May 12, 2016: Steve! Smith! On! DRUMS!!!!

Irvine, CA
Irvine Meadows

At the end of the 2006 Journey tour with Def Leppard, I decided I was done with road trips away from Northern California. I said to a couple of friends at the time "I'm not traveling unless someone named Steve is singing. Hell, it could be Steve Smith!" A joke to be sure, but also one that reflected my thought that Steve Smith returning to perform with Journey a decade after he last recorded with them and over two decades since he had last toured with them was just too unlikely. Well, here we are another decade after THAT and Steve Smith is back out on the road with Journey playing drums. Never say never I guess.

When the "San Francisco Fest" tour was announced back in December, I was a bit perturbed that there wasn't a show listed for the Bay Area. The closest show was for Fresno in August (since canceled) - nearly 200 miles away from San Francisco! I figured a show would eventually be added, and boy was it, but I also didn't want to wait all summer for a show since I really wanted to see Steve Smith back in Journey. So it was that I decided to make a road trip to Irvine for the tour opener -- two things I hadn't done in 10 years! (In fact, I think the last tour opener I went to was in 2004!)

So there I was on Wednesday, tooling down I-5 from the Bay Area to SoCal. It's a long and boring ride, but with good tunes and cruise control it went by pretty swiftly and I arrived safely late Wednesday afternoon. I'd be meeting up with Cheryl, Jenn, and Rose on Thursday for the show, which was something else I was looking forward to -- hanging with some Journey buddies I don't get to see much any more (especially since Cheryl went and moved to SoCal from NorCal like a crazy person!) My favorite part of all those road trips I did over about 10 years was always hanging out with all the friends I'd met and made along the way.

Thursday arrived soon enough and I met Jenn and Cheryl at their hotel for lunch. Rose would be picking them up later as all three had VIP seats and thus would be heading over to the show earlier than I was. Closer to show time I drove over to Irvine Meadows for one last time -- this is apparently the last season for the venue, and honestly it probably is a good thing. This was probably my 4th time seeing a show there (under various names) and it's got to be one of the most inconvenient venues I've ever been to. Parking is a nightmare (and I learned even buying the premier parking didn't help with the nightmare exit) and the way the crowd has to go in and out of the amphitheater is supremely stupid.

I got in about 6:15 or so for the 7:00 start. Cheryl, Jenn, and Rose were still in their VIP party, so I just grabbed a drink, found my seat, and waited for the show to start. About 15 minutes before the show started, Rose came out and found me and we had a nice little chat. Just before the show started, I saw Cheryl and Jenn make their way to their front row seats. I was pretty much directly behind them, just a couple of sections back.

When the tour was announced, I tried to think of a couple of Dave Mason songs, but nothing came immediately to mind. Fortunately, when he took the stage for his set he launched into a bunch of familiar tunes from both his solo career and time in Traffic and I recognized most of them. I didn't write down a set list for his part of the show, but I enjoyed it.

The Doobie Brothers were up next (again I didn't write down a set list, but you can find one here) and I was curious what their set would be like. Unlike Dave Mason, I could name a bunch of their songs off the top of my head and was interested in what their show would be like. Now, I can't say I'm a HUGE fan of the Doobies and probably wouldn't go out of my way to see them, but I wasn't put off by having them on the bill with Journey. They came out and did a great set of their hits, with a few more obscure songs thrown in. The crowd down in front was up for a lot of their set, but most of the rest of the folks were doing a lot of chair dancing. It really wasn't until the encore of "Listen to the Music" that everyone was up on their feet dancing along. I will point out one annoying thing about their set, or more accurately their set design. The backdrop they use shows the Golden Gate Bridge and a city skyline. The skyline didn't look at all like San Francisco, but even worse, you can't see downtown San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge as depicted on the banner! It looked more like the view you would see from the Bay Bridge. Just a native grumble.

Journey took the stage about 9:30 and by that time the crowd had filled in and was buzzing. Where I was sitting it was about half sitting/half standing, but the lower section and the pit where Cheryl, Jenn, and Rose were was on their feet. Early on in the set list, they played "Be Good to Yourself" (with Jenn, Cheryl, and Rose appearing on the big video screen) and I definitely missed Deen's backing vocals on that one. They've brought on a guy playing keyboards and doing some of the background vocals, but he definitely didn't hit the notes Deen did. They never introduced him and he was kind of hidden behind Jon all night.

Between Dave Mason and the Doobies, Jenn had come up to visit me and insisted that I use her ticket for a couple of songs during the Journey set, so we coordinated that I would head down and meet her after "Any Way You Want It" (about 6 songs in) and hang out for a couple of songs. My seat was in the lower rows of the Loge section -- about 5 or 6 rows up from the aisle between the Loge and Orchestra seats, but in order to get over to the restroom area to meet Jenn, I had to walk all the way to the top of the Loge section, over 2 sections, and then back down. That meant leaving my seat pretty much as AWYWI started. I met up with Jenn and swapped tickets then headed down to the front row for "Lights" and "Open Arms" I headed back up to swap back during "Line of Fire" -- Jenn scolded me for not staying through that song too, but it's not one of my favorites, so I'd rather wander up and back during that than another song I like more.

