Some of you may note that there is a lot of stuff missing from this list, perhaps essential songs. Keep in mind that I was only three years old and my exposure to music was limited to what was played on WVAQ FM, MTV, and stuff family members introduced me to. Future blogs about later years will include music from previous years that I didn’t discover until later in life.
Age three is when my love of music started. The first song I remember hearing is “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel. After hearing that song I was hooked on music. I would have my parents buy me cassette tapes after I heard something that caught my attention.
Check out the companion playlist: Spotify, YouTube, iTunes.
On to the list of songs:
1. Culture Club - I'll Tumble 4 Ya. – I didn’t quite know anything about Boy George yet, but I remember seeing the video on MTV and instantly enjoying this song. It sounds kind of silly and cheesy by today’s standards but back then it was a fun song and appealed to my three year old mind.
2. Hall and Oates - Private Eyes.
3. Def Leppard – Photograph. – Def Leppard prior to 1983 were a true heavy metal band, but I didn’t get exposed to their much earlier stuff until 1987. With their 1983 album “Pyromania” they started to drop the metal sound and go for a more mainstream power pop sound. This song which is an ode to Marilyn Monroe has a very catchy chorus.
4. Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen.
5. Eddy Grant – Electric Avenue.
6. Journey - Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) – I loved rock music at age three. Anything that had cool electric guitar in it that I heard, I instantly loved. This is one of those songs
7. Journey – Don’t Stop Believing. – Some might argue that this is the most iconic rock song ever written. I tend to agree with that.
8. Journey – Anyway You Want It.
9. Laura Branigan – Gloria.
10.Men At Work – Down Under.
11. Michael Jackson – Beat It.
12. Michael Jackson – Thriller. – To me this remains the greatest music video of all time. It was really cool.
13. Michael Jackson – Billie Jean.
14. Michael Sembello – Maniac.
15. Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love.
16. Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight.
17. Prince - Little Red Corvette.
18. Prince – 1999.
19. Stray Cats – Rock This Town.
20. Taco - Puttin' on the Ritz – I thought this song was about Ritz Crackers when I was three.
21. The Clash - Rock the Casbah.
22. The Police - Every Breath You Take.
23. The Police – Roxanne.
24. Toni Basil – Mickey.
25. Christopher Cross – Ride Like the wind.
26. Christopher Cross – Sailing.
27. Reo Speedwagon – Keep On Loving You.
28. J. Geils Band – Centerfold.
29. John Cougar – Jack and Diane – Written and performed by the artist who would change his name to John Cougar Mellancamp, and then eventually just John Mellancamp. This is the first song I remember singing along to in my Mother’s car.
30. Tommy Tutone – 867-5309 (Jenny).
31. The Cars – Shake it up.
32. The Police – Every Little thing she does is magic.
33. Loverboy – Working for the weekend.
34. Kim Wilde – Kids in America.
35. Billy Joel – Uptown Girl. – This is the song that started my utter and complete love for music. My mom had bought the 45. We put it on the turntable, and from that moment on my life had changed. At least from a three year old perspective.
36. Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun. – Cyndi Lauper’s “She’s So Unusual” album is the first cassette tape I remember my parents buying for me. Cyndi is great and I feel she’s criminally underrated. She’s one of the best singers of all time.
37. Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time.
38. Quiet Riot – Metal Health (Bang Your Head). – This was my first exposure to heavy metal and I was hooked. I had literally wore down the cassette tape from playing it so much , and bought this album at least 5 times between 1983 and 1990.
39. Quiet Riot – Cum On Feel The Noize.
40. Quiet Riot – Slick Black Cadillac – I finally got around to seeing Quiet Riot live in 2001, before Kevin Dubrow’s death from a Cocaine Overdose. They started the show off with this song. One of the best live acts ever.
Coming soon...My Life Of Music Obsession: 1984.
Check out my other blog posts by clicking here.
Nick,
ReplyDeleteI look foward to reading more entries. The playlist is phenomenal.
Someday I hope to met Cyndi Lauper and will NEVER EVER forgive the piano man for stealing my uptown girl. (Thank you, Taylor, for allowing me to use "NEVER EVER".)
Dann