Three lists to go from the Songs of the Century as compiled by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.
1. Me and Bobby McGee – Modern Barbershop Quartet (#232, Janis Joplin)
2. Kansas City – The Beatles (#236, Wilbert Harrison)
3. Got My Mojo Workin’ – Asylum Street Spankers (#238, Muddy Waters)
4. White Rabbit – Austin Lounge Lizards & Karen Abrahams (#241, Jefferson Airplane)
5. Graceland – Paul Simon (#242)
6. Love Shack – The B-52s (#243)
7. My Heart Will Go On – Big Daddy (#246, Celine Dion)
8. What’d I Say? – Ray Charles (#251)
9. Flashdance – Big Daddy (#256, Irene Cara)
10. Burning Down The House – The Talking Heads (#257)
Seeing the Janis Joplin classic appear in the same week that we lost Amy Winehouse at the Joplinian age of 27 is rather poignant. Seeing it appear in the same group as “My Heart Will Go On” makes me want to question the entire methodology used to compile this list. Ah, well, it’s just a list, and it’s not worth getting worked up about. But I do wonder sometimes what songs, and what artists, will stand the test of time. If you were to put together a “Songs of the Century” for the 1800s, how many would be recognizable today? Would there be anything other than what we now call “classical” music, and maybe some Stephen Foster songs? How different do you think musical tastes will be in the year 2100?
Anyway. For the Round 2 Report, I started with “Set Me Free (Rosa Lee)”, by Los Lobos, and ended with “Stand!”, by Sly and the Family Stone, song #896. That was only 41 tunes this week, which was an aberration. I have about 170 to go till the end, so maybe two more weeks and maybe three. We’ll see.
From this page (take note, it’s from Texas):
1860-1900 CIVIL WAR / RECONSTRUCTION ERAS
Popular music just before and during the Civil War concerned itself with political and military events. Songs included Amazing Grace , Battle Hymn of the Republic , Dixie, I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen, When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again, Old Black Joe, Carry me Back to Old Virginny, and Marching Through Georgia. Religious songs were popular including He Leadeth Me , Go Tell it on the Mountain, and My Faith Looks Up to Thee . Folklore music started during this period and included the music of the Indians, negroes, mountainneers, cowboys, lumberjacks, sailors and others. How about listening to Oh My Darling, Clementine!
Quite a few of those have stood the test of time, I’d say.
Good list, Linkmeister. Thanks for sharing it.