For most of the show, I really focused on watching Steve Smith. I've seen him numerous times on his own or with Vital Information, so I know what an amazing drummer he is, but to see him back with Journey was something special. It occurred to me that this was as close as I was ever going to get to seeing the classic Escape line up perform, and I really loved that. (Okay, sure, never say never, hell could freeze over, pigs could fly, and Perry could rejoin for a gig or two, but if I held my breath on that one I would have passed out a long time ago!) Perhaps having Steve Smith back was part of the reason for the Escape heavy set list. It was great to hear "Who's Crying Now" in the set and fun to watch Jenn jumping up and down during "Dead or Alive." (Yes, I saw you Jenn!) Near the end of the set, they launched in to "La Do Da" and towards the end of the song the rest of the band stepped off stage while Smitty went off on a solo. It was fantastic and very similar to some of the things I've seen him do during his own shows. Arms and legs in constant motion. Amazing!

One of the unexpected bits of the show was the full on cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll," once again proving to me that I like Led Zeppelin songs so long as Robert Plant isn't singing them.

The show was over much too quickly and I worked my way through the throngs of people to meet up with Cheryl and Jenn to give them a ride back to their hotel. Taking forever to get out of the parking lot does have one advantage in that it allowed us to visit a bit more before all was said and done. We met up again Friday morning for a quick breakfast before we headed our separate ways -- Cheryl and Jenn to Phoenix for the next show, me to visit a cousin near LA (where we wound up watching the Journey episode of "Behind the Music" and clips of Perry's 1994 Beacon Theater show thanks to You Tube.) As always, time flew by much too fast, but it was great hanging with my Journey buddies again. See you all in San Francisco!

Set List:

Separate Ways
Be Good to Yourself
Only the Young
- Neal solo -
Stone in Love
Any Way You Want It
Lights
Open Arms
Line of Fire
Dead or Alive
Rock and Roll
- Jon solo -
Who's Crying Now
Escape
La Do Da
- Drum solo -
- Neal solo 2 -
Wheel in the Sky
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'

Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

March 21, 2016: The Original Santana! (or at least a resonable facsimile thereof.)

Las Vegas, NV
The House of Blues

It's been over 10 years since I last went to Las Vegas, and nearly that long since I've traveled further than Lake Tahoe (which for someone born and raised in the Bay Area is more or less the backyard) for a Journey-related show. Vegas is not my favorite destination and I've rarely spent more than about 24 hours in the city on any trip -- always for a concert. This time was no different, but it was for a very special concert. After over 40 years the "original" lineup of Santana was reuniting for a show to promote their new album Santana IV (due out April 15.)

I put original in quotes up there because, over the nearly 50 year history of the band, there have been many different lineups and I think most people would consider the original Santana lineup to be the version that played at Woodstock in 1969. That lineup was Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie, Chepito Areas, Michael Carabello, Michael Shreve, and David Brown (courtesy liner notes to The Best of Santana.) That wasn't exactly the lineup of last night's show, but we got close enough with Gregg Rolie, Michael Carabello, Michael Shreve and Neal Schon joining Carlos and a couple of members from the current version of the band on stage for a 2 hour show that was filmed for TV and DVD.

Rewind a bit in time here before moving on to the show. Santana is one of those legendary San Francisco bands of the 1960s -- idolized along with the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane that came out of the craziness of 1960s San Francisco. Having been only 10 months old when Woodstock took place, barring some highly irresponsible relatives bringing a very young child to the Fillmore, the chance of me ever seeing the original lineup of Santana wasn't ever going to be very likely. Amazingly, however, despite living my entire life in the San Francisco Bay Area, I had never seen ANY incarnation of Santana. I've seen Carlos make guest appearances at a couple of shows, but never the full on band. I realized this some time ago and made a mental note to try to get to a Santana show in the near future.

Now, I've seen Gregg Rolie numerous times and Michael Carabello has been in his band nearly every time I've seen him, and most of Gregg's set list is comprised of the well known Santana hits of the late 1960s/early 1970s. Over the last few years there had been rumblings about Neal Schon trying to get his former Santana compadres together to record a new album, then bits of stories that some recording had started, until finally, yes there was going to be a new album released this year.

Back in January, it was announced that there were going to be three shows featuring both Journey and Santana on the east coast with the big kick off show at Madison Square Garden. I've got to admit, as a Bay Area native, I was kind of pissed off. Two legendary San Francisco bands joining up for a big dual headlining show with Neal playing in BOTH bands and it's in New York City! A trip to New York was way too expensive to take, so I simmered a bit and figured they'd eventually do a show in San Francisco.  (September 4, 2016, AT&T Park! Woo!)

