Bob Dylan 85 Years Old

   Back in 2014, I participated in an online poll ranking Bob Dylan's songs/albums/cover versions by other artists.  Now on his 85th birthday I'm gonna repost my rankings.  I've decided to keep the rankings as they were originally published.  Maybe on his 90th birthday, I'll update it.

Songs

1.  Like A Rolling Stone

2.  Positively 4th Street

3.  Tangled Up In Blue

4.  Knockin' On Heaven's Door

5.  Don't Think Twice, It's Alright

6.  Lay Lady Lay

7.  Masters of War

8.  Subterranean Homesick Blues

9. Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

10.  It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding

11. Highway 61 Revisited

12. Shelter From The Storm

13. I Want You

14. Ballad of A Thin Man

15. It Ain't Me Babe

16. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere

17. Mr. Tambourine Man

18. Blowin' In The Wind

19. Maggie's Farm

20. Just Like A Woman

21. I Shall Be Released

22. All I Really Want To Do

23. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

24. If Not For You

25. All Along The Watchtower

26. Visions of Johanna

27. Stuck Inside of Memphis

28. Love Minus Zero/No Limit

29. My Back Pages

30. Tombstone Blues

31. Simple Twist of Fate

32. Tomorrow Is A Long Time

33. Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll

34. She Belongs To Me

35. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome

36. Chimes of Freedom

37. Desolation Row

38. Blind Willie McTell

39. To Ramona

40. Gotta Serve Somebody

41. Brownsville Girl

42. Times They Are A-Changin'

43. Tight Connection To My Heart

44. Dirty World

45. Things Have Changed

46. Hurricane

47. Forever Young

48. Tweeter and the Monkey Man

49. Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35

50. Isis

Top 20 Albums

1.  Highway 61 Revisited

2.  Blonde On Blonde

3.  Blood on the Tracks

4.  Another Side of Bob Dylan

5.  Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

6.  John Wesley Harding

7.  Basement Tapes

8.  Bringing It All Back Home

9.  Love and Theft

10. Nashville Skyline

11. Desire

12. New Morning

13. Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (Live 1966)

14. Times They Are A-Changin'

15. Slow Train Coming

16. Time Out Of Mind

17. Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3

18. Modern Times

19. Before The Flood

20. Bob Dylan s/t (1962)

Covers by Other Artists

1.  All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix

2.  Mr. Tambourine Man - Byrds

3.  Tomorrow Is A Long Time - Elvis Presley

4.  I Shall Be Released - Band

5.  You Ain't Going Nowhere - Byrds

6.  If Not For You - George Harrison

7.  It Ain't Me Babe - Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash

8.  Blowin' In The Wind - Stevie Wonder

9.  It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - Them

10. Mighty Quinn  - Manfred Mann

11. Tomorrow Is A Long Time - Rod Stewart

12. She Belongs To Me - Ricky Nelson

13. Emotionally Yours - O'Jays

14. Make You Feel My Love - Adele

15. Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Warren Zevon

16. Highway 61 Revisited (Live 30th Anniversary) - Johnny Winter

17. Absolutely Sweet Marie - Jason & The Scorchers

18. All I Really Want To Do - Byrds

19. Tears of Rage - Band

20. Masters of War (Live 30th Anniversary) - Eddie Vedder 

Playlist for 5/15

Kacey Musgraves - Middle of Nowhere 

Ringo Starr - Long Long Road

Band of Heathens - Country Sides

Black Crowes - A Pound of Feathers 

Lemon Twigs - Look For Your Mind

Tedeschi Trucks Band - Future Soul 

Luke Combs - The Way I Am 

New Pornographers - Former Site of

Ranking: Songs from Billy Joel - The Stranger

  It took Billy Joel 3 albums on Columbia before number four broke him in a big way.  Today The Stranger is a diamond selling album.  Its fate when first released in 1977 was far away from those sales projections.  But the lead single, "Just the Way You Are" peaked at #3 and the album had three more top 40 singles.  The momentum carried over in to 1978 when 52nd Street became his first number one album.  Never a critics favorite, Joel's music was often dismissed by critic during his peak as slight.  But listeners, including me, disagreed.  The Stranger remains my favorite Billy Joel album.

