Malcolm GauldRecently had a discussion about music faves with a former student who is a professional musician. At one point, he cut me off and asked, “OK, Mal, but give me your favorite songs — as in one song — from each of these artists.” Hmmm… Tough call.
Unable to shake the question, I started chipping away at a Spotify playlist aligned with this criteria. As you will see and hear, I got a little carried away. (And don’t be surprised if more are added down the road.) As I push “Publish” on this post, there are 11+ hours of music from 100+ bands or solo artists. (Turns out I have more faves than I thought…)
In some cases, I have included 2 songs — Hey, it’s my blog! — one fast and one slow. And I’ve thrown in a few comments here and there. So, surf over to “Little Malcolm’s Faves by Faves” and give a listen!
In alphabetical order (with no categorization by genre):
Mose Allison – “Your Mind is On Vacation”… “I Don’t Want Much” (version w/Van Morrison)
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington – “Mood Indigo”
Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler – “Sweet Dreams” (beautiful, just beautiful)… “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” (fun, just fun).
The Band – “Ophelia”… “In a Station”… “The Weight” (The live Last Waltz version with The Staples Singers. I know, I got 3 Band songs here, but my family would disown me if I did not include “The Weight.” These guys are in my Top 5 fave bands.)
Courtney Barnett – “Elevator Operator”
Bay Ledges – “Wherever You Sleep”… “In Water”
The Beatles – “Back in the USSR”… “Here Comes the Sun” (Dedicated to HWG)
The Beach Boys – “Fun, Fun, Fun”… “Surfer Girl” (My all-time fave slow song by… anybody. Wrap yourself up in the beauty of the harmonies and you find that you suspend judgment on the syrupiness of the lyrics.)
The Belfast Cowboys – “Bike Ride on 35-W”… “Looking for the Northern Lights” (A recent discovery. Inspired by Van Morrison, these guys are great!)
Chuck Berry – “Maybellene”…”No Particular Place to Go” (In Chuck We Trust. So glad I got to see him before he passed.)
Big Star – “Thank You Friends”
Karla Bonoff – “I Can’t Hold On”… “Isn’t It Always Love” (As you may know, Ms. Bonoff sits very high on my “Shoulda’ Been Huge” List.)
David Bromberg – “Make Me a Pallet” – LIVE (A pro stretching out with other pros on a slow groove.)
James Brown – “Get Up Offa That Thing”… “Try Me” (The Godfather! Saw him as a high school freshman in Portland, ME. A life-changing night!)
Junior Brown – “Broke Down South of Dallas”… “Surf Medley” (Guit steel gone totally rogue)
Ruth Brown – “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean”
Dave Brubeck – “Blue Rondo a la Turk” (Mom and Dad had great taste in music.)
Solomon Burke – “Good Rockin’ Tonight”… “Pledging My Love” (Both of these are off his awesome early 90s Soul of the Blues album).
The Byrds – “Chestnut Mare”… “Mr. Spaceman” (“Hey, Mr. Spaceman, won’t you please take me along? I won’t do anything wrong.”
10,000 Maniacs w/David Byrne – “Let the Mystery Be”
The Cars – “Tonight She Comes”
Ray Charles – “Busted”… “What’d I Say, Pt. 1 & 2” (Thanks, Mom and Dad, for bringing The Genius into my life as a very young kid. Maybe the best live performance I ever saw: Denver, July ’74. Had to throw in “I Can’t Stop Loving You” from his country selections. He Loved country! As he said, “I love the stories!”)
Peter Ciluzzi – “Spring at Last” (Former student. Beautiful acoustic guitar.)
Eric Clapton – “Lowdown” (w/ Stevie Winwood @ MSG)… “Tears from Heaven” (“I must be strong and carry on”… Hits too close to home right now.)
Eddie Clearwater – “Big Time Gambler”… “Crossover” (“Crossover, Baby, get hip to these blues!)
Albert Collins – “I Ain’t Drunk”… “Too Many Dirty Dishes” (The Master of the Telecaster! And if you were ever curious to know if anyone can make a guitar sound like somebody washing dishes, check this out.)
John Coltrane – “Giant Steps”
Ry Cooder – “Little Sister”… “Face to Face that I Shall Meet Him” (Had trouble narrowing my Ry tunes down to 2. So much great material!)
Marshall Crenshaw – “Who Stole That Train?” (“I heard that lonesome whistle blow, shoulda’ been here long ago.”)
