls. 

Now how this memory relates Tim, Steve and me starts somewhere in time in high school between 1971 or 1972. Tim calls me up and asks me if I want to go with him to the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes (Oso Flaco) to ride the dunes in his brother's 4-wheel drive Ford Bronco. Tim picks me up and the two of us head out to the dunes listening to his brother's tapes on the ride out. We get to the dunes and the wind is blowing something fierce where we can't even see the ground with the blur of moving sand. 

Guadalupe-Nipomo (Oso Flaco) Sand Dunes

We're about 15 minutes in, going up and down the dunes when it dawns on me, man I should probably put on my seat belt. No sooner do I snap the belt, than the Bronco crashes down into a small sand ravine about 5 feet deep and wide that neither one of us saw coming. I would estimate the car was going probably about 30 miles an hour when we hit the opposite bank of the ravine head-on and an instant stop. Tim's face hits the rear view mirror just above his right eye and starts to bleed like he's been hit by a left hook from Joe Frazier.* At the same moment upon impact, I hit the front wind shield with the right side of my head. I unbuckle and stumble out of the Bronco with an instant headache. I walk around to Tim, we find a rag or t-shirt in the car and he presses that on his wound to stop the bleeding.

Long story short, a guy in a Jeep comes along and he has a winch on his front-end and pulls the Bronco out from its back-end. We get back to Tim's house and talk to his mom, the nicest lady ever. Anyway, it was either that day or next, the Patterson's discover that my head impact had actually popped out the entire front windshield from its rubber seal. Looking back, I probably had a slight concussion but nobody even thought about that back in the day. Mrs. Patterson did come up to me at church several days later to make sure I was still okay. I think she said something about me having "a hard head," which something I have heard many times since in my life, from two different wives...

This past week, I pulled out the Tapestry album from the combined vinyl record collection from my wife Mary Kit and me. We combined our collections in 2020 after being in boxes in the attic for a long time. She made me laugh when she started to initial all her albums with a black Sharpie, well for, just in case, you never know if it's going to work out... Anyway, Tapestry with the initials 'MK' on the back cover have been playing on the turntable this past week as it certainly primed the pump for this week's blog.

The playlist this week is two halves. First, are the original 12 songs from the Tapestry album. Second, is Carole, Carole and James, or other artists performing songs from Tapestry mostly in the 21st century.

Enjoy my friends, stay well and mask-up.

* It's Too Late, is one of my all-time favorite songs and is on My 100 Songs playlist.

* On March 8, 1971 Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali, staggering Ali in the 11th and knocking him down in the 15th with his staggering left hook. Wikipedia

My 100 Songs

My 100 Songs | My SECOND 100 Songs | My THIRD 100 Songs

My FOURTH 100 Songs | My FIFTH 100 Songs

My intent here is to make my personal version of Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time with the knowledge that there is really NO TOP 100 or 500 rock 'n roll songs, it's all individual preference. 

This first group of 100 will be the easiest because each song has a deep personal meaning to me. Many of these songs also have some long-term memory moment in time like listening to The Rolling Stones, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction on my Sony transistor radio in 1965 on my front yard grass. 

Also, I have not rated my list, "Best 1-100" but in this series I will always start and end a set of 100 with my favorite band of all-time, The Beatles.

The first album that I ever owned, I actually stole, The Beatles ‎– A Hard Day's Night (Original Motion Picture Sound Track). It was taken by me from my grandfather's record collection that I found in his wooden console record player at his house. I believe my dad told me he belonged to the Columbia Record Club and must have gotten this one thrown in as a bonus because I knew he didn't listen to it. I guess I'm explaining my childhood rationalization for stealing this album and even now feel I took it more as a need than a want. And boy, what an album it was and still is. I'm listening to George Martin produce the boys and won't even know who he is until several years later!

Playing records was something my parents never really did at our house, so this record was my start and made me feel that I was part of something different from my parents point of view. I'm actually visiting the childhood house now on Tunnell St. (Santa Maria, CA) where I started to play my own 45's and albums, in my room. 

I lived in a home where rock 'n roll was not embraced. I vividly remember my parents and church friends, The Reyburns, over at our old house on Sunset St. on a memorable Sunday evening. The parents were putting down The Beatles during their performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, as my brother, sister and I (along with the Reyburn children) were trying to tune the adults out and tune into the wonderful Beatles and their screaming fans on our black and white TV.

