The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1): Manifesto

This is the pitch accompanying the proposal for my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), along with the current Table of Contents.

I’m pleased to send you the proposal for THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1), a collection of personal essays by writer and radio host Carl Cafarelli.

Our favorite records don’t live in isolation. Each one has a story. Insisting that an infinite number of songs can each be THE greatest record ever made (as long as they take turns), Cafarelli ties together threads connecting classic rock, soul, pop, punk, and bubblegum across decades of hits, misses, critics’ darlings, one-hit wonders, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, and complete unknowns. The result reads like an irresistible mix tape in book form, compelling the reader to follow its flow from song to song and chapter to chapter as if it were a novel.

As an experienced pop historian and journalist, Cafarelli knows the importance of recording facts and figures accurately. But passion is of equal importance. We don’t crank the volume for fave rave sounds as academics; we listen as fans, as people living our complicated lives with music as not merely its soundtrack, but as its heartbeat. Records reflect our hopes, our disappointments, our successes, our mourning, our love, our bitterness, our fear, and our will to dance in spite of it all.

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? 

And why does listening to pop music sometimes make us want to cry?

Carl Cafarelli has written for Goldmine, DISCoveries, The Syracuse New Times, Feral House, Routledge, Visible Ink Press, AHOY Comics, and Rhino Records. Since 1998, he has been the co-host (with Dana Bonn) of the internationally-renowned weekly broadcast and internet radio show This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, and he is the author of the daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). 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.

THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1) is unlike any other rock or pop book you’ve ever seen. I look forward to discussing it with you.

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. THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
INTERLUDE I Dream Of Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy (and occasionally Marky, Richie, C.J., and/or new recruits)
BONUS TRACK PINK FLOYD: Wish You Were Here
14. BUDDY HOLLY: Peggy Sue/Everyday
15. JOHNNY NASH: I Can See Clearly Now
16. SUZI QUATRO: I May Be Too Young
17. GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS: Midnight Train To Georgia
18. THE RARE BREED: Beg, Borrow And Steal
19. THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS: You're Gonna Miss Me
20. THE ROLLING STONES: Get Off Of My Cloud
21. PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS: Just Like Me
22. PRINCE: When You Were Mine
23. LESLEY GORE: You Don't Own Me
24. TRANSLATOR: Everywhere That I'm Not
25. THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR: I Fought The Law
BONUS TRACK MERLE HAGGARD: Mama Tried
26. THE WHO: I Can't Explain
27. TODD RUNDGREN: Couldn't I Just Tell You
28. THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise
29. SHOES: Tomorrow Night
30. SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown
31. THE NEW YORK DOLLS: Personality Crisis
32. THE EASYBEATS: Friday On My Mind
33.  BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Girls In Their Summer Clothes
34. OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
35. ARETHA FRANKLIN: Respect
36. THE MONKEES: Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)
INTERLUDE The Night I Met Peter Tork
37. BARON DAEMON & THE VAMPIRES: The Transylvania Twist
BONUS TRACK NELSON RIDDLE: The Batman Theme
38. KISS: Shout It Out Loud
39. THE LEFT BANKE: Walk Away, Renee
40. P. P. ARNOLD: The First Cut Is The Deepest
41. THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock And Roll Love Letter
42. THE KNICKERBOCKERS: Lies
43. THE GO-GO'S: We Got The Beat
44. JAMES BROWN: Please, Please, Please
45. GRAND FUNK: We're An American Band
46. SAMMY AMBROSE: This Diamond Ring
47. THE FIRST CLASS: Beach Baby
48. THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Summer Breeze
49. THE RUBINOOS: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
50. BIG STAR: September Gurls
BONUS TRACK BOB DYLAN: Like A Rolling Stone
ENTR'ACTE THE BEATLES: Yesterday
BONUS TRACK RICK JAMES: Super Freak (Part I)
51. THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Shake Some Action
52. MATERIAL ISSUE: Kim The Waitress
53. MARVIN GAYE: I Heard It Through The Grapevine
54. THE SEARCHERS: Hearts In Her Eyes
55. THE FLIRTATIONS: Nothing But A Heartache
56. THE SPINNERS: I'll Be Around
57. ALICE COOPER: School's Out
58. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: Everybody Is A Star
59. TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl
60. DAVID RUFFIN: I Want You Back
61. LED ZEPPELIN: Communication Breakdown
62. THE BANDWAGON: Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache
BONUS TRACK DON HENLEY: The Boys Of Summer
INTERLUDE Old Time Time Rock & Roll
63. THE BOB SEGER SYSTEM: 2 + 2 = ?
64. BEN E. KING: Stand By Me
65. THE BYRDS: I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
66.  THE EVERLY BROTHERS: Gone, Gone, Gone
67. THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: St. Valentine's Day Massacre
68. GENE PITNEY: Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa
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 & THE BLUE NOTES: Don't Leave Me This Way
BONUS TRACK GRANDMASTER & MELLE MEL: White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)
76. T. REX: 20th Century Boy
77. THE RUNAWAYS: Cherry Bomb
78. THE KINKS: You Really Got Me
79. THE KINKS: Waterloo Sunset
80. THE SMITHEREENS: Behind The Wall Of Sleep
81. THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me
82. FREDA PAYNE: Band Of Gold
83. ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
84. THE FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There
85. RUFUS: Tell Me Something Good
86. PAUL COLLINS: Walking Out On Love
BONUS TRACK THE JIVE FIVE: What Time Is It?
INTERLUDE The Tottenham Sound Of...The Beatles?!
87. THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Any Way You Want It
88. WHAM!: Freedom

89. THE SUPREMES: You Keep Me Hangin' On 

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 O'JAYS: Put Your Hands Together
98. THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Uncle John's Band
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
ENCORE!! THE JAYHAWKS: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
An Infinite Number
INTERLUDE Underrating The Beatles
THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! THE BEATLES: Rain
LAST CALL! THE T-BONES: No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)
CODA Cruisin' Music
MORE BONUS TRACKS/AFTERWORD