1.  Only The Good Die Young

2.  Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

3.  Just The Way You Are

4.  Vienna

5.  Songs From An Italian Restaurant

6.  She's Always A Woman

7.  The Stranger

8.  Get It Right the First Time

9.  Everybody Has A Dream

Best Mother's Day Songs

Updated for 2026

When most people think of Mother's Day songs, sentimentality usually wins out.  I've got a few of those listed below, but also some that avoid the teardrops.
                                                                                                                                             

Anais Mitchell - Little Big Girl

Anthony Hamilton - Mama Knew Love

Beatles - Julia
Bill Anderson - Mama Sang A Song

Boyz II Men - Song For Mama

Brandi Carlile - The Mother

Bruce Springsteen - Wish
Carrie Underwood - Mama's Song
Dolly Parton - Coat Of Many Colors
Electric Light Orchestra - Mama
Elvis Presley - Mama Liked The Roses
Gerry Rafferty - Mary Skeffington
Gregory Porter - Mother's Song
Intruders - I'll Always Love My Mama
Jamie O'Neal - Somebody's Hero
Judds - Mama He's Crazy

John Lennon - Mother

Joni Mitchell - Little Green

Junior - Mama Used To Say

Kacey Musgraves - Mother

Lefty Frizzell - Mom and Dad's Waltz

Lenny Kravitz - Thinking Of You

Linda Ronstadt - Sweetest Gift
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man
Merle Haggard - Mama Tried
Miracles - Shop Around
Miranda Lambert - Mama's Broken Heart
Outkast - She's Alive
Paul Simon - Loves Me Like A Rock
Pink Floyd - Mother

Randy Travis - Angels

Romy - Enjoy Your Life

Ruth Brown - Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean
Shirelles - Mama Said
Sizzla - Thank U Mamma
2Pac - Dear Mama
Spinners - Sadie
Sufjan Stevens - Fourth Of July
Taylor Swift - Best Day

Playlist for 4/30

Black America sings Stevie Wonder - Various

Wednesday Morning 6AM-Radio Hits from the Small Hours 70-83 - Various

Mitski - Nothing's About to Happen to Me

Iron & Wine - Hen's Teeth

Delines - The Set Up

Johnny Blue Skies/Sturgill Simpson - Mutiny After Midnight

Harry Styles - Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally 

Poll: April 1968 Songs

   April 1968.  I'm a month away from turning four years old.  I don't think I remember these songs from that month.  But artists?  The Beatles, Monkees for sure.  

Pop Radio Gold

"(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", Otis Redding : 1
"Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell : 2
"La-La Means I Love You", Delfonics : 3
"Tighten Up", Archie Bell & the Drells : 4
"Mrs. Robinson", Simon & Garfunkel : 5
"Dance To The Music", Sly & the Family Stone : 6
"The Good, The Bad & The Ugly", Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra : 7
"Cry Like A Baby", Box Tops : 8
"Lady Madonna", Beatles : 9
"I Thank You", Sam & Dave : 10
"A Beautiful Morning", Rascals : 11
"Scarborough Fair / (Canticle)", Simon & Garfunkel : 12
"Love Is Blue", Paul Mauriat : 13
"Valleri", Monkees : 14
"Cowboys To Girls", Intruders : 15
"Do You Know The Way To San Jose", Dionne Warwick : 16
"Just Dropped In (To See What Condition...)", First Edition (Kenny Rogers) : 17
"Jennifer Juniper", Donovan : 18
"Love Is All Around", Troggs : 19
"(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone", Aretha Franklin : 20
"Take Time To Know Her", Percy Sledge : 21
"Summertime Blues", Blue Cheer : 22
"MacArthur Park", Richard Harris : 23
"If You Can Want", Smokey Robinson & the Miracles : 24
"Sweet Inspiration", Sweet Inspirations : 25
"The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)", Manfred Mann : 26
"Simon Says", 1910 Fruitgum Co. : 27
"Honey", Bobby Goldsboro : 28
"Forever Came Today", Diana Ross & the Supremes : 29
"Soul Serenade", Willie Mitchell : 30
"I Got The Feelin'", James Brown & the Famous Flames : 31
"The Unicorn", Irish Rovers : 32
"(Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls", Dionne Warwick : 33
"Kiss Me Goodbye", Petula Clark : 34
"Playboy", Gene & Debbe : 35
"Young Girl", Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett : 36
"The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde", Georgie Fame : 37

RIP Prince 10th Anniversary

  I wrote this piece two days after Prince died on April 21, 2016. 

