A Song for Every Year in My Life

My friend Chuck sent an e-mail yesterday to a select group of cronies telling how another friend of his, who will turn 50 this year, made a list of his favorite songs for every year he's been alive. Chuck decided to try it himself and issued a challenge for us to do the same.

I grumbled at first because I have 10 years on all these guys. But in the end I couldn't resist.

So here's what I came up with:

1953 How Much is That Doggy in the Window by Patti Page (OK, I had crappy taste before I turned one!)
1954 Work with Me Annie by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
1955 16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford
1956 Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley
1957 Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly
1958 Yakety Yak by The Coasters
1959 Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin



1960 He'll Have to Go by Jim Reeves
1961 Baby It's You by The Shirrels
1962 Having a Party by Sam Cooke
1963 Hot Pastrami With Mashed Potatoes by Joey Dee & The Starlighters
1964 Rag Doll by The Four Seasons
1965 Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
1966 96 Tears by Question Mark & The Mysterians
1967 White Rabbit by The Jefferson Airplane
1968 Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf
1969 Born on the Bayou by Creedence Clearwater Revival


1970 Instant Karma by John Lennon
1971 Someday We'll Look Back by Merle Haggard
1972 Freddy's Dead by Curtis Mayfield
1973 Sail on Sailor by The Beach Boys
1974 I'm a Ramblin' Man by Waylon Jennings
1975 Gloria  by Patti Smith
1976 Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder
1977 Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads
1978 The Beat by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1979 Rock Lobster by The B52s

1980 Hot Head by Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
1981 Marie, Marie by The Blasters
1982 Mexican Radio by Wall of Voodoo
1983 In a Big Country by Big Country
1984 Sharkey's Day by Laurie Anderson
1985 Don't Slander Me by Roky Erikson
1986 The Old Main Drag by The Pogues
1987 One Time, One Night by Los Lobos
1988 Love and Mercy by Brian Wilson
1989 The Future by Prince



1990 Bikini Girls with Machine Guns by The Cramps
1991 Jack Pepsi by TAD
1992 Youth Against Fascism by Sonic Youth
1993 50 ft Queenie by P.J. Harvey
1994 Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Nirvana
1995 Plenty Tuff and Union Made by The Waco Brothers
1996 The Curse of Milhaven by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1997 Dancing With the Women at the Bar by Whiskeytown
1998 Tallacatcha by Alvin Youngblood Hart
1999 Filipino Box Spring Hog by Tom Waits


2000 Cast No Shadows by The Mekons
2001 Ruination day by Gillian Welch
2002 No Confidence by Simon Stokes
2003 Sink Hole by Drive-By Truckers
2004 Be My Love by NRBQ
2005 Goin' on Down to the BBQ by Drywall
2006 My Eyes by Tony Gilkyson
2007 American Wedding by Gogol Bordello
2008 Wreck My Flow by The Dirtbombs
2009 Lover's Curse by The A-Bones






2010 Psycho by Nick Curran & The Lowlifes
2011 It's Mighty Crazy by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
2012 Black Mold by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Try it yourself and feel free to post in comments section.

Update 8:38 p.m. Just noticed that I'd left out 1985 in original version. Sorry, Roky! Also I corrected the "126 Tons" that a couple of folks were kind enough to point out.