The current T-Boy Society of Film & Music poll is devoted to our writers’ five favorite albums of all-time. An album is a collection of songs & music available in any forum: Vinyl, CD, Tape, etc. Initially, the theme of the poll was top five albums you’d take on a deserted island; but it made the poll a little confusing, plus we all understand the concept. It may be our most passionate poll, with some sending numerous revisions. And, yes; I was countlessly reminded by writers that their lists can change at the flip of a coin. What’s interesting is for readers to learn more about our writers in a very different capacity. And that includes me, as well.

You’ll find individual lists below, followed by results of top ten albums and selection of artists and bands. What did the lists tell me? Well, the years are passing too quickly.

• EB, Editor

MEMBERS: Selections in Order

T.E. Mattox

T-Boy Writer & Musician:

• Hard Again (1977) 
  Muddy Waters
• Father of the Folk Blues (1965)
  Son House
• Stronger For It (2012)
  Janiva Magness
• Together for the First Time Live (1974)
  B.B.King & Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland
• Masterpiece (2019)
  Albert Castiglia

Brom Wikstrom

Mouth Painter & T-Boy Writer:

• Rejuvenation (1974) – The Meters
• Kind of Blue (1959) – Miles Davis
• My Favorite Things (1961) – John Coltrane
• Swiss Movement (1969) – Les McCan and Eddie Harris
• Blonde on Blonde (1966) – Bob Dylan

Honorable Mention

East-West/Paul Butterfield Blues Band* Delaney, Bonnie & Friends on Tour with Eric Clapton/Delaney, Bonnie & Friends * Al Kooper/I Stand Alone * Revolver/The Beatles * The Harder They Come (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack/Jimmy Cliff * Lady Soul/Aretha Franklin

Mike Rand

T-Boy Writer & Musician:

• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
  The Beatles
• Let It Bleed (1969)
  The Rolling Stones
• The Joshua Tree (1987)
  U2
• The Bends (1995)
  Radiohead
• Appetite for Destruction (1987)
  Guns N’ Roses

Susan Breslow

T-Boy Writer:

• Moondance (1970)
  Van Morrison
• Blue (1971)
  Joni Mitchell
• You Want it Darker (2016)
  Leonard Cohen

Weave Cleveland

T-Boy Writer & Musician:

• The Nightfly (1982)
  Donald Fagen [I am going to regret not choosing a Beatles album]
• Halcyon Days (2004)
  Bruce Hornsby [I am going to regret not choosing some Vince Gill]
• Emancipation (1996)
  Prince [I am going to regret not choosing 5 Prince Albums]
• Seeds Of Love (1989)
  Tears for Fears [I am going to regret not choosing some Thelonious Monk]
• Djesse Vol. 3 (2020)
  Jacob Collier [I am going to regret not choosing VooDoo by D’Angelo]

Honorable Mention

Symphony No. 6 (Pathetique)/Tchaikovsky [And God will strike me down for not choosing any Stevie Wonder! May this island have no electricity!]

Terry Cassel

T-Boy Writer & Musician:

• A Love Supreme (1965)
  John Coltrane
• Kind of Blue (1959)
  Miles Davis
• The Best of the Bothy Band (1993)
  The Bothy Band
• Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
  Bob Dylan
• J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1955)
  Glenn Gould, piano

James Boitano

T-Boy Writer:

Tusk (1979) – Fleetwood Mac

The island for listening: Elephant island, Antarctica

Allan Smith

T-Boy Writer & Photographer:

• Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (1977)
  Joni Mitchell
• Blonde on Blonde (1966)
  Bob Dylan
• Rubber Soul (UK) (1965)
  The Beatles
• The Nine Symphonies (1963)
  Ludwig von Beethoven, Herbert von Karajan, conductor
• Legend (The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers) (1984)
  Bob Marley & The Wailers

Emperor of Oldies

Musicologist:

• Sticky Fingers (1971)
  The Rolling Stones
• Bridge Over Troubled Water (1967)
  Simon & Garfunkel
• Help! (Capitol Records ) (1965)
  The Beatles
• Rubber Soul (Capitol Records ) (1965)
  The Beatles
• Sweet Baby James (1969)
  James Taylor

Honorable Mention (could be in my top five on any given day)

