#1 Stay In My Corner -- The Dells (1968)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPJKRRbjw0U

 

The Dells first recorded and released “Stay In My Corner” in 1965. It’s relatively unremarkable, checking in at a tidy 2:58. It reached a modest #23 on the Billboard R&B chart, and did not crack the Hot 100.

 

A couple years later, the group was looking for some additional songs to fill out their debut LP after moving to the Cadet record label, so they rearranged and re-recorded the song. Unexpectedly, the album cut started getting so much radio airplay despite its length (over six minutes) that they put it out as a single. It wound up being their biggest hit ever, reaching #1 on the R&B chart and nudging into the top 10 of the Hot 100. I first remember hearing it when we were down at the Jersey shore in the summer of ’68. (To my shock, Dave Marsh’s listing of “Stay In My Corner” in his book of great singles references the original 1965 version.)

 

Of course, this ranks as my all-time favorite not because it’s a great story, but because it’s a great song. Although the Dells were a traditional R&B vocal group, the song is anything but traditional, with a coda that has to be heard to be believed. I’m convinced that somewhere in the world there exists a musical dictionary where there’s a link to this song next to the definition of “soul”.

#2 Stones In The Road -- Mary Chapin Carpenter (1994)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CPMWyiAESo

Back in the day (mid to late 80s, I think), a group of us started going to see Emmylou Harris at Wolf Trap every year. One particular year, her opening act was someone we had never heard of, named Mary Chapin Carpenter. We were so impressed that we started going to Carpenter’s annual performances instead, although a few of us kept going to Emmylou’s shows as well. By now, I’ve seen more performances by her than by any other artist – in addition to the shows that she does almost every summer at Wolf Trap, I’ve caught shows by her at other local venues (Birchmere, 9:30 Club, Lyric Opera House in Baltimore), and one each in Philadelphia (WXPN annual summer music festival) and Elmer, NJ (Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival). I actually started going to the WXPN festivals in the summer of 2000 to see Carpenter, because for some reason she wasn’t going to be at Wolf Trap that year.

Carpenter wrote “Stones In The Road” during the heyday of her period as an unlikely country music superstar. The song is certainly more folk than country – it was actually first recorded by Joan Baez – which helps explain why her record company never released it as a single. Unlike “Slippin’ Into Darkness” and “Thunder Road” it follows the traditional verse-chorus-bridge structure, but like the latter the lyrics are outstanding, a parable of growing up in a comfortable white middle-class environment, for the most part touched only indirectly by the chaos of the late 1960s, and seeing youthful idealism replaced by the cynicism of the grownup rat race. It’s interesting that while the references in the first verse of the song (Pledge of Allegiance, starving children overseas) are common to many of us, the second verse is intensely personal, as Carpenter was growing up in Princeton NJ when Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train traveled from New York down to Washington after his assassination in 1968. And as with “Canadian Railroad Trilogy”, the final lines pack a real punch. (Carpenter was always best when her political points were subtle):

"And the stones in the road leave a mark from whence they came / A thousand points of light or shame, baby, I don't know."

 

#3 Thunder Road -- Bruce Springsteen (1975)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGBXnw86Mgc

Picking a single “favorite song” isn’t the easiest thing in the world; probably any of the top 9 on this list could make a strong case for the honor. In particular, the top 3 are really more like 1A, 1B, and 1C.

In general, I get annoyed when people pull out the lyrics from rock (or other) songs and point to them as poetry. Song lyrics aren’t meant to stand alone. Rather, they’re designed to work along with the musical elements of the song. So, there are many great songs with wonderful lyrics that work well in the context of the song, but aren’t necessarily impressive if pulled out and viewed on their own.

There are, however, certainly some songs whose lyrics alone could stand on their own merits, and Springsteen has written more than his share of these (as has Joni Mitchell). “Thunder Road” for me tops the list, not least for its relative brevity (as early Bruce goes); as he himself said later in “No Surrender”, “We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school.” (OK, “Thunder Road” actually runs 4:51, but you get the point.)

My college roommate and I were introduced to Bruce’s music by our next-door neighbor in the dorm, who hailed from the Philadelphia suburbs. The three of us wound up developing a Sunday night ritual of listening to one side of a Bruce album – there were only two at the time – every Sunday night, and on October 20, 1974 we made the drive from Lebanon Valley to Dickinson College in Carlisle to see him perform, in what appeared to be the college dining hall / multi-purpose room. For some reason, I have never forgotten that the opening act was (as introduced by Bruce) Hange Range, from Schooley’s Mountain, New Jersey. Don’t think he did “Thunder Road”, but we do remember him doing “Jungleland”.

Best Music of 2014

Here’s my annual list of favorite songs and albums. I’ll update this post once the results are in from the three radio station polls in which I voted. [DONE]

Songs (WXPN list) 

1. Happy – Pharrell Williams (#20 WXPN Top 200)
2. You Go Down Smooth – Lake Street Dive (#14 WXPN, #48 WTMD Top 89)
3. After The Disco – Broken Bells
4. The Moment – Toad The Wet Sprocket
5. Coming Of Age – Foster The People (#111 WXPN, #38 WTMD)
6. Bad Self Portraits – Lake Street Dive (#6 WXPN, #31 WTMD)
7. Holding On To Life – Broken Bells (#65 WTMD)
8. Turn It Around – Lucius (#113 WXPN)
9. Black & Blue – The Secret Sisters
10. Modern Blue – Roseanne Cash (#199 WXPN)

Other Favorite Songs (not played on WXPN) 

1. Use Me Up – Lake Street Dive (album track)
2. Love Never Felt So Good – Michael Jackson
3. Classic – MKTO
4. Ain’t It Fun – Paramore
5. The Story Of My Life – One Direction
6. All About That Bass – Meghan Trainor
7. American Dream – MKTO
8. Problem – Ariana Grande 

Favorite Albums

1. Bad Self Portraits – Lake Street Dive (#1 mvyradio Top 25)
2. Into The Mirror: Del Amitri Live In Concert
3. The River & The Thread – Roseanne Cash (#2)
4. Put Your Needle Down – The Secret Sisters
5. Twelve Stories – Owen Danoff
6. High Hopes --  Bruce Springsteen (#25)
7. Bluesamericana – Keb' Mo' (#6)
8. Give The People What They Want – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (#8)