Mind Your Dollars: Top 40 Songs

First posted 8/29/2020.

The Greatest Songs Ever Recorded

MindYourDollars.com appears to be a website focused on money management so your guess is as good as mine as to why they are spending time making best-song lists. While I usually refrain from nit-picking about the shortcomings of specific lists, this one begs for it. With only 40 songs on this list, one would expect most or all of them to also show up on the DMDB’s list of the top 1% of all-time songs (just over 1000 songs). I’m not arguing that the DMDB list is completely definitive, but the very aim of the list is to aggregate as many best-of lists from as many sources as possible. That makes for a more representative list that weeds out the idiosyncrasies of individual sources in favor of those songs which regularly make appearances. With a list of only 40 songs, one would assume nearly all of these titles would surely make a top 1000+ list (those that do are marked by 1% after the song title). However, 10 out of these 40 songs (25%) don’t make the cut. That certainly doesn’t mean those 10 songs are unworthy of recognition, but for them to acquire the elite status of being recognized as one of the 40 best songs ever recorded? There are other problems with the list, including lack of diversity in racial, gender, and genre representation. More on that after the list. Also, you can click here to see song lists from other publications. 1. Simon and Garfunkel “The Sounds of Silence” (1965) 1% 2. Louis Armstrong “What a Wonderful World” (1967) 1% 3. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971) 1% 4. The Beatles “Yesterday” (1965) 1% 5. Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Goode” (1958) 1% 6. Bob Dylan “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963) 1% 7. The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” (1966) 1% 8. The Beatles “A Day in the Life” (1967) 1% 9. The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” (1966) 1% 10. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968) 1% 11. The Kinks “You Really Got Me” (1964) 1% 12. Roy Orbison “Only the Lonely” (1960) 1% 13. The Beatles “Drive My Car” (1965) 14. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965) 1% 15. The Beatles “Here Comes the Sun” (1969) 16. The Rolling Stones “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1968) 1% 17. Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954) 1% 18. Jerry Lee Lewis “Great Balls of Fire” (1957) 1% 19. The Beatles “Nowhere Man” (1968) 20. The Beatles “Blackbird” (1968) 21. The Who “Baba O’Riley” (1971) 1% 22. Creedence Clearwater Revival “Bad Moon Rising” (1969) 1% 23. The Doors “Light My Fire” (1967) 1% 24. Buffalo Springfield “For What It’s Worth” (1967) 1% 25. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968) 1% 26. The Rolling Stones “Paint It, Black” (1966) 1% 27. Jefferson Airplane “White Rabbit” (1967) 1% 28. Jefferson Airplane “Somebody to Love” (1967) 29. The Rolling Stones “Brown Sugar” (1971) 1% 30. Buddy Holly & the Crickets “That’ll Be the Day” (1957) 1% 31. Bob Dylan “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (1964) 32. The Who “Behind Blue Eyes” (1971) 33. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Purple Haze” (1967) 1% 34. The Who “I Can See for Miles” (1967) 35. The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971) 1% 36. The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” (1969) 1% 37. Simon & Garfunkel “I Am a Rock” (1966) 38. The Beach Boys “I Get Around” (1964) 1% 39. The Doors “Break on Through” (1967) 40. The Kingsmen “Louie Louie” (1963) 1%

Analysis of Mind Your Dollars vs. DMDB The Mind Your Dollars’ list suffers in multiple ways – including lack of representation for different eras, races, genders, and genres. Here’s a more detailed breakdown: Eras: DMDB Book: 1950s: 15% 1960s: 44% 1970s: 21% 1980s: 13% 1990s: 7% Mind Your Dollars: 1950s: 10% 1960s: 78% 1970s: 13% 1980s: 0% 1990s: 0% Both lists place too much emphasis on the ‘60s. However, in the Mind Your Dollars world, Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” and any other song recorded after 1971 had no impact. Race: DMDB Book: White: 73% Black: 28% Mind Your Dollars: White: 90% Black: 10% Both lists show the dominance of white artists over black artists, which reflects an unfortunate reality in the music world. Sadly, there’s no representation for any other races on either list. However, at least the DMDB least includes Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” and other classics by black artists – classics which Mind Your Dollars fails to acknowledge. Gender: DMDB Book: Male: 88% Female: 18% Mind Your Dollars: Male: 95% Female: 5% Based on these lists, there’s even less gender diversity than racial diversity. The only female on the Mind Your Dollars list? Grace Slick, the lead singer on the two Jefferson Airplane songs. Genre: DMDB Book: Rock: 65% R&B: 24% Pop: 11% Country: 2% Jazz: 1% Mind Your Dollars: Rock: 97.5% R&B: 0% Pop: 0% Country: 0% Jazz: 2.5% Both lists also show the dominance of rock over other genres. However, the ONLY song on the Mind Your Dollars list that falls outside rock is Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” * Numbers may exceed 100% because some songs fit more than one category. For example, “Endless Love” is sung by a male and female so falls into both categories. Resources: MindYourDollars.com (2/12/20). “The Greatest Songs Ever Recorded” by Catie Housman Dave’s Music Database “The Top Songs of All Time” (the top 1% - or roughly top 1000 – songs of all time) Dave’s Music Database: song lists from other publications Dave’s Music Database book (2011). The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999

