Top Pop song year by year of the twentieth century

 Music is on my mind. I had a little time so I compiled the top pop song each year from 1901 to 2000. I used Playback.fm mostly as my source. IMO, for some reason, Rhapsody in Blue became the top pop song. It is so much more than that. To me it is not only the greatest 'song' of the twentieth century, it's the best piece of music ever written and performed. As you go thru this you may say why didn't my song take number one. Sometimes things were happening in the nation that pushed a otherwise good song over a great one like Respect by Aretha Franklin considered by many to be the greatest hit. What you see below is unfiltered.

What I see is the growth of the nation in these songs, many reflect the year in which they made number one.

1901: Stars & Stripes Forever, John Philip Sousa

1902: Tell Me Pretty Maiden, Jimmy Davis

1903: In the Good Old Summertime, Haydn Quartet

1904: Uncle Josh & the Insurance Company, Cal Stewart* Comedy

1905: The Preacher and the Bear, George Fairman

1906: Nobody, Bert Williams

1907: Vesti La Giubba, Enrico Caruso

1908: Take Me out to the Ball Game, Billy Murray

1909: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Fisk University Jubilee Quartet

1910: Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Peerless Quartet

1911: Some of These Days, Sophie Tucker

1912: That Haunting Melody, Al Jolson

1913: When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, Chauncy Olcott

1914: By the Beautiful Sea, Heidelberg Quintet

1915: Hello, Frisco! Olive Kline & Reinald Werrenrath

1916: Somewhere a Voice is Calling, John McCormack

1917: Over There, Nora Bayes

1918: Tiger Rag, Original Dixieland Jazz Band

1919: After You've Gone, Marion Harris

1920: Swanee, Al Jolson

1921: I Ain't Got Nobody, Marion Harris

1922: My Man, Fanny Brice

1923: Down Hearted Blues, Bessie Smith

1924: Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin* much more than a song

1925: Sweet Georgia Brown, Ben Bernie

1926: Bye Bye, Blackbird, Gene Austin

1927: Stardust, Hoagy Carmichael

1928: T For Texas (Blue Yodel No 1), Jimmie Rodgers

1929: Makin' Whoopee, Eddie Cantor

1930: Happy Days Are Here Again, Ben Selvin

1931: Minnie the Moocher Cab Calloway & his Cotton Club

1932: Night & Day, Fred Astaire & Leo Reisman

1933: Stormy Weather, Ethel Waters

1934: Moon Glow, Benny Goodman

1935: Cheek to Cheek, Fred Astaire

1936: Pennies From Heaven, Bing Crosby

1937: Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing), Benny Goodman

1938: Begin the Beguine, Artie Shaw

1939: Over the Rainbow, Judy Garland

1940: In the Mood, Glenn Miller

1941: Chattanooga Choo Choo, Glenn Miller

1942: White Christmas, Bing Crosby

1943: Paper Doll, The Mills Brothers

1944: Swinging On a Star, Bing Crosby

1945: Sentimental Journey Les Brown & Doris Day

1946: Prisoner of Love, Perry Como

1947: Near You, Francis Craig

1948: Buttons & Bows, Dinah Shore

1949: Riders in the Sky, Vaughn Monroe

1950: Mona Lisa, Nat King Cole

1951: Too Young, Nat King Cole

1952: You Belong to Me, Jo Stafford

1953: Vaya Con Dios, Les Paul & Mary Ford

1954: Mister Sandman, The Chordettes

1955: Rock Around the Clock, Bill Haley & his Comets

1956: Que sera sera, Doris Day

1957: Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley

1958: Tom Dooley, The Kingston Trio

1959: Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin

1960: Are You Lonesome Tonight?, Elvis Presley

1961: Let's Twist Again, Chubby Checker

1962: I Can't Stop Loving You, Ray Charles

1963: Devil in Disguise, Elvis Presley

1964: Oh, Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison

1965: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones

1966: Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra

1967: A Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum

1968: Hey Jude, The Beatles

1969: Get Back, The Beatles

1970: Let It Be, The Beatles

1971: My Sweet Lord, George Harrison

1972: American Pie, Don McLean

1973: Angie, The Rolling Stones

1974: Kung Fu Fighting, Carl Douglas

1975: I Can Help, Billy Swan

1976: Dancing Queen, Abba

1977: Hotel California, Eagles

1978: Stayin' Alive, Bee Gees

1979: Heart of Glass, Blondie

1980: Another Brick in the Wall, Pink Floyd

1981: Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes

1982: Eye of the Tiger, Survivor

1983: Flashdance What a Feeling, Irene Cara

1984: Careless Whisper, George Michael

1985: We Are the World, USA For Africa

1986: Take My Breath Away, Berlin

1987: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), Whitney Houston

1988: A Groovy Kind of Love, Phil Collins

1989: Like a Prayer, Madonna

1990: Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor

1991: (Everything I Do) I Do it For You, Bryan Adams

1992: I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston

1993: I Can't Help Falling in Love With You, UB40

1994: The Sign, Ace of Base

1995: Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio

1996: Macarena, Los Del Rio

1997: Candle in the Wind '97, Elton John

1998: My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion

1999: Baby One More Time, Britney Spears

2000: Music, Madonna

Writing eulogies

 Eulogy writing 101

At weddings, at funerals many stand up and repeat the Pablum of often said things about the couple or dearly departed. They do this because sharing unique things about the subject injects the speaker into the speech. The speaker often thinks speaking that way will look like an ego trip.