Crosby, Still, Nash & Young – “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” (Their classic ode to Judy Collins. Wanted the version off the Woodstock soundtrack, but it does not seem to be available. Some sort of legal issue, I bet.)
Miles Davis – “So What?”
Deodato – “Carly & Carole” (Instrumental tribute to 2 great songwriters.)
Digable Planets – “Where I’m From”… “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” (One of the great things about working with teenagers is that you get introduced to a lot of new tunes. A student turned me on to this bebop jazz-influenced hip-hop trio in 1992. 30 years later these tunes hold up.
The Doors – “Moonlight Drive”… “Queen of the Highway” (The Doors took up a lot of space in my early teenaged mind.)
Dr. John – “Mama Roux”
Bob Dylan – “Highway 61” (The ’74 live version with The Band)… “Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat”
The Eagles – “The Sad Cafe”
Steve Earle – “Champagne Corolla” and “Number 29” (Best songwriter of the 80s covering his son’s excellent “Champagne Corolla” and a classic song about a high school football hero.)
Bill Evans – “Waltz for Debbie”
Donald Fagen – “Ruby Baby”… “New Frontier” (“Yes, we’re gonna have a wing-ding, a summer smoker underground. It’s just a dug-out that my dad built, in case the Reds decide to push the button down.”… Yeah, I know, “OK, Boomer!”)
Ella Fitzgerald – “Mack the Knife” (Off Live in Berlin. Listen to how Ella adapts and improvises when she forgets the lyrics.)
Ben Folds – “Best Imitation of Myself”… “Boxing”
Aretha Franklin – “Hold On, I’m Coming” (Greatest voice of my lifetime.)
Errol Garner – “I’ll Remember April” (Thanks to Dad, Errol’s classic Concert by the Sea was a constant in my childhood home.)
Marvin Gaye – “What’s Happening, Brother?” (“Are they still gettin’ down where we used to dance? Will our ballclub win the Pennant, do you think they have a chance?”)
Grateful Dead – “Big Boss Man” (Love the cover they give here to Jimmy Reed! I’m a bigger Dead fan today than I was back in the day. Probably my fave album in their genre is Bob Weir‘s Heaven Help the Fool, but, alas, it does not seem to be on Spotify.)
Nanci Griffith – “Everything’s Comin’ up Roses”… “From a Distance” (Ah, Nanci was so awesome! Thanks to the wonder of music, she still is!)
Eddie Harris – “I Waited for You” (One of the most beautiful jazz pieces I have ever heard.)
John Hiatt – “Drive South”… “Through Your Hands”
Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks – “Sweetheart (Waitress In A Donut Shop)”
Hiss Messenger Service – “Sanctuary”
Billie Holiday – “Strange Fruit” (The most angry song ever recorded, delivered with disarming calmness.)
Elton John – “Grey Seal”… “Roy Rogers” (2 tunes off Messr. John’s masterpiece: Good-bye Yellow Brick Road)
George Jones – “She Thinks I Still Care”
Freedy Johnston – “Hotel 17″… “Tryin’ to Move On” (See Karla Bonoff)
Samara Joy – “Can’t Get Out of This Mood” (Keep an eye on this one. Destined for great things!)
Keb’ Mo’ – “Good to Be (Home Again)” (My top song of 2022.)
The Killers – “Quiet Town” (My top song of 2021.)
B.B. King – “How Blue Can Get?” (Off the classic Live In Cook County Jail.)… “There Is Always One More Time” (On the very short list of songs I turn to when I’m down and out. I don’t know why we are so fascinated with royalty on other continents when we’ve got Kings like BB, Dukes like Ellington, and the Queen of Soul. “Cuz’ it’s funny about dreams, as strange as it seems, there is always one more time.”)
Carole King – “Sweet Seasons”… “Way Over Yonder”
Bill Kirchen – “Truck Stop at the End of the World”… “Hot Rod Lincoln” (Wait until 2:10 on this version of “Hot Rod Lincoln” and prepare to have your mind blown as Mr. Kirchen proceeds to name check and mimic 50+ musicians. Incredible!)
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – “Bright Moments” (“These Bright moments is for all for all the very wonderful people in the universe that have never known anything about Bright Moments. So, check it out!” – RRK)
Mark Knopfler, Emmy Lou Harris – “This Is Us”
Kris Kristofferson – “Best Of All Possible Worlds”… “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” (2 great tunes off one great album)
Gordon Lightfoot – “Did She Mention My Name?”… “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” (RIP, GL)
John Mayall – “Room to Move”
Taj Mahal – “Statesboro Blues”… “Ain’t Gwine Whistle Dixie” (The long, live version. Title track off the 1971 double album. If you buried me to the sounds of this one, I would not object. Just be sure to crank it when those horns kick in!)
