Popular Songs Of 1955, Vol. 2

Here's part 2 of 2 in a sonically, if not altogether visually impressive collection of hit songs from 1955. It was hard to find live performances or movie clips for the majority of the songs from this era, but I included them whenever possible. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Elvis Presley  ~  "Baby, Let's Play House"

2)  Don Cherry  ~  "Band Of Gold"

3)  Julie London  ~  "Cry Me A River"

4)  Chuck Berry  ~  "Maybellene"

5)  Joni James  ~  "How Important Can It Be?"

6)  Smiley Lewis  ~  "I Hear You Knockin'"

7)  Doris Day  ~  "Everybody Loves My Baby" / "Mean To Me"

8)  Gogi Grant  ~  "Suddenly There's A Valley"

9)  Patti Page  ~  "Croce Di Oro (Cross Of Gold)"

10)  LaVern Baker & The Gliders  ~  "Tweedle Dee"

11)  The El Dorados  ~  "At My Front Door"

12)  Little Richard  ~  "Tutti Frutti"

13)  Big Joe Turner  ~  "Flip, Flop, And Fly"

14)  Eddie Fisher  ~  "I Need You Now"

15)  Al Hibbler  ~  "Unchained Melody"

16)  Dean Martin  ~  "Innamorata"

17)  Peggy Lee  ~  "He's A Tramp"

18)  Danny Kaye  ~  "Life Could Not Better Be"

19)  Fred Astaire  ~  "Something's Gotta Give"

20)  Gwen Verdon  ~  "Whatever Lola Wants"

Popular Songs Of 1955, Vol. 1

If you thought I'd forgotten about this ongoing series of throwback songs from decades past, then you would most certainly be wrong. Here's Vol. 1 (of 2) of songs that were popular some fifty years ago. If you're old enough to remember when these songs came out, then you're....well...you're old! But wise! I'm sure you're quite wise, too! Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Pérez Prado  ~  "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White"

2)  Mitch Miller & The Gang  ~  "The Yellow Rose Of Texas"

3)  Roger Williams  ~  "Autumn Leaves"

4)  Fess Parker  ~  "Ballad Of Davy Crockett"

5)  The Four Aces  ~  "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing"

6)  McGuire Sisters  ~  "Sincerely"

7)  Fats Domino  ~  "Ain't That A Shame"

8)  Johnny Maddox  ~  "The Crazy Otto Medley"

9)  Frank Sinatra  ~  "You're Sensational"

10)  Frankie Laine  ~  "A Woman In Love"

11)  The Fontane Sisters  ~  "Hearts Of Stone"

12)  The Four Lads  ~  "Moments To Remember"

13)  Joan Weber  ~  "Let Me Go, Lover!"

14)  Nat King Cole  ~  "A Blossom Fell"

15)  Perry Como  ~  "Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)"

16)  Gisele MacKenzie  ~  "Hard To Get"

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJa7PWoiAqM

17)  The Ames Brothers  ~  "The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane"

18)  Jaye P. Morgan  ~  "That's All I Want From You"

19)  The Platters  ~  "The Great Pretender"

20)  Somethin' Smith & The Redheads  ~  "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie"

"32" Songs

As of today, my wife is 32 weeks pregnant with our daughter. So here's a collection of songs with the number "32" (or "Thirty-Two") in their titles or somewhere in their lyrics. I've finally reached the point where I can no longer find enough suitable songs to match the number of weeks, and that's okay. That I made it this far is pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Alana Davis  ~  "32 Flavors"  (An absolutely superb cover of Ani DiFranco's hit song.)

2)  Genesis  ~  "The Chamber Of 32 Doors"

3)  "Weird" Al Yankovic  ~  "It's All About The Pentiums"

4)  Trisha Yearwood  ~  "Everybody Knows"

5)  Sum 41  ~  "What We're All About"

6)  Carpark North ft. Stine Bramsen  ~  "32"

7)  Lecrae ft. No Malice  ~  "Darkest Hour"

8)  SHeDAISY ~   "Lucky 4 You (Tonight I'm Just Me)"

9)  Ringo Starr  ~  "I'm The Greatest"

10)  Sheryl Crow  ~  "Home"

11)  Spin Doctors  ~  "Shinbone Alley" / "More Than She Knows"

12)  Cursive  ~  "Drunken Birds"

13)  No Secrets  ~  "That's What Girls Do"

14)  Alestorm  ~  "Death Throes Of The Terrorsquid"

15)  Bruce Hornsby  ~  "Stander On The Mountain"

16)  Bruce Springsteen  ~  "Murder Incorporated"

17)  Fitz And The Tantrums  ~  "Tell Me What Ya Here For"

18)  Ani DiFranco  ~  "32 Flavors"  (Ani's original song...which is different enough from Alana's version to merit its inclusion here.)

