Some Top Halloween Songs

Just a quickie list of Halloween songs I never get tired of hearing.  This list is a work in progress.

1.  Thriller - Michael Jackson
2.  Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett
3.  I Put A Spell On You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
4.  Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr.
5.  (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
6.  Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
7.  Haunted House - Jumpin' Gene Simmons
8.  Time Warp - Rocky Horror Cast
9.  Theme From "Halloween" - John Carpenter
10.  Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
11.   Nightmare On My Street - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
12.  Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell
13.  Season of the Witch - Donovan
14.  Pet Sematary - Ramones
15.  Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley

 Am accepting suggestions at email below:

Email: tmlane12@gmail.com

Playlist for 10/27

Libertines - Anthems for Doomed Youth
Janet Jackson- Unbreakable
Warren Haynes & Railroad Earth - Ashes & Dust
Dave Rawlings Machine - Nashville Obsolete
Dave & Phil Alvin - Lost Time
Dead Weather - Dodge and Burn

Playlist for 10/23

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - s/t
Whitney Rose - Heartbreaker of the Year
Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon
Joe Ely - Panhandle Rambler
Don Henley - Cass County

Top 20 Queen Songs (Poll)

Haven't participated in a poll in a few months.  But finally found an artist I can rank.  The rules this time were to list my Top 20 Queen songs.

1.  Bohemian Rhapsody
2.  Crazy Little Thing Called Love
3.  Under Pressure
4.  You're My Best Friend
5.  Killer Queen
6.  Another One Bites The Dust
7.  We Will Rock You
8.  We Are The Champions
9.  Fat Bottomed Girls
10  Somebody To Love
11. Bicycle Race
12. Radio Ga Ga
13. Keep Yourself Alive
14  I Want It All
15. Stone Cold Crazy
16. Who Wants To Live Forever
17. Flash
18. Show Must Go On
19. Love Of My Life
20. I Want To Break Free

Playlist for 10/17

Ron Wood - Gimme Some Neck/I've Got My Own Album To Do/Now Look
Rod Stewart - Another Country
Keith Richards - Crosseyed Heart
Darlene Love - Introducing

Playlist for 10/13

Gary Clark Jr. - Story of Sonny Boy Slim
Kurt Vile - B'lieve I'm Goin Down
Iron Maiden - Book of Souls
Dan Bern - Hoody
Craig Finn - Faith In The Future

Songs That Peaked at #40 On Billboard Hot 100

Updated 12/2023

I've been fascinated by music charts since the mid-70's. I was 10 years old when the chart bug hit me. It was from that point that I began listening to American Top 40 every week.  I'm still hooked decades later. 

The Billboard charts are an endless supply of trivia.  At some point in 2015 I began thinking about songs that peaked at #40 on the Hot 100.  Getting to #40 was a good thing for an artist.  Your song got played on AT40 all over the world.  But some of them sunk after a week. And even I was hard pressed to remember most of these.  But there are some classics sprinkled throughout:  "Breakdown", "Give It To Me Baby", "Burnin' For You", "Your Move", "Thinkin' Problem", "Video Killed The Radio Star”.

Below are some songs that peaked at #40. 

Also, here’s the link for a Spotify playlist: Peaking at #40

This playlist is updated as of 12/2023. 

