New York's My Home - Sammy Davis Jr.

New York's My Home - Sammy Davis Jr.

3:13

single, 1956

Written by Gordon Jenkins, 1946

Ray Charles did a celebrated version of this song, but as of this post, it's not available on Spotify.  In the song, the narrator puts down all the other places, imploring anyone who will listen that New York is the best place around.  St. Louis, he observes as an example, "has lots of shoes" (I learned today that St. Louis was once one of the greatest shoe manufacturers in the world), "But it hasn't got the opera in The Met / It hasn't got a famous string quartet."  Davis delivers most of the song in a hasty half-spoken patter as one might hear on a musical stage, with a chorus backing him for emphasis. 

Going To New York - Jimmy Reed

Going To New York - Jimmy Reed

2:18

single, 1959

Written by Jimmy Reed

A beautiful 12-bar boogie shuffle, this song is a declaration to reach New York or bust.  Why?  Because of the big game show payouts!  "Goin' to New York, get on New York quiz show / Gotta win myself some alla that dough."  This song was written right after the uncovering of the scandals in quiz shows of the time (as documented in the 1994 movie Quiz Show), so maybe it was meant as tongue in cheek?  Terrific barrelhouse percussion keeps the song bouncing forward, with a nice harmonica solo by Reed.

54-46 Was My Number - Toots & the Maytals

54-46 Was My Number - Toots & the Maytals

3:24

single, 1969

Written by Toots Hibbert

Although this laid-beat rocksteady single is far better known, it's actually a reworking of a Toots song from a year earlier with a similar title, "54-46 That's My Number."  Built on a classic riddim, the lyrics describe his arrest for marijuana possession, and proclaim that he was set up: "Do you believe I would take such a thing with me / And give it to a police man? / I wouldn't do that, oh no."  The relaxed groove and Hibbert's soulful delivery make this one of the great early reggae singles.

30 Pieces of Silver - Prince Buster

30 Pieces of Silver - Prince Buster

2:59

single, 1964

Written by Prince Buster

Using the Biblical character as a metaphor, Prince Buster accuses someone of betrayal because he held the purse strings but got abandoned.  "The shoes you wore, I bought them / The pants you wore, I bought them / Judas, charmer is your name."  One might assume that this is directed at a an ex-lover whom Buster thinks of retroactively as a gold digger, but actually it's a shot in a musicians' beef his ex-friend Derrick Morgan, who left Buster's label for a more lucrative offer.  This is a classic ska riff with a nice harmonica solo in the middle, and some genuine reggae scatting at the fadeout.

99 Lbs - Ann Peebles

99 Lbs - Ann Peebles

2:19

Straight From the Heart, 1972
Written by Don Bryant

This slinky soul number was written by Peebles' husband.  It's a self-aggrandizing blues, with the narrator proclaiming herself "Now I'm ninety-nine pounds of natural goodness, y'all / Ninety-nine pounds of soul," adding she's "all put together in a fine wire frame."  She promises twenty-five pounds of sugar in every kiss, and twenty-five pounds of "something that I can't even name."  It's a blistering, sexy come-on, riding on a fantastic, uplifting horn section.  Why Peebles isn't as lauded as Aretha Franklin is beyond me.

36-22-36 - Bobby "Blue" Bland

36-22-36 - Bobby "Blue" Bland

2:50

Here's the Man!, 1962

Written by Deadric Malone

As the title indicates, this big band blues is a paean to a lady, the arrangement all slinky sax and brassy horn blasts: "She looks so god from her head to her feet / My girl can be tied / But she can't be beat."  Racy!  The title is shouted out by the band, in between Blue's crooning, sultry verses.  The titular (heh) measurements are never expounded upon in the lyric, which is just Bland being possessive of his lady: "You would steal her if you could."

1612 - Vulfpeck

1612 - Vulfpeck

3:20

Fugue State, 2014

Written by Jack Stratton

Featuring handclaps, keyboards, walking bass, and a falsetto vocal that would make any Philly soul man proud, this song is a slick neo-funk masterpiece.  The catchy hook and soulful vocals make you dance before you realize you're grooving to a song about the code to an apartment: "Sixteen twelve, that's the code to my heart / One six, one two, star."  As the song reminds us, sometimes it's easy to make up a little song about things we need to remember.  The opening line, "It's a tzimmes," means it's a big fuss, or it's important.  

Faraway You - Marah

Faraway You - Marah

3:31

Kids In Philly, 2000

Written by Dave Bielanko, Serge Bielanko

After a few foghorn-like notes (from a bagpipe?), the song explodes with harmonica, organ, piano, xylophone, banjo, and other percussion. Singer Dave Bielanko's ragged voice comes in, as he relates a tale of riding a bus, watching the filthy city go by ("I seen a rain-soaked mattress / 'Neath the apartment house of death / Strewn in a vacant mess / All watered-down and wet"), when he spies someone he loves kissing another person.  He goes white as he realized how far away she is.  As arena-sized "Ohhh" backing vocals come in, the song clatters along like Steve Earle with the Pogues, or a whole band of Bruce Springsteens.  This band is new to me; how could I have missed them all this time? 

A Friend Like Me - The Interrupters

A Friend Like Me - The Interrupters

2:52

The Interrupters, 2014

Written by Aimee Allen, Jesse Bivona, Justin Bivona, Kevin Bivona and Tim Armstrong

Very much a Tim Armstrong-influenced *cough* song, this has themes of loyalty, ground well-trammeled by Rancid.  "And if you ever need a savior / I mean now not later / I tell you I am the one."  With a sing-along chorus, a bouncing ska beat, and swirling guitars, it's the female-fronted Rancid that we all have to accept since the real thing has gone dormant.

Feel You Around Me - NRBQ

Feel You Around Me - NRBQ

3:31

Tiddlywinks, 1980

Written by NRBQ

This song, which starts off its album, has a playful, simple melody that evokes children's music; it almost sounds like it's being played on toy instruments, with chimes and bells accentuating the soft vocals.  Lyrically, it's a love song in which the narrators proclaims his need for a loved one: "Everybody does something in life / I do what I'm required to do / And I can take most anything / But I couldn't last a day without you."  All his friends mock him for this apparent change in im; perhaps they find his uxorious slant to be weak-willed and drippy.  But he doesn't care; his life has been turned upside down.  It's charming and warmly relatable.