Songs
by Mike Thompson, 11/11/2017
I've had the good fortune to live during a time when a lot of great popular music was created and listened to. The following is a list of some of the music that was performed during my lifetime that I think is among the best of the era, and came to have meaning for me.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow, by Judy Garland, from the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939): They used to show The Wizard of Oz once each year on TV, and I remember loving to watch it when I was a young boy growing up in Yakima. "There's no place like home." Timelessly beautiful.
So What, by Miles Davis, from the album Kind of Blue (1959): One from the best-known work of trumpeter Miles Davis, the top American jazz musician of the 1950's and 1960's. His career spanned several decades during which he relentlessly pursued musical innovation. If I could pick a second piece by Miles Davis it would be Concierto de Aranjuez from the album Sketches of Spain, with a big band arranged and conducted by Gil Evans, which in my mind is the sound track for Ernest Hemingway's novels of Spain ("For Whom the Bell Tolls", "The Sun Also Rises", "Death in the Afternoon").
Softly, as I Leave You, by Frank Sinatra, from the album Softly, as I Leave You (1964): From one of the best known singers of my parents' generation, their music soon to be displaced by the rock and roll of the Baby Boomers.
If I Fell, by The Beatles, from the album A Hard Day's Night (1964): A simple, beautiful, early Beatles song, from the group that led the overthrow of the popular music of my parents' generation. The Beatles established the rhythm quartet as the standard form for playing rock and roll. Their wonderful melodies, harmonies, and rhythms powered much of the popular music revolution that happened the 1960's.
Drive My Car, by The Beatles, from the album Rubber Soul (1965): A fun one from the Beatles.
Alfie, by Dionne Warwick, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, from the album Here Where There Is Love (1966): My favorite of the many great songs written by composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. The original version by Cilla Black, recorded at Abby Road Studios in 1965 with Burt Bacharach conducting and playing piano, is equally memorable.
I Feel Free, by Cream, from the album Fresh Cream (1966): Rock and roll goes psychedelic. Some really early work by guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton. Badge was a much bigger hit for this band, and Clapton did a lot of memorable, blues-oriented work later in his career, but I like this piece because it's so early, fresh and simple.
Bluebird, by Buffalo Springfield, from the album Buffalo Springfield Again (1967): A fairly early American response to the "British invasion", by musicians that subsequently produced a lot of terrific music, including Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and David Crosby.
Embryonic Journey, by Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane, from the album Surrealistic Pillow (1967): I should have probably picked something featuring the vocals of Grace Slick and Marty Balin to represent the work of Jefferson Airplane, but this solo piece by their extraordinary lead guitarist won my heart. The bands two biggest hits, Somebody to Love and White Rabbit, are also on the album Surrealistic Pillow, though having heard both tunes too many times I now prefer She Has Funny Cars as an example of classic Jefferson Airplane.
Little Wing, by Jimi Hendrix, from the album Axis: Bold as Love (1967): Jimi Hendrix redefined what was possible with an electric guitar, setting the bar for every rock and roll guitarist that followed him.
Voodoo Child (Slight Return), by Jimi Hendrix, from the album Electric Ladyland (1968): Jimi Hendrix loud, and with a lot of drive.
America by Simon and Garfunkel, from the album Bookends (1968): A great story of the times, in the American folk song tradition, from the early days of Paul Simon's long, productive musical career.
I Say a Little Prayer, by Aretha Franklin, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, from the album Aretha Now (1968): Conveying a woman's concern for her man who is serving in the Vietnam War, it's a song about the most galvanizing issue of my youth. The Vietnam War tore two generations and many families apart in this country, causing division, frustration, and anger that's impossible to convey in words. Aretha Franklin's voice and piano powered some of the best soul music of the 1960s and 1970s.
Mama Tried, by Merle Haggard, from the album Mama Tried (1968): From the best of the kind of country music that I listened to while bailing hops with Bill Hamilton in Moxee in the mid-1970s. Bill ran the crew, did the sewing, brought the radio, and picked the music, while Wayne Hinkley and I pushed the hops and hauled the bales. Had it been up to Wayne and I, we would have been listening to rock and roll. But Bill was calling the shots, the country lyrics of that time told some great stories, and hop harvest served as my introduction to country music while I was also absorbing a good, strong dose of farm labor.