Then about two weeks ago, late on a Friday I see the announcement -- the "original" Santana performing in Las Vegas at the House of Blues! Tickets are only $30! THIRTY DOLLARS?!!! Oh heck yeah, I'm in. I knew I could find a cheap flight to Vegas and a one night hotel stay wouldn't break the bank, so I was all in. The tickets went on sale the next day and in the span of an hour I had my concert ticket, my flight and hotel all purchased before even having a chance to talk to my boss to let him know I'd be taking two days off from work for it. (Thankfully, I have a great boss!)

I flew in to Vegas yesterday morning and met up with Adriana, Hope, and Valerie P. -- none of whom I'd seen in several years and it was just great catching up with old friends. Jenn would be flying in a little bit later in the day. We split up for a bit after grabbing a bite to eat, but Adriana soon sent me a message that there would be a press conference outside the House of Blues at 3:00, so I went down to check it out. To be honest, it was probably the worlds shortest press conference. It was essentially a bunch of suits saying "yay us we have Santana in the house" and then each member of the band got up and spoke for about 30 seconds. Carlos maybe got a minute. Then poof, bang, it was over. The best information I got was that the show would be shown on AXS TV in June and then released on DVD and shown on PBS as part of their pledge drive in the fall. Carlos did give big praise to Neal for being the instigator of the project, so that was pretty cool.

So, now on to the show (finally they say!) The concert was General Admission, which is really not my favorite way to see a show any more, but I figured I could put up with it for one night. Jenn and I got in line to get in about 5:45 for the 6:30 opening of the doors. We got inside about an hour later and managed to get pretty close to the stage and then we had to stand and wait. The House of Blues was much smaller than I expected and they'd only sold the floor area -- the upper balcony section seemed to hold friends and family of the band and probably some other big wigs. While the crowd was waiting the PA played mostly age/era appropriate music and it was amusing to hear the crowd sing along from time to time to Bob Dylan and Them. The crowd looked somewhat younger than I expected, but it was definitely a middle aged and over crowd.

[Note: I'm going to pause here for a moment to mention I'm a "greatest hits" type of fan of Santana, so I did not write down a set list and as yet I've been unable to locate one for last night's show. I have found some for recent shows with the current lineup which should help some as I continue.]

Blurry iPhone pic of Gregg Rolie

The show started right on time at 8:00 when Carlos and most of the band stepped out on stage. They opened up with "Soul Sacrifice" and then went into "Evil Ways" [edited after seeing video!] before taking a pause for Carlos to introduce the band. He first introduced the guys from the current line up before introducing Michael Shreve, Michael Carabello and Gregg Rolie. Standing in the wings (and easily spotted from my position) was Neal Schon. Carlos repeated what he had said earlier at the press conference that it was Neal who was the engine driving the reunion. When Neal came on stage he had the biggest smile I've ever seen, and honestly, he smiled pretty much non stop through out the show. He really was having a great time (despite a few issues I'll mention later.) I'm pretty sure the next song was "Jingo" (again, I know the song, just not the order) and it was so much fun to watch Neal and Carlos play together. It was a bit strange to see Neal as the secondary guitarist, but they really played well together.

Carlos and Neal

The show covered a lot of the hits of the early Santana years along with some new songs, though Carlos only introduced one of them. I had a pretty good spot close to the stage and a decent view of everyone but Gregg who was at the far right as you face the stage. To see him I had to bob around a few heads, but it wasn't too bad. He too looked like he was having a great time. A lot of the show felt a lot like a big jam session as songs were extended and I thought "this jamming stuff is what Neal really misses and wants to do." Neal took a couple of solos along the way which was cool. Still, a personal highlight for me was hearing Carlos play "Europa" -- it's absolutely one of my favorite tunes. Neal actually stepped off stage for that song, returning right afterwards.

Now, the show didn't go 100% smoothly. There was some kind of problem with Neal's guitar cable and the tech had to come out several times to fix and/or replace it. I don't know how they're going to cover that up in the video, but I'm guessing they'll find a way. (I wouldn't be surprised if there had been a run through of the show with the cameras running just for this possibility. Don't know that for a fact though.) A similar thing happened with the keyboard player at one point also, but not as often as it did with Neal.

Ron Isley, Neal, Gregg

The main set closed out with "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" and "Oye Como Va". The band then came out for an encore with guest Ronald Isley (of the Isley Brothers) who Carlos called "more important to [him] than the Statue of Liberty, more important than the Golden Gate." He also went on for a bit about the song "Twist and Shout" which led me to believe that's what they would be singing, but no, it was something else (sorry folks, not sure what it was called.) Ronald Isley sang for two songs before the band closed out the show with one last tune (which I have completely forgotten at this point.)

The show ended around 10:15 and Jenn and I chatted for a few minutes with Adriana, Hope, and Valerie before calling it a night. We both had morning flights back home (and poor Jenn actually had to go in to work this morning!) so we needed to get to bed. It was a quick turn around trip to Vegas, but I'm so glad I went. It was a great show and it was so good to see some old friends that I haven't seen in a while. I do miss some of my crazy travels.

