Friday, June 1, 2012

Country Music’s All-Time Classics According to the Classic Pop Yahoo Group

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Steve Sullivan was one of my early fans on my Dave’s Music Database Facebook page. I was delighted when I found out he did the research behind one of my music bibles – Pop Memories 1890-1954, published by Record Research. The tome, filled with chart data, has a revered place amongst the dozen or so books on the shelf above my computer desk.


order Pop Memories from Amazon

Steve will soon roll out The Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, volumes 1 and 2. As he describes on his Classic Pop Yahoo Group, the pair of books “feature essays on slightly over 1,000 great pop song recordings over the past 120-plus years.” He covers “John Philip Sousa marches, Victorian-era parlor ballads and Scott Joplin rags” as well as jazz (Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis), blues (Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, and Howlin' Wolf), country and bluegrass (the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash), the Great American Songbook (the Gershwins, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter), classic vocalists (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett), folk (Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger), gospel (Blind Willie Johnson, Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe), ethnic/world music (Amede Ardoin, Tito Puente, Bob Marley), soul (Louis Jordan, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin), the rock & roll (Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Bruce Springsteen), and contemporary-era sounds (Eminem, Green Day, Arcade Fire).

His post on May 31 ranks more than 1000 all-time country and bluegrass songs. He taps more than 50 sources, including Billboard’s country charts from 1939 through 2011, the Grammy Hall of Fame, the National Recording Registry, country music awards, National Public Radio, the works of multiple music authors, and nearly every issue of the Journal of Country Music from 1970 through 2006. I’ve posted the top 100 songs from that list, but the links for all four parts of the list are posted below. Dave’s Music Database has done a list of the top 100 country songs of all time as well. You can check it out here.

Country Music’s All-Time Classics: The Top 100

Crazy

1. Crazy (1961) – Patsy Cline
2. Stand By Your Man (1968) - Tammy Wynette
3. He Stopped Loving Her Today (1980) - George Jones
4. I Walk the Line (1956) - Johnny Cash
5. New San Antonio Rose (1940) - Bob Wills & Texas Playboys
6. It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels (1952) - Kitty Wells
7. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (1949) - Hank Williams
8. Wabash Cannonball (1947) - Roy Acuff
9. Folsom Prison Blues (1956) - Johnny Cash
10. I Fall to Pieces (1961) - Patsy Cline

Stand by Your Man

11. Wildwood Flower (1928) - Carter Family
12. Blue Yodel (T for Texas) (1928) - Jimmie Rodgers
13. Blue Moon of Kentucky (1946) - Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys
14. Coal Miner’s Daughter (1970) - Loretta Lynn
15. Crazy Arms (1956) - Ray Price
16. Your Cheatin’ Heart (1953) - Hank Williams
17. I’m Movin’ On (1950) - Hank Snow
18. El Paso (1959) - Marty Robbins
19. Foggy Mountain Breakdown (1950) - Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
20. Can the Circle Be Unbroken (1935) - Carter Family

He Stopped Loving Her Today

21. Sixteen Tons (1955) - Tennessee Ernie Ford
22. Mama Tried (1968) - Merle Haggard
23. Walking the Floor Over You (1941) - Ernest Tubb
24. King of the Road (1965) - Roger Miller
25. Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1934) - Sons of the Pioneers
26. Lovesick Blues (1949) - Hank Williams
27. Ring of Fire (1963) - Johnny Cash
28. Coat of Many Colors (1971) - Dolly Parton
29. You Are My Sunshine (1941) - Jimmie Davis
30. He’ll Have to Go (1960) - Jim Reeves

I Walk the Line

31. Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain (1975) - Willie Nelson
32. The Wild Side of Life (1952) - Hank Thompson
33. Back in the Saddle Again (1939) - Gene Autry
34. The Battle of New Orleans (1959) - Johnny Horton
35. The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane (1923) – Fiddlin’ John Carson
36. Mule Skinner Blues (1940) - Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys
37. I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart (1935) - Patsy Montana
38. Ode to Billie Joe (1967) - Bobbie Gentry
39. Help Me Make It Through the Night (1971) - Sammi Smith
40. Always on My Mind (1982) - Willie Nelson