Uncle John's Band, by The Grateful Dead, from the album Workingman's Dead (1970): One of the best from the country-influenced branch of rock and roll. Their cover of Merle Haggard's Mama Tried is also well worth listening to.
What's Going On, by Marvin Gaye, from the album What's Going On (1971): "Mother, mother, There's too many of you crying, and brother, brother, brother, there's far too many of you dying" plumbed the depths of people's feelings about the Vietnam War that was raging at that time. A late, great example of the Motown Sound.
Miles Beyond, by The Mahavishnu Orchestra, from the album Birds of Fire (1973): John McLaughlin played a key role in the fusion of jazz and rock and roll. With early roots in classical and jazz, strong technical skills, plus early rock and roll experience, Miles Davis chose to bring in McLaughlin when he decided to incorporate the guitar into his sound in albums like Bitches Brew. The Mahavishnu Orchestra lineup included Jan Hammer on keyboards, Billy Cobham on drums, Jerry Goodman on violin, and Rick Laird on bass. McLaughlin was an early adopter of Indian musicical and religious traditions.
Cause We've Ended as Lovers, by Jeff Beck, written by Stevie Wonder, from the album Blow by Blow (1975): Jazz/rock fusion evolves at the hands of Jeff Beck, one of the great British guitar players of the era. Beck followed Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page as the lead guitarist of the Yardbirds, then went on to develop his own unique style that continued to evolve for decades.
Long May You Run, by Neil Young and Stephen Stills, from the album Long May You Run (1976):
I sort of think of this one as a goodbye to the classic rock and roll era, and the beginning of a changing of the guard in popular music.Red Shoes, by Elvis Costello, from the album My Aim Is True (1976): By the mid 1970's rock and roll was getting stale, with some truly awful acts cranking out loud electric boilerplate rubbish augmented with smoke machines, laser lights, costumes, and lots of posing. Thankfully some new and innovative musicians came to the rescue about this time, Elvis Costello among them, inventing new, fun-to-listen-to forms.
I'm The Man, by Joe Jackson, from the album It's Different for Girls (1979): A contemporary of Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson also authored a bunch of fun, danceable tunes.
Guns of Brixton, by The Clash, from the album London Calling (1979): Punk Rock was one of the alternate forms of rock and roll that appeared in the late 1970's. The Clash did punk, but with a sense of humor, and occasionally with a little Reggae beat thrown in.
Mesopotamia, by The B52's, from the album Mesopotamia (1982): Speaking of a sense of humor! The 1980's featured a lot of fresh, bouncy, any-sound-goes music like this, known as New Wave.
Crosseyed and Painless, by Talking Heads, from the album Stop Making Sense (1983): Speaking of New Wave!
It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine), by R.E.M., from the album Document (1987): A fun example of Alternative Rock, from R.E.M.
Smells Like Teen Spirit, by Nirvana, from the album Nevermind (1991): Of a new rock and roll-ish music genre called Grunge.
Nadia, by Jeff Beck, from the album You Had It Coming (2001): Beck continues to pioneer the range of the electric guitar.
Toes, by Nora Jones, from the album Feels Like Home (2004): A new female vocalist/pianist, the daughter of Ravi Shankar, makes the scene and brings some really beautiful and tasteful music with her.
Useful Chamber, by Dirty Projectors, from the album Bitte Orca (2009): My daughter, Laura gave this album to me, and probably liked it because it contains some really interesting and difficult vocals. It became the sound track to a trip I made in 2009 to upstate New York for the Adirondack Canoe Symposium, followed by a visit with my nephew, Billy Goodman in Broolkyn.
An Ocean Between the Waves, by The War on Drugs, from the album Lost in the Dream (2014): Of a new rock and roll-ish music genre called Indie Rock. During the family reunion of 2014 in Sun River, Damon Dreke played this song in his VW van while we were driving to the trailhead for our climb of the South Sister. A fine driving song it is!
What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong, from the album What a Wonderful World (1967): Recorded by possibly the greatest jazz musician/vocalist, of all time, near the end of his long career. Wraps things up very nicely.