30 Songs To Play at My Funeral
Submitted by jgandcag on Sat, 11/09/2002 - 13:31
Tags:
- James Carr: The Wrong End Of The Street
- Temptations: Just My Imagination
- Kristy McColl: Designer Life
- Jackson Browne: For A Dancer
- Blood, Sweat and Tears: And When I Die
- Rockpile: When I Write The Book
- Gene Pitney: 24 Hours From Tulsa
- Hall and Oates: She’s Gone
- Dean Martin: Ain’t that a Kick In The Head
- Box Tops: Soul Deep
- Jonathan Edwards: Shanty
- Harry Nilsson: I Guess The Lord Must Be in New York City
- Jim Croce: New York’s Not My Home
- Faces: Ooh La La
- Elvis Costello: Angel Wants to Wear My Red Shoes
- Elton John: Harmony
- Petula Clark: Don’t Sleep In The Subway
- Beach Boys: God Only Knows
- Bob Seger: Mary Lou
- Gordon Lightfoot: Early Morning Rain
- Steely Dan: Any Major Dude Will Tell You
- Byrds: My Back Pages
- Al Green: Call Me (Come Back Home)
- Pretenders: Thin Line Between Love And Hate
- Roseanne Cash: Tennessee Flat Top Box
- Steve Forbet: Romeo’s Tune
- XTC: Mayor Of Simpleton
- Pam Tillis: Spilled Perfume
- Boz Scaggs: Lido Shuffle
- Percy Sledge: If Loving You Is Wrong
Author Comments:
This was actually going to be a clone list of all the young folks on this site who have made soundtracks to their movies lists. Since I tend to be a little too morbid lately I thought this was a better premise for my mood. Since I hope they will not actually need this list for another 40 plus years, I am hoping I will be able to edit or add as I see fit. By then these will be antique relics. As opposed to simply old relics they are for a lot of you youngsters. Ever the considerate one, (and controlling) I am already trying to orchestrate my own Funeral. Lord I am getting old.
your funeral? may it never be! still, a fascinating idea. maybe when I get into a comtemplative mood, I'll start writing out a gameplan for the big day.
Nah my funeral has to come some time. I would never want to live forever. Of course it could wait another 40 or 50 years and I will have no problem with that.
I am going to do some edting of this as more songs come into my thought process.
About six nights I was watching a program that was about "The Life and Times of David Clayton Thomas" and ever since then I can not get "and when I die" out of my head. It has gotten so bad that two nights ago I had a dream where I was walking through a tunnel or large calvert with some people and started singing and found there was great acoustics in the tunnel. At least in my dreams my voice has power and volume.
In some perverse way, you have detailed one of the major reasons I chose a lot of these songs. They have an uncanny abilty to stick in you head and not leave there for some time. It would kind of be another little cruel trick I could play on friends and family from the great beyond.
The thousands (not likely) will be stuck humming "And When I die there'll be one child left to carry on..." for weeks later.
Although I won't need to worry about my funeral for quite a while, unless I do something seriously dumb. You've got me thinkin'. I would clone your list but I only have 10.
1> Ella Fitzgerald- In A Sentimental Mood
2> Uncle Tupelo-High Water
3> Lou Reed-Perfect Day
4> Blur-Out Of Time
5> Bessie Smith-Gimme A Pigfoot
6> Gillian Welch-The Revelator
7> Velvet Underground- Pale Blue Eyes
8> Belle & Sebastien- I'm A Cuckoo
9> Otis Redding- Fa Fa Fa Fa Sad Song
10> Robert Johnson- Walking Blues
If they would I'd rather whoever play, John Coltrane A Love Supreme, but hey, you can't have everything now can you.
I need to redo this list sometime.
Love the Bessie Smith choice on your list...
I wanna pigfoot and a bottle of beer
Send me daddy, cos I don't care
I feel just like I wanna clown
Give the piano player a drink
Cause he brought me down
Ever hear the Nina Simone version...splendid song
I have in fact. It's on my crappy Nina Simone collection of her Colpix Years, and yes I agree. And in a bizarre 6 degrees of seperation from your other posts, It's on Billie's Complete Decca, she does a very interesting rendition of said song.
I heard Bessie when I was 13, from that point I was ravenous for blues music. She's my goddess. But in a manly, hairy chested way (me not her). :?D
The Billie Holliday was the first version I heard.
I have a few of Bessie Smith's stuff but the quality ain't great. Is there anything you could recommend that sounds good in her catalogue?
Ah, now there is a question. Do you want the sweet, full sound of the newer remaster(Essential, 97)it's good and collects enough songs for the interested. Or do you want the grainy, rough sound of the box sets (complete vols. 1-4). Me I prefer the Complete box sets, they were put out in 91-93. They're a little more true to the original material (a lot of tin in the sound).
Lately Columbia has been digitally pumping up the sound of 20s & 30s blues, making them sound less like recordings from the 20's, sometimes it works and sometimes not.
Although Essential is a very good release, I would buy the 1st 2 volumes of the box sets, they are a treat. These four CDs are primo Bessie and they sound heavenly.