THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1): Work To Do

An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns.

During this limbo period as I await some kind of action on the formal proposal for my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), I continue to work toward bringing the book to a completed first draft. I finished (in drafty-draft form) two more entries this week, covering "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" by Grandmaster & Melle Mel and "Everywhere That I'm Not" by Translator. That leaves 15 entries still to be done:

P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest
CHEAP TRICK: Surrender
THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me
NEIL DIAMOND: Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
EDDIE & THE HOT RODS: Do Anything You Wanna Do
DON HENLEY: The Boys Of Summer
LULU: To Sir, With Love [museum outings montage]
MANNIX: Highway Lines
THE O'JAYS: Put Your Hands Together
OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS: Just Like Me
DAVID RUFFIN: I Want You Back
RUFUS: Tell Me Something Good
SHOES: Tomorrow Night
THE SUPREMES: You Keep Me Hangin' On

There is still a strong chance that I'll decide to replace one or more of the above songs with something else, or even that I'll replace one or more of the completed first-draft entries with something else. This week, I removed my completed entry for "Liar, Liar" by The Castaways, because I'm my own worst enemy. I also completed a draft for "We Used To Be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols, which I'm holding in reserve in case I can find a place for it.

We were NEVER friends. Quit buggin' me, man.

With or without further alterations to the playlist, the running order of the Table of Contents will almost certainly change. Here's where we're at for now:

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 Land
3. DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: I Only Want To Be With You
4. THE SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen
5. ELVIS PRESLEY: Heartbreak Hotel
6. PATTI SMITH: Gloria
7. LITTLE RICHARD: The Girl Can't Help It
8. NEIL DIAMOND: Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
9. CRAZY ELEPHANT: Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' 
10. WILSON PICKETT: In The Midnight Hour
11. THE HOLLIES: I Can't Let Go
12. THE SHIRELLES: Will You Love Me Tomorrow
13. BUDDY HOLLY: Peggy Sue/Everyday
14. JOHNNY NASH: I Can See Clearly Now
15. THE RUBINOOS: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
16. GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS: Midnight Train To Georgia
17. THE RARE BREED: Beg, Borrow And Steal
18. THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS: You're Gonna Miss Me
19. THE ROLLING STONES: Get Off Of My Cloud
20. PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS: Just Like Me
21. ARETHA FRANKLIN: Respect
INTERLUDE The Monkees Seize The Day 
22. THE MONKEES: Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)
23. KISS: Shout It Out Loud
24. THE RASPBERRIES: I Wanna Be With You
25. THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise
26. THE NEW YORK DOLLS: Personality Crisis
27. THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR: I Fought The Law
28. THE EASYBEATS: Friday On My Mind
29. TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl
30. SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown
31. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Girls In Their Summer Clothes
32. TRANSLATOR: Everywhere That I'm Not
33. LESLEY GORE: You Don't Own Me
34. THE LEFT BANKE: Walk Away, Renee
35. P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest
36. TODD RUNDGREN: Couldn't I Just Tell You
37. SHOES: Tomorrow Night
38. RUFUS: Tell Me Something Good
39. BIG STAR: September Gurls
40. PRINCE: When You Were Mine
41. THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter
42. THE KNICKERBOCKERS: Lies
INTERLUDE The Tottenham Sound Of...The Beatles?!
43. THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Any Way You Want It
44. JAMES BROWN: Please, Please, Please
45. GRAND FUNK: We're An American Band
INTERLUDE Old Time Rock & Roll
46. THE BOB SEGER SYSTEM: 2 + 2 = ?
47. SAMMY AMBROSE: This Diamond Ring
48. THE FIRST CLASS: Beach Baby
49. THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Summer Breeze
50. THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Shake Some Action
ENTR'ACTE THE BEATLES: Yesterday
51. MARVIN GAYE: I Heard It Through The Grapevine
52. THE SEARCHERS: Hearts In Her Eyes
53. THE FLIRTATIONS: Nothing But A Heartache
54. THE SPINNERS: I'll Be Around
55. ALICE COOPER: School's Out
56. BARON DAEMON & THE VAMPIRES: The Transylvania Twist
57. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Everybody Is A Star
58. THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
INTERLUDE THE RAMONES: I Don't Want To Grow Up
59. WHAM!: Freedom
60. DAVID RUFFIN: I Want You Back
61. LED ZEPPELIN: Communication Breakdown
62. BEN E. KING: Stand By Me
63. THE BYRDS: I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
64. OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
65. THE GO-GO'S: We Got The Beat
66. THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: St. Valentine's Day Massacre
67. GENE PITNEY: Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa
68. THE WHO: I Can't Explain
69. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: I'll Be Your Mirror
70. FREDDIE & THE DREAMERS: Do The Freddie
71. THE DRIFTERS: On Broadway
72. SAM & DAVE: Soul Man
73. THE SPONGETONES: (My Girl) Maryanne
74. THE TRAMMPS: Disco Inferno
75. HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUE NOTES: Don't Leave Me This Way
76. THE JIVE FIVE: What Time Is It?
77. PAUL COLLINS: Walking Out On Love

