Ten Best Songs of Rock and Pop.

Norm of the Blog has asked for nominations for the ten best songs of all time from rock and pop. He himself is leaving out blues, jazz and country but invites us to keep them in if we wish.
So, a highly personal list....these aren’t even my own favourite top ten. Several of these musicians would have more than one in the selection if I didn’t restrict myself to only one from each. In no particular order:

BB King, "Ain’t Nobody Home". Yes, yes, I know, there’s better stuff out there in the blues but this song works for me as a song, on it’s own, not just as a representative of a style. I think you could do an a cappella version and it would still be great.

JJ Cale "Call Me the Breeze". Yes, his version, not Lynyrd Skynyrd’s. He did write it after all. To my mind, simply sublime. Nothing at all to do with the fact that my first serious girlfriend introduced me to his music, no, nothing at all.

Bowie "Heroes"

Iggy Pop "Lust for Life"

Jack Ely and the Kingsmen "Louie Louie". Yes, I know there’s 500 versions of it and this isn’t even the original. But it’s the best version. (I read in the songwriter’s obituary that he signed away the recording rights for a pittance but kept the performance rights. Good move that man...was used for years to advertise wine coolers in the US. They even released an album of all the different versions used. Yup, a cheque every time the ad played went to that man.)

Van Morrison. "Real Real Gone". I know everyone else will pick Brown Eyed Girl or I Can Hear Her Heartbeat but this is the stuff, a mature musician. Pity the later albums sell so terribly.

Jr. Walker and the Allstars "Roadrunner". Simply fabulous, even better than his version of "How Sweet it is" which is in itself vastly better than anyone else’s. Find this song essential listening when I need to get gee’d up to do something.

Motown....well, I’d want to put some 50 songs in here but as the very best (yes, I know, Jr. was on Mowtown but ...) I can’t even remember the title of it. It’s the Supremes and the Temptations duetting on a song that was covered by many others as well. Has the lines "If you’re looking for emotion" and then the rhyme is "If you’re looking for devotion". (Can you tell that my MP3’s went south with the hard drive crash of 6 weeks back?)

The Undertones. "Teenage Kicks". Yes, I know Fergal Sharkey inflicted some horrors on us later but this....well, I guess you have to be my age to really get it. Way back when it was this, Yes or The Scorpions. Not a difficult choice.

Dire Straits. "Sultans of Swing". I know, I know, how sad. First album I ever bought....for the sole reason that I was playing trumpet in a trad jazz band in pubs at the time. It’s not even the best song on the album but there we are.

So, not the 10 best songs of rock and pop at all. Just the best to and for me. Ry Cooder, the Stones, Eric, John Lee, Elvis, Aretha, John and Paul....all worthy, along with hundreds of others but these are my top 10.

Work out your own lists and email them into Norm.