March 13, 2016: I Went Down to the River....

Oakland, CA
Oracle Arena

It's taken a full day to recover from another epic, loud, rocking, raucous, high energy, three and a half hour marathon of a show. If you've never seen Springsteen live and you are a fan of rock and roll, you are seriously missing out on one of the best experiences in live music ever. This is not hyperbole -- there is no one else who puts on shows like this every single time out.

Sunday was a pretty rainy lazy day until it was time to head out the door to meet Cheryl who'd flown up to join me for the show. After grabbing a light early dinner and catching up on things, we hopped on BART and headed over to the Oakland Coliseum Arena (yeah, yeah, it's called Oracle Arena now, but it's always the Coliseum Arena to me.) The lines to get in were ridiculous and, naturally, it started raining while we were waiting. We kept looking at our watches as it was getting closer and closer to 8:00 and showtime. I thought that perhaps because it was a Sunday night the show would actually start on time. There was no way it would with the crowds of people still trying to get in at 7:45.

We got in and got to our seats behind the stage a little before 8:00 (even managing to grab a couple of bottles of water from a near empty concession stand!) and settled in for the show. I've had seats behind the stage for Springsteen several times and they're usually pretty good, but this time we were at the wrong angle and there were cables obscuring center stage most of the night. What that meant was I could see most of the E Street Band through the heads of the people in front of me, but Bruce was a bit hard to see. Ah well!

For those of you unaware of this tour, Bruce is out performing the entirety of his 1980 release The River -- a 20 song double album. That makes for a very strict set list, even for someone who routinely does three hour plus long shows! It also meant I needed to do some homework before the concert. When The River was released in 1980, I was twelve years old and just discovering different kinds of music than the things my parents listened to and simple pop music. "Hungry Heart" was the huge hit single from the album and probably the first Bruce Springsteen song I ever heard. Fast forward in time and Born in the USA comes out while I'm in high school and I really start listening to Springsteen, but it wasn't until I got a copy of Live 1975-1985 that I actually heard some of the other tunes from The River and fell in love with them. Still, when this tour was announced, I knew I had to go back and listen to it in full to remember all of the songs.

The band took the stage about 8:30 with the houselights still up and kicked off with "Meet Me in the City," an outtake from The River recordings. It's a great rocking song and feels a little like something The Ramones might have done. It's a high energy song and a great opener. Bruce then welcomed everyone to the show and explained what he was thinking about when he wrote and recorded The River. Then off we went, back in time 36 years to listen to that album in full. As a whole, it's interesting to listen to a whole double album performed live, but I do have to say that the sequencing of the songs makes more sense for an album than for a live show -- especially a live Springsteen show. Most of the uptempo, rocking songs were in the first part of the set and then things slowed down to a bit of a mellower pace.

Still, there were lots of great moments during the performing of The River. Two of my favorite songs from this album came early in the set -- "Two Hearts" and "Independence Day." Then came THE HIT -- "Hungry Heart." I don't know when it started, but somewhere along the way Bruce started letting the crowd sing the whole first verse and chorus before starting over himself with the band, and this show was no different with a loud singing crowd. During this point, Bruce walked out into the general admission floor and out to a small stage in the middle of the arena. After hugging and high-fiving fans along the way, he fell backwards and crowd surfed his way back to the stage.

My next personal high point was the title track, which is a song I absolutely love and is way up on the top of the list of favorite Springsteen songs. The line "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true/Or is it something worse" is one that grabbed me the very first time I heard it and is something that has always made me think.

The River wrapped up after two hours with "Wreck on the Highway" and then it was time for some more! After the briefest of pauses to let The River fade away, it was off to the rocking "Badlands" and from this point forward, there were several times where the crowd was singing along so loudly that Bruce and the band were drowned out -- truly impressive! Since there was only about another 90 minutes left for the show (!!) it was mostly the songs you would expect to hear, but all performed with the same amazing high energy. And all of it was performed in rapid succession. There were a couple of times when the video screens would show shots of drummer Max Weinberg and I'd swear he looked like he was about to have a heart attack with all the energy he was expending! I think that's probably one of the most impressive things about a Springsteen show -- he and the band performing 30+ songs with only the briefest of breaks between them.

The main set closed out with "Thunder Road" (more audience participation and drowning out the band) before what would probably be called the encore if the band had actually left the stage (there was just a longer than usual pause.) Using a request from the audience Bruce and the boys kicked into "Growin' Up" before heading into "Born to Run." He pulled a young man out of the audience to sing along with him for "Growin' Up" as "it's a young man's song" and the kid had a blast. For "Dancing in the Dark," Bruce pulled up a girl about 12-14 years old who proceeded to whip, dab, and nae nae on stage, much to Bruce's befuddlement! The next to last song was "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" and when they got to the important part -- "and the Big Man joined the band" -- up on the video screens appeared pictures of Clarence Clemons and a few of Danny Frederici, the missing members of the E Street Band. One of the things that crossed my mind throughout the show was what an excellent job Jake Clemons did on all the saxophone parts there were. He's really come a long way from the first time I saw him in the band as part of a larger horn section who stepped out front from time to time. The Big Man is irreplaceable, but Jake does a great job honoring his uncle.

