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.)

Friday, December 26, 2025

Joe Ely, Chris Rea

In tribute to two greatly-underappreciated musical figures, although Rea did have a minor U.S. hit in 1978 with “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” and had considerable success in his native U.K.

 

https://variety.com/2025/music/obituaries-people-news/joe-ely-dead-texas-singer-roots-rock-hero-1236609581/

 

“Joe Ely performed American roots music with the fervor of a true believer who knew music could transport souls,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “His distinctive musical style could only have emerged from Texas, with its southwestern blend of honky-tonk, rock & roll, roadhouse blues, western swing, and conjunto.”

 

Favorites:

Boxcars

She Never Spoke Spanish To Me

Dallas

Musta Notta Gotta Lotta

Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown

 

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/dec/22/chris-rea-rock-and-blues-singer-songwriter-dies-aged-74

 

Rea blended blues, pop, soul and soft rock on 25 studio albums, featuring hits including The Road to Hell, taken from a UK No 1 album of the same name; Driving Home for Christmas, a perennial seasonal favourite; and tracks such as On the Beach and Josephine that earned popularity in the Balearic dance scene. He sold more than 30m albums.

 

Favorites:

Fool (If You Think It’s Over) [original 1978 version]

Driving Home For Christmas

On The Beach

The Road To Hell

Looking For The Summer

No comments:

Post a Comment