I think I’ll knock off a few of these music meme themes today.
A song that moves you forward
Whatever that means
Express Yourself – Charles Wright and The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, #12 pop, #3 for four weeks RB in 1970. One of the few soul artists on the Warner Brothers roster at the time. This song was often covered or sampled. Famously, N.W.A sampled it for their 1989 song with the same title.” A member of N.W.A., Eazy-E, is a nephew of Wright.”
99 and a Half – Mavis Staples. From the GREAT 2007 album, We’ll Never Turn Back, produced by Ry Cooder.
A song you think everyone should listen to
I reject the premise. People should listen to whatever they want.
Crying – Roy Orbison and k.d. lang The best version, better than either of them by themselves. Damn thing makes me sob, especially when lang sings “crying” in the chorus. From the film Hiding Out, starring Jon Cryer and Annabeth Gish.
No More Tear-Stained Makeup – Martha and the Vandellas. Lyrics by Smokey Robinson. I wrote about it here.
A song by a band you wish was still together
Here’s the thing – I’m not that romantic about these things. Bands come and go. Still, I became aware that neither my wife nor my daughter was aware of the Ramones, not even this popular track played at sports arenas.
Blitzkrieg Bop – Ramones
A song you like by an artist you wish were still alive
Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin. Janis had the second posthumous #1 pop song in Me and Bobby McGee. Also from that Pearl album is a song written by the singer herself. When I was singing it on a factory floor many years ago, someone asked me if it were a song by the Temptations.
Ain’t that Peculiar – Marvin Gaye, #8 pop, #1 RB in 1965. Because it’s Marvin, with background singing, I believe, by the “no-hit Supremes.”
Nobody Told Me – John Lennon, #5 pop in 1984. My absolute favorite song from the posthumous Milk and Honey album (1984). I’ve long wondered how he and Yoko made the determination which songs went to that album and which ones to Double Fantasy (1980)