A Rigorous Retrospective Of Remarkable Reggae Songs, Vol. 2

If you liked yesterday's collection of reggae music, here's another set of 25 songs. I haven't planned on a Vol. 3, unless any of my reggae-loving friends want to suggest another batch of their favorite songs/artists I haven't featured yet. Which you're certainly welcome to do in the comments below. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Horace Andy  ~  "You Are My Angel"

2)  Hugh Mundell & Augustus Pablo  ~  "In The Hills (Clean Up Your Heart)" / "Nature Provides"

3)  Steel Pulse  ~  "Taxi Driver"

4)  Lucky Dube  ~  "Prisoner"

5)  Gyptian  ~  "Serious Times"

6)  Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley  ~  "Affairs Of The Heart"

7)  SOJA  ~  "Rest Of My Life"

8)  Toots & The Maytals  ~  "Reggae Got Soul"

9)  Yellowman  ~  "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng"  (Hands down, this song wins the weirdest song title ever to ever graces the pages of my blog.)

10)  Israel Vibration  ~  "My Master's Will"

11)  Culture  ~  "Addis Adabba"

12)  Ziggy Marley  ~  "Lighthouse"  (Not really all that reggae, but it's kinda beautiful nonetheless.)

13)  Junior Kelly  ~  "Love So Nice"

14)  Morgan Heritage  ~  "Tell Me How Come"

15)  Beres Hammond  ~  "I Feel Good"

16)  Black Uhuru  ~  "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner"  (I wouldn't normally expect this level of guitar solo in a reggae song, but it's fantastic!)

17)  Tony Rebel  ~  "Fire"

18)  Anthony B  ~  "My Yes & My No"

19)  Benjah ft. Dillavou  ~  "Fly Away"

20)  Shelly Thunder  ~  "Break Up"

21)   Bunny Wailer  ~  "Cool Runnings"

22)  Signal Fire  ~  "Another Day"

23)  Don Carlos  ~  "Time"

24)  Dawn Penn  ~  "No, No, No"

25)  Shaggy  ~  "Boombastic"  (Okay, so it's reggae fusion, but it was a still big hit back in the day, so here it is...)

A Rigorous Retrospective Of Remarkable Reggae Songs, Vol. 1

Recently, I found myself craving some island flavor. And the best way I could figure to do that would be to listen to some good reggae music. I also noticed an appalling lack of representation of the genre on this blog over the past...well, forever, actually. So I enlisted the help of my friend Eric Murphy, a diehard reggae fan, to pick some of his favorite tunes/artists (all of which are included in this set), and added a lot more on my own that I liked and/or discovered along the way. The result is a 50-song collection (split up into two posts) of smooth jams that I had lots of fun compiling. I hope you'll enjoy them, too!  ~  JH

1)  Chronixx  ~  "Smile Jamaica"

2)  New Kingston  ~  "Life"

3)  Tribal Seeds  ~  "Moonlight"

4)  Stephen Marley ft. Capleton & Sizzla  ~  "Rock Stone"

5)  Sister Nancy  ~  "Bam Bam"

6)  Tarrus Riley  ~  "She's Royal"

7)  Peter Tosh  ~  "Downpressor Man"

8)  Eek-A-Mouse  ~  "Rude Boy Jamaican"

9)  Buju Banton  ~  "Murderer"

10)  Kabaka Pyramid  ~  "Worldwide Love"

11)  Protoje ft. Chronixx  ~  "Who Knows"

12)  Freddie McGregor  ~  "Push Comes To Shove"

13)  The Abyssinians  ~  "Satta Massagana"

14)  Johnny Clarke  ~  "Warrior"

15)  Bob Marley  ~  "No Woman, No Cry"

16)  Sara Lugo ft. Protoje  ~  "Really Like You"  (This is a fairly "poppy" reggae song, but it technically qualifies and I like it, so it's here.)

17)  Burning Spear  ~  "Slavery Days"

18)  Dennis Brown  ~  "Rocking Time"

19)  Max Romeo  ~  "Chase The Devil"

20)  Tanya Stephens ft. Sanjay  ~  "Corners Of My Mind"

21)   Gregory Isaacs  ~  "Tune In"

22)  Lady G  ~  "'Nuff Respect"

23)  Inner Circle ft. Junior Reid  ~  "Blood-A-Run"

24)  Chaka Demus & Pliers  ~  "Murder She Wrote"

25)  Shabba Ranks  ~  "Ting-A-Ling"