Best of...

[alexpgp]

On the drive up here, I toyed with the idea of compiling my own list of "the 100 best rock and roll songs of all time," along the lines of Lucas Davenport's list as given in the John Sandford novel Broken Prey.

On the surface, it's an easy enough list to compile if the criteria for picking titles aren't defined. But if you want the list to reflect some thought and not just some top-40 deejay's idea of a weekend's oldies program, it's not so simple. Here are a couple of the questions that I asked myself with regard to the compilation of such a list:

• Do you have to like the song?
  This may sound like a silly question, but clearly, if you're trying to compile a list of the best songs, might it not conceivably contain songs that you were simply indifferent to? I believe this to be the case (though if it's more than a handful, you should probably consider compiling a "best of" list in some other category).


• Does it have to have been a song that became a #1 hit?
  Clearly, a song must've made it to the radio to be heard, but did it have to reach the top of the chart in order to be considered "best"? I don't think so.

Ultimately, though, I think it boils down to personal taste.

Herewith is my start of a list of my "top 100" R&R songs:

1. Route 66 (John Mayer)
   
2. Devil With A Blue Dress On (Mitch Ryder)
   
3. Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart (Janis Joplin)
   
4. I Shot The Sheriff (Eric Clapton)
   
5. My Little Runaway (Del Shannon)
   
6. Johnny B Goode (Chuck Berry)
   
7. Kansas City (Fats Domino)
   
8. Cathy's Clown (Everly Brothers)
   
9. Gloria (Van Morrison)
   
10. We Built This City (Jefferson Starship)
    
11. Windy (The Association)
    
12. The House of the Rising Sun (The Animals)
    
13. Fun, Fun, Fun (The Beach Boys)
    
14. I Won't Back Down (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers)
    
15. Hurts So Good (John Mellencamp)
    
16. Long Cool Woman (The Hollies)
    
17. ...?

Yeah, it's gonna be one of those introspective nights. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Cheers...

Comments

[n5iln.livejournal.com]

A suggested addition or two...okay, three...

Joni Mitchell, "Coyote"
Styx, "On My Way"
Jimmy Buffett, "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes"

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Cool! I don't think I'm familiar, per se, with any of these three (except I get the feeling I've heard the Buffett piece, if only because I have a lot of his cuts.

Cheers...