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