Every Picture Tells A Story/Rod Stewart * Who’s Next/The Who * Tommy/The Who * Four Way Street/Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young * Aqualung/Jethro Troll * Abbey Road/The Beatles * Get Yer Ya Yas Out/The Rolling Stones/ Harvest/Neil Young * Déjà Vu/Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young * Desperado/The Eagles * 461 Ocean Blvd/Eric Clapton * Blind Faith/Blind Faith * Greatest Hits/Linda Ronstadt * All Things Must Pass/George Harrison * Band on the Run/Paul McCartney And Wings

Jay Boggs

Historian & Musicologist:

• Electric Ladyland (1968)
  The Jimi Hendrix Experience
• Beggars Banquet (1968)
  The Rolling Stones
• Blues from Laurel Canyon (1968)
  John Mayall
• American Beauty (1970)
  The Grateful Dead
• Natty Dread (1974)
  Bob Marley & The Wailers

Honorable Mention

Monkey Man/Toots and the Maytals * Studio One Presents Burning Spear/Burning Spear

Roy Endersby

Philosopher:

• Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
  Bob Dylan
• Bitches Brew (1970)
  Miles Davis
• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
  The Beatles
• Ladies of the Canyon (1970)
  Joni Mitchell
• A Love Supreme (1965)
  John Coltrane

Phil Marley

Montreal Poet:

• Beggars Banquet (1968)
  The Rolling Stones
• Are you Experienced? (1967)
  The Jimi Hendrix Experience
• Me Against the World (1995)
  2Pac
• Nevermind (1991)
  Nirvana
• Disraeli Gears (1967)
  Cream

Honorable Mention

Let it Bleed/The Rolling Stones/ * Who’s Next/The Who.* Ladies of the Canyon/Joni Mitchell * After the Goldrush/Neil Young * Strange Days/The Doors

Brent Campbell

T-Boy Writer & Musician:

• Modern Sounds of Country and Western Music (1962)
  Ray Charles
• Mingus Ah Um (1962)
  Charles Mingus
• Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. (1986)
  Dwight Yoakam
• Blood on the Tracks (1975 )
  Bob Dylan
• Made in USA (1986)
  The Beach Boys

Honorable Mention

Old 97s/Fight Songs * Pleased to Meet Me/The Replacements * Twisted/Del Amitri * #1 Record/Big Star * Time Traveller/The Moody Blues

Deb Roskamp

T-Boy Photographer:

• Bridge Over Troubled Water (1967)
  Simon & Garfunkel
• Peter, Paul and Mary (1962)
  Peter, Paul and Mary
• Moondance (1970)
  Van Morrison
• Canciones de Mi Padre (1987)
  Linda Ronstadt
• A Night at the Opera (1975)
  Queen

Raoul Pascual

T-Boy Writer & Illustrator:

• Sweet Baby James (1969)
  James Taylor
• All ‘N All (1977)
  Earth, Wind & Fire
• A Christmas Album (1983)
  Amy Grant
• A Chorus Line (1975)
  Original Broadway Cast Recording
• Thriller (1982)
  Michael Jackson

Ed Boitano

T-Boy Editor:

• Revolver (UK) (1966)
  The Beatles
  Sticky Fingers (1971)
  The Rolling Stones
• Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
  Bob Dylan
• Hejira (1976)
  Joni Mitchell
• London Calling (1979)
  The Clash

Honorable Mention

Darkness on the Edge of Town/Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band * The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust/David Bowie * Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols/Sex Pistols * Ladies of the Canyon/Joni Mitchell * Beggars Banquet/The Rolling Stones * Blonde on Blonde/Bob Dylan * Songs of Leonard Cohen/Leonard Cohen * Patti Smith/Land * Disraeli Gears/Cream

Top 10 albums selected

1. Beggars Banquet (1968)
   The Rolling Stones
2. Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
   Bob Dylan
3. Bridge Over Troubled Water (1967)
   Simon & Garfunkel
4. Sticky Fingers (1971)
   The Rolling Stones
5. Kind of Blue (1959)
   Miles Davis
6. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
   The Beatles
7. Moondance (1970)
   Van Morrison
8. Sweet Baby James (1969)
   James Taylor
9. A Love Supreme (1965)
   John Coltrane
10. Rubber Soul (UK) (1965)
    The Beatles