New San Antonio Rose

41. She Thinks I Still Care (1962) - George Jones
42. Rank Strangers (1960) - Stanley Brothers
43. Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (1952) - Hank Williams
44. Behind Closed Doors (1973) - Charlie Rich
45. Pistol Packin’ Mama (1943) - Al Dexter
46. Sallie Gooden (1922) - Eck Robertson
47. Cool Water (1941) - Sons of the Pioneers
48. Hello Walls (1961) - Faron Young
49. Hey Good Lookin’ (1951) - Hank Williams
50. I Will Always Love You (1974) - Dolly Parton

It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels

51. Great Speckled Bird (1936) - Roy Acuff
52. The Prisoner’s Song (1925) - Vernon Dalhart
53. Wichita Lineman (1968) - Glen Campbell
54. The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1979) - Charlie Daniels Band
55. Born to Lose (1943) - Ted Daffan
56. (There’ll Be) Peace In the Valley (1951) - Red Foley
57. Hello Darlin’ (1970) - Conway Twitty
58. Gentle on My Mind (1967) - Glen Campbell
59. For the Good Times (1970) - Ray Price
60. There Stands the Glass (1953) - Webb Pierce

I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

61. By the Time I Get to Phoenix (1967) - Glen Campbell
62. If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time (1950) - Lefty Frizzell
63. Bouquet of Roses (1948) - Eddy Arnold
64. The Dance (1990) - Garth Brooks
65. Friends in Low Places (1990) - Garth Brooks
66. Detroit City (1963) - Bobby Bare
67. Make the World Go Away (1965) - Eddy Arnold
68. I Hope You Dance (2000) - Lee Ann Womack
69. Blue Suede Shoes (1956) - Carl Perkins
70. I Can’t Stop Loving You (1962) - Ray Charles

Wabash Cannonball

71. Bye Bye Love (1957) - Everly Brothers
72. I Don’t Hurt Anymore (1954) - Hank Snow
73. Forever and Ever, Amen (1987) - Randy Travis
74. Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys (1978) – Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
75. The Cattle Call (1944/1955) - Eddy Arnold
76. The Wreck of the Old ‘97 (1924) - Vernon Dalhart
77. Tennessee Waltz (1950) - Patti Page
78. Steel Guitar Rag (1936) - Bob Wills & Texas Playboys
79. Earl’s Breakdown (1951) - Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
80. Slowly (1954) - Webb Pierce

Folsom Prison Blues

81. Cold, Cold Heart (1951) - Hank Williams
82. Lovesick Blues (1928) - Emmett Miller & His Georgia Crackers
83. Soldier’s Joy (1929) - Gid Tanner & Skillet Lickers
84. There’s a Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere (1943) - Elton Britt
85. Happy Trails (1952) - Roy Rogers & Dale Evans
86. The Grand Tour (1974) - George Jones
87. On the Road Again (1980) - Willie Nelson
88. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1949) - Gene Autry
89. City Lights (1958) - Ray Price
90. In the Jailhouse Now (1928) - Jimmie Rodgers

I Fall to Pieces

91. Keep on the Sunny Side (1928) - Carter Family
92. Blues Stay Away from Me (1949) - Delmore Brothers
93. I`ve Got a Tiger by the Tail (1965) - Buck Owens
94. Don’t Let Your Deal Do Down Blues (1925) – Charlie Poole
95. Sin City (1969) - Flying Burrito Brothers
96. Waiting for a Train (1928) - Jimmie Rodgers
97. Don’t Be Cruel (1956) - Elvis Presley
98. Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) (1947) – Tex Williams & Western Caravan
99. Dark As a Dungeon (1946) - Merle Travis
100. This Land Is Your Land (1944) - Woody Guthrie

Check out Steve’s Yahoo Group for more lists, such as greatest ethnic and world music recordings, greatest gospel music song recordings, and the top 40 jukebox hits of all time.

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Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era now in ebook format!

On the back jacket of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999, I noted that many well-known music publications – including Billboard, the Grammys, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Rolling Stone magazine – have all put their stamp on best-of-all-time song lists. Then I claimed they all got it wrong. Well, at least a little wrong. As I said then, those lists all have some bias. With my book, I averaged lists from more than 100 sources to create a far more objective, cream-of-the-crop list.

The print edition of that book came out just over a year ago. Now Dave’s Music Database is proud to introduce the book in e-book format. The book is available through Lulu.com as a PDF which should be accessible through any e-book reader or without a reader at all! For less than half the price, you get all the content of the print edition and more! Check out links on every song page to videos, lyrics, and downloads. The annotated bibliography now includes more than 200 sources to which you can directly link via the e-book. More than 500 links in all. 140 pages. $5.99 in U.S. dollars.