The set list closed out with a cover of "Shout" and that's when Cheryl and I made our early exit about half way through the song. It was 11:45 by that point and there would soon be a mad dash for BART so everyone could catch their train. Cheryl and I said our goodbyes at the BART station and I hopped on a train as soon as I got to the top of the platform for the hour plus ride home. As always after a Springsteen show I was exhausted and energized at the same time and it was so worth a long late night on a "school night." (I wisely took Monday off work!)

Set List: (courtesy of brucespringsteen.net)

Meet Me In The City (The River: Outtakes)
The Ties That Bind
Sherry Darling
Jackson Cage
Two Hearts
Independence Day
Hungry Heart
Out in the Street
Crush on You
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
I Wanna Marry You
The River
Point Blank
Cadillac Ranch
I'm a Rocker
Fade Away
Stolen Car
Ramrod
The Price You Pay
Drive All Night
Wreck on the Highway
Badlands
Prove It All Night
Lonesome Day
Candy's Room
Because the Night
She's the One
The Rising
Thunder Road
Growin' Up
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Shout

The Playlist

April 2018: I originally posted this on Facebook after having made a series of running updates about pulling together a play list for the family picnic my brother and I put together for our parents' 50th anniversary. We held the picnic several weeks before their anniversary so that as many members of our extended family as possible could attend. I decided this would be a good fit for this blog too. (It is also a good fit for my family history/genealogy blog, but decided to keep it with the music blog.)

August 14, 2015 marks my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. About a year and a half ago my brother, sister-in-law, and I started talking to Mom & Dad about how they wanted to celebrate. We’d thrown them a surprise family picnic for their 40th – a fairly last minute kind of thing that was really the brain child of my aunt Diane. Mom said she didn’t want a big fuss and another picnic would be perfect. Dad was fine with whatever Mom wanted. (Hmmm… maybe that’s part of the secret?) In order to try to make sure we could have as many family members attend, we decided to hold the picnic in late July so as to not run into early starting school dates for the youngest generation.

Once we got the dates and details together for the picnic, my brother called me and said “We’re going to put you in charge of the music.” While I should have expected that assignment, I was a little unprepared. Fortunately, since I’m a geek of the highest order, I have a collection of books covering popular music from 1960-2009. That will cover most of what I need and, as luck would have it, I have one older book that covers 1958-2008. Perfect – Mom & Dad met in 1958.

I sat down and pulled out my 1960s Billboard charts and checked out the songs for 1965. I laughed to myself more than once as I saw all kinds of classic rock songs that were completely NOT what my parents were listening to in 1965. No “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, no “Mr. Tambourine Man”, no “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, no “Positively Fourth Street”, no “Get Off of My Cloud”, no “Turn, Turn, Turn”, and absolutely no “Satisfaction”! Sigh. There’s classic Motown that might work, there’s always The Beatles who though they really weren’t what Mom & Dad were listening to (much) at the time, they definitely listened. Fortunately the 1965 charts are also filled with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Peter, Paul & Mary, Barbra Streisand and the like. I found some stuff from that year that would definitely work.

Then it was combing through the pop singles book and going artist by artist. Yep, nope, nope, nope, maybe, yep…

I picked songs from 1965, the year they were married. I picked songs from 1958, the year they met. Then I picked song after song after song that I remember listening to as a kid in the '70s. Mom and Dad played a lot of records back then. If we were home, it was likely the stereo was on playing something. There are lots of things I remember listening to that I wonder if Mom and Dad remembered playing over and over back then. When I was finished, I had an 11 page list written out. I stopped by my parents’ house and said “I’m in charge of the music, so I need to borrow some of your CDs.” I left with about two-thirds of them! And I still had to download a bunch (which resulted in downloading entire albums in some cases because I wanted them for myself!)

The first pass of the playlist had 367 songs and a running time of over 19 hours. The picnic was only scheduled to last 5 – gotta trim somewhere! So, I hit “play” on my iTunes and listened to everything I picked out. I discovered I’d added a couple of songs by the same performer twice, so I eliminated those. I also remembered other songs while I was listening, so had to add those to the list.

I printed out a copy of the playlist and marked each song “Yes”, “Maybe”, or “No” as they played. Some songs were automatic “Yes” songs regardless of my personal opinion of them. Some songs got “Maybe plus” and some got “Maybe minus.” Not a whole lot got an automatic “No” and the ones that did either were truly stupid/insipid songs from the 1950s or ones that just didn’t quite fit the vibe of a 50th anniversary. Any song that made me cry got an automatic yes. We’ll see if they make Mom cry (I’m guessing yes, but probably not at the picnic while people are talking and visiting and not listening closely.)