A Love So Fine  - The Chiffons
All I Really Want To Do - Byrds
Angel - Rod Stewart
Angel In Blue - The J. Geils Band
Ask Me No Questions -  B.B. King
Back When My Hair Was Short - Gun Hill Road
Birthday Party -  Pixies Three
Bowling Green - Everly Brothers
Brand New Girlfriend - Steve Holy
Breakdown - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Burnin' for You - Blue Öyster Cult
Buy Me A Rose - Kenny Rogers
Call Me Lightning - The Who
Catch Me I'm Falling - Real Life
Charity Ball - Fanny
Clones (We're All) - Alice Cooper
Cold Blooded - Rick James
Come See - Major Lance
Crazy Downtown - Allan Sherman
Don't Ask Me Why - Eurythmics
Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya - New England
Don't Leave Me This Way - The Communards
Don't Pity Me - Dion & The Belmonts
Don't Tell Me You Love Me - Night Ranger
Forever - Kenny Loggins
Freight Train (feat. Nancy Whiskey) - Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group
Friends - Bette Midler
Give It To Me Baby - Rick James
Give It Whatcha Got - B.T. Express
Go On - George Strait
Good Timin' - The Beach Boys
Happy People - The Temptations
Hit the Road Jack - Stampeders
Hold Me 'Til The Morning Comes - Paul Anka
I Can't Wait - Sleepy Brown feat. OutKast
I Want You - Shana
I'd Love To Change The World - Ten Years After
I'll Try Anything (To Get You) - Dusty Springfield
I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking - The Supremes
I'm In Love - Evelyn "Champagne" King
I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) - Eddie Floyd
In The Mood - Henhouse Five Plus Two
Jennifer Eccles - The Hollies
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Just Seven Numbers ( Can Straighten Out My Life) - Four Tops
Kissing You - Keith Washington
Lazy Elsie Molly - Chubby Checker
Lessons Learned - Tracy Lawrence
Let It Be Me - Willie Nelson
Let's Do The Freddie - Chubby Checker
Letter to Me - Brad Paisley
Like a Sunday In Salem - Gene Cotton
Limbo Rock - The Champs
Live My Life - Boy George
Livin' In the Life - The Isley Brothers
Lost! - Coldplay
Love Me Tender - Percy Sledge
Love or Let Me Be Lonely - Paul Davis
Man On The Corner - Genesis
Married Men - Bette Midler
Me And Bobby McGee - Jerry Lee Lewis
Me [Without You] - Andy Gibb
Miracles - Stacy Lattisaw
Mr. Loverman - Shabba Ranks
Music Time - Styx
Nature Boy - Bobby Darin
Nobody But You Babe - Clarence Reid
Oh Happy Day - Glen Campbell
Okay - Nivea
One Trick Pony - Paul Simon
People In Love - 10cc
Plastic Man - The Temptations
Queen Of My Soul -  Average White Band
Rhythm Of Love - Yes
See The Lights - Simple Minds
Shine On - L.T.D.
Show Me - Cover Girls
Six Feet Deep - Geto Boys
So Close - Diana Ross
Spanish Eddie - Laura Branigan
Spice Of Life - The Manhattan Transfer
Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon
Stone Cold - Rainbow
Strung Out - Steve Perry
Sweet Maxine - The Doobie Brothers
Teddy Bear - Red Sovine
Tell Her She's Lovely - El Chicano
The Alvin Twist - Alvin & The Chipmunks
The Bounce - The Olympics
The End Of Our Road -Marvin Gaye
The Last Time I Made Love - Joyce Kennedy & Jeffrey Osborne
The Way He Makes Me Feel - Barbra Streisand
Thinkin' Problem - David Ball
Ticks - Brad Paisley
Tim McGraw - Taylor Swift
Time After Time - Timmy T
Too Tight - Con Funk Shun
True Blue Love - Lou Gramm
Trying to Make a Fool of Me - The Delfonics
Two Hearts - Stephanie Mills & Teddy Pendergrass
Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
Violet Hill - Coldplay
Watch Out For Lucy - Eric Clapton
Who Do You Think You're Foolin' - Donna Summer
Who Let The Dogs Out - Baha Men
Who's Sorry Now - Marie Osmond
Who’s Your Baby - The Archies
Wolf Creek Pass - C.W. McCall
You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd  - Roger Miller
You Thrill Me - Exile
You've Got Yours and I'll Get Mine - The Delfonics
Young Blood - Rickie Lee Jones
Your Move  - Yes
Your Old Stand By - Mary Wells
Your One & Only Love - Jackie Wilson

Suggestions, etc.  tmlane12@gmail.com

Ex-NomCom Roy Trakin on the 2016 Rock Hall Ballot

Former NomCom member Roy Trakin on the 2016 ballot:

"Make no mistake about it. While admitting I’ve been booted off the nominating committee for the second time, it’s also clear that the RRHOF is no philanthropic organization, but a self-serving entertainment enterprise that is just as concerned with selling tickets to its overpriced induction ceremony as it is attracting eyeballs to its resultant TV program, which migrated to HBO the last couple of years. That said, it’s not surprising this year’s list is chock-full of long ignored, populist nominees like Chicago, Steve Miller, Yes, Janet Jackson, Cheap Trick and Deep Purple; influential West Coast candidates N.W.A. and Los Lobos; R&B acts The J.B.’s, The Spinners and Chaka Khan; disco progenitors Chic, and ‘80s post-punk stalwarts The Smiths, Nine Inch Nails and The Cars.  Can Bon Jovi, The Moody Blues, Kraftwerk, Roxy Music and the New York Dolls be far behind?  The very notion rock ‘n’ roll was built on, that it is meant to be inclusionary, sort of runs diametrically opposed to the idea of a Hall of Fame as an exclusionary echelon for only the elite. That said, this year’s crop of potential inductees includes something for everyone, but if I had to pick seven, it would have to start with N.W.A. and Los Lobos, two deserving groups whose influence has been immense for both hip-hop and the melting pot represented by traditional Mexican music, blues and rock. From there, it gets a little tougher.  Steve Miller’s odyssey from Chicago to San Francisco reflects the path from the blues to psychedelic rock, and on his early albums there alone, deserves recognition. Similarly, it’s hard to argue with Cheap Trick, whose only conceivable downside – their cheeky, often self-deprecating sense of humor -- makes them all the more deserving, at least in my book. Similarly, it’s hard to deny the presence of Deep Purple in a Rock shrine, if for nothing else than creating one of the most indelible riffs in history in “Smoke on the Water.”  Being in New York during the ‘80s, it’s hard to deny the influence of Chic in joining disco and punk, especially for the groundbreaking work of Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards, an idiosyncratic choice, but hey, that’s what it’s all about, right?  That leaves one slot left, and for me, it comes down to a toss-up between Janet Jackson, The Smiths, Nine Inch Nails and The Cars, all of whom you can make a good case for.  My personal pick among that group would be The Smiths, but it’s hard to argue against the formidable Twitter following that has been touring Ms. Jackson. In making her comeback this year, it’s only appropriate she get the nod over The Smiths, whose legacy – at least IMHO – as somewhat been tainted by the ongoing war between Morrissey and Johnny Marr.  Now, if they were willing to bury the hatchet, that would be another story, but if i9t means another ugly Creedence Clearwater Revival situation, I’d rather go with the artistic nasty than the real one."

Tracks Of My Life Playlist

Songs that have meant something to me at one point in my life.  I can remember hearing music from the radio or my sister's bedroom at a very early age (2, 3).  And that's  the whole concept of the Tracks of My Life Playlist.

Oddly enough, they are not necessarily my favorite records of all time.  What it basically entails are songs that played in the background of important events in my life. Most of these are from the mid-60's to 80's. In the end, while I might love other records more, these are the ones that conjure up more solid memories. The list is a volatile one. Songs will be added as I remember them.

My Spotify playlist of these songs is linked below. I'm adding tracks as I go along.  So if you're on Spotify, click the link and join me.

Tracks of My Life


email:  tmlane12@gmail.com

Thoughts On 2016 Rock Hall Nominees Announcement

Before I get into the nominees let me say that it appears that the NomCom purge of 2015 had an affect after all.  Only one pre-1965 act was nominated (Spinners).  Maybe they've got something planned for older acts?  Veteran's inductees?  Early Influences?  Stay tuned.

As for the 2016 nominees.  Lots of pleasant surprises among the first time nominees:  The Cars, Los Lobos, Cheap Trick, Chicago, Janet Jackson and Steve Miller.   Chaka Khan was previously nominated with Rufus, but still good to see her back on the ballot.

Most of the returnees were predicted:  Chic, Nine Inch Nails, NWA, Yes, Deep Purple, Spinners.  Smiths were nominated last year, even though many thought the Cure might get that alt-rock slot.

If you're a Classic Rock fan, this ballot is for you:  Deep Purple, Yes, Cars, Steve Miller, Cheap Trick.  Chicago aren't really Classic Rock, neither is Los Lobos, but they could still fit under the Rock moniker (especially early Chicago).

In other words, the Baby Boomers have much to savor with this year's Rock acts.

No singer-songwriters or Blues acts nominated.  That has to be a first.

R&B (and one Hip-Hop) is represented pretty good this year:  NWA, Chaka, Janet, Chic, Spinners, J.B.'s.

No first time eligibles either.  Not a strong bunch of names this year anyway.

Biggest surprise and head-scratcher?  There's one every year.  How about the J.B.'s and Los Lobos?  Looks like the J.B.'s too the Meters slot.

Who doesn't expect the J.B.'s to get inducted in the Musical Excellence category?                              

Los Lobos are critically-loved but only had one big seller, the La Bamba soundtrack.  I'm not as shocked at their nomination as others.  They were previously considered, so somebody on the NomCom loved them.  But, come one did anyone think Los Lobos or the J.B.'s would get nominated this year?