In order, Bands & Artists most frequently listed in the Top Five

• The Beatles
• Bob Dylan
• The Rolling Stones
• Miles Davis
• Joni Mitchell
• John Coltrane
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience
• James Taylor
• Van Morrison
• Simon & Garfunkel
• Prince
• Ray Charles

The post Five Favorite Albums of All-Time appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The members huddled around their laptops in the 17 rounds of voting. Points were given to songs on a sliding scale of ten, with extra points for songs appearing on multiple lists. Was it scientific? Not one bit. –  T-Boy Society of Film & Music

1. The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles

From the Album: Let It Be
B Side: For You Blue
Released: May 1970
Recorded: January 1969 and April 1970
Studio: Apple and EMI, London
Label: Apple
Songwriters: John Lennon – Paul McCartney
Producer: Phil Spector

The Long and Winding Road was initially recorded (and filmed) for the Beatles’ 1969 Let It Be sessions. The album was finished, but record producer Phil Spector, known for his Wall Of Sound, was called in by Lennon to tidy up some of the tracks. And tidy he did:  overdubbing the song with eight violins, four violas, four cellos, three trumpets, three trombones, two guitars, and a choir of 14 women. McCartney was appalled by the version  and protested in vain. Never-the-less, The Long and Winding Road became the Beatles 20th and last US #1 song on June 13, 1970.

After much legal jousting, a new version of the song with simpler instrumentation was subsequently released by McCartney and the remaining Beatles in 2003 on the LP, Let It Be… Naked.

Listen to The Long and Winding Road (Naked Version/Remastered 2013)

2. Take it Easy – The Eagles

From the Album: Eagles
B Side: Get You in the Mood
Released: May 1, 1972
Studio: Olympic Sound Studios, London
Label: Asylum
Songwriters: Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey
Producer: Glyn Johns

The Eagles’ co-founder Glenn Frey, and fellow country-folk rocker Jackson Browne, had once lived in the same apartment building in Santa Monica, CA. Frey recalled having heard an incomplete version of a song which Browne was having difficulties finishing. Frey asked if he could work with him on the song, resulting in the 1971 song, Take It Easy. The song became the first track on the Eagles’ self-titled debut album and was released as their first single, which propelled them to stardom. Browne also recorded his version of Take It Easy on his second LP, 1973’s For Everyman.

Listen to the Eagles’ Take It Easy

Listen to Jackson Browne’s Take It Easy

3. Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen

From the Album: Born to Run
Released: August 25, 1975
Recorded: July 16, 1975 (completed) at the Record Plant, New York City
Label: Columbia
Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen
Producers: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Mike Appel

Bruce Springsteen said he envisioned the LP Born to Run as a series of vignettes, following its character throughout the day, with Thunder Road serving as an “invitation” to the album and opening with a harmonica that suggests the beginning of a “new day.” In 1975, music critic Jon Landau joined the album’s production team, marking the start of a life-long professional relationship with  Springsteen. Current manager Mike Appel fiercely resented Landau’s influence. Springsteen had grown tired of Appel’s dictatorial control, and sought to replace him with Landau. Appel filed a lawsuit that kept Springsteen from recording for three years. The lawsuit was eventually settled, but it was a frustrating period for Springsteen and his fans with the lack of new recordings.

Listen to Springsteen’s Thunder Road live

4. America – Simon & Garfunkel

From the Album: Bookends
Released: April 3, 1968
Recorded: February 1, 1968 at Columbia Studio A, New York City
Studio: Columbia Studio A, New York City
Label: Columbia
Songwriter: Paul Simon
Producer: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee

America is a track from Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album, 1968’s Bookends, which is influenced by the Beatles’ stunning innovations in the studio. The song was composed by Paul Simon, and concerns young lovers hitchhiking their way across the United States, in search of “America,” in both a literal and figurative sense. It was inspired by a 1964 road trip that Simon took with his then girlfriend Kathy Chitty. The song is regarded as one of Simon’s strongest songwriting efforts and one of the duo’s best songs.

