The most awarded songs #4 are more tunes that got awards from the Grammys, the Oscars, Rolling Stone magazine, RIAA, ASCAP, CMA, NPR, et al. in some arcane formula.
120. Ain’t That A Shame – Fats Domino. One of the earliest songs I really loved. It was covered by Cheap Trick and John Lennon. I understand that Chubby Checker of The Twist fame got HIS nickname as a derivative of Fats Domino.
119. Crazy – Patsy Cline. A Willie Nelson song that became so ubiquitous that it was covered by Linda Ronstadt and many others. In 1961 and early 1962, it went to #2 country and adult contemporary, each for two weeks. But it also went to #9 pop.
I did one of these LOST quizzes, even though I didn’t watch the show. “You are Kate. You listen to Patsy Cline anywhere,” which is true. About a decade ago, Parade magazine had a list of Americans’ All-Time Favorite Love Songs, and Crazy by Patsy Cline was there.
118. Summertime Blues – Eddie Cochran. I heard the song first by The Who, on the Live at Leeds album, then Blue Cheer. But this is my favorite.
117. For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield. The trouble with the song is that it became SO overrepresented on any TV show pointing out the strife of the 1960s. It’s on the Forrest Gump soundtrack and countless compilations of the period. It IS a good song, just overplayed.
Could have been a Billboard R and B hit
116. Walk On By – Dionne Warwick. I loved all of those Warwick/Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs. And I got rather irritable when some people thought she wasn’t “black enough.” The song hit number 1 on the Cash Box Rhythm and Blues Chart in June 1964; Billboard did not print rhythm and blues charts during 1964, for reasons.)
115. California Girls – The Beach Boys. Either Brian Wilson wrote this while he was on acid, or afterward when he was sober. It was inspired by the feel of the Drifters’ version of On Broadway or Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, or maybe both. Mike Love was initially left off the credits and had to litigate to fix the situation. I particularly love the intro.
114. Mr. Tambourine Man – the Byrds. Others, such as Peter, Paul, and Mary had covered Bob Dylan before. But the Byrds’ #1 pop version was so transformative that it influenced other artists covering or imitating Dylan. It even changed Bob’s approach to the song.
Goffin/King
113. The Loco-Motion – Little Eva. Eva Boyd was Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s babysitter. When another singer passed on the song, Eva got the chance in 1962. Grand Funk Railroad also reached #1 with it a dozen years later, so The Loco-Motion became the second song to reach No. 1 by two different artists in the US. The previous song to do that was the Goffin/King hit Go Away Little Girl.
112. Heart Of Glass – Blondie. Is it allowed for a rock band to play dance music? “In an interview published in the February 4, 1978, edition of NME, Debbie Harry expressed her affinity for the Euro disco music of Giorgio Moroder, stating that ‘It’s commercial, but it’s good, it says something… that’s the kind of stuff that I want to do.'”
111. Runaround Sue– Dion. I always thought that period of about 1960-1962 was pretty fallow musically. But Dion DiMucci, with and without the Belmonts was an exception.