Chicago is not a surprise, at least not to me.  We knew that they were talked about in the NomCom meetings, from the Joel Peresman interview with Eddie Trunk.

Disappointments?  For me it's the continued snubs of ELO or Roxy Music.  And Joe Cocker.

Oh, and I appear to be the only one who cares that no Country act has been inducted since 2003, despite the plethora of talent that is eligible.  But I'll keep mentioning it.

And as Future Rock Legends pointed out, all of this year's nominees come from the Previously Considered list.  That's why it's always good to study that page when making predictions.

So, it's a tough ballot.  No way the Hall inducts less than 6, which has been their usual amount in recent years.

And it's true.  On my First Time Nominated & Inducted Post that was update this past June, I wrote that if Steve Miller, Chicago, Cheap Trick, Janet Jackson and the Cars were nominated they would get inducted right away.  But, come on, I never thought they would all end up on the same ballot when their time came.

I got 7 picks correct on my predictions,  and most of the others were on my radar.  But I have to admit that the 7 I got right didn't consist of any left field choices like  Los Lobos or the J.B.'s.  Next year I need to take more chances, now that I see what this new NomCom is all about.

Thoughts, suggestions, complaints, etc.  tmlane12@gmail.com

Playlist for 10/8

Hop Along - Painted Shut
Joan Shelley - Over and Even
Van Morrison - Avalon Sunset/Beautiful Vision
Arcs - Yours, Dreamily
Thunderbitch - s/t
Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz
Foals - What Went Down

Missing From Songwriters Hall of Fame (Updated October 2015)

The 2015 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees included:  Cyndi Lauper, Linda Perry, Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter, Bobby Braddock, Willie Dixon and Toby Keith.

All I'm going to say is I have no idea who votes for this Hall, or its demographics.  But it's obvious that a lot of lobbying goes on with voters.

But, this article by Roger Friedman fills in some of the questions I have about this Hall.  According to Friedman, the Song Hall once had an "unspoken" rule about no posthumous inductees.  Which would explain how George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix  and others have failed to get in.  But with the 2015 induction of Jerry Garcia and Willie Dixon they've now changed that rule.
                                                                                                          
Take a look at the names below.  None of these are in the Songwriters Hall of Fame as of 2015.

It's an incredible list. But with the no-postumous rule now history, some of the deceased names below should get in during future inductions.

Suggestions, complaints:  tmlane12@gmail.com

Not inducted as of 2015:

Pete Townshend
Neil Young
Cat Stevens
George Harrison
Jimi Hendrix
Sly Stone
Rod Stewart
Dion DiMucci
Prince
Rod Temperton
Walter Becker/Donald Fagen
Warren Zevon
Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards
Bobby Womack
Elvis Costello
Tom Petty
U2
R.E.M.
Lindsey Buckingham/Stevie Nicks/Christine McVie
Jeff Lynne
Roger Miller
John Hiatt
John Mellencamp
David Gates
Led Zeppelin
Doors
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Luther Vandross
Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder/Pete Bellotte
Roger Waters/David Gilmour
Michael McDonald
George Michael
Robbie Robertson
Steve Perry/Neal Schon/Jonathan Cain 
Tom T. Hall
Waylon Jennings
John Prine
Billy Joe Shaver
Townes Van Zandt
Bert Berns
Harry Nilsson
Steve Winwood
Robert "Mutt" Lange
Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis
Chrissie Hynde
Joe South
Tony Joe White
Dan Fogelberg
Rodney Crowell
Rosanne Cash
B.B. King
J.J. Cale
Madonna
Peter Gabriel
Harry Wayne Casey
Percy Mayfield
Marvin Gaye
Muddy Waters
Chuck Willis
Isley Brothers
Bob McDill
Dallas Frazier
Townes Van Zandt
Alan Jackson
Steve Miller
Boz Scaggs
Kenny Loggins 
Peter Cetera/Robert Lamm
Max Martin

BTW- In some cases I put the whole group down, which is what this Hall did when they inducted all the members of Queen.

Below is a link to the Song Hall's website:
http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/

Suggestions:  tmlane12@gmail.com

Playlist for 10/1

Sepultura - Roots
Van Halen - Women & Children First/Fair Warning
Whitey Morgan - Sonic Ranch
Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion
Teddy Pendergrass - Duets Love & Soul