As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Celebrating Sinatra


Since yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s birth, I figured I’d mark the occasion by listing my five favorite songs by the man who’s probably this country’s greatest singer ever, if not necessarily its most exemplary role model.
 
The Summer Wind (#11 on my list of all-time favorite songs)
 
“High Hopes” and “All My Tomorrows” were both featured in Sinatra’s 1959 movie A Hole In The Head, which I vaguely remember seeing as a kid. “High Hopes” was the anthem of legendary Phillies radio announcer Harry Kalas, so after Kalas’ untimely death on April 13, 2009 (as he was getting ready to broadcast the Nationals’ home opener with the Phillies, a game which we attended) I decided to watch the movie again. That is when I fell in love with “All My Tomorrows”, which plays over the opening credits and fits the movie perfectly. It’s one of the greatest songs to ever languish in near-total obscurity, and I admit to blubbering like John Boehner for some reason whenever I listen to it.