The Friday Five: Songs With A Person's Name In The Title

Welcome to The Friday Five! This is a series in which, each week, participants are given a topic and assigned to choose five songs related to said topic. This week, the topic is SONGS WITH A PERSON'S NAME IN THE TITLE!

"Help Me, Rhonda" - The Beach Boys

In 1965, The Beach Boys released The Beach Boys Today! Many Beach Boys fans consider it to be their greatest album, and I'm one of those fans! You may argue with me, touting the greatness of Pet Sounds, and I will respect your opinion. (Heck, I like Pet Sounds, too!) However, I feel that there are times when Pet Sounds sounds a touch too self-conscious to me, like Brian Wilson was a little too solemn about it all. The Beach Boys Today! is a more balanced album in that it mixes introspective, serious songs ("When I Grow Up To Be A Man;" "Kiss Me, Baby") with fun, get-up-and-dance tunes ("Dance, Dance, Dance," "Do You Wanna Dance?"). It's one of those rare albums that manages to be both breezy and serious. I love it!

One of the songs on that epic album was "Help Me, Ronda." The band initially didn't put too much effort into the tune, giving it a sparse arrangement and tossing it onto the track list as filler. Radio DJs liked the track, however, and began to include it in their playlists. Brian Wilson was struck by the song's success, so much so that he decided that the band would re-record the song with a more lush arrangement. The Boys did so (with a little help from The Wrecking Crew, those wonderful L.A. studio musicans), and it's that revamped version that I love!

"Cathy's Clown" - The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown" is musical proof that every breakup has a silver lining! You see, during high school, Don Everly suffered a messy breakup with a girlfriend named Cathy. Eventually, the bad times came to an end, and Don moved on, forming The Everly Brothers with his brother Phil. Flash forward to 1960. Don and Phil had just signed with Warner Bros. Records, and their new bosses wanted a hit to get things off on the right foot. It was then that Don's mind went back to Cathy. Don took pen in hand and banged out "Cathy's Clown" in record time. The song went on to top the charts both in the USA and in the UK!

On behalf of all us music lovers, I'd like to say thanks, Cathy, for inspiring such a timeless song! "Cathy's Clown" is a real showcase for Don's lyrical skills; the lines roll over each other with a wonderful sense of rhyme, meter, and wordplay. The masterful words are what make the song a favorite of mine, but there are tons of things to love about this song, like the firing-squad drums, the stand-up-for-yourself message, and the Everlys' signature vocal harmonies!

"Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" - Warren Zevon

In 1975, Warren Zevon was living in The Dubliners' Bar, a small dive about 20 miles outside of Barcelona, Spain. Zevon was flat broke, so David Lindell, the bar's owner, allowed Zevon to exchange nightly bar concerts for room and board. One night, Lindell revealed in a conversation that, before becoming a bar owner, he had been a mercenary in South Africa. This fascinated Zevon, so Lindell started telling stories of his days as a soldier for hire. One day, Zevon suggested that he and Lindell collaborate on a song, marrying Lindell's mercenary adventures with Zevon's musical skill. The result was "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner."

"Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" features a heady mix of old-fashioned folk tales, Rudyard Kipling short stories, and "The Legend Of The Sleepy Hollow," only souped up with machine-gun fire and dropped in the middle of 1960s Africa. It is a very dark story of revenge from beyond the grave, but Zevon's evocative voice and the spare arrangement really draw the listener in. I close my eyes and I can picture myself sitting at a campfire, a roasted marshmallow, forgotten, falling into the flame as I listen to Zevon, at the other side of the fire, telling this tale of blood and vengeance.

"Donna" - Ritchie Valens

As with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, it's impossible to hear any Ritchie Valens song without feeling a touch of sadness. Naturally, we shouldn't remember someone solely for how they died, but knowing that Valens's life was cut short on "The Day The Music Died" has a way of hanging over the mind. However, I'm convinced that Valens's work would have lived on forever, even without the tragedy at the end of his life. "La Bamba?" "Come On, Let's Go?" "We Belong Together?" All wonderful!

"Donna" was Valens's tribute to his girlfriend of the same name. Interestingly enough, although this is a breakup song, Ritchie Valens and Donna Ludwig never broke things off; they were together until Ritchie died in 1959. In that way, perhaps this song is eerily prescient; Ritchie would be leaving Donna before the year was out; maybe not in the same way, but just as tragically. Anyway, let's put the history aside. Regardless of what this song's backstory is, it's a wonderfully sad song about a teen lamenting his lost girlfriend. Makes me almost cry every time!

"Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - Bruce Springsteen

One of my favorite things about rock music is the sense of vitality and hope it can evoke. Rock songs are the sorts of tunes we tend to love as teenagers, and don't most young musicians dream of being rock stars? There's something about those dreams that I love, and I can't think of any song that captures those feelings better than Bruce Springsteen's "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)."

