Top 200 Greatest Songs of All-Time

I Dig Rock and Roll Music was one of the most satirical songs of the 60's with spot on impersonations by Peter, Paul and Mary of Donovan, The Mamas and the Papas and The Beatles. Sometimes it is pure genius the way vocals can match each other and that was never truer than with Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. They are the greatest of all folk groups. Their litany of hit songs is incredible---Leaving on a Jets Plane, Puff, Lemon Tree, Blowin' in the Wind, If I Had A Hammer, and so much more. They were able to combine beautiful music with social activism that made them such leaders in the folk and pop world. On a personal note, my organization, The Mental Health Association in New York State, www.mhanys.org  had Peter Yarrow come to one of our events. He stayed for hours, provided us with lots of stories and brought us all out to sing along with several of his classics. He still sounded absolutely incredible. One of my favorite of their songs was I Dig Ro...

As you loyal followers are tracking the daily list of my Top 200 songs, I will give you a hint of what lies ahead. There are several songs from an obscure 60's group known as the The Beatles. Given my eye for musical talent, I have identified several of their songs for my list. Their 60's and 70's music may not be mainstream but give them time. It is cliché, but The Beatles are simply my favorite group of all-time. I have eclectic tastes but when it comes to the Fearsome Foursome, I do not equivocate. They are simply the greatest of all-time who people will be talking about a hundred years from now. The first Beatles song on my list is a beautiful but somewhat melancholy song, foreshadowing their breakup. Paul wrote the Long and Winding Road by himself when he was in Scotland. The multi-talented musician Billy Preston (Nothing from Nothing means Nothing) played on the song with The Beatles. The song was Number 41 for 1970 in the Billboard Top 100. Ladies and G...

Of all the great Motown acts, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas has to be the most underrated. People rarely talk about them in the rarified air of The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, The Supremes, yet look at their body of work. Besides Jimmy Mack, they made had three huge hits --No Where to Run, Heat Wave, and Dancing in the Streets. How many groups can boast of that kind of resume? Glad voters had the good sense to elect them to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. My favorite song of theirs is the very catchy Jimmy Mack. "Jimmy, Oh Jimmy Mack, when are you coming back, Jimmy Mack"---What a great song. It was Number 36 in the Billboard Top 100 of 1967 and it is my Number 188 in my Top 200 Songs of all-time.

The incredible voice of Karen Carpenter propelled Sing to the top of the charts in 1973. It was from their Album, Now and Then. The song was Number 59 in the Billboard Top 100 of 1973. This song was originally written by Joe Raposo for Sesame Street in 1971. It was an incredibly popular Sesame Street song over the years song by everyone from Big Bird to Elmo (fact check--not sure about Elmo). This is my second very catchy song in a row in my Top 200. The upbeat song and the voice of Karen Carpenter made it such a winning combination. That is why Sing is Number 189 in my All-Time Top 200 songs

Early 1980's, I decided on a lark to go to a concert up at Saratoga Performing Art Center by a singer named Peter Allen. Knew very little about him except he was a singer, songwriter, musician. All I know is that he put on an incredible performance---multi-talented, great story teller and hilarious. I was a fan of his ever since. By now, many people know his story. Born in Australia, came to U.S. mentored by Judy Garland and married Liza Minnelli After he and Minnelli divorced, he came out of the closet. His partner performed in the band. Sadly, they both ultimately lost their lives to AIDS. The Broadway Musical, Boy from Oz, starring Hugh Jackman, was about the amazing life of Peter Allen. He left an incredible legacy of songs he wrote and performed like Arthur's Theme, I Honestly Love You, Don't Cry Out Loud, Bi-Coastal, You Haven't Heard the Last of Me and so many more. But his quintessential hit song was the great party song, Go To Rio. He wrote th...

The Alt Rock Band, The New Radicals' hit song, You Get What You Give is Number 191 on my list of the Top 200 Songs of All-Time. This terrific song was a one hit wonder for the New Radicals, off the album, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too. In 2002, VH 1 rated this song Number 64 on the list of greatest one hit wonders. In 1998 when the song was a hit, it created some controversy with a lyric that was critical of several celebrities "Fashion shows with Beck and Hansen Courtney Love and Marilyn Mansen Your all faking, run to your mansions Come around, we'll kick your ass in" Controversy aside, it is a great song and my choice for 191 of All-Time, You Get What You Give

"Ever went over to a friend's house to eat. And the food just ain't no good. I mean the macaroni's soggy, the peas are mushed and the chicken tastes like wood" That is one of the clever lyric's from the Rap Song that started it all, Wrapper's Delight. Michael 'Wonder Mike' Wright, Henry 'Big Hank' Jackson and Guy 'Master Gee' O'Brien of Englewood, New Jersey comprised the members of The Sugar Hill Gang. They released Rapper's Delight in 1979. The song was produced by Sylvia Robinson (who made a hit out of Pillow Talk). Little did we know that the song would be the Rock Around the Clock of Rap. It introduced hip hop to the world. The song was so influential that it was Number 251 in Rolling Stone's Top 500 songs of all-time. So here is the Sugar Hill Gang with Number 192 of my Top 200 Songs of All-Time