This month’s list of favorite songs of musicians other than Quirky T’s absolute favorite musicians is another artist I has seen in concert – Steve Winwood. I saw him as a solo act in 2010 in a small theater. He was the least personable of all the musicians I have ever seen in concert but maybe that was because he really seemed to be into the music. Unfortunately, he didn’t play all my favorite songs of his. Here they are
Gimme Some Lovin’
While You See a Chance
Back in the High Life Again
Roll With It
Again, as with the other Guitar Train stops about Billy Joel, Elton John, and Richard Marx, I only listened to the hit songs of Steve Winwood. Most of those hits were from the 80’s so I have decades of songs to listen to if I want to explore more of Steve Winwood’s solo work and in various bands.
Guitar Tran passengers, what are your favorite Steve Winwood songs?
The words “life” and “living” have been used in numerous song titles including songs by my favorite musicians. Here is Quirky T’s list of songs by her favorite musicians with “life” or “living” in the title.
The Beatles – “A Day In the Life”, “Got to Get You Into My Life”, “In My Life”, and “Run for Your Life”
Phil Collins – “All of My Life” and “Separate Lives”
Gloria Estefan – “Live for Loving You”
Huey Lewis and the News – “Workin’ for a Livin’”
Jon Secada – “I Live for You”
Bonus Songs
Steve Winwood – “Back in the High Life Again”
Elton John – “Simple Life”
Billy Joel – “My Life”
Guitar Train passengers, what songs by your favorite musicians with “life” or “living” in the titles can you name?
The Guitar Train has been lucky enough to make stops to see all of Quirky T’s favorite musicians (except The Beatles) in live concert performances. While I have thoroughly enjoyed all these concerts, there are some songs which I love that I have never heard performed live. I know musicians are limited as far as which songs they can play because of time constraints, technical production issues, and catering to the audiences’ desires. Or as Huey Lewis says during his concerts when the audience yells out titles of songs they want him to sing, “So many hits, so little time.” So putting all practicality aside (including life and death), here are the songs I would love to hear my favorite musicians perform live at a concert I’m attending.
For The Beatles, obviously I’d love to have just been at any of their concerts, even with all the screaming. I’ve been fortunate enough to hear Paul McCartney perform Beatles songs that the band never even performed together in concert. I would love to hear my favorite Beatles album, “Help!” in its entirety. During the October 15, 2015 concert in Detroit, Michigan, Paul McCartney did play “Another Girl”, “I’ve Just Seen a Face”, and “Yesterday”. I would have loved to have been a part of that concert experience. Aside from the album “Help!”, these are the other Beatles songs I would like to hear, broken down by whose songs they are.
John Lennon – “It Won’t Be Long”, “All I’ve Got to Do”, and “In My Life”
Paul McCartney – “I’ll Follow the Sun”, “I Will” , and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
George Harrison – “Old Brown Shoe”, “Here Comes the Sun”, and “Don’t Bother Me”
Ringo Starr – “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “Honey Don’t” (I know it’s not an original Beatles song but it’s a fun song for Ringo).
From Phil Collins, I would request his angry songs – “I Don’t Care Anymore”, “Do You Know, Do You Care?”, and “Who Said I Would”. To counter the anger, I would love to hear my all time favorite song of all songs I’ve ever heard in my entire life – “We Said Hello Goodbye”.
I have been lucky that at the two Genesis concerts I attended, Phil Collins sang many of my favorite Genesis songs. To those favorites, I would like to also request “Abacab”, “That’s All”, and “Just a Job To Do.”
I’ve been to many Gloria Estefan concerts but I haven’t heard her perform songs from her 1998 CD titled “gloria!” So I would love to hear that CD performed in its entirety since the songs flow into each other non-stop between tracks. If that’s too much to ask for, I’d settle for just my favorite song from that CD – “I Just Wanna Be Happy”. The other Gloria Estefan song I’d love to hear her perform in concert would fit in with the angry Phil Collins songs. It’s appropriately titled “Go Away.” I’ll add one Spanish song to my requests – “No Me Dejes De Querer (“Flores” Del Caribe Mix)”.
Huey Lewis and the News concerts are way too short as it is so I can definitely request many more songs for the band to play. They could stand to play a few more hits. In 2013, they played their 1983 album, “Sports”, in its entirety to commemorate its 30th anniversary. That was such an amazing experience that I would love for the band to do that again. In addition to that album, the song I’d most like to hear them perform live is the hard rocking “Couple Days Off”.
The one Jon Secada concert I attended was also very short. Of course, at the time, he had only released two albums. So I would be happy to hear more songs from those two albums as well as other songs he’s released in the 21 years since then. I would definitely love to hear the songs “La, La, La’, “Whipped”, and “I’m Free”.
For Barry Manilow who I’ve seen in concert twice, I would like to hear my three favorite songs of his – “Break Down the Door”, “Beautiful Music”, and “All the Time”. I would also request a song that he probably plays at every concert – “Can’t Smile Without You”.
Steve Winwood ticket stub
One bonus musician that I have song requests for – Steve Winwood. He’s not a favorite of mine like the others are but I do enjoy several songs of his. I saw him in concert six years ago and I was disappointed that he did not play those favorite songs of mine. Those songs are “While You See a Chance”, “Back in the High Life Again”, “Don’t You Know What the Night Can Do?”, and “Roll With It”.
Guitar Train passengers, what are the songs you would request your favorite musicians play at their concerts?
Musically speaking, the one invention I am really grateful for is my iPod. It freed me from carrying around a clunky Walkman and about ten cassette tapes. I loved my Walkman but it was bulky and the batteries never lasted long. I learned the hard way not to leave the batteries in the Walkman when traveling. One time the Walkman rewind button was pushed into the on position while in my suitcase and the batteries were used up. So from then on, I carried an extra two AA batteries with me (as well as leaving only one battery in the Walkman while traveling). All that added to the Walkman’s large entourage.
