Poll: October 1969 Songs

  October 1969.  5 1/2 years old.   But I'm already hearing songs, either ones I liked or ones my sister played often.  A few show up on my rankings below.  

Pop Radio Gold

"Suspicious Minds", Elvis Presley : 1
"Come Together", Beatles : 2
"Something", Beatles : 3
"Hot Fun In The Summertime", Sly & the Family Stone : 4
"Get Together", Youngbloods : 5
"Wedding Bell Blues", 5th Dimension : 6
"Oh, What A Night", Dells : 7
"Everybody's Talkin'", Nilsson : 8
"Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never...)", Neil Diamond : 9
"Sugar, Sugar", Archies : 10
"Honky Tonk Women", Rolling Stones : 11
"I Can't Get Next To You", Temptations : 12
"Green River", Creedence Clearwater Revival : 13
"Going In Circles", Friends Of Distinction : 14
"Lay Lady Lay", Bob Dylan : 15
"Jealous Kind Of Fella", Garland Green : 16
"I'll Never Fall In Love Again", Tom Jones : 17
"Easy To Be Hard", Three Dog Night : 18
"That's The Way Love Is", Marvin Gaye : 19
"A Boy Named Sue", Johnny Cash : 20
"Tracy", Cuff Links : 21
"Is That All There Is?", Peggy Lee : 22
"Smile A Little Smile For Me", Flying Machine : 23
"Ball Of Fire", Tommy James & the Shondells : 24
"I'm Gonna Make You Mine", Lou Christie : 25
"What's The Use Of Breaking Up", Jerry Butler : 26
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling", Dionne Warwick : 27
"Carry Me Back", Rascals : 28
"And When I Die", Blood, Sweat & Tears : 29
"Jean", Oliver : 30
"This Girl Is A Woman Now", Gary Puckett & the Union Gap : 31
"Hurt So Bad", Lettermen : 32
"When I Die", Motherlode : 33
"Baby It's You", Smith : 34
"Sugar On Sunday", Clique : 35
"And That Reminds Me (My Heart Reminds Me)", 4 Seasons : 36
"Make Believe", Wind (Tony Orlando) : 37
"Little Woman", Bobby Sherman : 38
"Keem-O-Sabe", Electric Indian : 39

Ranking: Songs from Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees (76)

   Boz Scaggs had been working to his breakthrough album for years.  Silk Degrees was his 7th album.  But its pop hooks were what set it apart from the others.  Using future Toto members as his backing group, Scaggs crafted a masterful Pop/R&B hybrid.  A blue-eyed Soul classic.  I was hooked from the first single, "It's Over", which charted at a paltry #38.  But it sounded different than anything on the radio.  Luckily, subsequent singles fared better.  A classic.

1.  Lowdown

2.  It's Over

3.  Lido Shuffle

4.  What Can I Say

5.  We're All Alone

6.  Georgia

7.  Harbor Lights

8.  What Do You Want the Girl To Do

9.  Jump Street

10.  Love Me Tomorrow

Playlist for 11/15

Rollin' and Tumblin' American Electric Blues 65-71 - Various (Cherry Red box set)

Black Keys - No Rain No Flowers

Charley Crockett - Dollar A Day

Jon Batiste - Big Money

Jerry Butler - My Music Sessions Live

King Of Them All: Story of King Records (Documentary)

Charley Pride - A Tribute to Brook Benton

Kathleen Edwards - Billionaire

Rory Block - Heavy on the Blues

Molly Tuttle - So Long Little Miss Sunshine

Morgan Wade - Party's Over

Rhett Miller - A Lifetime of Riding by Night

St. Paul & The Broken Bones - s/t

My Top 50 Rock Hall Snubs (Performers, Influences, Non-Performers) (2023 Edition)

 Updated November 2025

For 2025 I've slotted my snubs into four categories.   My main list only includes performers.

One note:  I was hesitant about ranking the Commodores and Chic on my main snub list.  Both groups are huge snubs of course, but the solo nods for Lionel Richie and Nile Rodgers have most likely put an end to their chances. But I decided to keep them on out of my love for both groups.

A reminder.  This is my personal snub list.

Main Snub List

1.  B-52’s

2.  Teddy Pendergrass/Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes

3.  Barry White

4. .The Smiths 

5.  War

6.  Monkees

7.  Mariah Carey

8. Patti LaBelle

9. Luther Vandross

10. Neville Brothers

11. Commodores

12. Bangles

13. Chic

14. Carpenters

15. Devo

16. Diana Ross

17. Sinead O’Connor

18. Phil Collins

19. Pointer Sisters 

20. Sade

21. INXS

22. Roberta Flack

23. Joy Division/New Order

24. Oasis

25. Los Lobos

26. Queen Latifah

27. Snoop Dogg

28. Jethro Tull

29. Gap Band

30. Replacements

31. Motörhead

32. Coldplay

33. Alanis Morissette

34. Beck 

35. Tracy Chapman

36  Iron Maiden 

37. John Prine

38. Eric B. & Rakim 

39. Thin Lizzy

40. Billy Idol

41. Wu-Tang Clan

42. D’Angelo

43. Pink

44. De La Soul

45. Smashing Pumpkins

46. TLC

47. Bryan Adams 

48. New Edition 

49. Ice-T

50. Alicia Keys

Musical Influence/Excellence:  60's/ 70's/80’s Era Snubs

Afrika Bambaataa

Ashford & Simpson

Bob Geldof 

Donny Hathaway 

Fela Kuti 

Giorgio Moroder

Glen Campbell

Gram Parsons

Harry Nilsson 

Herbie Hancock

Joe Tex

Kris Kristofferson

Loretta Lynn

Marvelettes

Merle Haggard

Meters

New York Dolls

Shangri-Las

Tom Jones

Toots & The Maytals

Wailers (Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh)

Waylon Jennings

Musical Influence (Pre-1960) Snubs

Billy Ward & The Dominoes

Carter Family

Celia Cruz
Chuck Willis
Clovers

Connie Francis

Dick Dale

John Coltrane 

Johnny Burnette & The Rock 'n Roll Trio

Neil Sedaka

Patsy Cline

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Tito Puente

Wynonie Harris

Non-Performer Snubs

Burt Bacharach & Hal David

Estelle Axton

Lee "Scratch" Perry

Ralph Gleason

Rick Rubin

Robert John “Mutt” Lange 

Russell Simmons

Sylvia Rhone

Wolfman Jack

Latest Podcast Appearance (Rock in Retrospect)

  I returned to the Rock in Retrospect podcast to discuss the career of 2025 Rock Hall inductee, Thom Bell.

Rock in Retrospect: Thom Bell

PlayIist for 11/1

Sunny Sweeney -Rhinestone Requiem

Rodney Crowell - Airline Highway

Buddy Guy - Ain't Done With The Blues

Anthony Braxton - For Alto

Alex G - Headlights

John Fogerty - Legacy

Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left

Ryan Davis - New Threats from the Soul

Rush - Power Windows

Rush - Signals

Lilith Fair (2025 Documentary)