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My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine

Posted on by brucehhackett

Rock ‘n roll lyrics, by and large, tend to be about subjects like rebellion, sex, protest, fantasy, breakups, drugs and drinking, and sometimes just sheer nonsense.  But they’re also about friendship, peace, encouragement, hope and, yes, true love.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I have selected 15 songs that might make a good soundtrack to the time you spend with the one who makes your heart skip a beat…

“Oh My Love,” John Lennon (1971)

There are legions of Beatles fans who have never warmed to Yoko Ono bimages-24ecause of the part they believe she played in breaking up the world’s best band.  Lennon himself would tell them to get over it, that the band was starting to grow apart before she entered his life, and that he had found his true soul mate and was very very happy.  Witness “Oh My Love,” Lennon’s touching tribute to Ono from his landmark “Imagine” album.  Theirs is clearly one of the great celebrity love stories of our time.  Sample lyrics:  “I see the wind, oh I see the trees, everything is clear in my heart, I see the clouds, oh I see the sky, everything is clear in our world, oh my love, for the first time in my life, my mind is wide open, oh my lover, for the first time in my life, my mind can feel…”

984522-199x300“Cupid,” Sam Cooke (1961)

The gifted crooner was also a fine songwriter, and his producers asked him to write a tune for a female singer they’d seen on a TV variety show, but once they heard Cooke sing it, they decided he should release it himself, and it reached #17 here and #7 in the UK in 1961.  Critics called it “the perfect pop song,” combining Latin, R&B, jazz and mainstream pop elements.  Sample lyrics:  “Cupid, draw back your bow, and let your arrow go straight to my lover’s heart for me, cupid, please hear my cry, and let your arrow fly straight to my lover’s heart for me…”

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Even children get older, now I’m getting older too

Posted on by brucehhackett

images-3I once saw a posting on Facebook that said, “There’s a time in one’s life when it’s appropriate to stop having birthday parties.  That age is 11.”

That seems a bit harsh.  There’s “Sweet Sixteen” (driver’s license time);  there’s 18 (voting age);  there’s 21 (drinking age);  there’s 30 (“over the hill” parties).  And you could make a case for 40, 50, and every decade thereafter as significant milestones.

But really, don’t we go a little crazy about the whole birthday thing?  It’s just another day on life’s journey, isn’t it?  Apparently not, say some folks, who relish the opportunity to shower friends and loved ones with loads of attention one day every year, whether it’s a milestone birthday or not.

I’m often amused when someone learns he or she has the same birthday as I do, and is just stunned.  “Wow, what a coincidence!  I mean, what are the ODDS?”  (Actually, they’re pretty low; there are, after all, only 365 days to choose from, and 318,000,000 of us in this country…)

Ah well.  If birthdays are going to continue to be commemorated, it’s always good to have some appropriate songs to mark the occasion.  I’ve taken the liberty of compiling an eclectic list of tunes — some hits, some obscure, some joyous, some reflective — that can come in handy when you want to pay respect to, or reflect upon, the act of aging, turning another year older, growing up, the passing of another year:

maxresdefault-6“Happy, Happy Birthday Baby,” The Tune Weavers, 1957

A classic slice of doo-wop that hit #5 on the charts in the early years of the rock era.   It was written by Margo Sylvia and Gilbert Lopez, and Sylvia sang lead vocals on the track.  Sylvia wrote the lyrics about her recent breakup with her boyfriend and how much she wanted to be by his side on his birthday.  This one was covered by such luminaries as Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Sandy Posey, Ronnie Milsap and Wanda Jackson.

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