Andyland, USA

“Walk On By” by Dionne Warwick: Burt Bacharach and Hal David are two of the giants of American songwriting. They have a place right up there with the best of the best of American writers. I'd go as far as to say they're the Gershwins of the rock and roll era. “Walk On By” is quintessential Bacharach and David, everything that makes them so lauded can be found in this song. The arrangement, the sound of the record, it's all here.  “My World Fell Down” By Sagittarius: If someone played this for you with no context, you'd think it was a “Good Vibrations” era Beach Boys outtake. There's good reason why you'd think that, Sagittarius wasn't an actual band, it was a studio group put together by producer Gary Usher (who co-wrote a few songs with Brian Wilson, including “In My Room). The group was backed by The Wrecking Crew, and featured Terry Melcher, actual Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, and a lead vocal performed by—wait for it—Glenn Campbell (who was act...

Here it is universe, the 100 songs I feel everyone should hear before they die. I went with my gut, and only allowed myself one song per artist. Not always going with the obvious choices either. I'll be explaining why these songs over the next few months in my column. To make everyone happy, and for those who wish to follow along, I've made the list as a Spotify playlist. The only caveat is the Spotify list is missing two songs, due to the limitations of their catalog (Sledgehammer & Ticket to Ride). Link to it is below the list. Enjoy! Note: this list is in no particular order, even though it is numbered. Walk On By - Dionne Warwick My World Fell Down — Sagittarius  God Only Knows — The Beach Boys The Boulevard of Broken Dreams— Tony Bennett One for my Baby — Frank Sinatra Lush Life — John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman Good Golly Miss Molly — Little Richard Johnny B. Goode — Chuck Berry Bo Diddley — Bo Diddley Rave On — Buddy Holly Rumble — Link Wray I’m ...