 Prince's albums up until the mid-90's are uniformly strong.  As the 2000's were ushered in, Prince's records all had a few good cuts, but were lacking the originality we came to expect from his classic years. 

So, my own list is top heavy with the classic stuff.

Essential
Dirty Mind
1999
Purple Rain
Parade
Sign O' The Times

Every music fan should have the above 5 in their collection.  These are Prince's best albums and show his depth better than anything:  Funk, Rock, Pop, Soul, Gospel and any other genre he was inventing.

Very Good
Controversy
Around The World In A Day
Lovesexy
Diamonds and Pearls
Love Symbol Album
Gold Experience
Emancipation
Black Album

Controversy followed Dirty Mind in 1981 and was seen as being less daring than that album, but still has some great moments.  Same fate for Around The World In A Day which followed Purple Rain. But today it stands as a neat stylistic departure.   Lovesexy from 1988, had a great, overlooked hit "Alphabet Street".  Diamonds and Pearls (1991) was sort of a comeback album chartwise, as it was released after the terrible movie Graffiti Bridge.  It has Prince's last #1 single, "Cream". The Love Symbol Album followed and was one of his funkiest albums. Gold Experience contains Prince's last big Top 40 hit, the #3 "Most Beautiful Girl In The World".   Both it and Emancipation released in the mid-90's and kind of forgotten today. Finally, the Black Album, recorded in 1987 but not released until 1994 was to be the followup to Sign O' The Times but shelved at the last minute.  It became a big bootleg album for years.  It's a good album, not a classic, but full of odd songs.

Good
Batman 
Graffiti Bridge
Prince (1979)
Crystal Ball
Chaos and Disorder
Musicology
3121
Art Official Age

If some of the titles don't seem obscure to you, then you are as much a die-hard as me.  For most, a lot of these were completely forgotten by even curious Prince fans. The latest album on this list is 2014's Art Official Age.  I'm kind of fond of the Batman album.  All have their moments, and again I hope someone compiles a latter day Prince compilation.

Greatest Hits Sets
Hits/B-Sides  (1993)
Very Best Of  (2001)
Ultimate  (2006)
4Ever (2016)

4Ever was released after Prince died and is the best of the bunch, even though it stops at 1993.  None of the others contain anything post-1993.  Very Best Of is a single disc, Hits/B-Sides a triple and Ultimate/4Ever are double discs.  Ultimate has a few 12" mixes for collectors. 

KPIG-FM Memories

  It wasn't until 1990 that I started listening more intently to Americana music.  Most of my listening habits until then were taken up by many other genres.  Country music was one of them, but mainstream Country.  So, when co-workers started listening to KPIG-FM radio out of Freedom, California (near Santa Cruz), in the early 90's, I decided to tag along.  KPIG began in 1987. But its origins date back to 1975 and the birth of Progressive Country pioneer, KFAT, based in Gilroy, California.  For eight year, KFAT played a heady mix of Progressive Country, but also other genres like Blues, Rock, Bluegrass and anything else offbeat. Once KFAT went under, in 1983, it begat KHIP.  But KHIP didn't have the big signal KFAT did.  Finally in 1987, KPIG began.  Like KFAT it plays an eclectic mix.  It specializes in Americana but I hear other genres in their playlist.  You’re likely to hear the Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Emmylou Harris, and whatever newcomer comes along,  in any given hour. 

  It's not like I didn't know about Americana artists.  I read enough music magazines that I knew what names were getting rave reviews.  John Morthland's essential 1984 book, Country Music, opened my ears to a lot of Country music outside the Country charts.  This is all similar to my experiences with Alt-Rock.  It wasn't until I started reading Spin or Option magazine that I started to explore that genre.  I skipped most of the important bands in the 80's.