In the end, I wound up with 139 songs lasting 7 hours and 21 minutes. I’m pretty pleased with it and thought I’d share the final list (not necessarily in order) and a quick comment or two about why I picked it.

The Quick Picks

1. I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett
• This was the easiest of the bunch, it’s their song.
 
2. The Long Hot Summer, Jimmie Rodgers
• Theme song from the movie. It was their first date.

3. All I Have to Do Is Dream, The Everly Brothers
4. Let It Be Me, The Everly Brothers
• The first was the #1 song the day Dad took Mom to his Senior Prom, and the second is also a 1958 hit. When I took Mom and Dad to see Simon & Garfunkel a few years ago, the Everly Brothers were part of the show and Mom said she was more excited about them than Simon & Garfunkel. There ya go then.

5. Twilight Time, The Platters
• The #1 song the day they met.

6. Tequila, The Champs
• The #1 song on their first date (and, okay, one of my favorite old time classics.)

7. I Got You Babe, Sonny & Cher
• Not really their thing, but the #1 song on the day they got married.

8. Daniel, Elton John
9. Older Sister, Carly Simon
• Both songs remind my folks of an older sibling. “Daniel” for my dad’s older brother Dan (for whom *my* brother is named) and “Older Sister” for my mom’s older sister Pat. Dan was killed in a car accident in 1960 and Dad bought the Elton John album “Daniel” was on when it came out back in the 70s. Pat passed away in 2007, and Mom always said “Older Sister” reminded her of Pat. (And, interestingly enough, it reminds Mom’s youngest sister of her.)

10. Girls in Their Summer Clothes, Bruce Springsteen
• This is probably the most incongruous song on the list, and definitely the most contemporary, but Mom asked me if I would put it on, so I did.

Songs from 1958 (more or less)

11. The Twelfth of Never, Johnny Mathis
12. Chances Are, Johnny Mathis
13. Wonderful! Wonderful!, Johnny Mathis
• A bunch from San Francisco’s own, Johnny Mathis. Like many of the songs to come, chosen because they’re ones I like by someone Mom & Dad played a lot.

14. Little Things Mean A Lot, Joni James
15. There Goes My Heart, Joni James
• One of Mom's Dad’s favorites and very much of the time.

16. Rockin' Robin, Bobby Day
17. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
18. It's Only Make Believe, Conway Twitty
19. Good Golly Miss Molly, Little Richard
20. Put Your Head on My Shoulder, Paul Anka
21. Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream), The Crew Cuts
22. Fever, Peggy Lee
23. It's All in the Game, Tommy Edwards
• Picked solely because of when they were released and fairly well known in 2015.

Songs from 1965

24. My Girl, The Temptations
25. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch), The Four Tops
• Had to include some Motown! (Okay, “My Girl” is technically 1964, but close enough!)

26. Summer Wind, Wayne Newton
27. What's New Pussycat?, Tom Jones
• I thought these would be fun.

28. Dear Heart, Andy Williams
• When I stumbled on this one in the reference books, there were about three different versions and I was trying to figure out which one to pick. Mom & Dad don’t use a whole lot of endearments, but “dear heart” is one I remember hearing over the years. When I told Mom I was working on this playlist, she said “Well, I put together an anniversary list a couple of years ago” and showed it to me there was the Andy Williams version. Yep, I know my parents!

29. Here I Am, Dionne Warwick
30. Make the World Go Away, Eddie Arnold
31. What the World Needs Now Is Love, Jackie DeShannon
32. California Girls, The Beach Boys
33. Do You Believe in Magic?, The Lovin' Spoonful
34. King of the Road, Roger Miller
35. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, The Righteous Brothers
• Again, songs picked mainly because they’re from the same year Mom & Dad got married and are still pretty well known. (Perhaps the Dionne Warwick one less so, but I know she’s someone Mom & Dad liked.)

The Frank Sinatra Collection

36. Theme from New York, New York
37. Love's Been Good to Me
38. Tell Her (You Love Her Each Day)
39. Fly Me to the Moon
40. The Best Is Yet to Come
41. Autumn in New York
42. Come Fly With Me
43. All The Way
44. I've Got You Under My Skin
45. You Make Me Feel So Young
46. Love and Marriage
47. I Get a Kick Out of You
48. They Can't Take That Away from Me
49. I've Got the World on a String
• The whole playlist could have been Frank Sinatra tunes. I think of all the music my parents played when I was growing up, by far the artist I heard the most was Frank Sinatra. As a kid, I really didn’t appreciate it much. It was “that sappy music” that made me roll my eyes. Picking which songs to include was tough. Mostly they are ones I know and like best (and know Mom & Dad played a lot.) “Tell Her (You Love Her Each Day)” is one I picked solely based on it being released in 1965 and being a good fit for a 50th Anniversary playlist.

