Whistling Songs, Vol. 1

Today begins a four-part series of songs with whistling (of the human variety, not the musical instrument) in them. Some of these are well-known as whistling songs, while others are popular songs that just happen to have some momentary whistling in them (in some cases, you may have never even noticed it). Thanks, Tim W., for suggesting this topic. This should be fun! Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Otis Redding  ~  “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay”

2)  Paul Simon  ~  “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard”

3)  Broken Bells  ~  “The Angel And The Fool”

4)  The Bangles  ~  “Walk Like An Egyptian”

5)  Peter Bjorn And John  ~  “Young Folks”

6)  The Bridge On The River Kwai Cast  ~  “Colonel Bogey March”

7)  Bobby Day  ~  “Rockin’ Robin”

8)  Maria McKee  ~  “If Love Is A Red Dress (Hang Me In Rags)”

9)  Fitz And The Tantrums  ~  “The Walker”

10)  Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.  ~  “Simple Girl”

11)  Perry Como  ~  “Magic Moments”

12)  Mallu Magalhães  ~  “Make It Easy”

13)  John Lennon  ~  “Jealous Guy”

14)  Brother Bones And His Shadows  ~  “Sweet Georgia Brown”  (Better known as the Harlem Globetrotters theme song.)

15)  Phish  ~  “Guyute”

16)  KT Tunstall  ~  “Made Of Glass”

17)  Kyu Sakamoto  ~  “Sukiyaki”

18)  Bobby Bloom  ~  “Montego Bay”

19)  Lost Frequencies ft. Sandro Cavazza  ~  “Beautiful Life”

20)  Pat Benatar  ~  “Love Is A Battlefield”

21)  Jack Johnson  ~  “I Got You”

22)  Status Quo  ~  “Rock ’N’ Roll”

23)  Rock Mafia  ~  “The Big Bang”

24)  Goldfrapp  ~  “Lovely Head”

25)  Father John Misty  ~  “The Suburbs”

Popular Songs Of 1976, Vol. 1

If my last few "Popular Songs Of..." posts haven't made you feel old yet, then this three-parter is sure to! Because these are the top songs of forty – count them, forty – years ago! If you remember these songs when they came out, you are old. It's time to face the facts. If you remember hearing them on the oldies or mix stations (like I do), then you are getting old (after all, '80s songs are the "new oldies" these days). Fair warning: There will be disco music, but not in excessive amounts. Everything in moderation. Enjoy?  ~  JH

1)  Wings  ~  “Silly Love Songs”

2)  Johnnie Taylor  ~  “Disco Lady”

3)  Glen Campbell  ~  “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)”

4)  The Four Seasons  ~  “December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)”

5)  Starland Vocal Band  ~  “Afternoon Delight”

6)  Wild Cherry  ~  “Play That Funky Music”

7)  The Manhattans  ~  “Kiss And Say Goodbye”

8)  Charley Pride  ~  “My Eyes Can Only See As Far As You”

9)  Paul Simon  ~  “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”

10)  Elton John & Kiki Dee  ~  “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”

11)  The Miracles  ~  “Love Machine”

12)  Walter Murphy  ~  “A Fifth Of Beethoven”

13)  Merle Haggard  ~  “Cherokee Maiden”

14)  Hot Chocolate  ~  “You Sexy Thing”

15)  Seals & Crofts ft. Carolyn Willis  ~  “Get Closer”

16)  Daryl Hall & John Oates  ~  “Sara Smile”

17)  Barry Manilow  ~  “I Write The Songs”

18)  Queen  ~  “Bohemian Rhapsody”

19)  Elvin Bishop  ~  “Fooled Around And Fell In Love”

20)  Dorothy Moore  ~  “Misty Blue”

21)  Marty Robbins  ~  “Among My Souvenirs”  (That is an incredibly ugly shirt.)