  Listening to KPIG in the early 90's, the album that really turned me on to the Americana genre was John Prine's 1991 comeback, The Missing Years. His first studio album in six years.  Once I fell in love with it, and hearing other Prine cuts, I began to explore other names in the genre thanks to KPIG.  

  Some 35 years later the Americana genre is more popular than ever.  I wasn't there at the beginning when it was just a newly named format.  KPIG is still going strong. And I've been along for the ride ever since.  

Here's a Spotify playlist of my early KPIG music memories:

KPIG Memories

My Latest Podcast Appearance (Rock in Retrospect Podcast)

   I joined host Nick Bambach and 3 others to talk about the 2026 Rock Hall inductees.

Rock in Retrospect

Ranking: Songs from Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston

   The first time I saw Whitney Houston was in 1983 on the Merv Griffin show.  She sang "Home" from The Wiz.  It was a great performance.  A star seemed to be in the making.  But who knows how these things will turn out.  The first time I heard her on record was in 1984 when she did a duet with Teddy Pendergrass for his post-accident comeback album.  "Hold Me" would peak at #5 on the R&B charts and #46 on the Hot 100.  

  A year later her self-titled debut album came out.  This was a new voice in the Pop world.  The album had all the markings of label head Clive Davis' touch.  There's a little bit for everything.  R&B, Pop, carefully constructed duets.  But what held it all together were the songs and Houston's powerful voice.

1.  How Will I Know

2.  Saving All My Love For You

3.  You Give Good Love

4.  Thinking About You

5.  Greatest Love Of All

6.  All At Once

7.  Hold Me (w/Teddy Pendergrass)

8.  Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (w/Jermaine Jackson)

9.  Someone For Me

10.  Take Good Care of My Heart (w/Jermaine Jackson)

Playlist for 4/10

Megan Moroney - Cloud 9

Charli xcx - Wuthering Heights

Paranoid Style - Known Associates

Clover County - Finer Things

Lone Bellow - What A Time To Be Alive

Mon Rovia - Bloodline

Elvis Presley - EPIC Soundtrack

EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert (Film)

Beach Boys - We Gotta Groove-The Brother Studio Years (Box Set)

Playlist for 3/27

CBGB: A New York City Soundtrack 75-86 - Various (Box Set)

Musik Music Musique 1979 - Various (Box Set)

Kashus Culpepper - Act I

Beck - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime

Courtney Marie Andrews - Valentine

Emily Scott Robinson - Appalachia

Langhorne Slim - The Dreamin' Kind

Marcus King - Darling Blue

A Tribute to the King of Zydeco - Various

Highway of Diamonds-Black America Sings Bob Dylan - Various

Song Sung Blue (2025 Film)

Blue Moon (2025 Film) 

Inductee Predictions: 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Below are my Predictions for the 2026 Rock Hall, listed in alphabetical order. 

Some things to consider: 

There were 14 nominees last year.  This year 17.

There are 7 women nominated.

There are no first year eligible nominees.

There are 10 first time nominees. 

There are no acts nominated who started in the 50's/60's.  Expect side category inductees to correct that. 

5 acts were nominated last year: Idol, Carey, Crowes, JD/NO,  Oasis.

The most nominated artists yet to get in all have 3 nominations: Carey, JD/NO, Iron Maiden. Oasis. 

This is the first year voters have to pick 7 names.  They can't pick less than 7.  This could impact who gets in. 

This is a dominant 80’s and forward ballot. A handful of these artists started in the 70’s. But none became a star until the 80’s (Phil Collins solo, Vandross, Idol). It remains to be seen if the Hall makes up for no pre-80’s names, with Side Category picks. 

Were you surprised by some of the picks this year?  Let alone a 17 nominee ballot?  Well, for the first time the Hall implemented term limits for NomCom members.

As Future Rock Legends wrote:

"We're assuming they will go with some sort of three-year rotation, similar to what the Country Music Hall of Fame does. Every year, one third of the committee steps off, but can come back on after a 3-year break."

Term limits are something long time Hall watchers have wanted for years.  It seems like there was a big shakeup on the NomCom this year, resulting in some wild nominees and maybe in a bigger ballot.  

Here's a link to my Personal Picks for 2026:  Rock Hall Personal Picks 2026

There were 7 inductees last year, but for this year I’m going to push it to 8. 