The Rest of the Rat Pack (and similar)

50. Everybody Loves Somebody, Dean Martin
51. You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You, Dean Martin
52. I've Gotta Be Me, Sammy Davis, Jr.
• Gotta include Frank’s pals of course. There was more Dean Martin than Sammy Davis played when I was growing up, but had to include both.

53. That Old Black Magic, Louis Prima/Keely Smith
54. Jump, Jive, an' Wail, Louis Prima
55. Just a Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody, Louis Prima
• Louis Prima was one of Dad’s favorites. I can not explain just how traumatized I was when David Lee Roth covered “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” in 1985 and had a huge hit with it. The lead singer from Van Halen is singing Louis Prima?! That was wrong in so so many ways! I handled Brian Setzer’s cover of “Jump, Jive, an’ Wail” in 1998 much better.

56. Beyond the Sea, Bobby Darin
57. Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin
58. Hello, Dolly!, Bobby Darin
• Bobby Darin was another favorite, so went with the two biggest hits and one from 1965.

59. I Wanna Be Around, Tony Bennett
60. The Best Is Yet To Come, Tony Bennett
• Two of my personal favorite Tony Bennett songs.

61. Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart, Judy Garland
• From her Live at Carnegie Hall album. One of Mom & Dad’s favorites, it was hard to pick which song(s) to choose and being a live album, they didn’t all work well in a mixed playlist, so I went with the one that seemed right for a 50th Anniversary.

The Barbra Streisand Collection

62. Evergreen
63. Memory
64. People
65. Why Did I Choose You?
66. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf
• There was a lot of Barbra Streisand being played when I was growing up. I picked a couple favorites. “Why Did I Choose You?” was a 1965 tune and fit the 50th Anniversary theme. “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” is one I remember hearing a lot as a kid and loved it. (Who didn’t love the Three Little Pigs?)

The Peter, Paul, & Mary Collection

67. Leaving on a Jet Plane
68. The Song Is Love
69. I'm in Love with a Big Blue Frog
70. I Dig Rock and Roll Music
71. Kisses Sweeter than Wine
72. For Baby (For Bobbie)
• Mom & Dad played a lot of folk music too. None more than PP&M. These are just some of my favorites.

73. Puff (The Magic Dragon)
74. Going to the Zoo
75. The Marvelous Toy
• These three are all from the Peter, Paul, & Mommy album that Danny and I probably made Mom play 1,000 times (a week.) We liked the “Zoo Side” better than the “Toy Side,” but it’s still one of my all time favorite records. Over the years I’ve given many copies of it to friends and family when they have their first child.

76. Wedding Song (There Is Love)
• Technically, this is just Paul Stookey solo, but I think it’s one of the loveliest songs ever written. It probably got over played to death at weddings in the 1970s, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

The Other Folkies

77. M.T.A., Kingston Trio
78. Scotch and Soda, Kingston Trio
79. Tom Dooley, Kingston Trio
• The Kingston Trio was probably the second most popular folk act Mom & Dad played after Peter, Paul, & Mary. Picked a couple of their best known songs (and personal favorites.) I never did understand why Charlie’s wife never put that extra nickel in with the sandwich she gave him in “M.T.A.” though.

80. Blowin' in the Wind, Chad Mitchell Trio
• This album is and was played every Easter due to the song “Easter Morn.” That song didn’t fit the theme, so picked the Dylan classic. (Yes, Dad did like Bob Dylan, just, ya know, not when Dylan was doing the singing.)

81. Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel
82. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy), Simon & Garfunkel
• Simon & Garfunkel were pretty popular too. I know I listened to the Bridge Over Troubled Water album a ton growing up – and that was before the summer I spent in Alaska babysitting my two younger cousins who kept asking me to “play the bridge song” over and over and over!

83. Baby the Rain Must Fall, Glenn Yarbrough
84. That's an Irish Lullaby (Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral), John Gary
• Glenn Yarborough and the Limelighters were another bunch of folk albums Mom & Dad would play. I picked “Baby the Rain Must Fall” as it was another 1965 hit. Every St. Patrick’s Day, out would come the various Irish folk songs by the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem and this John Gary album. Couldn’t fit everything in, but those songs (along with Chad Mitchell) are a sure fire sign of Spring to me.

The Musicals

85. Miracle of Miracles, Leonard Frey (from The Fiddler on the Roof)
• Mom & Dad listened to A LOT of musical soundtracks. Fiddler on the Roof was one of their favorites, but the thing I will always remember is my dad and his brother Jerry dancing in the living room to this song after the 49ers won Super Bowl XVI!

86. Try to Remember, Jerry Orbach (from The Fantasticks)
87. The Impossible Dream (The Quest), Richard Kiley (from The Man of La Mancha)
• Dad has walked around the house singing one or the other of these songs pretty much every day for as long as I can remember; how could I not include them?

88. If Ever I Would Leave You, Robert Goulet (from Camelot)
• This is from the Broadway production, not the movie. Mom always said the Broadway album was better.

89. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Julie Andrews & Dick Van Dyke
90. The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews
• The first from Mary Poppins, the second from the movie of the same name. Both were hit songs in 1965. And favorite family movies.

The 1950s & 60s

91. I'm Yours, Elvis Presley
92. Can't Help Falling in Love, Elvis Presley
• Had to include some Elvis! “I’m Yours” is a 1965 single. “Can’t Help Falling in Love” fits the theme.

93. Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair), Harry Belafonte
94. A Hole in the Bucket (Live), Harry Belafonte
• Mom & Dad would play a couple of Harry Belafonte albums when I was a kid. I chose this version of “Scarlet Ribbons” over the Kingston Trio one because I liked the feel. “A Hole in the Bucket” was a song I loved as a kid – lots of humor.

95. I Can't Stop Loving You, Ray Charles
96. Come Rain or Come Shine, Ray Charles
• Like Elvis, couldn’t leave out Ray Charles. These are just two classic songs that are of the time and fit the theme.

97. You Were Made For Me, Sam Cooke
98. You Send Me, Sam Cooke
99. Having a Party, Sam Cooke
• The first two are circa 1957-58 and timely for when Mom & Dad met. The third… well, duh, we were having a party!

100. Michelle, The Beatles
101. Yesterday, The Beatles
102. Help!, The Beatles
103. Hey Jude, The Beatles
• The first three were all 1965 hits (and “Michelle” – duh!) “Hey Jude” was the #1 song when I was born (again, duh!) I probably could have included more Beatles tunes, but that would have been more about what I listened to than Mom & Dad.

104. Rise Herb Alpert
105. This Guy's in Love With You, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
• Somehow, Mom & Dad wound up with a lot of Herb Alpert albums due one of those old Columbia House record memberships, so I thought I’d include a couple of his biggest hits.

106. What a Wonderful World , Louis Armstrong
107. Save the Last Dance for Me, The Drifters
108. Lemon Tree, Trini Lopez
• Just some songs of the era, and there were a couple of Trini Lopez albums around the house. “Lemon Tree” was another 1965 tune.

The 1970s

109. (They Long to Be) Close to You, The Carpenters
110. Everything Is Beautiful, Ray Stevens
• Carpenters albums were among the most played when we were kids. “Close to You” is the song Mom & Danny danced to at Danny & Stacy’s wedding. I assume Mom sang it to him when he was a baby. “Everything Is Beautiful” was the #1 song when Danny was born.

111. You've Made Me So Very Happy, Blood, Sweat & Tears
112. Spinning Wheel, Blood, Sweat & Tears
• Another favorite album from childhood. Picked my two favorite tunes.

113. Mockingbird, Carly Simon/James Taylor
114. Beautiful, Carole King
115. I Feel the Earth Move, Carole King
• Mom played Carly Simon’s Hotcakes and Carole King’s Tapestry a lot! Had a hard time picking which songs from Tapestry to pick – such a classic album!

116. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, Jim Croce
117. Time in a Bottle, Jim Croce
• Another oft played album. “Time in a Bottle” seemed a great fit for a 50th Anniversary playlist.

118. Poems, Prayers and Promises, John Denver
119. Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver
• Dad used to play the heck out of John Denver. Two of my favorites.

120. Song Sung Blue, Neil Diamond
121. Play Me, Neil Diamond
• I probably could have included more Neil Diamond; he was pretty popular back in the '70s! Just a couple more favorite/oft played tunes growing up.

122. Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, Paul Simon
123. Still Crazy After All These Years, Paul Simon
• “Still Crazy After All These Years” of the album of the same name was an apt choice for the playlist (as well as being another oft played tune.)

124. Just the Way You Are, Billy Joel
125. New York State of Mind, Billy Joel
• A couple more for Mom and for Mom & Dad’s upcoming trip to the East Coast which includes a couple of days in New York.

126. You and Me Against the World, Helen Reddy
• I remember Mom playing this album a lot and I probably hadn’t heard this song since I was a kid, but started crying as soon as I listened to it again. Instant add.

127. You Needed Me, Anne Murray
128. Drift Away, Dobie Gray
129. Laughter in the Rain, Neil Sedaka
130. Times of Your Life, Paul Anka
131. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack
132. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You), James Taylor
133. You've Got a Friend, James Taylor
• Some songs of the era that I thought would be a good fit by artists Mom & Dad like.

The Country Phase

134. She Believes in Me, Kenny Rogers
135. Always on My Mind, Willie Nelson
136. On the Road Again, Willie Nelson
137. Heroes and Friends, Randy Travis
138. Mountain Music, Alabama
139. The Devil Went Down to Georgia, The Charlie Daniels Band
• Sometime in the 1980s or so, Mom & Dad went on a bit of a country kick. The Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson made some sense as they were pretty popular outside of the country scene. The other three all come from CDs in Mom & Dad’s collection that I totally forgot they owned. They did go to an Alabama concert sometime in the late 80s/early 90s. I think I may even have a t-shirt from that show!