If you prefer the print edition, you can purchase it through DavesMusicDatabase.com:

It is also available through Amazon.com.

Here’s what people have said about The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999:

“Music and lists are so subjective because what I think, what she thinks, what he thinks or what the 738,000 weekly listeners of the Fox think – there’s no real right answer…You need to check it out for yourself. It is an interesting read.” – Slacker, morning DJ for 101 The Fox, Kansas City’s Classic Rock Station

My Interview with Slacker

“It certainly must have been a daunting job to pick only 100 songs from such a broad timespan. There's plenty to debate and I'm sure your readers will bombard you with what you left out or the positioning of some of the songs....wink...Oh, be warned... I'll be ‘borrowing’ some of your factoids as well...You did a great job.” – Donald Riggio, author of Seven-Inch Vinyl

Excerpt from review on Amazon.com:
“I've never met Dave Whitaker personally but I consider him a friend. We started our Facebook pages at around the same time and somehow through the combined influence of extreme music nerdism and cyberspace we found each other. Unlike myself, Dave’s main purpose has been more studious and inquisitive. How else can you explain the mania behind gathering up lists from goodness knows how many publications, putting that data together to create a gestalt that makes more than a little sense out of a myriad of styles, genres, and biases? Ultimately though, this is a book for the common man and I don't use that phrase in jest. Every song here is not only well known but entrenched deeply within our culture…Congratulations Dave. You book is a triumph for all us music nerds.” – Michael Crawley, administrator for Facebook page Todays Song Is…

You can learn more about this book at thetop100songsoftherockera.com.

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Benny Goodman was born: May 30, 1909 / His Top 50 Songs

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Benny Goodman is one of the most important musicians in jazz history. He was a clarinetist and bandleader who became “The King of Swing” in the 1930s and personified the Big Band Era. In celebration of his birth, the DMDB presents his top 50 songs. Those songs which make Dave’s Music Database’s top 1000 songs of all time are noted (DMDB 1000), as are those songs which hit #1 in the U.S. In addition, one song (“Solo Flight”) also peaked at the pinnacle of the R&B chart.

There is a qualifier. Goodman recorded many songs which have become standards. In the event that another version of the song is ranked higher according to Dave’s Music Database, Goodman’s version is NOT included in the list below. Some of the standards he recorded, but received higher rankings by other artists include “Star Dust,” “St. Louis Blues,” “Blue Moon,” “Blue Skies,” “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me),” “Body and Soul,” “How High the Moon,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” “How Deep Is the Ocean?,” “The Japanese Sandman,” “The Man I Love,” and “After You’ve Gone.”

His Top 50 Songs

Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing)

1. Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing) (1938) DMDB 1000
2. These Foolish Things Remind Me of You (with Helen Ward, 1936) DMDB 1000 #1
3. There’ll Be Some Changes Made (with Louise Tobin, 1941) DMDB 1000 #1
4. Taking a Chance on Love (with Helen Forrest, 1943) #1
5. Jersey Bounce (with Peggy Lee, 1942) #1
6. Goody Goody (with Helen Ward, 1936) #1
7. Moon Glow (1934) #1
8. And the Angels Sing (with Martha Tilton, 1939) #1
9. Don’t Be That Way (1938) #1
10. Darn That Dream (with Mildred Bailey, 1940) #1

These Foolish Things Remind Me of You

11. Goodnight My Love (with Ella Fitzgerald, 1937) #1
12. Sometimes I’m Happy (1935)
13. Somebody Else Is Taking My Place (1942) #1
14. Exactly Like You (with Lionel Hampton, 1936)
15. The Glory of Love (with Helen Ward, 1936) #1
16. I Know That You Know (1936)
17. Why Don’t You Do Right? (with Peggy Lee, 1943)
18. This Can’t Be Love (with Martha Tilton, 1938)
19. It’s Only a Paper Moon (1945)
20. I Want to Be Happy (1937)

There’ll Be Some Changes Made

21. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was (with Louise Tobin, 1939)
22. Stompin’ at the Savoy (1936)
23. Gotta Be This Or That (with Dottie Reid, 1945)
24. You Turned the Tables on Me (with Helen Ward, 1936) #1
25. This Year’s Kisses (with Margaret McRae, 1937) #1
26. We’ll Meet Again (with Peggy Lee, 1942)
27. It Isn’t Fair (with Buddy Greco, 1950)
28. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (with Peggy Mann, 1945)
29. It’s Been So Long (with Helen Ward, 1936) #1
30. Basin Street Blues (1934)