My 2026 Predictions:

Inductees

Billy Idol - Thanks to MTV, he became a big star in the 80's.  His hits have held up, he has a new documentary out and it's possible the publicity from it could put him in. 2nd nomination

INXS -  For their fans this has been a long wait. 80’s playlist staples appearing for the first time. 1st nomination

Luther Vandross - Beloved R&B singer whose legend has only grown since he passed in 2005.  A 2024 documentary and the recent Kendrick Lamar hit "Luther" might help put him in.  1st nomination

Mariah Carey - Now on her 3rd straight nomination.  If she doesn't get voted in, will they put her in as Musical Excellence? 3rd nomination

Melissa Etheridge - Seems like no one is paying much attention to her nomination.  Has appeal to older voters, boomers and the classic rock vote. 1st nomination 

Oasis - After a big comeback tour, the third time's their best chance for induction. 

Phil Collins - This year's one true sure shot.  He's already in with Genesis, but it was his solo years in the 80's that made him a superstar.  1st nomination. 

Wu-Tang Clan - Not the slam dunk that Outkast were last year, but this long running rap act have definitely built a following and legend in the last 30 years.  1st nomination 

The Rest 

Black Crowes - 2nd nomination

Iron Maiden - 3rd nomination

Jeff Buckley - 1st nomination

Joy Division/New Order - 3rd nomination

Lauryn Hill - 1st nomination

New Edition - 1st nomination

Pink -  1st nomination 

Sade - 2nd nomination 

Shakira - 1st nominaion 

Poll: March 1976 Songs

  1976.  One of my favorite years for music.  Check out my article on that year: 1976.   So I was very happy to see this year turn up in this latest poll.

Pop Radio Gold

"Wake Up Everybody", Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes : 1
"Bohemian Rhapsody", Queen : 2
"50 Ways To Leave Your Lover", Paul Simon : 3
"Love Hurts", Nazareth : 4
"Slow Ride", Foghat : 5
"Sweet Thing", Rufus featuring Chaka Khan : 6
"You Sexy Thing", Hot Chocolate : 7
"Golden Years", David Bowie : 8
"Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)", Bee Gees : 9
"December 1963 (Oh What A Night)", Four Seasons : 10
"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (slow version)", Neil Sedaka : 11
"Right Back Where We Started From", Maxine Nightingale : 12
"Sweet Love", Commodores : 13
"Show Me The Way", Peter Frampton : 14
"Take It To The Limit", Eagles : 15
"Dream Weaver", Gary Wright : 16
"Love To Love You Baby", Donna Summer : 17
"Dream On", Aerosmith : 18
"Let Your Love Flow", Bellamy Brothers : 19
"Boogie Fever", Sylvers : 20
"Love Machine", Miracles : 21
"I Write The Songs", Barry Manilow : 22
"Theme From S.W.A.T.", Rhythm Heritage : 23
"All By Myself", Eric Carmen : 24
"Disco Lady", Johnnie Taylor : 25
"I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)", Elton John : 26
"Action", Sweet : 27
"There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World)", Carpenters : 28
"Money Honey", Bay City Rollers : 29
"Convoy", C.W. McCall : 30
"Only Sixteen", Dr. Hook : 31
"Squeeze Box", Who : 32
"Grow Some Funk Of Your Own", Elton John : 33
"Lonely Night (Angel Face)", Captain & Tennille : 34
"Junk Food Junkie", Larry Groce : 35
"Deep Purple", Donny & Marie Osmond : 36
"Tangerine", Salsoul Orchestra : 37
"The White Knight", Cledus Maggard : 38
"Baby Face", Wing & A Prayer Fife & Drum Corps : 39

Not Inducted In The Country Music Hall of Fame (Updated 2026 Inductees)

The 2026 Country Hall inductees were announced today: Tim McGraw  (Modern Era),  Stanley Brothers  (Veterans Era),  Paul Overstreet  (Songwriter).  