22)  Nazareth  ~  “Love Hurts”

23)  Dr Hook  ~  “A Little Bit More”

24)  The Commodores  ~  “Sweet Love”

25)  Tammy Wynette  ~  “Till I Can Make It On My Own”

Songs About Hurricanes

And while we're on the subject, here's a bunch of Songs About Hurricanes. Be safe out there. And enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Muse  ~  "Butterflies And Hurricanes"

2)  Boyzone  ~  "Love Is A Hurricane"

3)  Natalie Grant  ~  "Hurricane"

4)  Theory Of A Deadman  ~  "Hurricane"

5)  Lifehouse  ~  "Hurricane"

6)  Tanya Tucker  ~  "Two Sparrows In A Hurricane"

7)  Roxy Music  ~  "Like A Hurricane"

8)  NEEDTOBREATHE  ~  "Hurricane"

9)  Florence + The Machine  ~  "Hurricane Drunk"

10)  Scorpions  ~  "Rock You Like A Hurricane"

11)  30 Seconds To Mars  ~  "Hurricane"

12) Bridgit Mendler  ~  "Hurricane"

13)  Tokio Hotel  ~  "Hurricanes And Suns"

14)  Samestate  ~  "Hurricane"

15)  Chew Lips  ~  "Hurricane"

16)  HalfNoise  ~  "Hurricane Love"

17)  Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories  ~  "Hurricane"

18)  Athlete  ~  "Hurricane"

19) Neil Young & Crazy Horse  ~  "Like A Hurricane"

20)  Myra Sky  ~  "Hurricane"

21)  Paul Simon  ~  "Hurricane Eye"

22)  MS MR  ~  "Hurricane"

23)  The Vamps  ~  "Hurricane"

24)  Antonia  ~  "Hurricane"

25)  Switchfoot  ~  "Hello Hurricane"

26)  Hannah Trigwell  ~  "Hurricane"

27)  The Asteroids Galaxy Tour  ~  "Hurricane"

28)  Augustana  ~  "Hurricane"

29)  Mandy Capristo  ~  "Hurricane"

30)  Alexz Johnson  ~  "Hurricane Girl"

Songs About Teachers

I almost forgot to post this one. Today is National Teacher's Day. In honor of that, here's a small collection of songs about Teachers. Sort of. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Jethro Tull  ~  "Teacher"

2)  Lynyrd Skynyrd  ~  "Good Teacher"

3)  ABBA  ~  "When I Kissed The Teacher"  (These days, that'll get you suspended and get the teacher fired!)

4)  Rufus Wainwright  ~  "The Art Teacher"

5)  Big Country  ~  "The Teacher"

6)  Van Halen  ~  "Hot For Teacher"  (Yeah, I went there…sorry, teacher friends.)

7)  Paul Simon  ~  "The Teacher"

8)  George Michael  ~  "One More Try"

9)  Bend Sinister  ~  "Teacher"

10)  Courtni Starr  ~  "Charlie Brown Teacher"

11)  NC.A  ~  "My Student Teacher"  (If you don't speak Korean – like I don't – I'll summarize: She's in love with her teacher. Surprise, surprise!)

12)  Slick Rick  ~  "Teacher, Teacher"

13)  The Police  ~  "Don't Stand So Close To Me"  (Yet another teacher-student romance? Yep.)

14)  Pink Floyd  ~  "Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2"  (Apparently, Pink Floyd thinks you teachers are unnecessary and education is irrelevant.)

15)  Mötley Crüe  ~  "Smokin' In The Boys' Room"  (This one might be a bit of a stretch…)

16 Different Renditions Of "Silver Bells"

I did a couple of these kinds of posts last year around this time, and I'm liable to do a couple more after this one. Here you have 16 unique renditions of the same Christmas song. Reply with your favorite version in the comments. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Dean Martin  (smooth and swingin')

2)  John Denver  (folksy and warm)

3)  Anne Murray  (polished and pretty)

4)  Twisted Sister  (wild and raucous)

5)  Bing Crosby & Carole Richards  (cool and classy)

6)  Meaghan Smith  (indie and adorable)

7)  Kenny Chesney  (tasteful and twangy)

8)  Perry Como  (jolly and jingly)

9)  Paul Simon & Steve Martin  (irreverent and oh-so-wrong)

10)  Relient K  (fresh and modern)

11)  Alan Jackson  (simple and sincere)

12)  Bob Hope & Marilyn Maxwell  (the original version!)

13)  Kenny G  (instrumental and influential)

14)  Elvis Presley  (timeless and touching)

15)  Andy Williams & The Osmonds  (crooner and boyband)

16)  The National, Gregg Allman, & Stephen Colbert  (strange but sweet)