"Rosalita" tells the almost-autobiographical story of Springsteen's first record deal, but the song's not really about that. The song's more about the vitality of young love and the faith that somehow, some way, things are going to work out! This song comes at the euphoric moment when everything clicks together, when you can stand before the girlfriend's dad and say with confidence that, yes, you CAN provide for his daughter! Or, as some of my favorite lyrics in ANY song say: 

Now, I know how your mama, she don't like me

'cause I play in a rock n' roll band

And I know your daddy, he don't dig me

but he never did understand

Someday, we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny

But now you're sad, your mama's mad

And your papa says he knows that I don't have any money

Well, tell him this is his last chance

to get his daughter in a fine romance

Because the record company, Rosie,

just gave me a big advance!

The Friday Five: Songs About Mothers

Okay, so Wendy's technically not a mother. But The Lost Boys considered her one. I'm counting that. 

Welcome to The Friday Five! In this weekly series, participants are given a topic and assigned to choose five songs related to that topic. This week, in honor of Mother's Day, the topic is FAVORITE SONGS ABOUT MOTHERS!

"Your Mother And Mine" - Kathryn Beaumont (From Peter Pan (1953))

If you've been following my Friday Five articles, you'll know that I seldom pass up the chance to include a Disney song! That isn't the only reason "Your Mother And Mine" is included in this list, though. Along with having a superb writing team behind it (Sammy Cahn and Sammy Fain), the lyrics paint a perfect portrait of what a mother's role entails. I love how the song emphasizes the selfless love that mothers feel for their children. Above all, that's what makes moms special, and it's a common thread that runs through all my picks this week.

"Mama Tried" - Merle Haggard

In 1957, Merle Haggard found himself in prison for attempted robbery. After an escape attempt, he was transferred to San Quentin State Prison, where he saw Johnny Cash give one of his famous prison performances. Haggard left the show a changed man with a new goal: carve out a career in country music. After his release in 1960, Haggard began his recording career. Before the decade was out, he was one of the biggest names in country music.

Despite his success, however, Merle Haggard carried a lot of guilt for having caused his mother so much anguish by being incarcerated. Haggard did something constructive with that guilt, channeling it into the semi-autobiographical "Mama Tried." The lyrics do a wonderful job capturing the shame the singer feels as he describes his sainted mother and his constant refusals to follow her counsel. In the narrator's case, his defiance eventually lands him in prison, "doin' life without parole." The song is a country-music standard and a wonderful song about harried moms!

"Coat Of Many Colors" - Dolly Parton

One of a mother's most important roles is to help shape a child's outlook on life. One such important lesson is that the quality of one's life is dependent on one's attitude. Dolly Parton's lovely "Coat Of Many Colors" tells the story of how one mother taught that lesson. In the song, Parton paints a vivid picture of her childhood in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. During one harsh winter, Parton finds herself without a coat. In response to this need, Parton's mother stitches the multi-colored coat of the title with rags given to the family. Parton is thrilled with the coat, largely due to the love her mother puts into making it. However, when Parton's childhood friends make fun of the coat, she stands up and teaches them what it REALLY means to be "poor."

I love story songs, and "Coat Of Many Colors" is a prime example of why I love them so much. The simple guitar melody, the strong lyric, and Dolly's angelic voice combine wonderfully to drive home the emotion and the message behind the story. Delivering lessons like the one in this song are just one of many things that mothers are specially equipped to do!

"Fancy" - Bobbie Gentry

Like "Coat Of Many Colors," "Fancy" is a story song about a poverty-stricken mother who provides for her daughter. However, "Fancy" is a little grittier and a little dirtier than Dolly Parton's tale. In "Fancy," a sick, abandoned, broke mother realizes that she can no longer provide for both her baby and her teenage daughter, Fancy. One day, she takes Fancy aside, makes her a very unique red dress, gives her a locket inscribed "To Thine Own Self Be True," and tells her daughter to get herself uptown and start making her own living. The mother leaves Fancy with one last bit of advice: "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy, and they'll be nice to you." Fancy goes out, plies her new trade, and goes on to make a good living for herself. In Fancy's own words, "I ain't done bad."

You could make an argument that Fancy's mother isn't Mom Of The Year; after all, she teaches her daughter a trade that isn't exactly legal. That's a valid point, but I would say that it misses the point of the song. Fancy isn't complaining about how her mom kicked her out; rather, she sings her mother's praises for helping set her on the path to her comfortable life. I would say that Fancy's mom is just as fine as Dolly Parton's mom, albeit more unconventional. After all, who wants to be one of those "self-righteous hypocrites" that Fancy sneers at in the masterful final verse?

"Is There Life Out There?" - Reba McEntire

One struggle that every mother encounters is to maintain a balance between caring for her kids and taking care of herself. It's a struggle that I think most of us take for granted when we're young. As we grow older, though, and our understanding becomes more full, I think it behooves all of us to thank our moms for all the sacrifices they've made for us. Personally, I think no song depicts the struggle and sacrifice better than Reba McEntire's "Is There Life Out There?"

I would tell you what the song's about, but the video does a much finer job than I ever could. (If you can get through it without tearing up, you're stronger than me!) All I can say is that Reba's character in this song might be my favorite mom in all of music. She's human, she's loving, she's flawed, she feels like a real mom. This song is a real masterpiece!

(And, as a sidenote, Huey Lewis does an excellent job portraying the considerate, supportive, loving husband that every man should be. Fellow guys, take note!)

What about you? What are your favorite songs about mothers?