50 years ago: Louis Armstrong charted with "What a Wonderful World"

What a Wonderful World Louis Armstrong

Writer(s): Bob Thiele, George David Weiss (see lyrics here) First Charted: October 14, 1967 Peak: 32 US, 37 CB, 37 RR, 7 AC, 14 UK, 13 CN, 12 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.4 UK, 0.9 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 180.94 video, 467.05 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Music critic Dave Marsh called Louis Armstrong “the greatest musical talent this country has produced.” DM Some musical scholars say that popular music as we know it today wouldn’t exist without the vocal techniques he pioneered in the 1920s. TB Through that decade and the next, “Satchmo” charted more than 50 U.S. pop hits. From the 1940s through ‘60s, he mustered less than half the chart singles as during his first two decades, but certainly hadn’t disappeared. He even pulled off a #1 hit in 1964 with “Hello, Dolly!,” a feat which made Armstrong the oldest artist in the U.S. to land the top spot, improbably dethroning the Beatles’ fourteen-week run on top with three consecutive #1’s. However, it was one of his last hits, recorded three years before he died, which proved the most immortal. “World” hit #1 in the UK in 1968, which gave him the distinction of being the oldest artist (66) to top the British charts. TB In the U.S., the song didn’t even dent the Billboard Hot 100 – until twenty years later. The song’s initial failure could be attributed to tight radio formatting at the time, but also because Larry Newton at ABC Records hated the song and wouldn’t promote it. TB However, the song regained life after being featured in the 1987 movie Good Morning, Vietnam. It went top 40 on the U.S. pop charts and reached #7 on the adult contemporary charts, besting its original #12 peak. “It sounds at least as modern as anything on the charts in 1988.” DM The song’s “saccharine, improbably sweet view of life on earth” MC could justify Newton and other detractors. However, Armstrong’s “pained gravel voice pitted against lush strings” DM also evokes a “peaceful aura that makes it a perfect antidote to harsh reality,” MC making for “one of the warmest, wittiest specimens of musical humanity.” DM Resources: DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 614. MC Neil McCormack (3/13/09). Telegraph.co.uk “100 Greatest Songs of All Time” TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 97. Related Links: First posted 10/14/2011; last updated 7/13/2023.

Songwriters Hall of Fame: Towering Song Award

Songwriters Hall of Fame Towering Song Award, 1995-2015

As explained via an archived page from the Songwriters Hall of Fame on The Way Back Machine: “The Towering Song Award is presented each year to the creators of an individual song that has influenced our culture in a unique way over many years.” There is no obvious link on the website about the award or any indication that the award still exists. Click here to see other awards and Hall of Fame inductees for songs. 1995: “As Time Goes By” (written by Herman Hupfeld) 1996: “Happy Birthday to You” (written by Patty S. Hill & Mildred J. Hill) 1997: “How High the Moon” (lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis) 1998: “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” (written by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé) 1999: “Fly Me to the Moon” (written by Bart Howard) 2000: “All of Me” (written by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons) 2000: “You Are My Sunshine” (recorded by Jimmie Davis) 2001: “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson and music by Leo Friedman) 2002: “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” (written by George M. Cohan) 2003: “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” (written by George Cory and Douglass Cross) 2004: “What the World Needs Now is Love” (lyrics by Hal David and music by Burt Bacharach) 2005: “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil) 2006: “When the Saints Go Marching In” (lyrics by Katharine Purvis and music by James Milton Black) 2008: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (lyrics by Jack Norworth and music by Albert Von Tilzer) 2009: “Moon River” (lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Henry Mancini) 2010: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (written by Paul Simon) 2011: “It Was a Very Good Year” (written by Ervin Drake) 2012: “Stand by Me” (written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) 2013: “A Change Is Gonna Come” (written by Sam Cooke) 2014: “Over the Rainbow” (lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and music by Harold Arlen) 2015: “What a Wonderful World” (written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss) Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Lists Based on Charts, Sales, and Airplay” AllAccess.com (5/20/2015). “‘What A Wonderful World’ To Receive Towering Song Award At Songwriters Hall Of Fame Gala” (5/20/2015) Way Back Machine (2013). “Songwriters Hall of Fame: Towering Song” Wikipedia.org (2020). “Songwriters Hall of Fame: Towering Song” First posted 4/10/2020; last updated 2/1/2024.