Waddaya Think

OK, we’re bringing back one of our early Writing About Our Generation features, a new question for you, loyal reader:

What’s your favorite song? All right, we’ll make it easier:

what are your three Favorite songs?

The songs that you still want to hear again and again. The songs that immediately conjure up distinct memories. The songs that have been the soundtrack of your life.

You’ve lived through one of the most dynamic, creative, varied periods in music history, a period that saw the birth of rock and roll, the life and death of disco, the metamorphosis of country, the dominance of hip hop. What has stayed with you?

Could be, of course, the Beatles or the Stones, or maybe you want to reach back to an old Sinatra or a number from “West Side Story”? What about Motown or—dare we say it?—disco? Could your songs include more recent stuff, maybe Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, something from Hamilton, even, yes, a Taylor tune? . . .

Rock critic Dave Marsh, in “The Heart of Rock & Soul,” written 30 years ago, lists the 1001 greatest singles ever made. His top three, incidentally, are Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard if Through the Grapevine,” Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and James Brown’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” . . .

Pretty good choices, although there has been a lot of good music since then. But they wouldn’t be mine. If I have to choose—and I do, because that’s the point of all this—I’d choose “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” and “Hard Day’s Night.” I’m pretty sure I don’t have to identify the artists.

Of course, tomorrow, I might choose Elvis Costello’s “Pump it Up,” Four Non Blonde’s “What’s Up” and REM’s “Losing my Religion.”

And the next day, maybe something else again.

But let’s stick with today: What’s your choice today, your top three songs?

Please let us know in the comments or tell us about your top three, and if you choose to, why, by emailing writingaboutourgeneration@gmail.com.