The Cellar - Birthday present idea

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Birthday present idea

A friend of mine just turned 50 and I thought a neat present would be to burn a series of discs with one hit song from each year of her life, plus a hit song from the year of conception (music to make babies by)

I've downloaded billboard's top 100 hits for the years in question and I am torn between going with #1 for each year, or going with the best song from each year. (notice what I did there?)

Best song, definitely. Bonus points for knowing your friend well enough to know what they would consider "best."

Best song would be a lot better, but a lot more work. If you come up with a list, I'd be very interested in seeing it.

Pick one of these and use the same song, different covers, for each year. ;)

Quote:

10 of the Most-Covered Songs Ever

1. Yesterday, the Beatles. It has been covered more than 3,000 times, including by Joan Baez, Liberace, Sinatra, Elvis, Daffy Duck, En Vogue and Boyz II Men.

2. Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles. It’s been covered 131 times by artists such as Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Aretha, Kansas and Swedish industrial metal band Pain.

3. Cry Me a River, Julie London. This jazzy number from 1955 has been covered by a huge range of people including Barbra Streisand, Joe Cocker, Aerosmith, Rick Astley, Bjork, Merle Haggard and Olivia Newton John.

4. And I Love Her, the Beatles. Covered by Bob Marley, Smokey Robinson, Sarah Vaughan, Barry Manilow and Vince Gill, among numerous others.

5. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones. Covered by Britney Spears, Jimi Hendrix, Cat Power and Vanilla Ice.

6. Imagine, John Lennon. Joan Baez’s cover of this is no surprise, nor is Ray Charles or Elton Johns. Some more unconventional versions have been done by Avril Lavigne, Dolly Parton and Queen.

7. Summertime, Abbie Mitchell. She’s the one who originally sangit in the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The Janis Joplin cover is probably the most well-known, but Sonny and Cher did a version as well, and so did REM.

8. Blackbird, The Beatles. Also performed by Dave Grohl, Phish, Bobby McFerrin, Eddie Vedder and Elliott Smith.

9. Over the Rainbow, Judy Garland. Cover versions include Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, Eva Cassidy, Eric Clapton, Chet Atkins, Tori Amos and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. That last version is the Hawaiian rendition that’s mixed with What a Wonderful World that has gotten a lot of play in the last few years.

10. The Look of Love, Dusty Springfield. Written by Burt Bacharach and originally sung by Dusty. Covered by The Zombies, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Shirley Bassey and Diana Krall.

http://larryfire.wordpress.com/2009/...ed-songs-ever/

As Dads has got older, people have bought him commemorative gifts, like the front page of The Times the day he was born, or hit records from the year he was born. All great and everything, but I've always assumed they meant little to him. Because they would mean little to me.

I don't remember 1972.
1982, yes.
1988 when I was 16 - FSM yes!
1990 when I was 18 - dunno, remind me ;)

So it seems a great plan to me.
Choose the ones that lasted. Number ones come and go, but you get memorable songs that barely even made it into the Top Ten but are remembered years later.

It's like Oscars.
How many did The Goonies get, Pretty in Pink, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ghostbusters?
But they defined my childhood/ teen years.

omg you just made me want the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. I had it on cassette! Used to play it in my car all the time.

Left of Center--Suzanne Vega

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae (Post 795820)

It's like Oscars.
How many did The Goonies get, Pretty in Pink, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ghostbusters?

Raiders - 4
Ghostbusters - nominated for 1
Pretty in Pink - none
Goonies - none

RAIDERS WON 4!!!!! (And it also won a Special Achievement Award, and was nominated for 4 other Oscars that it didn't win.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinite monkey (Post 795823)

Left of Center--Suzanne Vega

Don't forget Joe!

Shut Up!*

Am right now grooving to Pretty in Pink on Youtube.
'Cept I know the longer version from the cassette.

*(watch 3 seconds only or your brain will explode)

All the favourite rags are worn
And other kinds of uniform
Kid you are really free like
Individuality
You are what you want to be...
Until tomorrow

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt (Post 795826)

RAIDERS WON 4!!!!! (And it also won a Special Achievement Award, and was nominated for 4 other Oscars that it didn't win.)

Soz. I was 9. Poor assumption in my part.

Best song. But some years are crap and some overabundant. maybe pick the best 50 overall from the lists. Yes, one per year is "romantic" but do you want tot create a cd where the listener will learn where to hit skip or will not play it at all -like Sundae said -who knows the songs before their teens? The songs my parents played when I was 8 make me want to kill, but would feature highly in a UK version of that list.