Well you've seen my top ten list. Of course there were several others that just barely missed the cut. And in fact there were several others by some of those same artists that I really would've liked to have included, but going in I told myself only one song per artist.
Here are a few of the songs that just missed the cut:
- Paint it, Black - the Stones
- Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
- American Pie - Don McLean
- Aquarius - 5th Dimension
- Green-eyed Lady - Sugarloaf
Okay... no more stalling. It's finally time for the moment you've been waiting for - the song that grabs my soul more than any other I've ever heard.
This song is a stirring tribute to the 29 lives lost when a 729 foot ore carrier bound for Detroit sank in the stormy waters of Lake Superior. Of course I'm talking about Gordon Lightfoot's ballad of the 'Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'. Ever since I first heard this song, no other has come close to grabbing my soul the way this one does. Gordon Lightfoot is a tremendous talent, and of course there were several of his songs that might have made my top 10 if it weren't for my self-imposed rule of only one song per artist - 'If you could read my mind', 'Sundown' and 'Carefree Highway' to name a few. But for me, his greatest hit will always be the 'Wreck'. I picture it, I feel it. If anyone out there has never heard this song, then you have to give it a try. My bet is that'll touch you just like it touched me.
There you have it. The songs that have meant the most to me. Check back in tomorrow for something totally different. Until then, keep reading. J/W