Taking a Chance on Love

31. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart (with Martha Tilton, 1938) #1
32. Symphony (with Liza Morrow, 1945)
33. Jingle Bells (1935)
34. I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good (with Peggy Lee, 1941)
35. You Can’t Pull the Wool Over My Eyes (with Helen Ward, 1936)
36. My Honey’s Lovin’ Arms (with Martha Tilton, 1939)
37. Serenade in Blue (with Dick Haymes, 1942)
38. Give Me the Simple Life (with Liza Morrow, 1946)
39. Afraid to Dream (with Betty Van, 1937)
40. Idaho (with Dick Haymes, 1942)

Jersey Bounce

41. Flying Home (1939)
42. Swingtime in the Rockies (1936)
43. Solo Flight (with Charlie Christian, 1941) #1 RB
44. The Flat Foot Floogee (1938)
45. Scatter-Brain (with Louise Tobin, 1939)
46. In a Sentimental Mood (1936)
47. Lullaby in Rhythm (1938)
48. I Thought about You (with Mildred Bailey, 1939)
49. Cabin in the Sky (with Helen Forrest, 1943)
50. As Long As I Live (1941)

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

New Musical Express (NME) Top 100 Songs

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NME (New Musical Express) is a British music magazine which has published numerous best-of lists over the years. In light of their most recent list last week (30 Beautiful Song Lyrics), I have updated the Dave’s Music Database list in which I consolidated the various NME lists into an aggregate list.

  1. Bob Dylan…Like a Rolling Stone (1965)
  2. The Rolling Stones…Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1968)
  3. The Beach Boys…Good Vibrations (1966)
  4. The Strokes…Last Nite (2001)
  5. The Beatles…Strawberry Fields Forever (1967)
  6. The Rolling Stones…(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (1965)
  7. Joy Division…Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980)
  8. The Smiths…This Charming Man (1983)
  9. Futureheads…Hounds of Love (2005)
  10. Stone Roses…Fools Gold (1989)

    Like a Rolling Stone

  11. The Beatles…Paperback Writer (1966)
  12. The Miracles…The Tracks of My Tears (1965)
  13. The Smiths…How Soon Is Now? (1985)
  14. The Kinks…You Really Got Me (1964)
  15. This Mortal Coil…Song to the Siren (1982)
  16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs…Maps (2003)
  17. The Verve…Bittersweet Symphony (1997)
  18. The Who…My Generation (1965)
  19. Franz Ferdinand…Take Me Out (2004)
  20. Ike & Tina Turner…River Deep, Mountain High (1966)

    Jumpin’ Jack Flash

  21. The Rapture…House of Jealous Lovers (2002)
  22. The Libertines…Time for Heroes (2003)
  23. The Jimi Hendrix Experience…All Along the Watchtower (1968)
  24. Marvin Gaye…What’s Going On (1971)
  25. The Streets…Dry Your Eyes (2004)
  26. Arcade Fire…Rebellion (Lies) (2005)
  27. The Beatles…Penny Lane (1967)
  28. Joy Division…Transmission (1979)
  29. Marvin Gaye…I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1968)
  30. The Byrds…Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)

    Good Vibrations

  31. The Kinks…Waterloo Sunset (1967)
  32. Sex Pistols…Anarchy in the U.K. (1976)
  33. Wolfman with Pete Doherty…For Lovers (2004)
  34. Lou Reed…Walk on the Wild Side (1973)
  35. Manic Street Preachers…A Design for Life (1996)
  36. Aretha Franklin…Respect (1967)
  37. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott…Get Ur Freak On (2001)
  38. Robert Wyatt…Shipbuilding (1982)
  39. The Righteous Brothers…You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (1964)
  40. Johnny Cash…Hurt (2003)

    Last Nite

  41. The Beatles…She Loves You (1963)
  42. Derek and the Dominos…Layla (1963)
  43. The Who…I Can’t Explain (1965)
  44. Four Tops…Reach Out (I’ll Be There) (1966)
  45. The Byrds…Eight Miles High (1966)
  46. Stevie Wonder…Superstition (1972)
  47. The Doors…Light My Fire (1967)
  48. Kylie Minogue…Can’t Get You Out of My Head (2001)
  49. The Ronettes…Be My Baby (1963)
  50. The Beatles…Hey Jude (1968)

