The story behind Rosanne Cash’s latest album, “The List,” is as follows: when Cash was 18, her father Johnny gave her a list of songs he felt “essential” to her musical education. In honor of this moment, I asked my mother (not a musician, but a very nice lady) to give me her own list of essential songs. I’ve excerpted ten of them below, with my own commentary added. Give it a try with your own mom or dad sometime, you just might learn something.
Moondance, by Van Morrison
I’m a sucker for great bass lines, and Moondance is full of awesome bass grooves. This is a great song, plain and simple.
Fever, by Peggy Lee
Mom showing off her jazz chops here. Can’t argue with this track, it’s a classic for a good reason.
Stairway to Heaven, by Led Zeppelin
Fact: my mom and I both really like Led Zeppelin. However, “Stairway” is probably at the top of my list of most overrated songs of all time. It’s not an awful song, but it gets a lot more credit than it deserves. It’s OK, Mom, we can still be friends.
American Pie, by Don Maclean
I’m a sucker for great lyrics, and the metaphorical battle between the football team and marching band in this song is just brilliant. I suppose I could say this is an essential “American” tune, but that sounds kind of pompous, doesn’t it?
Killing me Softly, by Roberta Flack
This is a fantastic song (about Don Maclean, ironically), but we all know it was done best by Lauryn Hill and the Fugees. Must be a generational thing. I’m sure once I show my mom Lauryn Hill’s version she’ll be convinced, too.
Fool on the Hill, by The Beatles
My mom is a Beatles fanatic (she easily could have populated this list with Beatles tracks alone), but it’s interesting to see her pick out a relatively unknown song by the Fab Four. Not sure about all the flutes in this song, but it’s still a decent pick.
Fortunate Son, by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Yes! My mom and I have the same favorite Creedence song! Well played, Mom.
Ohio, by Neil Young
I’ll be honest, I’m not in any way a Neil Young fan, but “Ohio” is something of a jam, and it’s probably not a song I would have ever given a real listen to were it not for my mom’s Neil Young fanaticism.
Desperado, by The Eagles
This is my mom’s favorite song of all time. I will do my best to listen to it all the way through, but I always want to channel The Big Lebowski and say “anything but The Eagles, man!”
Deep Purple, by Artie Shaw
This is pretty old school, maybe a bit too much so for me. It’s got a pretty cheesy melody, but that’s classic pop music for you, I guess. Talk to me when you’ve figured out what dissonance is.
Brian