Nonsense.

The listener wants to know more about the couple, the departed. They want to enrich their memories and if you are the only person to do it--do it.

Here’s a shortened version of my eulogy for my, which I feared would not be well received but found out afterwards that people loved it.

Mom’s Eulogy:

 INTRO (welcome, and names)

But first, so you know, for the last fifteen years mom from age 80 to 95 struggled with Alzheimer’s and she did it with grace. Not once did she get angry. Quite the reverse, she always smiled, handed out kisses. She was known for many phrases but the best one is: “All I know is that I love you.” That’s about all she knew during her struggle.

About five years ago at the Christmas Party put on by my sister, Chris, my sisters and I commiserated over mom’s disease. I blurted out, “I want my mommy back,” without realizing what I just said. Mimi then said, “you just said mommy.” Her eyebrows went up. I surprised myself. I hadn’t been drinking. I hadn’t been crying. I didn’t eat that many of Chris’s cookies. After tears did come to my eyes, I marveled over what I just said trying to understand. I thought about the complex psychology that goes into being human. I wondered if there was a little boy inside me that never left.

Since that time, I thought a lot about it and I began remembering things that led to trapping the boy inside a man. So what I’m about to share with you has never been spoken of before.

Basically, Mom and I were alone for my first five years and because Bill was a baby let’s make that seven years.

So what did mom do to make me who I am today?

Since it was just mom and I when dad went to work, she taught me many things, most of them spiritual, plus she threw in a copious amount of hugs, encouraging words, and later lunch bag notes. I had no pre-K, just mom.

First of all, and most important, she taught me to pray with her the rosary every day. Is it any wonder I became an altar boy or when finishing St. Joe’s College, toyed with becoming a priest? She even took me over to Saint Cecilia’s to join the choir. That didn’t go well, but I tried for her sake because to her I could sing on American Bandstand. I wish. Move over Little Richard for a littler Richard.

Most fun of all, her girlfriends would come over some days and they and mom took turns teaching me to jitterbug, waltz, and whatever I could do without falling down. They’d take my hand and twirl me around. But I fell more times than Chevy Chase. I wish I retained those lessons. Now I dance like Big Bird. As remedial learning, I usually snuck down the basement’s steps to watch the couples dance on Saturday night. My mom and dad, always in love, danced on and on. No wonder I’m an incurable romantic.

Thank you, mom.

I was getting an allowance that I don’t think dad knew about. Mom knew I was interested in the chess set sold for a dollar at the Rexall across from Saint Cecilia’s because I stopped buying nickel candies and I told her I thought the game was cool. Some how my five weeks of five nickels turned into twenty nickels in one day. I never questioned it. It was not a miracle, it was a miracle named mom.

Thank you, mom.

She always told us that we had a purpose, which was to love our neighbor and that all people are neighbors and to love God. Every day she would take me aside and talk about faith and love. I thought I was living with a nun but I knew she was my mom and she danced way too much to be a nun. Besides, there was this guy who came home every night and after a while a whole bunch of kids. No matter the number of kids, mom always showed love for each of us.

She also taught us that love is an action word. Just saying I love you means nothing if you can’t put energy into it.

Thank you, Mom.

She even had a ruler with the golden rule written across it. Which she playfully chased us around with when we did something naughty. But really, I was never naughty. Why would I be with super mom always near?

My mom, with one baby on her hip always said we had two choices, both of them hers.

I told her I was shy with girls and she taught me that everybody wants to be treated with kindness and that I should just talk to them and listen.

I’m listening, Mom.

Thank you so much for celebrating with us the greatest woman any of us had the blessed providence to call, mommy.

We miss you.

Thank you, Mom.

The Kiss

The Kiss

Perhaps the most intimate way of sharing and showing love. The Kiss shows affection, that you care. You could kiss your dog, friend, lover, even a tree. It’s all about recognizing that we are not alone and want to celebrate the beauty of life.

A romance novel without showing any given kiss is sorely lacking, IMO. Some writers become hyper aware of the altered state brought on by sex but forget that the kiss is the perfect glue that holds elements of all the emotions swirling around intimacy.

In a scene with a kiss, we must show not tell, because it is that important (especially in a romance novel). Kisses can be life changing.

Perhaps you have met in your life’s travels a person who harbors a secret crush. In greeting they seem unsure if they should go for your lips but you head for her/his cheek. There’s drama there that most people are unaware of. This is the stuff of story arcs and character development.

On a lighter note I have seen people kiss a bear bottle and isn’t there a candy called a kiss?

Drama as a tool in romance

 Why is the Bachelor in Paradise gaining quickly in popularity? It's all the drama. If people want to stay on the show somebody has to give him/her a rose. The problem is they spend so much time with that person to stay on the show that some develop feelings. I know, kind of backwards but it works. There have been many engagements and some marriages.

When writing romance there's nothing wrong with someone dating for the wrong reasons. It is a frequent plot device. Here, the reader wants someone or both to have a change of heart. In any case the reader reads on in the hope that the two dummies will finally realize they are meant for each other.

If you'd like to watch a bunch of dummies going crazy Bachelor In Paradise is for you.