Lists of popular songs have been around for more than a century. The US music trade paper Billboard began publishing a rundown of the top ten best-selling pieces of sheet music in June 1913. By January 1936, it had introduced its first chart based on record sales, based on reports from just three major US record companies, so there was obviously no chance of manipulating it! As recently as the 1980s, both the UK and US pop charts were often distorted through tactics such as releasing singles on multiple formats or bulk-buying by record labels from registered chart shops. These tricks could catapult a record into the top ten or even straight in at number one. Rest assured, there was only one person responsible for “fixing” this particular list.
Why do we seem to love lists so much? I think that their appeal lies in how easy they are to digest, and the way in which they’re perfect for generating debates, whether that’s down the pub or online. In addition, lists can be turned into playlists, helping readers to discover classics or hidden gems, and drive traffic to websites like Americana UK. What’s not to like?
Well, compiling them isn’t always easy, especially when you’re tasked with picking the top ten americana songs of all time. Unlike some of the other writers’ lists, you’ll probably not uncover any undiscovered treasures here; these songs all seem well known and loved to me, but who knows? The list comprises songs that came to my mind relatively quickly, but then I deliberated over them, so the whole process took much longer than I expected, should I stick or twist. Anyhow, in the end, I went with my original thoughts; however, like most of the other Americana UK writers, on another day and in another mood, and with even more reflection, this list would have looked completely different.
Number 10: Emmylou Harris ‘Boulder to Birmingham’ from “Pieces of the Sky” (1975)
This is Emmylou Harris’s tender paean to Gram Parsons following his death in 1973, after which she was inconsolable. The chorus eloquently captures the depth of her grief, “I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham / I would hold my life in his saving grace / I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham / If I thought I could see, I could see your face”. It was an alt-country classic long before the term was coined. Harris has gone on record saying, “That song was very important. Words can be so powerful to help you express something you otherwise can’t”.
Number 9: Steve Earle ‘The Galway Girl’ from “Transcendental Blues” (2000)
Steve Earle has long had an affinity with Ireland. This fiddle and mandolin-driven song is a semi-autobiographical tale of Earle’s encounter with a dark-haired, blue-eyed woman on the Salthill Promenade in Galway. It could easily have been written by the Pogues. Earle had a close relationship with Shane MacGowan and his band. He first met them in Abbey Road Studios in 1986 while they were recording demos for what would later become their “If I Should Fall from Grace with God” album, and they also acted as the backing band on his 1988 single ‘Johnny Come Lately’. This chance encounter of how Earle’s heart is stolen by an Irish beauty was covered by Sharon Shannon, who appears on the original version, and Mundy. Their interpretation would go on to be one of the biggest-selling singles in Ireland of all time; however, it’s Earle’s version that you should listen to.
Number 8: Wilco ‘Jesus, Etc.’ from “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” (2002)
A musical collaboration between Jeff Tweedy and the late Jay Bennett, this is probably the most accessible and, dare I say it, catchy song on Wilco’s classic “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” album. Apparently, it was originally supposed to be entitled ‘Jesus Don’t Cry’, but Jay Bennett had scrawled ‘Jesus, Etc.’ on a demo tape, and the band preferred that. Tweedy has said that “I thought it was a funny way to say that it’s a song about Jesus, but not about Jesus the historical figure or the biblical figure. More about “Jesus” the interjection. “Jesus, that’s a good song”. But it’s also provocative”. The whole song is underpinned by some beautiful, shimmering strings. There have been many attempts to decipher what it’s about, but it’s probably better not to. Tweedy has said that he’s not really sure why, just a few months before the attacks on the Twin Towers, he wrote a song about skyscrapers swaying and tall buildings scraping against each other, attributing the imagery in the song to “nothing more than coincidence”. Whatever the meaning of the lyrics, it’s a thing of beauty.
Number 7: Bruce Springsteen ‘Atlantic City’ from “Nebraska” (1982)
The song started life as a demo, which was recorded in early 1981, called ‘Fistful of Dollars’, after the Sergio Leone film. As the year progressed, the title and chorus were changed to ‘Atlantic City’ and on 3 January 1982, Springsteen recorded four takes of the song, of which the second one found its way onto his mould-breaking album “Nebraska.” It’s a simple song, comprising only four chords, but that doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly powerful. It’s a tale of gambling, life and death and how they’re intertwined. ‘The Chicken Man’ referred to in the song was an Italian-American criminal, based in Philadelphia, named Philip Testa, who was killed by a nail bomb placed under the porch of his house on 15 March 1981, as part of the mobsters’ battle to gain control over the coastal New Jersey city.
Some of Springsteen’s lyrics were inspired by the 1980 film also called “Atlantic City” in which someone musing on one of the main characters’ death says, “I don’t mind that Dave’s dead. It just means he’ll be reincarnated, that’s all … Everything comes back”. The song was always seen by Springsteen as a rock anthem, but fortunately, the E Street Band could never quite nail it down in the studio, meaning Springsteen’s acoustic, harmonic assisted recording has become the definitive version.