Voting process (as I know it in 2026), is described below: (credit: Saving Country Music)

The Country Music Hall of Fame inductees are selected through a committee process appointed by the Country Music Association (CMA). The selection process has been split up into three categories:

1) Modern Era – Eligible for induction 20 years after they first achieve “national prominence.” 2) Veterans Era – Eligible for induction 45 years after they first achieve “national prominence.” 3) Non-Performer, Songwriter, and Recording and/or Touring Musician active prior to 1980 – Rotates every 3 years. If there is a tie in voting in any category, two names can be selected, as we saw in 2021.

Below are a list of artists, session musicians, songwriters, producers, etc., that are eligible as of 2025.

Asleep At The Wheel

Blake Shelton

Brad Paisley
Buddy Emmons
Buddy Killen

Charlie Rich

Chicks (Dixie Chicks)

Clint Black
Crystal Gayle
Curly Putnam
Dallas Frazier

Don Rich
Dwight Yoakam

Earl Thomas Conley
Eddie Rabbitt

Freddy Fender
Garth Fundis
Gary Stewart
Gene Watson

Jeannie Seely

Jerry Chesnutt
Jerry Douglas

Jerry Kennedy

Jim Owens
Jimmy Martin
Johnny Horton
Johnny Paycheck

Johnny Rodriguez

Keith Urban

Larry Gatlin

Linda Ronstadt
Lloyd Green

Lorrie Morgan

Lynn Anderson
Maddox Brothers and Rose
Mark O'Connor
Martina McBride
Mickey Gilley

Miranda Lambert

Paul Franklin

Ralph Mooney

Rodney Crowell
Rosanne Cash

Shania Twain

Taylor Swift 

Travis Tritt
Trisha Yearwood
Vern Gosdin

Personal Picks: 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Below are my Personal picks for the 2026 Rock Hall, listed in alphabetical order.  Most of the 17 nominees could get a "Yes" vote from me in other years. 

Some things to consider:

There were 14 nominees last year.  This year 17.

There are 7 women nominated.

There are no first year eligible nominees.

There are 10 first time nominees. 

There are no acts nominated who started in the 50's/60's.  Expect side category inductees to correct that. 

5 acts were nominated last year: Idol, Carey, Crowes, JD/NO,  Oasis.

The most nominated artists this year yet to get in all have 3 nominations: Carey, JD/NO, Iron Maiden. Oasis. 

This is a dominant 80’s and forward ballot. A handful of these artists started in the 70’s. But none became a star until the 80’s (Phil Collins solo, Vandross, Idol). It remains to be seen if the Hall makes up for no pre-80’s names, with Side Category picks. 

This is the first year voters have to pick 7 names.  They can't vote for less than 7.  This could have an impact on who gets in. 

Were you surprised by some of the picks this year?  Let alone a 17 nominee ballot?  Well, for the first time the Hall implemented term limits for NomCom members.

As Future Rock Legends wrote:

"We're assuming they will go with some sort of three-year rotation, similar to what the Country Music Hall of Fame does. Every year, one third of the committee steps off, but can come back on after a 3-year break."

Term limits are something long time Hall watchers have wanted for years.  It seems like there was a big shakeup on the NomCom this year, resulting in some wild nominees and maybe in a bigger ballot.  

With each of my picks, I recommend some of their best recordings.

Again, these are my Personal picks, not predictions. 

Top 7

INXS - Save for one album, what really made their 80's run so much fun is that they were a great singles band.  1st nomination

1.  Kick

2.  Shine Like It Does: The Anthology 

Mariah Carey - We all know she can sing, but she can also write a good song. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall in 2022.  3rd nomination

1.  Emancipation of Mimi

2.  Essential

Luther Vandross - One of the greatest R&B singers of his generation.   1st nomination

1.  The Night I Fell In Love

2.  Essential

New Edition - Early days were teen Pop/R&B then matured into Adult/R&B.  Blueprint forr many 90's R&B/Pop bands of the 90's. 1st nomination

1.  Hits

2.  Heart Break 

Oasis - It's really all about those first two albums, which I love.  3rd nominaiton

1.  Definitely Maybe

2.  (What's the Story) Morning Glory

Phil Collins - For those of you too young to remember, he was one of the best solo Pop stars of the 80's.  1st nomination

1.  No Jacket Required

2.  The Singles

Sade - As a lover of the Quiet Storm format, I’ve got to support one of the pioneers of the genre. 2nd nomination 

