2) Billy Joel: "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)"
3) Queen: "You're My Best Friend"
4) The Beatles: "Hello Goodbye"
5) Robert Plant: "Angel Dance"
6) Los Lobos: "Shakin Shakin Skakes"
7) The Stray Cut: "Stray Cat Strut"
8) The Beach Boys / Ramones: "Do You Wanna Dance?"
9) Creedence Clearwater Revival: "Lookin' Out My Back Door"
10) The Beatles: "Yellow Submarine"
This is a list of the Top 10 Classic Rock Songs for Children on a page called Heart & Harmony Music Therapy. While I'm not sure they really needed to include three Beatles songs, it's actually a pretty good selection and it's hard to argue with the reasons provided. I certainly expected a good deal worse when I clicked on it in a Google search.
I'm no music therapist and I'm only barely an educator but I've often thought about pop songs that could appeal to kids. I'm not referring to tunes they already like — I still can't fathom what the hell they see in bloody "Lemon Tree" — but stuff that they likely haven't been previously exposed to that they might enjoy. Again, I have no idea as to the educational value or healing power of the likes of "Y.M.C.A." or "Our House" but I do know that kids react well to them. I certainly did when I was a youngster.
One of my favourites growing up was "Blue Moon" by The Marcels. I'm not sure when I first heard it (I've still never seen An American Werewolf in London in which it is prominently featured) but it could be one of those rock 'n' roll classics that was just always around, primarily due to my mother's fondness for oldies radio. Even as an impressionable mama's boy, those stations were as likely to bother me as keep me entertained. But "Blue Moon" was always welcome.
As a kid I'm not sure I even knew it was a song. Not only did I not know who The Marcels were but I don't recall ever hearing the name (the only Marcel I knew of was scoring machine Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings); the title "Blue Moon" never crossed my mind either since who was paying attention to any of the actual lyrics?. All that really mattered was the unforgettable and nonsensical refrain of "Ba-bom-a-bom-bom ba-bom-a-bom-bom ba-bom-a-bom-bom ba-dang-a-dang-dang ba-ding-a-dong-ding". Like many children both older and younger than me, I loved trying to scat along with it; no doubt the vast majority of us couldn't come close to getting it right.
What never occurred to me as a youth was the humour involved. To take something as serious as "Blue Moon" the way Billy Eckstine, Mel Tormé and Elvis Presley all did it and perform what Tom Breihan describes as "an act of beautiful vandalism" took a lot of guts from the Pennsylvania quintet, especially since they'd never previously scored a hit. They could've easily caused a shit storm. DJ's could've refused to spin it. Critics could've lashed out that they were pissing on the legacy of composers Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Their record label could've dropped them. Instead, seemingly everyone was bowled over by their bravado in recording what must still be the ballsiest cover version in the history of pop.
Having been a moody teen in the early nineties, there wasn't anything more miserable in the music scene as those R&B Romeos like Boyz II Men and All 4 One. These guys wore suits, sang with their eyes closed and communicated nothing but drippy sentimentality which I wasn't buying. (Yet their female counterparts like En Vogue and TLC were fantastic). What Boyz II Men needed to grab me was something in the spirit of "Blue Moon" to display their tremendous vocal range while performing a work that might have got me singing along. Better yet, kids a lot younger than me. This sort of thing appeals to them.
Score: 9
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Can Con
The Marcels only had one other hit following the success of "Blue Moon" but they did amazingly well compared to many other vocal groups of the time. Toronto's Billy Van Four managed a lone Top 30 appearance on the CHUM chart with "The Last Sunrise" and it's a little strange they weren't given the opportunity to record a follow up (either that or they squandered the chance). The single's okay though it suggests that they weren't quite ready for the big time. Better recording equipment would've helped as well. Having a hit didn't end up getting them much but leader Billy Van did go on to a lengthy career as a noted comedian so there is that. Too bad more didn't come out of his music.
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