Number 6: Calexico ‘Crystal Frontier’ from “Hot Rail” (2000)
‘Crystal Frontier’ is a Calexico classic, which is often used to bring their concerts to a close, and gets even the most dance-averse members of the audience to move their feet. It was inspired by Carlos Fuentes’ 1995 novel of the same name, which explores the lives of individuals navigating the space between Mexico and the United States, a theme which occupies many of Calexico’s founding members, Joey Burns and John Convertino’s songs. Burns has said that the song “describes the history of the Southwest as always having been a crossroads. A place of illusions and even delusion”. Despite the fact that the lyrics carry the menace of violence, exploitation and subjugation in them, the music is joyous, bursting with brass from the outset and driven along by Burns’ urgent strumming of his acoustic guitar. This really is a wonderful horn-driven, mariachi-based hoedown with a conscience.
Number 5: Mavis Staples ‘You Are Not Alone’ from “You Are Not Alone” (2010)
It’s been written many times, but it’s worth restating that Mavis Staples really is an incredible force of nature. In 1950, at 11 years old, she joined the family gospel group the Staple Singers. She’s due to turn 87 on 10th July this year, and she’s still out there touring and being enthusiastic about life. In addition, just a few months ago, she released arguably her best solo album to date, “Sad and Beautiful World”.
Written by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, ‘You Are Not Alone’ is a wonderful expression of solidarity for people suffering emotional turbulence in their lives. Both Staples and Tweedy are natives of Chicago, and their alliance came about after they met in the city’s Hideout club after one of her gigs there in 2008, at which Tweedy proposed that he produce her next album. Staples watched Tweedy pen ‘You Are Not Alone’ in his Loft study and was so taken with it that it became the title of her 2010 album. As Staples once said, “Hold on and keep the faith and trust”; this song conveys these sentiments in spades.
Number 4: Billy Bragg and Wilco ‘She Came Along to Me’ from “Mermaid Avenue” (1998)
‘She Came Along to Me’ was released in 1998 as part of the “Mermaid Avenue” series of albums, which set Woody Guthrie lyrics that had been languishing in the archives for decades to new melodies written by Billy Bragg and Wilco during sessions held in 1997 and 1998. Of the 47 songs recorded, ‘She Came Along to Me’ is my favourite. There’s no doubt that Woody Guthrie was a philanderer. Married three times, he committed numerous infidelities. His relationships with women were often complex, which in some cases was not helped by the onset of Huntington’s disease, which would eventually kill him in 1967. However, it’s clear from the proto-feminist lyrics to this song Guthrie penned in 1946, that he had a great deal of empathy for women. The song’s lyrics offer a heartfelt, though slightly backhanded, affirmation of gender as well as race equality. Billy Bragg, together with Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett of Wilco, did a great job of writing a suitably upbeat tune for Guthrie’s lyrics, which conclude on an optimistic note, foreseeing a future where all people are united, and the fascists have been eliminated. Amen to that.
Number 3: Gillian Welch ‘Miss Ohio’ from “Soul Journey” (2003)
“Soul Journey” is still my favourite Gillian Welch album, and ‘Miss Ohio’ is my favourite song on it. It’s possibly a tale of an all-American girl, avoiding being trapped in a traditional marriage, but who knows. Written by Welch and her partner, David Rawlings, at first listen, there’s a simpleness to it, as is the case with many of their songs; however, there’s also a great deal of depth to them, which this song demonstrates. Recently, Welch said in an interview that she and Rawlings are “always trying to make a very simple statement multilayered, multidimensional” and that she “wants this very simple thing to be both small and enormous simultaneously”. Last October, I saw Welch and Rawlings play two stunning shows at the London Palladium. I had pondered before the gigs if it had been foolish of me to spend a fair sum of money seeing the same artists on two consecutive nights. What was I thinking? It wasn’t! This song not only demonstrates the quality of Welch’s and Rawling’s songwriting but also their musicianship; it’s fit to grace any top ten.
Number 2: Gram Parsons ‘A Song for You’ from “GP” (1973)
After spells in The International Submarine Band, The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons finally went solo in 1970, although his first two years on his own didn’t amount to much. His debut, solo album ‘GP’ didn’t appear until January 1973. It comprises a number of classic tracks, including ‘A Song for You’. In 1973, a critic at Rolling Stone magazine described ‘A Song for You’ as “the saddest song I’ve ever heard“. With its achingly sorrowful slide guitar and stunning harmony vocals from Emmylou Harris, it is certainly beautiful in a mournful way. The lyrics are enigmatic; it could be an ode to the southern states of the US, a former lover or both. Certainly, words such as “I loved you every day and now I’m leaving /And I can see the sorrow in your eyes / I hope you know a lot more than you’re believing,/ Just so the sun don’t hurt you when you cry” never fail to move me.
Number 1: The Byrds ‘My Back Pages’ from “Younger Than Yesterday” (1967)
The Byrds were where it all started for me in terms of americana. I first commenced listening to them when I was 16 years old, which is some time ago now. ‘My Back Pages’ is one of many of the band’s interpretations of Bob Dylan songs, and in my opinion, it’s their best. According to Roger McGuinn, the idea for the band to record the song came from their ex-manager Jim Dickson. I was attracted to the sparkling sound of the Rickenbacker guitars; in fact, it might just have been the fact that McGuinn generally wielded this make of guitar that drew me in, given that at the time I was a massive fan of The Jam and fascinated by the array of Rickenbackers that Paul Weller owned. So this song is at number one in this particular list, not just because it introduced me to americana but also because of the number of people who passed through the band’s ranks and went on to do great things.
