Wish I Had Written That...

The Bangles -- "Manic Monday"
Sheila E. -- "The Glamorous Life"
Sheena Easton -- "Sugar Walls"

It's not the songs, it's the "payment."

 

hahahaha. I get you.

i don't think Hoffs "paid" for that song though.

 

(Reach Out), I'll Be There
The Tracks Of My Tears
Superstition

There are at least a dozen immortal songs from Motown

 

Nick Cave - Into My Arms
U2 - One
Iggy Pop - The Passenger

 

"American Tune" ~ Paul Simon
"Presence of the Lord" ~ Blind Faith
"Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" ~ Bob Dylan

 

Don't Dream It's Over-crowded house
Child of The Wild Blue Yonder-John Hiatt
Witcha Line Man-Jimmy Webb

 

Not even by "kissing Valentino"?

 

"Strawberry Fields Forever"
"Hallelujah"
"Positively 4th Street"

 

"We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue" - Curtis Mayfield
"Song for Sharon" - Joni Mitchell
"To Beat the Devil" - Kris Kristofferson

 

Great songs.

 

More of a guideline.

 

Derek and the Dominos - Layla

Bob Dylan - It Ain't Me Babe

Robert Johnson - Hellhound on My Trail

 

Bob Dylan - Jokerman
Larry Coryell - Are You too Clever
Little Feat - Long Distance Love

 

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out -
The Smiths
It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City -
Bruce Springsteen
The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel

 

I think this might change depending on when I am asked but off the top of my head:

Steve Earle "No. 29"
Tim Finn "How'm I Gonna Sleep"
Squeeze "I learnt How To Pray"

 

Any three of the five following. They're all perfect:

"Tom Traubert's Blues" by Tom Waits
"If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight
"Dolphin" by Prince
"The Broad Majestic Shannon" by the Pogues
"My Funny Valentine"

 

Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians
The Velvet Underground - Candy Says

Pretty arbitrary

 

Richard Thompson - Beeswing
Jimi Hendrix - Little Wing
Bob Dylan - Tangled up in Blue

 

Suzanne - Leonard Cohen
It's Alright Ma - Dylan
Life On Mars - Bowie

There are plenty of others, especially from these three

 

Don't Fence Me In
Some Kinda Love
Shaving Cream

 

Im So Lonesome I Could Cry- Hank Williams
Witchita Lineman-Jimmy Webb
If I Could Only Fly-Blaze Foley

 

More Than a Feeling - Boston
The Carpet Crawlers - Genesis
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

 

I mentioned this in a thread a while back, but:

"McArthur Park" - then at least I'd know what this son is about!

And then, maybe "Monster" by Steppenwolf, a song that seems to apply to the situation in America even more today than back when it was written.

And finally Lynn Anderson's "(I never promised you a) Rose Garden", IMO a perfect pop song marriage of lyrics and melody.

 

Be My Baby (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector)
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams)
Stardust (Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish)

 

Everybody Knows - Leonard Cohen
Johnny 99 - Bruce Springsteen
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Robbie Robertson