And so we come to the end of the Rolling Stone Top 500 list.
1. It’s Too Late – Carole King (#469)
2. Where Did Our Love Go? – The Supremes (#472)
3. One Nation Under A Groove – Funkadelic (#474)
4. I Want To Know What Love Is – Big Daddy (#476, orig. Foreigner)
5. Super Freak – Big Daddy (#477, orig. Rick James)
6. White Rabbit – Austin Lounge Lizards & Karen Abrahams (#478, orig. Jefferson Airplane)
7. I’m Eighteen – Alice Cooper (#482)
8. I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll – Hayseed Dixie/The MOB (#484, orig. Joan Jett)
9. Graceland – Paul Simon (#485)
10. I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor (#489)
There were three more songs that appeared on the list after that. Since that’s not enough for a list, I’ll include them here:
Running On Empty – The MOB (#492, orig. Jackson Browne)
Desperado – Clint Black/Johnny Cash/Lager Rhythms (#494, orig. The Eagles)
Shop Around – Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (#495)
Yes, I have three covers of “Desperado” but not the original Eagles version. I think I may have it on vinyl – I’ll need to check – but if so I haven’t ripped it yet. I need to get back to doing that. I do of course have the CAKE cover of “I Will Survive”, which I like better, but since I have the original I’ve listed it, as per my original rules. I’ve linked to a video of the CAKE version before, but it’s worth sharing again:
The MOB recording of “Running On Empty” is from the early 80s. I’ve been a MOBster since 1988 and can’t recall ever playing it. As with U2’s “Pride (In The Name Of Love)”, I can’t believe “Graceland” ranked this low. I mean, after “I Want To Know What Love Is”? That does not compute.
Anyway. I’ve got another “Top N Songs” type list to work through, one that has a broader focus than the Rolling Stone list, which I’ll get started on soon. I’m going to take a break from that theme for a different theme for a few weeks, which I hope you’ll enjoy.
Entire song list report: Started with “Two Bends In The Road”, by Ellis Paul. Finished with the immortal “Vatican Rag”, by Tom Lehrer. Surely you know this song, right? If not, go here to listen to the version the rest of us are all familiar with, and here to see him sing a slightly different version, with an intro for the live audience. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Okay, now that you’re back, the last T song was “Two Tickets To Paradise”, by Eddie Money. The first U song was “UFO Attack”, by the Asylum Street Spankers. The last U song was “Useless Desires”, by Patty Griffin. The first V song was “Valentine’s Day”, by Bruce Springsteen. We are moving right along, but there are still many W and Y songs, plus song that start with numbers, to get through, then finally all of the songs that got added after they were passed by in the alphabet. Have a great weekend!