    Strawberry Fields Forever

  51. The Jimi Hendrix Experience…Purple Haze (1967)
  52. The Pixies…Gigantic (1988)
  53. Otis Redding…(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay (1968)
  54. The Jimi Hendrix Experience…Hey Joe (1966)
  55. The Beach Boys…God Only Knows (1966)
  56. Roxy Music…Virginia Plain (1972)
  57. My Bloody Valentine…You Made Me Realise (1988)
  58. The Beatles…I Want to Hold Your Hand (1963)
  59. The Undertones…Teenage Kicks (1978)
  60. The Rolling Stones…The Last Time (1965)

    (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

  61. Nirvana…Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
  62. Oasis…Live Forever (1994)
  63. The White Stripes…Seven Nation Army (2003)
  64. OutKast…Hey Ya! (2003)
  65. The Rolling Stones…Brown Sugar (1971)
  66. The Walkmen…The Rat (2004)
  67. The Libertines…Can’t Stand Me Now (2004)
  68. The Rolling Stones…Honky Tonk Women (1969)
  69. Dionne Warwick…Walk on By (1964)
  70. Kate Bush…Running Up That Hill (1985)

    Love Will Tear Us Apart

  71. The Smiths…There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (1986)
  72. Aretha Franklin…I Say a Little Prayer (1968)
  73. Oasis…Don’t Look Back in Anger (1996)
  74. Arctic Monkeys…I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor (2005)
  75. Beyonce with Jay-Z…Crazy in Love (2003)
  76. The Beach Boys…I Get Around (1964)
  77. Prince…Kiss (1986)
  78. Queens of the Stone Age…No One Knows (2002)
  79. Klaxons…Golden Skans (2007)
  80. LCD Soundsystem…Losing My Edge (2002)

    This Charming Man

  81. The Who…Substitute (1966)
  82. Rod Stewart…Maggie May (1971)
  83. Procol Harum…A Whiter Shade of Pale (1967)
  84. Bob Dylan…Positively 4th Street (1966)
  85. Dizzee Rascal…Fix Up Look Sharp (2003)
  86. Coldplay…Yellow (2000)
  87. Pulp…Common People (1995)
  88. Bloc Party..>Banquet (2005)
  89. Oasis…Supersonic (1994)
  90. The Clash…London Calling (1979)

    Hounds of Love

  91. Percy Sledge…When a Man Loves a Woman (1966)
  92. Martha & the Vandellas…Dancing in the Street (1964)
  93. The Who…Pinball Wizard (1969)
  94. Underworld…Born Slippy (1995)
  95. The Gossip…Standing in the Way of Control (2007)
  96. Kaiser Chiefs…I Predict a Riot (2004)
  97. Sex Pistols…God Save the Queen (1977)
  98. The Killers…Mr. Brightside (2004)
  99. Pink Floyd…See Emily Play (1967)
  100. Joe Cocker…With a Little Help from My Friends (1968)

Fools Gold

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Frank Sinatra charted with In the Wee Small Hours: May 28, 1955

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“For a decade, Sinatra pushed to make a cohesive LP at a time when no one in the record business was thinking beyond singles. Finally, his break-up with Ava Gardner provided the perfect catalyst” TL for “the first collection of songs Sinatra recorded specifically for an LP.” RS It is also one of “one of Sinatra’s most jazz-oriented performances” AMG and “one of the finest jazz albums of all time.” CAD It “sustains a midnight mood of loneliness and lost love – it’s a prototypical concept album;” RS it is “considered by many to be the first concept album.” CAD

“Recorded in just a few days,” TL this collection makes for an “authoritative take on masculine loneliness.” TL “If you want to cry, here’s one to do it with.” ZS The reviewer at Cool Album of the Day even suggested playing “this album in its entirety while leaning against a lamp post preferably with a cigarette dangling out of the side of your mouth…Once you are finished put out your cigarette, down one more shot of whiskey, and leave the wee small hours of the morning behind you….and go to sleep.” CAD

The “feeling of not being able to sleep, tossing and turning, thinking about his lover sets the mood for the entire album.” CAD Ol’ Blue Eyes “wears his heart on his forlorn sleeve” CAD as he works “through a series of standards that are lonely and desolate.” AMG “Like all Sinatra songs, they’re not just beautifully sung but interpreted into drama.” TL thanks to “ravishing and heartfelt vocal phrasings” CAD from “the man with the world’s greatest diction.” ZS