78. T. REX: 20th Century Boy

79. GRANDMASTER & MELLE MEL: White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)
80. THE KINKS: You Really Got Me
81. THE KINKS: Waterloo Sunset
82. THE FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There
83. THE SMITHEREENS: Behind The Wall Of Sleep
84. THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me
85. THE SUPREMES: You Keep Me Hangin' On 
86. MATERIAL ISSUE: Kim The Waitress
87. ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
88. FREDA PAYNE: Band Of Gold
89. THE EVERLY BROTHERS: Gone, Gone, Gone
INTERLUDE The Boys Of Summer
90. THE BEACH BOYS: God Only Knows
91. LULU: To Sir, With Love (Museum Outings Montage)
92. MANNIX: Highway Lines
93. THE SELECTER: On My Radio
94. SOLOMON BURKE: Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
95. CHEAP TRICK Surrender
96. DAVID BOWIE: Life On Mars?
97. THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Uncle John's Band
98. THE O'JAYS: Put Your Hands Together
99. EDDIE & THE HOT RODS: Do Anything You Wanna Do
100. STEVIE WONDER: I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)
ENCORE! EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year
LAST CALL! THE JAYHAWKS: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
An Infinite Number
Underrating The Beatles
THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! THE BEATLES: Rain
CLOSING TIME! THE T-BONES: No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)
CODA Cruisin' Music
BONUS TRACKS/AFTERWORD
   
I've expanded the afterword to include a short section called "Bonus Tracks," which will be a list of songs (like "Liar, Liar," for example) that were scheduled to be in the book at some point, but were eventually crowded out. The "infinite number taking turns" gimmicks puts each of 'em on equal footing with the songs discussed in the book; I just decided to write about other songs instead. That list may still grow some more yet.

Tom Petty said the waiting is the hardest part, and he was a very wise man. While we wait, the work goes on.




THE PITCH:

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1)

Our path is finite. Its soundtrack is not.

As pop music fans, we may have one all-time favorite song that stands out for us as the greatest record ever made. But in another moment, we may shift our allegiance to a different song, and then to another. We’re not fickle. We’re enthusiastic, and we’re sincere. We love our music. We lose ourselves in the music we love.

An infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Acclaimed pop journalist Carl Cafarelli (Goldmine, This Is Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio) brings his own passion and enthusiasm to The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), a collection of 100 essays about 100 great songs, celebrating both the immortality and the in-the-moment immediacy of the rockin' pop music we cherish. The subjects include Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers like The Beatles, Chuck Berry, The Sex Pistols, Aretha Franklin, The Grateful Dead, David Bowie, Prince, and many more.

But The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) encompasses more than just those enshrined in a Hall of Fame. It includes hit acts like Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes,  Sammy Ambrose’s forgotten original of “This Diamond Ring,” cult acts like The 13th Floor Elevators and Big Star, teen idols like The Bay City Rollers, and relative unknowns like Baron Daemon and the Vampires: rock, soul, R & B, pop, punk, bubblegum, ska, power pop, girl groups, and disco. This is not a definitive list of the 100 best songs ever recorded. Rather, it's a 100-record block party of great tracks, each one the greatest in its own infinite turn. It's a celebration, exhaustively and enthusiastically crafted by a pop journalist who loves each of these records without reservation.

Why did The Monkees go from the top of the pops in 1967 to seeming has-been status in 1968? How did James Brown respond to the British Invasion? What minefields of racism, sexism, homophobia, ambition, frustration, depression, or loss were navigated by Little Richard, Dusty Springfield, The Go-Go's, Elvis, Sly and the Family Stone, The Kinks, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, and Material Issue's Jim Ellison? Were The Ramones as much a bubblegum band as they were a punk band? When does a group succeed or fail in its quixotic quest to be the next Beatles? 

Our favorite records don't live in isolation. Each one has a story. The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) mixes history lessons, artist appreciation, and the ways in which the records we love can deeply affect our personal lives. Part personal memoir and part rockin’ pop record hop, The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is the book for anyone who’s ever yelled “Turn It Up!”

Or, better yet: “Play that again!” Your infinite turn awaits. Welcome to the world of The Greatest Record Ever Made!

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Fans of pop music will want to check out Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, a new pop compilation benefiting SPARK! Syracuse, the home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. TIR'N'RR Allstars--Steve Stoeckel, Bruce Gordon, Joel Tinnel, Stacy Carson, Eytan Mirsky, Teresa Cowles, Dan Pavelich, Irene Peña, Keith Klingensmith, and Rich Firestone--offer a fantastic new version of The Kinks' classic "Waterloo Sunset." That's supplemented by eleven more tracks (plus a hidden bonus track), including previously-unreleased gems from The Click Beetles, Eytan Mirsky, Pop Co-Op, Irene Peña, Michael Slawter (covering The Posies), and The Anderson Council (covering XTC), a new remix of "Infinite Soul" by The Grip Weeds, and familiar TIRnRR Fave Raves by Vegas With Randolph, Gretchen's Wheel, The Armoires, and Pacific Soul Ltd. Oh, and that mystery bonus track? It's exquisite. You need this. You're buying it from Futureman.

(And you can still get our 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4, on CD from Kool Kat Musik and as a download from Futureman Records.)

Get MORE Carl! Check out the fourth and latest issue of the mighty Big Stir magazine at bigstirrecords.com/magazine

Hey, Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) will contain 100 essays (and then some) about 100 tracks, plus two bonus instrumentals, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).