OT: List Your top 5 Groups or Artists of All Time, Then Post One Song From Each

[Scud49]

Oh, geez. Top five can mean two different things to me: 5 best or 5 favorite. 5 best will be easier for me and better for the board, because I don't think you can be one of the "best" without both having at least some popularity and staying power, so that list would skew older and more popular than 5 favorites. The Moody Blues would be on both.

Sorry BigBoote - I should have thought it through a bit more and given it some tighter parameters - next time...!

 

[Bigboote]

I love Revolver, but for me Rubber Soul and Hard Day's Night both eclipse it. Since I posted the Beatles in my list and haven't posted anything from them yet, here's one from the second side of Hard Day's Night. I think that side is one of the great achievements in music. They were told about a week before the tapes were due that they needed a side 2 for the soundtrack album. The music was written, recorded, and mixed in a week. It's not quite Kind of Blue, but hey, nothing is.

 

[Bigboote]

Sorry BigBoote - I should have thought it through a bit more and given it some tighter parameters - next time...!

Hey, it's the Boneyard! We're used to making our own rules.

Great topic, BTW. We often see how broad the tastes of the posters are, but seeing several different favorites from each gives a lot of perspective.

Oh, and my list by today is BS. How could I make that list without Tom Waits? That was a complete brain fart. No But then I'd have to take off Yes or Renaissance. No Eno or Louis Armstrong. I'm glad Bald Huskie posted Steppenwolf so they're not forgotten.

 

[Littlemin]

Hey, it's the Boneyard! We're used to making our own rules.

Great topic, BTW. We often see how broad the tastes of the posters are, but seeing several different favorites from each gives a lot of perspective.

Oh, and my list by today is BS. How could I make that list without Tom Waits? That was a complete brain fart. No But then I'd have to take off Yes or Renaissance. No Eno or Louis Armstrong. I'm glad Bald Husky posted Steppenwolf so they're not forgotten.

Agree, a really good topic; my five, other than the Rascals, who I love, my picks were things I was listening to lately. And also a BIG agree on Tom Waits.

 

[Littlemin]

Sorry BigBoote - I should have thought it through a bit more and given it some tighter parameters - next time...!

I respectfully disagree, great choice and yielded grea, diverse tunes and artists. The music threads are really why I joined this forum, found out about it through a buddy I played in bands with in my youth.

 

[64Zcode]

Yup, started second-guessing my list right away. For no real reason I thought I should spread out the list among different genres/styles.
Been a John Hiatt fan for a very long time.
Don't think I've seen anyone with Rush listed and that's a bit surprising.
I was kinda late to the party with Rush but have huge respect for the talent of that trio.
RIP Neil Peart

As the calendar pages keep flipping over, I find the lyrics to this one become more and more relevant;
-Time Stand Still-
I much prefer to post live or concert vids, but YT won't let me embed the one I want, so I'll put it below the lyric video.




Rush ~ Time Stand Still ~ Time Machine - Live in Cleveland [HD 1080p] [CC] 2011

 

[Alibi Ike]

Elvis Presley - In 1956 alone, the King had five number 1 hits. He was 21 years old.
Beatles
The Who
Rolling Stones
Eagles

 

[Huskyfan63]

Just a snapshot choice, could be a different five in five minutes...

Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
Chicago - Dialogue Part 1 and 2
Mannfred Mann's Earth Band - Spirit in the Night
Goo Goo Dolls - Here is Gone
The Cars - Strap Me In

 

[Beemer]

Revolver is one of the greatest albums ever made. Rolling Stone Magazine has it as #11 but I think that's off the mark. It was revolutionary. It was the first studio album for the Beatles and they used sounds, recording devices, and instruments they could never duplicate live on stage. My favorite from that album is "Eleanor Rigby". It's a moving, deep, and haunting song and the strings are just piercing. My favorite lines from that song- "Lives in a dream, Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door. Who is it for?"

Personally I think both Revolver & Rubber Soul are better than Sergeant Pepper. But that's just me.

 

[EasyEd]

It was hard to rate my favorite bands/artists. So I picked the ones that I would have the most number of songs on my favorite playlist. And then to pick the favorite song from each artist was almost as hard as that changes from day to day and what my mood is.
Here is what I came up with:
5. Jimmy Buffet - Fins
4. Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin
3. Eagles - Desperado
2. Billy Joel - Scenes from an Italian Restuarant
1. Beatles - In My Life

 

[Ozimoto]

Too much of an internal battle for me to pick a "top five."

