Tom Lane's Music Blog

June 1965, Beatlemania!  Although only one song by them is listed here.  This is the biggest of these polls I've voted in: 50 songs.  Ju...

Dale Watson - Unwanted  Social Distortion - Born to Kill Margaret Glaspy - Golden Heart Protector  Keith Urban - Flow State  Charley Crocket...

  I often thought of Clive Davis as the "Last Record Man".  But there were others that could claim that title like Berry Gordy. He...

   Great Father's Day Songs : Alan Jackson - Drive (For Daddy Gene) Beyonce & Chicks - Daddy Lessons Brad Paisley - He Didn't Ha...

  This month two albums.  Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joining Fleetwood Mac in 1975.  And putting them on the Top 40 singles chart f...

Ashley McBryde - Wild  Ella Langley - Dandelion Carter Faith - Cherry Valley  Rolling Stones - Foreign Tongues U2 - Easter Lily  Paul Cliffo...

   Eleven years ago I started a crazy playlist project on Spotify called "Tracks of My Life".  The playlist would consist of every...

 Consider this a never-ending list of my favorite Summer songs.  I've also included songs that may not be about Summer, but have the fee...

Willie Nelson - Dream Chaser Black Keys - Peaches  BTS - Arirang  Robyn - Sexistential Ashley Monroe - Dear Nashville  Charley Crockett - Ag...

  May 1982. One month away from graduating.  Not the strongest list I've voted on.  But brought back memories of my last months in High ...

   Back in 2014, I participated in an online poll ranking Bob Dylan's songs/albums/cover versions by other artists.  Now on his 85th bir...

Kacey Musgraves - Middle of Nowhere  Ringo Starr - Long Long Road Band of Heathens - Country Sides Black Crowes - A Pound of Feathers  Lemon...

  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 fa...

Updated for 2026 When most people think of Mother's Day songs, sentimentality usually wins out.  I've got a few of those listed belo...

Black America sings Stevie Wonder - Various Wednesday Morning 6AM-Radio Hits from the Small Hours 70-83 - Various Mitski - Nothing's Abo...

   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?  ...

  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...

  It wasn't until 1990 that I started listening more intently to Americana music.  Most of my listening habits until then were taken up ...

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

   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 perf...