In 1967, my grandfather passed away and that wooden stereo console and his record collection, including Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra came to our house. I think like most American homes, the stereo console was off limits to the children, but we all sneaked our albums onto the best sound system in the house when our parents were gone.

At a certain point, my parents gave up and let us play our records on the console until the vacuum tubes got heated up and eventually were worn out by the early 70's. What a time, Buffalo Springfield on the stereo console and the Vietnam War live on the TV console. These two beasts of technology played across from each other in our converted garage to family room with our new indoor/outdoor blue/green carpet.

From junior high 1966, music was a big part of my friends lives and thus became a big part of my life. As I moved into high school and through college, there were the larger than life bands, the break-ups, the new bands, the new single artist's, all with the blending of acoustic, electric and American musical genres. 

From the car radios, the new portable stereo systems and the concert experiences, music was right there for all my friends and me. Today, we still never stop talking about all the music- old and new. Here in this playlist, you are going to hear mostly 60's and 70's songs that I bonded with and are a part of me today. I'm sure if you read my blog on a regular basis, there are more than a few songs here that have always stayed with you too.

 As I write this, it's starting to rain right now on the family room roof and that's a good memory too. The old forced-air heater has just whirled on and it's time for some Thanksgiving pie for breakfast. Take care my friends.

My 100 Songs

1. Hard Days Night, The Beatles
2. Penny Lane, The Beatles
3. Sweet Baby James, James Taylor
4. Like A Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
5. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
6. The Boys of Summer, Don Henley
7. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
8. The Water Is Wide, Karla Bonoff
9. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), Shawn Colvin
10. Light My Fire, The Doors
11. Both Sides Now, Joni Mitchell
12. I Can See For Miles, The Who
13. The Sounds Of Silence, Simon and Garfunkel
14. I Should Have Known Better, The Beatles
15. Doolin-Dalton / Desperado (Reprise), Eagles
16. All Along The Watch Tower, Jimi Hendrix
17. Ruby Tuesday, The Rolling Stones
18. In My Room, The Beach Boys
19. Rock & Roll Woman, Buffalo Springfield
20. Bye Bye Love, The Everly Brothers
21. Here, There and Everywhere, The Beatles
22. Mary Jane's Last Dance, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
23. Faithless Love, Linda Ronstandt
24. Cinnamon Girl, Neil Young
25. Lake Marie, John Prine
26. It's Too Late, Carole King
27. She Loves You, The Beatles
28. Bad Moon Rising, Creedence Clearwater Revival
29. Sugar Mountain, Neil Young
30. Cecilia, Simon and Garfunkel
31. Levon, Elton John
32. Nowhere Man, The Beatles
33. Blowing In The Wind, Bob Dylan
34. Street Fighting Man, The Rolling Stones
35. Spare Me A Little Of Your Love, Fleetwood Mac
36. Vincent, Don McLean
37. Running Down A Dream, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
38. Green Onions, Booker T. & The MG's
39. Wooden Ships, Crosby, Stills & Nash
40. Wake Up Everybody, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes
41. Lovers Of The Sun, The Jayhawks
42. Revolution, The Beatles
43. Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Neil Young
44. Fly Me To The Moon, Tony Bennett
45. Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones
46. Wichita Lineman, Glen Campbell
47. I Want To Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
48. Carry On, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
49. On Step Up, Bruce Springsteen
50. Crossroads, Cream
51. Here Comes The Sun, The Beatles
52. Learning To Fly, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
53. Tell Me Why? Neil Young
54. Ride My See-Saw, The Moody Blues
55. Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters, Elton John
56. Instant Karma, John Lennon
57. Eight Miles High, The Byrds
58. American Tune, Paul Simon
59. Ol' 55, The Eagles
60. Bargain, The Who
61. Blackbird, The Beatles
62. Badge, Cream
63. Harmony, Elton John
64. Prisoner In Disguise, Linda Ronstadt
65. Day Tripper, The Beatles
66. Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness, John Prine
67. Scarborough Fair/Canticle, Simon and Garfunkel
68. Under Pressure, Queen and David Bowie
69. If I Fell, The Beatles
70. Sultans Of Swing, Dire Straits,
71. Wandering, James Taylor
72. The Late Show, Jackson Browne
73. Let It Rain, Eric Clapton
74. You Make Loving Fun, Fleetwood Mac
75. My Back Pages, The Byrds
76. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology), Marvin Gaye
77. Lonesome Town, Ricky Nelson
78. Ventura Highway, America
79. To The Morning, Dan Fogelberg
80. And Your Bird Can Sing, The Beatles
81. A Song For You, Leon Russell
82. Without You, Harry Nilsson
83. Catch The Wind, Donovan
84. Hello It's Me, Todd Rundgren
85. Circus, Eric Clapton
86. Cause We've Ended As Lovers, Jeff Beck
87. Song For Juli, Jesse Colin Young
88. Sunny Came Home, Shawn Colvin
89. Mr. Blue Sky, Electric Light Orchestra
90. Hello In There, John Prine
91. I'll Be Back, The Beatles
92. Sail Away, Randy Newman
93. Silver Blue, J.D. Souther
94. Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles
95. Losing My Religion, REM
96. The Heart of the Matter, Don Henley
97. You Can Close Your Eyes, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell
98. Monday Monday, The Mamas & The Papas
99. All You Need is Love, The Beatles
100. Satie: Gymnopedie No. 1, Christopher Parkening

