To keep the ball rolling with this website, I ask the musical question.
Your responses will remain as comments on my website for awhile. Therefore, consider carefully, because your musical acumen is subject to other viewer’s comments.
To get you started, here are, according to UK’s “Far Out” magazine, Pink Floyd musician and rabble-rouser Roger Waters’ eight choices, in order of importance:
- “Helpless,” Neil Young
- “Endless Flight,” Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jaques Morelenbaum & Everton Norton
- “Bird on the Wire,” Leonard Cohen
- “My Funny Valentine,” Chet Baker
- “Georgia on My Mind,” Ray Charles
- “E Lucevan Le Stelle” (from “Tosca”), Giacomo Puccini
- “God Bless the Child,” Billie Holiday
- 4th Movement of “Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor,” Gustav Mahler
Think he’s eclectic? I do.
His list inspired me to mention one of my signature influences from a songwriter you may not know. In 1966, my late brother, Jon, gifted me the record album, “John D. Loudermilk Sings a Bizarre Collection of the Most Unusual Songs.” In our bedroom, he then hung up a poster of a magnified Indian-head nickel and a large headline exclaiming, “The only Indian that America ever gave a damn about.” (The story of how our blood ran red soon will be told in my forthcoming book.)
The 33-1/3 record featured “Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian,” later popularized in 1971 by the British pop group, Paul Revere & The Raiders. A reputed prankster, Loudermilk proclaimed his Cherokee heritage, but that claim turned out to be false. Later, he wrote the song, “Tobacco Road.” Check out Loudermilk’s interesting bio on Wikipedia.
In the meantime, scratch your head and ponder the challenge. Maybe you can do better than me. Maybe you can out-do Roger Waters.
Just click on “add a comment,” and wave your freak flag to visitors to this website and me. Meanwhile, I’ve got to get back to writing my book!