One thing that I love is a good story. Something that you can learn from and enjoy. While a lot of people think that most rock songs tell some sort of story,I dont think so. Catchy hooks and rhyming lyrics don’t make a story. They make great rock songs, not great rock stories. There are notable exceptions and thats what I am going to attempt to do today, give you some of the best stories put to music over the last 50 years.
The first one that comes to mind is Gordon Lightfoots’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. It’s a true story about a large cargo ship that used to work the waters of the Great Lakes and it’s unfortunate demise. Lightfoot is an under appreciated singer-songwriter from Canada that had success in the early and mid 70’s. A lot of his songs were stories or parables about historical events and “Wreck” was by far the best.
Hard to pick Bob Dylan’s best story put to music but I will have to go with “Hurricane” from the 1976 album Desire. It’s the story of Hurricane Carter, a boxer who was accused of triple homicide in Patterson NJ. It’s a story of racism and sorrow and to be honest, it was one of the few Dylan songs I will always listen to.
It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without listening to the original version of “Alices Restaraunt Masacree” by Arlo Guthrie at 12 noon. 18 minutes of hysterical storytelling that may or may not be considered an actual song but the audience does sing “In three part harmony” so I am going to include it. It’s more of an anti-draft song than anything else but you never feel pushed to commit to taking sides. I would love to know what happened to Officer Obie and those twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one.
The Temptations in their heyday wrote protest songs, love songs, songs about ghetto life and all told some sort of story but I don’t think any of them could match the power of “Runaway Child, Running Wild”. At over nine minutes it was the longest song the Temptations put on record. It is the story of a kid running away with no plan, no money and what the streets would do to him. Maybe one of the best songs they ever recorded and that is saying something.
A short note: There are some obvious songs that I could include like “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles or “American Pie” by Don Maclean. Great songs but there is interpretation involved and the songs I have chosen are strait forward stories put to music. Period.
While this song is a touch sappy, I am sure it resonates with a lot of people, men and women. Harry Chapin’s’ “Cat in the Cradle” epitomizes so many relationships that it has to be included. A story about a father who never seems to have enough time for his son until the roles are reversed and the same thing repeats.
I will include Jethro Tull’s “Thick as a Brick” only because there is a story in the 23 minutes of side one, I just haven’t figured out all the pieces yet. Anyway, it is more or less a story about trying to deal with someone who just doesn’t get it. He is Thick as a Brick. I have only heard this song 100 times and I am sure at some point I will totally get it.
I can bitch and moan about Bruce Springsteen’s politics all I want but the fact remains he is an incredible songwriter and to pick one of his stories to include here is a fools errand so I will put a couple out there. “Rosalita”, the anthem of every guy in the New York Metropolitan area during the late 70’s into the mid 80’s. Next to “Piano Man” and “Sweet Caroline” this song busted more than a few Jukeboxes over the years. It’s still a great story, loving and exuberant, you can’t not feel good after hearing it. I probably could put every song from The Wild, The Innocent and The East Street Shuffle but I will go with “Kitty’s Back”. I love the guitar playing and the winding through the musical path to the finale. Underrated song for sure. Underrated album as well.
While this next song doesn’t strait-forward tell a true story it does tell of one person’s feelings toward a bigger narrative. “Celluloid Heroes” is Ray Davies homage to Hollywood. I have included this song before and I truly think this is an amazing piece of songwriting.
Stepping back to another era, Traffic’s “John Barleycorn” is a semi historical take on events that may or may not have happened in England back in the 18th Century. It’s a great piece of storytelling and if you didn’t know Traffic you could easily believe this was a folk song from another time. A gentle song about a deadly act.
Another of my all time favorite songs also happens to be a unique retelling of the tortoise and hare story. “Cut Across Shorty” by Rod Stewart is a fun, uptempo version of that classic story.
Joni Mitchell is another singer/songwriter that makes it hard to pick just one song but for me “Harry’s House/Centerpiece” rises above the rest. Very cosmopolitan song about an executive and his wife that ends in ??? It’s a two part song that draws you in to both characters and Mitchell’s take is very close to reality for a lot of couples during that time period.
In a similar vain, Billy Joel’s “Captain Jack” reaches into that time and space with a story about a guy in some suburban place that can’t seem to get in front of his own life. Everyone who listens to this song has a different take at the end. Mine was sadness and honestly, hopelessness and having listened to Billy Joel talk about this song, I completely missed the point.
Holy Cow, You did fantastic today! What a memorable mental trip. Actually started looking for my albums. Found the turntable, but, it didn't turn. Excellent article, Thanks and I'm still humming the tunes!