My 100 Songs Playlist

The songs playing in our heads this week

The past couple of days, Mary Kit has been singing,

"Standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It's a girl my Lord in a flat-bed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me" (from Take it Easy)...

So this gets me singing in my head one of my favorite songs, actually the final medley from the Eagles 1973 album Desperado, Doolin' Daltons/Desperado (Reprise). This album came out when I was a senior in high school when themed albums were still being done by bands. If you didn't get a chance to see the History of the Eagles tour from 2013 to this past July, the band shows video of their old west shootout scenes featuring Jackson Browne and JD Souther who contributed to the concept and song writing on the album. I was especially thrilled to see Bernie Leadon join the stage with the Eagles on this tour. Glenn Frey wished Randy Meisner well and if you know anything about the Eagles recent history, Don Felder wasn't even mentioned. I do recommend seeing the documentary film, History of the Eagles (Netflix, Showtime), where you can learn many tidbits like the Felder feud and other back stories.

Next up and in my head this past week, a couple of songs from Neil Young's 1970, After the Gold Rush. I absolutely wore this vinyl record out on my bedroom record player. It is a classic with Tell Me Why and Only Love Can Break Your Heart as two more favorites of mine since I was a sophmore in high school. I remember once writing my first girl friend a letter (whom I had broken up with as a freshman) and included the lyrics to Tell Me Why. She wrote back and said she didn't understand what the hell I was trying to say to her. Well, being a 16 year old kid, I probably didn't know what I was trying to say either. So who better for me to quote than the brilliant and often abstract Neil Young.

I'll take these three gems and include them in My 100 Songs playlist and enjoy your music Monday!

The Water is Wide (Karla Bonoff)

Today, I'm introducing a new blog theme segment where I will feature 100 of my all-time favorite songs, over time. I plan to focus on one or two songs per blog. I've also created My 100 Songs YouTube playlist and you'll see the rated order slowly emerge from 1-100. So play along with me Monday readers and start your own list too!

The idea and motivation for starting this list is my response to Rolling Stone magazine's Lists. Rolling Stone has been doing all kinds of lists for years which has been highly successful in marketing their magazine. However, the more lists they make, it seems the less relevant they are becoming. I'm a list kind of person myself, but this recent list of 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, got me thinking. Any list like this is subjective, but when you're shooting for the middle to currently satisfy the most people, you are actually satisfying no one. Their title is the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, really, of all time? You know they meant the last 60 or so years of rock 'n roll, but they should have got the title right, right? Not to mention that R. Kelly is #80 and Björk is #81 on this all time list, need I say more.

So, I think I can do as good with my boomer rock 'n roll years of experience and picking my own favorite songs sounds like a fun writing exercise.

The first song to add to my100 is, The Water is Wide by Karla Bonoff from her 1979 album, Restless Nights and produced by her longtime collaborator, Kenny Edwards (1946-2010). The Water is Wide is a traditional Scottish folk song that has been performed by countless artists over the years, but I have always favored Karla's version the best. Karla's and Kenny's arrangement of the song features: Karla and James Taylor on acoustic guitars, James in one of his best backup vocal recordings ever (with J.D. Souther too) and Garth Hudson from the Band, playing a longing accordion that gives the song it's seaworthy roots. This song is simply the love song of all love songs. Be prepared to shed a tear for that one person in your heart who means more than anything to you.

The water is wide, I can't cross o'er

And neither have I wings to fly

Give me a boat that can carry two

And both shall row, my love and I