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My absolute favorite song of all time is “Faded Love” by Bob Wills and his band, but I also love “Take Five” as played by composer Paul Desmond and the rest of the Dave Brubeck quartet. George Strait’s “Fool-Hearted Memory” is absolutely the best Texas two-step tune anyone ever scooted a boot to, but Glen Miller’s “In the Mood” will set anyone’s toes tapping. Johnny Rodriquez’s “How Could I Love Her So Much (and Lose Her to Someone Like You) opens with one of the best-written verses ever: “As I walked through the door and my eyes fit the darkness, I saw him alone at the bar . . .” And Johnny Griffin’s “Offering Time” preaches a whole sermon without saying a word. No one but George Jones can sing those “cut-your-throat-blue” country songs like “She Stopped Loving Him Today” and “The Cold Hard Truth,” although Aaron Neville did a fine rendition of “The Grand Tour.” But if you want to hear something really blue, check out Billie Holiday’s “St. James Infirmary.”
Randy Travis’ “Anywhere There’s a Jukebox” sounds like my life-story, as does TG Sheppard’s “I Loved Them Every One” (Big, little, short, or tall / Wish I coulda kept them all / Hmmm, I loved them every one). But I also like the reality of Ed Bruce’s “Girls, Women, and Ladies” and “Girl Talk” by the Holt-Young Trio. Another great tune, “Cast Your Faith to the Wind,” the best I think out of the hundreds written by Steve Allen. Jerry Lee Lewis, “Middle Age Crazy,” “Great Balls of Fire;” Max Roach, “I Spend My Life,” Lonesome Lover.” Ray Charles and Betty Carter, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Herbie Mann’s recording of Summertime on the Live at the Village Gate album. Anything by Carlos Montoya or Charlie Bird or Chet Atkins or Les Paul. Thelonious Monk, “II BS;” “Wabash Cannonball” by The Chieftains and Ricky Skaggs; Lyle Lovett, “Further Down the Line,” “God Will But I Won’t.” Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher.” Ellington, “Take the A Train.” Hoagy Carmichael singing his composition, “Georgia on My Mind.” Mel Torme singing his creation, “The Christmas Song.” Just a few of my favorite tunes.
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