I was skeptical about the iPod because I thought I would be forced to buy again from iTunes music I had already bought on CD. When I discovered I could import my own CDs onto the iPod, I bought an iPod Shuffle. What astonished me the most about the Shuffle was the fact that it is smaller than the two AA batteries I used in my Walkman. I couldn’t believe that something that small could hold all that music. Even the iPod earphones were an improvement over all the earphones I had before. I don’t know how people can jog wearing non iPod earphones; I couldn’t even walk without them falling out.
A few years later, I upgraded to the iPod Nano which allows me to see which songs are playing. I can now make playlists and organize songs by artists and theme. It’s a much easier way to make a “mixed tape” of my favorites. I’m so happy with my Nano that I haven’t thought about upgrading it. The only complaint I have is that every time my non-Apple computer crashed and eventually died, I had to re-import the whole contents of my iTunes playlists on my computer. I wish I could just synch everything from my iPod back to my laptop.
Excluding my favorites (Gloria Estefan and Huey Lewis), here is a list of my Party songs playlist.
To continue Happy Month in October, the Guitar Train is stopping at songs that make Quirky T happy. No matter how I am feeling, as soon as I hear these songs, I am happy.
1. “Gimme Some Lovin’” – The Spencer Davis Group
2. “Walking On Sunshine” – Katrina and the Waves http://youtu.be/iPUmE-tne5U
3. “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” – Wham! http://youtu.be/pIgZ7gMze7A
4. “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” – The Proclaimers http://youtu.be/tbNlMtqrYS0
Steve Winwood ticket stub
Steve Winwood wrote the very energetic “Gimme Some Lovin’”. It was one of the four songs I hoped he would play at his concert in New Jersey on February 13, 2010 which I attended. Being one of his best songs, he did perform it and it was great to hear it live.
I first heard “Walking On Sunshine” in the 1989 John Travolta and Kirstie Alley movie “Look Who’s Talking”. It’s such a fun, upbeat song that it makes me want to dance (although I can’t dance as well as John Travolta).
Wham! Make It Big
I still have Wham!’s 1984 cassette tape, “Make It Big”, which contains “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”. In the 80’s, I practically wore out the tape playing this song, my favorite of theirs. My friends and I even made up our own dance to go with the song.
Benny and Joon CD
In my May 30, 2013 post, “The Guitar Train Looks at the 20th Anniversary of “Benny and Joon”,
I wrote about The Proclaimers and this song from one of my favorite movies, “Benny and Joon”. It took me awhile to understand what The Proclaimers are singing. Even after I learned what the words are; I didn’t know what one of them, “haver”, meant. This song is just a good, fun, happy song. I wouldn’t mind a cute guy wanting to do all the things for and with me (although I might draw the line at havering).
Guitar Train passengers, what songs make you happy every time you hear them?
Welcome to Concert Month on the Guitar Train. This month Quirky T looks at concerts she’s attended, concerts she wishes she had attended, Ticketmaster, and her favorite concert moments.
I’m so fortunate to have seen all my favorites except The Beatles in concert. I have seen Paul McCartney three times, Genesis twice, Phil Collins (solo) three times, Gloria Estefan four times, Huey Lewis and The News twice, Jon Secada once, and Barry Manilow twice. I enjoyed all of these performances. There is nothing that can compare to hearing your favorite songs performed live. Since listening to music can be a solo activity, it always amazes me to be at a concert surrounded by thousands of fans who like the same music I do.
I have also been to concerts by musicians I like but not as much as my favorites. They were Elton John and Billy Joel together, Simon and Garfunkel, Steve Winwood, and Richard Marx and Matt Scannell together.
I also went to a concert sponsored by radio station 106.7 Lite FM in 1999 that included separate performances by Gloria Estefan, Phil Collins, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, Edwin McCain, and I think 98 Degrees. (It was one of those boy bands that was popular at the time. I never paid any attention to them so I could never differentiate among them). So I guess that adds about 1/6 more of a concert to my totals for Gloria Estefan and Phil Collins.
Looking over all the artists I have seen in concert, I am grateful that I was able to see so many legends. The musicians I saw have been popular and touring for decades. In fact, over 10 years separated many of the concerts I saw by the same musicians. I first saw Paul McCartney in 1990 and last saw him in 2005. I first saw Gloria Estefan in 1990 and then last saw her in 2004. Fifteen years separated the first and last Genesis concerts I saw. It was fourteen years between the first Phil Collins concert I attended in 1990 and the last in 2004. Ten years separated the first and last Barry Manilow concerts I attended. Looking back, 1990 was the best year for me attending concerts as I was able to see my three all time favorites – Gloria Estefan, Paul McCartney, and Phil Collins all in the span of five months.
The first concert I attended was Starship. It is the only concert I don’t have a ticket stub for but I think it was in 1986. (I couldn’t find the exact date, even with the help of the excellent website http://www.setlist.fm). The concert was at the then named Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey and the opening act was The Outfield. I remember being impressed with the lighting. I also enjoyed the music even though I didn’t know all the songs. I remember The Outfield playing their hit single “Your Love” from their album “Play Deep”. The Starship songs I liked were “We Built This City” and “Sara” from their 1985 album, “Knee Deep in the Hoopla”.
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This month’s list of favorite songs of musicians other than Quirky T’s absolute favorite musicians is another artist I has seen in concert – Steve Winwood. I saw him as a solo act in 2010 in a small theater. He was the least personable of all the musicians I have ever seen in concert but maybe that was because he really seemed to be into the music. Unfortunately, he didn’t play all my favorite songs of his. Here they are
Guitar Train 