The tweak goes on! Since the most recent unnecessary update on my work-in-progress book The Greatest Record Ever Made just nine days ago, I've done a little more remodeling. The book jumped from 50 to 55 to 60 to now 66 entries, each one THE greatest record ever made, because an infinite number can be the greatest, as long as they take turns. At the time of that update, I was ten chapters shy of a complete first draft. Sixteen songs added to the proposed Table Of Contents moves the goal posts a bit, but I've also written a few more, too. That leaves me with only 16 more to finish writing. Chapters listed with an asterisk ain't done yet. Chapters added since the previous update are in italics.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
DISCLAIMERS AND DECLARATIONS (A User's Guide To The Greatest Record Ever Made)
OVERTURE: A Fistful Of 45s
1. BADFINGER: Baby Blue
2. CHUCK BERRY: Promised Land3. DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: I Only Want To Be With You
4. THE SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen
5. PATTI SMITH: Gloria
6. WILSON PICKETT: In The Midnight Hour
*7. ELVIS PRESLEY: Heartbreak Hotel
8. THE HOLLIES: I Can't Let Go
9. THE SHIRELLES: Will You Love Me Tomorrow
10. BUDDY HOLLY: Peggy Sue/Everyday [previously listed as "Bonus Track"]
11. GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS: Midnight Train To Georgia
12. THE RARE BREED: Beg, Borrow And Steal
13. CRAZY ELEPHANT: Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'
* 14. THE ROLLING STONES: Happy
15. ARETHA FRANKLIN: Respect
16. THE MONKEES: Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)
17. KISS: Shout It Out Loud
18. THE CASTAWAYS: Liar, Liar
*19. TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl
20. SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown
21. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Girls In Their Summer Clothes
*22. TRANSLATOR: Everywhere That I'm Not
23. THE LEFT BANKE: Walk Away, Renee
24. BIG STAR: September Gurls
25. THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter
26. THE KNICKERBOCKERS: Lies
INTERLUDE: The Tottenham Sound Of...The Beatles?!
27. THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Any Way You Want It
28. JAMES BROWN: Please, Please, Please
29. GRAND FUNK: We're An American Band
INTERLUDE: Old Time Rock & Roll
30. THE BOB SEGER SYSTEM: 2 + 2 = ?
*31. THE JIVE FIVE: What Time Is It?
32. THE FIRST CLASS: Beach Baby
33. THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Summer Breeze
34. BARON DAEMON & THE VAMPIRES: The Transylvania Twist
35. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Everybody Is A Star
INTERLUDE: I Dream Of Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, Tommy (and occasionally Marky, Richie, CJ, and/or new recruits)
36. THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
37. LED ZEPPELIN: Communication Breakdown
*38. BEN E. KING: Stand By Me
*39. OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
40. THE GO-GO'S: We Got The Beat
41. THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: St. Valentine's Day Massacre
42. THE WHO: I Can't Explain
43. FREDDIE & THE DREAMERS: Do The Freddie
44. THE DRIFTERS: On Broadway
45. SAM & DAVE: Soul Man
*46. THE RASPBERRIES: I Wanna Be With You
47. THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise
48. THE KINKS: You Really Got Me
*49. THE FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There
*50. PAUL COLLINS: Walking Out On Love
*51. MANNIX: Highway Lines
52. THE SEARCHERS: Hearts In Her Eyes
53. THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Shake Some Action
54. MATERIAL ISSUE: Kim The Waitress
55. FREDA PAYNE: Band Of Gold
*56. THE PLIMSOULS: A Million Miles Away
*57. THE BEVIS FROND: He'd Be A Diamond
*58. P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest
59. THE BEACH BOYS: God Only Knows
60. THE SELECTER: On My Radio
*61. CHEAP TRICK Surrender
*62. SOLOMON BURKE: Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
63. THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Uncle John's Band
64. EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year
65. THE JAYHAWKS: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
LAST CALL: An Infinite Number
INTERLUDE: Underrating The Beatles
66. THE BEATLES: Rain
CLOSING TIME! THE T-BONES: No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)
CODA: Cruisin' Music
AFTERWORD
To streamline the flow, I've eliminated most of the previously-planned between-song interludes, bidding farewell to "The Very Best Of The Hollies," "A Girl I Knew Somewhere," "The Baron And His Buddies," "God Save The Kinks," "Meet The Flashcubes," "Brian Wilson, Herman's Hermits, And The Pet Sounds Of The Soul." Some of that material was absorbed into the relevant song entries, and some is just cut out entirely. The few remaining interludes will stand for now.
Some chapters are longer than others. Without checking, I think the Baron Daemon and Material Issue chapters are the longest, and the Castaways chapter is the shortest, just one sentence long. The one sentence said it all, man.
The final order will probably change, and I betcha I'll switch some of the individual choices, or maybe even bump 'em up to a bigger number. I'm not ruling out expanding this to 100 songs. Even if I find a publisher, and even if the book finds an audience, I don't think I want to write a sequel. That could also change, but for now, I aim to get it right with this one. Stay tuned.
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