1. Diamond Life

2. Essential 

The Rest

Billy Idol - 2nd nomination

Black Crowes - 2nd nomination

Iron Maiden - 3rd nomination

Jeff Buckley - 1st nomination

Joy Division/New Order - 3rd nomination

Lauryn Hill - 1st nomination

Melissa Etheridge - 1st nomination

Pink - 1st nomination

Shakira - 1st nomination

Wu-Tang Clan - 1st nomination

Ranking: The Original Songs from Saturday Night Fever

   Writing the songs in a single weekend, the Bee Gees reached a creative zenith with the original songs featured in Saturday Night Fever.  By the way, the movie is in my personal top 10 films of all time.  Hard to think of John Travolta's star turn without the Bee Gees music carrying him along to such heights.  For this ranking I'm only going to include the original songs from the soundtrack.  So, no KC & The Sunshine Band, Trammps or Kool & The Gang, two previous Bee Gees hits,  regardless of how much I love those songs.  

1.  Stayin' Alive

2.  How Deep Is Your Love

3.  Night Fever

4.  More Than A Woman

5.  If I Can't Have You (Yvonne Elliman)

6.  More Than A Woman (Tavares)

7.  Manhattan Skyline (David Shire)

8.  Night On Disco Mountain (David Shire)

9.  Salsation

Playlist for 3/7

Lucinda Williams - World's Gone Wrong

U2 - Days of Ash

James Hunter Six - Off the Fence

Zach Bryan - With Heaven On Top 

Robbie Williams - Britpop

Jill Scott - To Whom This May Concern 

Santana - Caravanserai

Pat Metheny - Bright Sized Life

Paul McCartney: Man on the Run (Documentary) 

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025 film) 

RIP Neil Sedaka

  Neil Sedaka first became a star in the post-Elvis Army/pre-Beatles era of the early 1960's.  It's a part of Rock history that often gets dismissed by music critics.  Despite the fact that some incredible records came out during that time.  Sedaka often gets lumped in with the teen idols of the era, usually the most scorned by critics.  But Sedaka was more of a Pop professional than those idols.   For one he played piano and co-wrote his own songs.  His songs became hits for Connie Francis and Gene Pitney. Still, if you're looking for a reason that Sedaka was never nominated, let alone put in under Musical Excellence or Influence, consider the era he first had hits.  

  The British Invasion put an end to Sedaka's 60's chart run.  His hits would be ones that others covered.  Which gives me the chance to bring up another early 60's institution that deserves more respect: the Brill Building.  The NYC building that was home to a bunch of the greatest songwriters who crafted future classic songs: Goffin/King, Bacharach/David, Mann/Weil, Barry/Greenwich, Leiber/Stoller, Neil Diamond and Sedaka/Greenfield.  

  Sedaka's 70's comeback didn't begin in United States, but in the UK.  There he recorded three albums of varying success.  But the recordings caught the attention of Elton John who signed him to his new Rocket Records in 1974.  A compilation album, Sedaka's Back, containing tracks from those three albums was released to acclaim in the U.S.  And one of its tracks, 1975's "Laughter In the Rain" became Sedaka's first number one since the early 60's. Sedaka's Back is a great album.  Even though a compilation, its still his best album, outside of greatest hits sets.  Sedaka quickly followed it up with 75's The Hungry Years, and had another one with "Bad Blood" that featured Elton on vocals.  But things began to slow down in 1976.  The hits dried up again.  After 1976 Sedaka only had one other Top 40 hit, a duet in 1980 with his daughter.  

  But he never stopped recording or touring.  Most of us that hadn't followed him in years caught up with him again during the 2020 COVID shutdown.  Sedaka took to social media to do mini concerts consisting of his hits, deep tracks and covers.  The ultimate professional, he never let up on his posts up until his death.  Because Neil Sedaka loved to please.  His passion was performing and pleasing his audience.  Nearly 68 years since his first Top 40 hit, he accomplished that and more. 

Latest Podcast Appearance (Rock in Retrospect Podcast)

 I joined host Nick Bambach's the Rock in Retrospect podcast, with some others, to talk about the 2026 Rock Hall nominees.  

Rock in Retrospect