 

[Scud49]

Personally I think both Revolver & Rubber Soul are better than Sergeant Pepper. But that's just me.

Oh yea, totally agree on that.

 

[tkaes]

Beatles - The Long and Winding Road
CSNY - Southern Cross
Eagles - Lyin' Eyes
Looking Glass - Brandy
Traveling Willburys - End of the Line (a George Harrison tune)

As I read through the posts it occurred to me that are so many choices and 5 are so hard to choose. I then realized that I could have included so many more on my list. Although the Beatles will always be number 1 with me (was a Sr. at Norwalk H.S. when they first hit the U.S.) I remembered that my number 1 should have been the greatest (in my mind) rock era song ever written, David Paich's Africa. So my revised favorites list, including a number of groups/songs that I forgot is as follows:

1. Toto - Africa
2. Beatles - The Long and Winding Road ( and a dozen or so others)
3. CSNY - Southern Cross
4. Eagles - Lyin' Eyes
5. Looking Glass - Brandy
6. Traveling Willbury's - End of The Line ( and Not Alone Anymore, Roy Orbison lead)
7. Grateful Dead - I Will Survive
8. Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
9. Foreigner - I Want to Know What Love Is
10. The Cars - Drive
11. The Beach Boys - In My Room, Surfer Girl, Hawaii ( and almost everything from Pet Sounds)
12. The Duprees - See The Pyramids Along The Nile
13. Nat King Cole - When I Fall in Love
14. The Glenn Miller Orchestra - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square ( Ray Eberle vocal) *

* I wasn't even born when Nightingale was first recorded by a number of orchestras and artists in 1940 but I first became aware of the song when it was used as a theme song in the 1986 Tom Hanks movie, Everytime We Say Goodbye. The song almost immediately became one of my all time favorites.

Africa

 

[Boreifs]

Just need one. The recording doesn’t come close to duplicating what it sounds like in the Opera House. Vienna Philharmonic and Siegfried’s Funeral Music.

 

[veryolddog]

There were so many over the years, but here are the ones that have stuck with me.

1. Frank Sinatra
2. Dean Martin
3. Tony Bennett
4. Elvis
5. The Andrew Sisters

 

[BBallF]

As I read through the posts it occurred to me that are so many choices and 5 are so hard to choose. I then realized that I could have included so many more on my list. Although the Beatles will always be number 1 with me (was a Sr. at Norwalk H.S. when they first hit the U.S.) I remembered that my number 1 should have been the greatest (in my mind) rock era song ever written, David Paich's Africa. So my revised favorites list, including a number of groups/songs that I forgot is as follows:

1. Toto - Africa
2. Beatles - The Long and Winding Road ( and a dozen or so others)
3. CSNY - Southern Cross
4. Eagles - Lyin' Eyes
5. Looking Glass - Brandy
6. Traveling Willbury's - End of The Line ( and Not Alone Anymore, Roy Orbison lead)
7. Grateful Dead - I Will Survive
8. Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
9. Foreigner - I Want to Know What Love Is
10. The Cars - Drive
11. The Beach Boys - In My Room, Surfer Girl, Hawaii ( and almost everything from Pet Sounds)
12. The Duprees - See The Pyramids Along The Nile
13. Nat King Cole - When I Fall in Love
14. The Glenn Miller Orchestra - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square ( Ray Eberle vocal) *

* I wasn't even born when Nightingale was first recorded by a number of orchestras and artists in 1940 but I first became aware of the song when it was used as a theme song in the 1986 Tom Hanks movie, Everytime We Say Goodbye. The song almost immediately became one of my all time favorites.

Africa

Wow. An awful lot here. Of course favorites are favorites so there can be no dispute in matters of taste. Here are a few other noteworthy songs from your groups that I love: For The Beatles- In My Life, For CSNY- Woodstock, For The Eagles- Take It Easy, For Foreigner- Waiting For a Girl Like You, For The Beach Boys- Help Me Rhonda, For The Duprees- Have You Heard( the correct title of the song you chose is You Belong To Me first written in 1952 and recorder much slower), For Nat King Cole- The Christmas Song and also Unforgettable, and For Glenn Miller- Moonlight Serenade.

