With the Thanksgiving holiday looming ahead, I've decided to go obvious and give thanks for great music with a playlist of 10 of my favorite songs expressing gratitude, whether it's for friendship, love, a great party or the gift of a fiber optic Jesus.
1. "Thank You for Being a Friend," Andrew Gold, All This and Heaven Too, (1978)
Gold's hit reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in '78, but the warm soft-rock number made pop culture history after it was shaved down to 46 seconds and recorded by singer Cynthia Fee for The Golden Girls. I watched a few hours of Golden Girls reruns on the Hallmark Channel recently and I let "Thank You for Being a Friend" — arguably the pinnacle of TV theme songs — play through every time. Yes, I watched six episodes in a row — so what? Golden Girls is '80s sitcom gold (no pun intended) and bad old-lady fashion aside, it holds up rather well over time. Thus, this shout out is dedicated to the song and the show.
2. "Thank You," Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II (1969)
Delicate swells of Hammond organ by John Paul Jones, the bright, full-bodied strumming of Jimmy Page on his Vox 12-string guitar, and Robert Plant's vocals serenading like a soft caress, then growing stronger with his passion — Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" is a flawless love song for a hard rockin' band, with poetic lyricism like, "And so today my world it smiles / your hand in mine, we walk the miles / Thanks to you it will be done / for you to me are the only one."
3. "Red Cave," Yeasayer, All Hour Cymbals (2007)
The NYC band doses their experimental psyche rock with heavy world textures and ascending choral harmonies, and "Red Cave" feels like a song of praise. Early into my acquaintance with a now-dear music-loving friend, he turned my husband and I onto Yeasayer and played "Red Cave" to convince us of their worthiness. He made doubly sure we paid attention to the touching lyrics about being blessed by the love of good friends and family, unwittingly revealing his soft heart and making us warm up to him all the faster.
4. "Glide," Phish, A Picture of Nectar (1992)
A simple and somewhat nonsensical ode of welcome and appreciation seemingly dedicated to Phish fans, "Glide" is an appropriate opener to a show, run of shows or a multi-day festival: "And we're glad glad glad that you're alive / And we're glad glad glad that you'll arrive / And we're glad glad glad glad glad glad glad / And we're glad glad glad that you're a glide." Rumor has it some Phishheads prefer to be called "glides," although I haven't met one yet.
5. "The Wind Beneath My Wings," Gary Morris (1983) and Bette Midler (1989)
Originally penned by Larry Henley and Jeff Silbar, the song reached No. 4 on the Billboard charts as a hit for country music artist Gary Morris in 1983, and No. 1 on the same charts six years later when it was re-imagined by Bette Midler for the 1989 drama, Beaches, her version also snagging her a pair of Grammys. While you may scoff at its inclusion in my list, think about the song for a moment — you not only know every word, but the exact moments when Bette hits her highest-powered notes. I do, and I'm not to ashamed to admit it. "The Wind Beneath My Wings" is a first-class sentimental standard and I can directly attribute its deep impact on my consciousness based on the numerous times I balled my eyes out to Beaches.
6. "Nonpareil of Favor," of Montreal, Skeletal Lamping (2008)
This untraditional love song expresses frontman Kevin Barnes' appreciation to the lover he thought he'd never find. "And I needed you to happen, yeah / And now that you've happened / And it really, really, really came true / I feel like I ought to thank somebody / So I'm going to thank you / Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you …"
7. "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," Sly and the Family Stone, Greatest Hits (1970)
The Family Stone's anthem of gratitude is straightforward funk with a solid bass-slapping groove and verses that reflect on the career of the multi-racial band while expressing the feelings of a whole generation of minorities and misfits transitioning from the turbulent '60s into the more promising (and tolerant) '70s.
8. "Your Party," Ween, La Cucaracha (2007)
The smooth rock ballad features guest musician David Sanborn on sexy sax and describes a night out at a fabulous party with "candy and spices and tricolored pastas," the refrain a note of thanks to the host: "We had the best time at your party / The wife and I thank you very much."
9. "Much Obliged," Umphrey's McGee, Songs for Older Women (1998)
I saw Chicago's six-piece prog jam rockers play this song five years ago at a sold-out show in Atlanta. The fire marshal rolled in after the first set to do a headcount, found the numbers too high, and told Umphrey's they couldn't continue unless 100 people cleared out. So the discomfited band took the stage and asked for volunteers. Eventually, the band returned for their second set, and ironically, dedicated "Much Obliged" — about being grateful for making a living as musicians — to the excess people who'd been forced to leave.
10. "Thank You Jack White (For The Fiber-Optic Jesus That You Gave Me)" The Flaming Lips, Fight Test (2002)
In this acoustic roots ditty, Wayne Coyne's sweet warble relates a funny little tale about being backstage in Detroit while on tour with Beck, and running into Jack White, who gives him a wonderful statue, "And I said, 'Thank you Jack White for the fiber-optic Jesus that you gave me.' / It shines so bright that I couldn't help believing it would save me."
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2009.