ultimate playlist: way more than 10 of my faves

      Ten of my faves (note I wrote "of my" vs. "my"— tunes I might have unintentionally left out might kill me otherwise):

·       “My One and Only Love,” John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. Fell in love with it when it got played at a cousin's wedding a number of years ago. Trane's intro, which walks through the whole melody, is nonpareil.

·       The Band's cover of Dylan's “I Shall Be Released,” featuring Richard Manuel's haunting lead vocals.

·       Speaking of Zimmerman, I'd be remiss if I didn't include at least one of his as done by him. Let's go, somewhat arbitrarily, with “When the Ship Comes In.” Hard to beat, both melody-wise and lyrics-wise. 

·       “Oogum Boogum,” Brenton Wood. Unbeatable melody and delivery.

·       “Let's Stay Together,” Al Green. Can that guy sing, or what? And what a melody. Visited the church where he pastored while accompanying my younger son to an AAU basketball tourney he played in in Memphis.

·       “You Don't Know Like I Know,” arbitrary pick among Sam & Dave's wonderful hits. Such harmony, such infectious melodies.

·       “I Say a Little Prayer,” Aretha. 'Nuff said (as in, the second her piano starts the song, I'm hooked; thought Dionne's version was unbeatable 'til then).

·       I'd be utterly remiss if I failed to include at least one Motown tune. Perhaps surprisingly, let's go with Mary Wells' “You Beat Me to the Punch” (not that “My Guy” or any of her other hits lack anything).

·       “Jesus, I'll Never Forget,” Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers. Despite my non-Christian-ness, this song's hypnotic melody and harmony move me to the bone.

·       Johann Sebastian Bach's “Air on G String.” So hard to choose among Bach's compositions to represent him on this list. What a genius.

      Bonus track! The Beatles' “Here, There and Everywhere.” The perfect intro followed by the perfect melody. As with some of these other artists, I may be at high risk for choosing this instead of another by the Liverpudlians.

      Sorry, one more bonus track: Despite his stand on the COVID vaccine, Van (Morrison) the Man's “And It Stoned Me.” Totally seductive melody. 'Twas years before I figured out the song's about water.

      And still one more: “Round Midnight” by Monk, as in Thelonius. What a melody!

And still because I really can't stop—here are two more, because I haven’t yet paid homage to Broadway:

"Somewhere,” a.k.a. "There's a Place for Us" from West Side Story. Almost an impossible task to pick among the all-brilliant songs from that score.

And “You'll Never Walk Alone,” from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. So hard to choose among R&H's songs!