Sinatra took on a deliberate “musical recipe of less-is-more” TB with “somewhat muted guitar work and the lush almost in the background string arrangements.” CAD The songs were crafted “around a spare rhythm section featuring a rhythm guitar, celesta, and Bill Miller’s piano, with gently aching strings added every once and a while.” AMG The “carefully selected melancholy standards that come across with even more sublime poignancy with the expertly crafted arrangements by Nelson Riddle and his orchestra.” CAD

“Sinatra recordings were the yardstick by which all other vocalists would be judged when it came to dealing with the American Popular Songbook.” TB “Both Tom Waits and Marvin Gaye have cited the album as one of their favorites with Waits using the album art on the cover of his own album The Heart of Saturday Night.” CAD

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Hootie & the Blowfish hit #1 with Cracked Rear View: May 27, 1995

“Cracked Rear View marks the commercial debut of these college buddies from South Carolina.” AZ It became “the success story of 1994/1995,” AMG building from a July 1994 release to topping the Billboard charts eleven months later and selling ten million copies during 1995 alone. WK “It’s a startling, large number, especially for a new band, but in some ways, the success of the record isn’t that surprising.” AMG “Although Hootie & the Blowfish aren’t innovative, they deliver the goods, turning out an album of solid, rootsy folk-rock songs that have simple, powerful hooks.” AMG

Hold My Hand

“Hold My Hand has a singalong chorus that epitomizes the band’s good-times vibes.” AMG With their pop hooks, it’s no surprise that ‘Hold My Hand,’ Let Her Cry, and Only Wanna Be with You were all big hits. Granted, “none of the tracks transcend their generic status, but they are strong songs for their genre, with crisp chords and bright melodies.” AMG

Let Her Cry

Generally “bands given to blunt popcraft and elementary guitars generally favor singers up toward the whiny end of the dramatic spectrum.” RC However, lead singer Darius Rucker’s “gruff baritone has more grit than the actual songs.” AMG He “takes his vocal cues from what Gregg Allman made of blues and soul” RC and his “grit adds an extra layer of substance to a music already deeply comforting in its formal certainties.” RC

Only Wanna Be with You

In addition, with “Mark Bryan’s muscular guitar framing Jim Sonefeld’s bluesy, energetic southern folk rock tunes” AZ the crew made “the kind of thoroughly likable album people sing along with on the car radio. When Rucker demands, ‘Stand up and let me see you smile,’ there’s something that feels real and convincing behind it; sure, it’s a formula, but a sincere one, and it works over and over again.” AZ

“At their core, Hootie & the Blowfish are a bar band, but they managed to convince millions of listeners that they were the local bar band.” AMG “There may not be a lot of virtuosity behind it, but there's plenty of fun” AZ “and that’s why Cracked Rear View was a major success.” AMG

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Saturday, May 26, 2012

“For Me and My Gal” charts for the first time: May 26, 1917

George W. Meyer was a composer born in Boston in 1884. He had hits spanning many years, including “”My Song of the Nile,” “Lonesome,” “My Mother’s Rosary” and the great novelty song “Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go with Friday on Saturday Night?” PS However, his biggest hit was probably “For Me and My Gal,” with lyrics written by Edgar Leslie and E. Ray Goetz. When Meyer died, his wife had the song title inscribed on his tombstone. RCG

The song “was a forerunner of the jazz age.” RCG Its lyrics about “bells ringing and birds singing as two turtle doves go off to their wedding” RCG showed that in 1917, even as Americans were consumed by World War I, they still relished love songs.

The popular vaudeville team of Van & Schenck recorded the song and took it #1. Others to sing it on vaudeville included Belle Baker, Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor, George Jessel, Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker. 1917 saw three more chart version in addition to Van & Schenck’s – Prince’s Orchestra (#5), Henry Burr & Albert Campbell (#7), and Billy Murray (#9). PM The sheet music moved three million copies.

The song “was still on pianos all over America” RCG In 1942 when Gene Kelly and Judy Garland sang the song in the movie of the same name. The movie celebrated vaudeville and other hits from the World War I era. Their recording was a #3 hit featuring Garland’s then-husband David Rose and His Orchestra. JA Guy Lombardo also charted with a version of the song in 1943, reaching #17.

For Me and My Gal (Gene Kelly & Judy Garland)

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