ultimate playlist: playing in my head
So, we all have been influenced by the music around us. Some probably more than others. I'd probably put myself on the far end of the scale, approaching whoever it is that can claim the title of "Have Listened to More Music Than Anyone."
PART OF A SERIES ON FAVORITE SONGS. FOR A PREVIOUS LIST, SEE HERE.
And the music has influenced me in so many ways. I'll leave description of "how" for another day. But for today, here is my list, with links to the recordings, of the top 10 songs that have continually played in my head for the past 65 years:
1. Johnny B. Goode (1958) This is the one. In my early years I heard music that my parents were often playing on the radio: Patsy Cline, Connie Francis, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole. But then, in 1958, I heard Chuck Berry singing Johnny B. Goode. That was it. It's still in my head today. It's the first song I learned to play. When I was in a band up until five years ago, it was the one song a night my bandmates let me sing.
2. Twist and Shout (1963) Then came the Beatles, and everything else got pushed out the door. I still have the clearest memory of them playing on the Ed Sullivan show. New ballgame.
3. The Times They Are a Changin' (1964) No kidding! Thank you, Bob Dylan.
4. Bernadine (1965) By the Apocryphals. You don't know them, I know. But … their bass player and lead singer was Joe Mantegna (anybody ever watch "Criminal Minds" or see "The Godfather"?) Joe was a senior at my high school in Cicero, Illinois, just outside Chicago, when I was a freshman looking for heroes. The Apocryphals was the first live band I saw, and saw many times. By the end of my freshman year, I had purchased my first guitar.
5. For What It's Worth (1966) "There's Somethin' Happening Here" No kidding! Did Buffalo Springfield ever record any other songs? Beats me.
6. Different Drum (1966) The Stone Poneys never made the big time, but I loved this song, its message and its lead singer, who then did pretty well on her own. I've always been able to hear Linda Ronstadt singing in my head.
7. Get Together (1967) By 1967 the world was turning pretty weird, and this 17-year-old was looking in all directions for someone to help show a path forward. Then The Youngbloods came out with this answer. "You hold the key to love and fear, all in your trembling hand."
8. Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In (1969) Thank you, the 5th Dimension, for offering optimism.
9. Uncle John's Band (1970) The Grateful Dead helped close the chapter of the amazing1960s for me. "Think this through with me." At that point I stopped listening to the radio (never did get attached to disco), playing only records and tapes for a decade.
10. Can't Touch This (1990) MC Hammer helped me reset my brain, leave the 60s behind, and start listening to current music again.
There's my list. For what it's worth.