Listen to Simon & Garfunkel’s America

5. King of the Road – Roger Miller

From the Album: The Return of Roger Miller
B Side: Atta Boy Girl
Released: January 1965
Recorded: November 1964
Label: Smash
Songwriter: Roger Miller
Producer: Jerry Kennedy

Roger Miller was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country and pop hits from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era. King of the Road is a song written and originally recorded in November 1964. The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a vagabond who, despite being poor, revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously or cynically as the king of the road.

Listen to Roger Miller’s King of the Road

6. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen

From the Album: Born to Run
B Side: Meeting Across the River
Released: August 25, 1975
Recorded: January 8, 1974 (first take); May 21, 1974 (first demo); August 6, 1974
Studio: 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York
Label: Columbia
Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen
Producer: Bruce Springsteen, Mike Appel, Jon Landau

Born to Run was Bruce Springsteen’s first worldwide album release, and the title song of his album, Born to Run. In late 1973, on the road in Tennessee, Springsteen awoke with the title Born to Run in his head. Written in the first person, the song is a love letter to a girl named Wendy, for whom the hot rod-riding protagonist seems to love. However, Springsteen has noted that the song has a much simpler core: getting out of Freehold, New Jersey. U.S. Route 9 is a highway passing through Freehold.

Listen to Springsteen’s Born to Run

7. Hit the Road, Jack – Ray Charles

B Side: The Danger Zone
Released: June 1961
Label: ABC-Paramount
Songwriter: Percy Mayfield

Ray Charles Robinson pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into his songs. His innovations continued during the 1960s with  the integration of country music, rhythm and blues and pop music, leading to crossover success. Hit the Road, Jack is a song written by Percy Mayfield and first recorded in 1960 as an a cappella demo sent to Art Rupe. It became famous after it was recorded by Ray Charles with The Raelettes’ vocalist Margie Hendrix, and eventually became one of his signature songs. Hit the road is an idiom: A person could say, Everyone into the car; let’s hit the road!

Listen to Ray Charles’ version of Hit the Road, Jack

8. Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver

Released: April 12, 1971
Recorded: January 1971, New York City
Label: RCA
Songwriters: Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, John Denver
Producer: Milton Okun, Susan Ruskin

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., known professionally as John Denver, was a singer-songwriter, actor, activist and humanitarian. In 1970, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert co-wrote a song called I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado, which they recommended to Colorado transplant, John Denver. Denver chimed in as the third writer, and the result was Take Me Home, Country Roads. Danoff had never been to West Virginia before co-writing the song, with its inspiration stemming from a drive to Montgomery County, Maryland. He considered using Massachusetts rather than West Virginia as both four-syllable names would have fit the song’s meter. Take Me Home, Country Roads is now the official state song of West Virginia.

Listen to John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads

9. Refuge of the Roads – Joni Mitchell

From the Album: Hejira
Released: November 1976
Recorded: 1976
Studio: A&M Studios, Hollywood
Label: Asylum
Songwriter: Joni Mitchell
Producer: Joni Mitchell

Refuge of the Roads was written about a three-day visit that Joni Mitchell had made to the controversial Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa in Colorado on her way to Los Angeles. According to Mitchell, it was during this visit in early 1976 that Trungpa cured her of her own cocaine addiction. She would later say that this track was one of her own favorite songs, partially due to her collaboration with jazz virtuoso bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius. Refuge of the Roads closes the album Hejira, whose experimental sound is still considered ahead of its time today.

Listen to Joni Mitchell’s Refuge of the Roads

10. Sweet Baby James – James Taylor

Released: February 1970
Recorded: December 1969
Studio: Sunset Sound, Los Angeles
Label: Warner Bros.
Songwriter: James Taylor
Producer: Peter Asher

Sweet Baby James is a song written and recorded by James Taylor that serves as the opening and title track from his 1970 breakthrough album, Sweet Baby James. It is one of his best-known and most popular tunes, considered a classic and his own favorite of his songs. It was written by Taylor for the son of his older musician brother, Alex, who was named James after him  The song is composed as a waltz, in 3/4 time, a cross between a cowboy song and a lullaby, conceived by Taylor as he was driving through North Carolina to meet his  infant nephew for the first time.

Listen to James Taylor’s Sweet Baby James

#11-20 Top Road Songs    Selected lists of T-Boy Society of Film & Music Members

The post The T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s Top 20 Songs of the Road appeared first on Traveling Archive.