HOME INDEX OF ARTICLES

PortFolio Weekly Summer Music 2007

PortFolio Weekly
May 22, 2007

The 25 Greatest Songs of All Time

by Jim Newsom

The editors and music critics of Port Folio Weekly were asked to choose the 25 greatest songs (or pieces of music) of all time. Here's what I selected:

1. “Moondance,” Van Morrison – A rock classic and jazz standard rolled into one.

2. “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road),” Frank Sinatra – The ultimate late-night saloon song.

3. “A Day in the Life,” The Beatles – The Fab Four’s masterpiece.

4. “Rodeo,” Aaron Copland – 4-part suite that captures the wide open splendor of the American west.

5. “Rhapsody in Blue,” George Gershwin – Classical music enters the jazz age.

6. “Night and Day,” Frank Sinatra – Romantic love summarized in swing.

7. “Route 66,” Nat King Cole - The epitome of cool.

8. “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity,” Gustav Holst – The infinite wonder of outer space expressed in memorable melodic themes.

9. “Get Together,” The Youngbloods – The peace-love-flowers spirit of the late ‘60s.

10. “Take the A Train,” Duke Ellington - A swingin’ subway ride with the best of the big bands.

11. “Fire and Rain,” James Taylor – The beauty of simplicity.

12. “Stone Flower,” Antonio Carlos Jobim – Smooth sophistication and stunning musicality from the Brazilian master.

13. “This Land is Your Land,” Woody Guthrie – Lest we forget that “we are the people.”

14. “All You Need is Love,” The Beatles – What else is there?

15. “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” Crosby, Stills & Nash – Woodstock summer in sweet harmony.

16. “The Sound of Silence,” Simon & Garfunkel – Pure poetry set to song.

17. “Cat’s in the Cradle,” Harry Chapin – The story of life in four short verses.

18. “Tangled Up in Blue,” Bob Dylan – A tangled tale from a tattered marriage by the bard of the baby boom generation.

19. “Li’l Darlin,” Count Basie – Big band gets mellow.

20. “Lush Life,” Johnny Hartman & John Coltrane – Billy Strayhorn’s greatest ballad in its finest interpretation.

21. “My Girl,” The Temptations – A slow dance drenched in soul.

22. “Grazing in the Grass,” Friends of Distinction – Silly fun from an optimistic time.

23. “Disappearing,” The Sinceros – Early ‘80s new wave power pop as good as it got.

24. “Something Cool,” June Christie – The female equivalent of “One for My Baby.”

25. “The Roving Kind,” Guy Mitchell – Goofy pop music from the pre-rock ‘50s.

copyright © 2007 Jim Newsom. All Rights Reserved.


HOME INDEX OF ARTICLES