Listen to the Music

We all have them, tucked away in our memory bank. The songs that make us smile, often many decades after we first heard them. Songs that remind us of happier days. They were blaring from the car radio, or our transistor radio, hidden and tucked under the pillow. We sang the songs during family road trips. Sometimes we didn’t even know the words, and we definitely didn’t know the meanings. It didn’t matter.

Considering our current collective state of mind, it seems like a good time to spotlight the songs that make us smile. I’ve made a list of the songs that lighten my load, from the very first notes. Maybe they’ll work for you too.

As soon as the trumpets start blaring the intro to “Grazing in the Grass” by the Friends of Distinction (1969), I’m all in. On the most dreary of days, all I can see is “the sun beaming down between the leaves.”

I never get tired of “My Girl” (1965) by the Temptations. Gentlemen, if you tell a lady that she’s your sunshine on a cloudy day, you’ve hit a home run.

I also love it when I hear that joyous piano introduction to Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park” (1972). How can you not smile while visualizing, “people dancing, people laughing, and a man selling ice cream?”

There is no better way to wake up than by hearing “A Beautiful Morning” (1968) by The Rascals. “I think I’ll go outside for a while, and just smile.” Highly recommended for an instant mood boost.

Otis Redding wrote “Respect,” which became Aretha Franklin’s signature song in 1967. Who hasn’t spelled out R-E-S-P-E-C-T at full volume, with the windows down on a summer day?

I’ve been asked if I have a favorite recording artist. It’s hard to narrow it down to just one, but if I could only take one CD to that proverbial desert island, it would be “The Best of Elton John.” From his first hit “Your Song” (1970) to “Rocket Man” (1972), “Tiny Dancer” (1972), “I’m Still Standing” (1983) and a couple dozen others, every one’s a winner.

From a strictly “smile” standpoint, the Beach Boys would be my first-runner-up. Sure, they dabbled a lot in surf, sand, summer, and hot rods. But the beauty of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “God Only Knows,” both from 1966, stacks up with the best of the 20th century.

I love my share of one-hit wonders too. The best of the bunch is “Waiting for a Star to Fall” (1988), written by the husband-wife team of George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, calling themselves Boy Meets Girl. They wrote it for Whitney Houston, who had a backlog of great songs to record, so George and Shannon just did it themselves. The result is magical, and it is pure ear candy without a wasted second.

The same could be said for “I Can See Clearly Now,” which topped the charts twice, twenty years apart. Johnny Nash introduced it in 1972, and Jimmy Cliff revived it in 1995 in the movie “Cool Runnings.” Like the song says, “Look all around, there’s nothing but blue skies.”

A song doesn’t really need words to make me smile. Take the instrumental “Green Onions” by Booker T. and the MG’s. It’s been around since 1962, but it never seems dated. Even now, it is the song you hear on the Truist Park speakers when the Atlanta Braves make a pitching change. No one seems to know why, but it just seems right.

My other “happy place” songs include “Everybody Loves Somebody” (1964) by Dean Martin, “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac (1987), “Uptown Funk” (2015) by Bruno Mars, “You Get What You Give” (1998) by New Radicals, “Clocks” (2002) by Coldplay, and “Let’s Stay Together” (1972) by Al Green.

Why did I write this column? Because if you’re like me, you’re overwhelmed by the barrage of bad news that swirls around us. That’s why I’m sharing that “Dancing in the Moonlight” is guaranteed to “Make Me Smile.” If the right song can turn your day around, I hope I’ve given you some good suggestions. What are your happy songs? I’d love to know.