I saw Journey with their new lead singer In Vegas On December 30, 2019 and they were sensational. Of course, Don't Stop Believing is a generational anthem and the place went crazy. You are right about Pet Sounds, incredible album, inspired, according to Brian Wilson, immediately upon hearing Sergeant Peppers for the first time.

 

[Bigboote]

You are right about Pet Sounds, incredible album, inspired, according to Brian Wilson, immediately upon hearing Sergeant Peppers for the first time.

It's the other way 'round. Pet Sounds came out a year earlier and McCartney cited it as a profound influence on Sgt Pepper's.

 

[MSGRET]

Meat Loaf - Bat out of Hell
ABBA - Dancing Queen
Elvis - Polk Salad Annie
Beatles - The Long and Winding Road
Sugarland - Stay

Posted this cover of Elvis by Sina

 

[MSGRET]

Here is the original version by Elvis, the drummer is Ronnie Tutt who played in the Elvis TCB Band, it was taken at the Hilton Las Vegas, now known as The Westgate in 1970.

 

[tkaes]

Wow. An awful lot here. Of course favorites are favorites so there can be no dispute in matters of taste. Here are a few other noteworthy songs from your groups that I love: For The Beatles- In My Life, For CSNY- Woodstock, For The Eagles- Take It Easy, For Foreigner- Waiting For a Girl Like You, For The Beach Boys- Help Me Rhonda, For The Duprees- Have You Heard( the correct title of the song you chose is You Belong To Me first written in 1952 and recorder much slower), For Nat King Cole- The Christmas Song and also Unforgettable, and For Glenn Miller- Moonlight Serenade.

I saw Journey with their new lead singer In Vegas On December 30, 2019 and they were sensational. Of course, Don't Stop Believing is a generational anthem and the place went crazy. You are right about Pet Sounds, incredible album, inspired, according to Brian Wilson, immediately upon hearing Sergeant Peppers for the first time.

An awful lot to be sure and I could have included so many more. In My Life is one of my dozen others as is If I fell, Yesterday, and Dr. Robert. For CSNY, I should have also include Teach Your Children and Wasted on The Way. Thanks for correcting me on You Belong to Me. I believe that Jo Stafford had that 1952 original recording of the song but I liked the Duprees version, probably because of the background harmony.

I could have listed quite a few from the Eagles, probably my number 2 all-time group. I have a number of favorites including Peaceful Easy Feeling, The Last Resort, and several where Timothy B. Schmidt sang the solo like Love Will Keep Us Alive.

There are so many others I could have listed. Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale is also one of my favorites. I was never much of a Rod Stewart fan but Maggie May and the acoustic Downtown Train are notable exceptions. I liked Downtown Train so much I actually bought the single on cassette and played it continuously when I was driving.

Lots of people seriously bash Barry Manilow, but Time in New England is a great song.

 

[Bigboote]

Lots of people seriously bash Barry Manilow, but Time in New England is a great song.

Barry is one of those I wouldn't be surprised if he was in both the best and worst threads. Abba too for that matter. He's not my cuppa tea, but I recognize the talent, and I love a couple of his songs.

Not to mention he produced Bette Midler's first album. Again, not my cuppa, but I don't think anyone can deny her talent.

 

[BBallF]

It's the other way 'round. Pet Sounds came out a year earlier and McCartney cited it as a profound influence on Sgt Pepper's.

I stand corrected. I knew there was a connection though. The two Greatest Albums?

 

[TerpWomenFan]

There were so many over the years, but here are the ones that have stuck with me.

1. Frank Sinatra
2. Dean Martin
3. Tony Bennett
4. Elvis
5. The Andrew Sisters

Appropriate board name.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

I'll deviate a little from the OP.
Top 5 individual favorite artist for males.
Michael Jackson
Prince
Luther Vandross
Stevie Wonder (probably #1)
Isaac Hayes/Marvin Gaye (tie)

Top 5 for females
Teena Marie
Phyllis Hyman
Patti Labelle
Angie Bofill
Sade

Top 5 groups
Temptations
New Edition
Delfonics
Black Ivory
Spinners

Top 5 bands
Earth, Wind and Fire
Commodores
Isleys
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
Parliament Funkadelic/Graham Central Station (tie)

Top 5 Contemporary Jazz artists
Fattburger
George Benson
Stanley Clarke
Najee
Brian Culbertson/Norman Brown (tie)

 

[NEforceUConn]

Dead - Franklin’s Tower
Dire Straits - Sultons of Swing
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run
Joan Jett - I love Rock and roll.