Songs In The Key Of “I”!

First, credit goes to “Music Grotto” for the terrific graphic – a celebration of music starting with the letter “I”!

My look at “Music A – Z” lands on the letter “I”, which is filled with classic songs by Daryl Hall & John Oates, The Beatles, Alanis Morisette, Elvis Presley and more!

Let’s begin with perhaps the most iconic “I” song of all time:

10 – “Imagine” by John Lennon

“Imagine” was Lennon’s second solo album after the breakup of The Beatles, and includes songs like “Jealous Guy” and his diatribe against Paul called “How Do You Sleep?”

But it’s the title track that captured the most positive of his messages:

It’s a beautiful song and the video is as well, with images of John and Yoko Ono together, and Lennon sitting at the piano playing the song…here it is:

Lennon was not afraid of controversy of course, like the time he and Yoko staged a “bed-in” for peace:

That’s TV star Tommy Smothers on the left with his Guitar – he told me a very funny story about the recording of Lennon’s classic “Give Peace A Chance” – here it is:

Speaking of musical Icons:

9 – “In The Ghetto” by Elvis Presley

Elvis didn’t write music, but he had a knack for choosing the right song for the right time. This 1969 classic was a devastating look at poverty in the US – it was written by Country Singer Mac David, but Elvis made it his own:

Here are some of the lyrics:

As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)

And his mama cries
‘Cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need
It is another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)

Here is Elvis performing the song live in the early 70’s in Las Vegas:

I seem to be on a roll with Iconic performers – because look who is next – the most powerful rock and roll bad of all time!

8 – “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin

This powerful rock song is from the band’s third album, released in 1970…here are the opening lyrics – and yes, you must include the first two line because of Singer Robert Plant’s scorching howl:

Ah-ah, ah!
Ah-ah, ah!

We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new lands
To fight the horde, sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming

This is 70’s rock at its best!

Note the line “hammer of the gods” – that became the title of a book written about the band’s wild excess at the time.

Here’s a video of the band from 1972 – note that it has 112 MILLION views.

This is a ticket to see the band – it is my ticket – I was lucky enough to see them twice as a young boy and it was perhaps the greatest concert experience I’ve ver had! Oh, and I grew up in Seattle – did you know the band played a lake there?

Here is a look:

Time now to head to Chicago’s Lollapalooza music festival!

Welcome To Chicago’s Lollapalooza!

My wife Alex and I saw Sam Smith at Lollapalooza in 2015, and I got some video of him performing his classic “I” song!

7 – “I’m Not The Only One” by Sam Smith

Sam Smith has a perfect voice – and does a great live version of the song as well. 

Here is that live version from Lollapalooza:

I became a lifelong Sam Smith fan when I saw him doing “Carpool Karaoke” with James Corden…look for it online – it’s terrific.

I have included Daryl Hall and John Oates before on my musical countdown, but since they have so many great songs, “I” just had to be two of them!

OK, the picture is for ANOTHER “I” song, their affectionate ode to wine called “Intravino”, but here’s the “I” song I want to highlight:

6 – “It’s A Laugh” by Daryl Hall and John Oates

While not as well known as many of the H&O canon, this is a great song from the terrific album “Along The Red Ledge”.

Here is a live version of the song from 1979:

There are so many great H&O songs, album track that were just as stong as their many hit singles…here are five of my favorite album tracks from the duo:

Next up, one of Sheryl Crow’s best song – that I thought was someone else!

5 – “If It Makes You Happy” by Sheryl Crow

She’s one of the great Singer / Songwriters of our time, and this crunchy rocker showcases her feisty side:

Here are the lyrics:

Here is the great music video:

So why was I confused by this song?

I actually thought this was Courtney Love and her band Hole when I first heard it:

You see, Courtney Love has a terrific rasp in her voice, and sounds just like Crow does on this tune – if you don’t know her band Hole, they are worth checking out!

You can see more about this incredible band here:

Now, another iconic musical performer with one of the best selling albums of the 90’s:

4 – “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette was an “overnight sensation” – except the mega-selling album “Jagged Little Pill” was actually her third solo album!

The album sold more than 33 million copies when released in 1995, and made her the youngest Artist to ever win “Album Of The Year” at the Grammys!

She has continued to release powerful music – and is also one of the most empathetic people you will ever meet…here is the music video for this classic song:

Alanis is one of the great modern female Singer / Songwriters…but here is the greatest of all time:

3 – “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton released her first album in 1967, and in the years since has sole more than 100 million albums…”Jolene” is referenced as her most well known song – because people don’t realize she wrote this one!

Whitney Houston used this song in her film “The Bodyguard” and it was a massive success – but Dolly wasn’t even sure they were going to use it!

She had been asked, and she gave permission, but didn’t hear anything more until one day she was driving in her car and the song came on the radio…she told Kelly Clarkson on her talk show that she had to pull over as she was so emotional…and she LOVED it.

Here is Dolly’s original version, which is also stunning:

Kelly Clarkson has had Dolly on her daily talk show many times, and she wowed Dolly with her cover version of the song – done Dolly style – you can see it here:

I am doing this “Music A – Z” series to highlights some of my favorite songs, and you know, it’s not easy writing hits – oh, unless you are Paul McCartney.

2 – “I’ve Got A Feeling” by The Beatles

Paul McCartney and The Beatles show up on so many of my “Music A-Z” lists, because they were just so prolific, including this guttural song by Paul that ended up on the “Let It Be” album – here is Paul performing it live many years later:

It’s one of my favorite Beatles songs that wasn’t a hit..click here to see more about that:

Finally, here’s a song from an Artist who never wanted to be a Singer – he was a drummer after all:

1- “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collin

Phil Collins was the drummer for the progressive rock band Genesis in the 70’s – until lead singer Peter Gabriel left the band for a solo career!

As they auditioned new lead singers, Collins sang vocals to show them what they wanted – until the other members of the band told him he was better than anyone else – and he took over!

The Origin Of “In The Air Tonight”:

So here is how this iconic song came to be – Collins was going through a divorce, and created a body of work at home that the band agreed wasn’t really Genesis music – so he released a solo album and became one of the biggest Artists in the world!

This song has been used in movies, tv ads, and las year as the new opening song for NFL football…just in case you don’t know the song – about three minutes in, Collins does something that still wows people.

Here he is performing the song live – watch as he prowls the stage before walking up those steps – it’s incredible:

This solo album is powerful, raw and upbeat as well – I wrote a story about a terrific documentary about the recording of the album – see it here:

That my “Music A- Z” list…next up the letter “J”!

The last time I did the list, I allowed bands with the letter “I” as well, which included this terrific 80’s group:

I celebrated the great music of INXS…see that story here:

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Categories: 70's Music, Art, Classic Rock, Led Zeppelin, Music, Pop Culture, The Beatles

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