Les McCann & Eddie Harris – “Compared to What” (“Try to make it real… compared to what!?!”)
Delbert McClinton (w/Glen Clark) – “Been Around a Long Time”
Michael McDonald (w/Doobie Brothers) – “Minute by Minute”
Charles Mingus – “Better Git It in Your Soul”
Joni Mitchell – “Coyote” (Off The Band‘s Last Waltz live album)
Modest Mouse – “Missed the Boat” (for Ben Burlock, RIP)
Thelonious Monk (w/Sonny Rollins) – “The Way You Look Tonight” (Released in the year of my birth)
Van Morrison – “Cleaning Windows” – “Bright Side of the Road”
Randy Newman – “Louisiana 1927″… “The Natural”…”You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (Should I find myself imprisoned in a totalitarian state that forces me to limit my music choices to a single artist, I choose Randy Newman. If I ever got tired of the protest songs, I’d listen to the movie soundtracks. If I had kids in the house, I’d quiet ’em down with Toy Story or James & the Giant Peach. Here’s all 3 genres.)
NRBQ – “Shake, Rattle & Roll”… “Things to You” (w/Skeeter Davis) An ardent fan for 50 years, I may have seen these guys more times than any artist or band on this list. In my Top 5 bands.
Oscar Peterson – “On a Clear Day” (Was honored to meet the man himself at a NYC jazz club on my 16th birthday.)
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – “Here Comes my Girl”… “Kings Road” (Top 5 band)
John Prine – “Hello in There”… “Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody”
Chuck Prophet – “Summertime Thing”… “Just to See You Smile” (Dedicated to LDG!)
Bonnie Raitt (w/Charles Brown & Kim Wilson) – “Never Make Your Move too Soon” (Words to live by)
Jimmy Reed – “Bright Lights, Big City” (My fave blues artist.)
Lou Reed – “Rock ‘N’ Roll” (Live version off Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal)
Ben Sidran – “A Good Travel Agent”… “Piano Players”
Bruce Springsteen – “My Hometown”… “All That Heaven Will Allow” (With apologies to The Boss: I have sung both songs in various Hyde performing arts productions.)
Rolling Stones – “Monkey Man”… Comin’ Down Again” (Top 5 band)
Sly & The Family Stone – “If You Want Me to Stay”… “Hot Fun in the Summertime”
Staples Singers – “I’ll Take You There”
Steely Dan – “Glamour Profession”… “Chain Lightning” (Guys with jazz chops doing rock & roll. Top 5 band.)
Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers – “Give Me Back My Wig”
James Taylor – “Blossom”… “Steamroller Blues” (Gotta be this Live version!)
Livingston Taylor – “Carolina Day”… “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (The first choice was a huge part of the soundtrack of my high school years. The second was one of my son’s all-time faves. “Birds fly over the rainbow, why can’t I?” Indeed.)
Traffic – “Medicated Goo” (“It’s good for you!”)
Hailey Tuck – “Seems You’d Want Me”… “Don’t Think Twice” (On my short list of musicians I really want to see live.)
Stanley Turrentine – “Pieces of Dreams” (Big part of my college daze soundtrack.)
Tom Waits – “$29.00” (“…when all ya’ got is 29 dollars and an alligator purse!”)
Jerry Jeff Walker – “LA Freeway”… “The Continuing Saga of the Classic Bummer (Or Is This My Free One-Way Bus Ticket to Cleveland)” “I guess it all started the day my brand new car wouldn’t…”
Joe Walsh – “Things”
Muddy Waters – “The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll” (‘Nuff said)
Jimmy Webb – “Moonlight Mile” (The best instrumental of a Stones song?)
The Who – “Sensation”
Howlin’ Wolf (w/ Stevie Winwood & Bill Wyman) – “Highway 49”
Stevie Wonder – “Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away”… “He’s Misstra Know-It-All” (Being old enough to remember Little Stevie Wonder — anyone out there remember “Fingertips Pts. 1 & 2,” recorded when he was just 12?!? — he’s been with me my whole life. How lucky can one guy get?!?)
Warren Zevon – “Johnny Strikes Up the Band”… “Accidentally Like a Martyr” (For the slow number, I had trouble choosing between “Accidentally…” and “Tenderness on the Block.” So I threw in both.)
(Rock) Onward, Malcolm Gauld
