Top Fifty - Helter Skelter

As I sit here listening to the current crop of American Idol wannabes violently ass rape the entire Beatles catalog, it has occurred to me to pay tribute to my very favorite Fab Four song, Helter Skelter.



According to the almighty Songfacts, Paul McCartney wanted to write the "loudest, nastiest, sweatiest rock number we could" after reading a Pete Townshend interview describing a Who track (possibly "I Can See For Miles") as "The most raucous rock 'n' roll, the dirtiest thing they'd ever done." This was the result.



The song is named after a slide at a British amusement park. The first line is a joke about this: "When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide, where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride."



For the album version, recorded September 9, 1968, 21 takes of approximately 5 minutes each were recorded, and the last one is featured on the official LP. Poor Ringo's hands hurt so badly from all the drumming, he famously yelled out at the end of the last take, "I've got blisters on my fingers!"



I love all versions of Beatles - from happy, poppy Beatles to psychedelic sitar Beatles, but nothing gets me going more than the dirty lowdown Beatles that growled and riffed through Helter Skelter.

Top Fifty - Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)

We will now take a journey back to the late 60s, when Kenny Rogers was a member of the country folk band The First Edition but before he was the booze soaked, plastic surgery addicted Rotisserie King we all know and love. As always, when choosing my Top Fifty Favorite Songs, I opted for one song per artist. I have always worshiped Kenny, so this was an extremely difficult task. When he gets it right he can tell amazing stories ("Lucille", "Coward of the County", "The Gambler"). However, I will admit that when he gets it wrong, he sucks big hairy donkey balls ("Islands in the Mother Fucking Stream").

I've always liked "Just Dropped In" but its inclusion in the almighty "The Big Lebowski" officially sealed the deal. Now when I hear the song I have the urge to put on a ratty bathrobe, drink a Caucasian and go bowling. The Dude abides.

The original acid trip version:


The Lebowski acid trip version:

Top Fifty - Try a Little Tenderness

I would like to direct your attention to the section titled "My Top Fifty Favorite Songs" on the left column of your screen. Go ahead, read it. I'll wait until you've finished. *tapping fingers impatiently* Ok, so you should now be caught up to speed. Let's begin, children.

For my first selection, I'm going to go with a little Otis Redding. Ah, Otis. That man's voice is good for the soul, I tell you. Tragically, he was taken from us too soon, but he left behind some spectacular music. One of my self-imposed rules of the Top Fifty was that each artist could only be represented once. Therefore, I had to choose from many of my favorite Otis songs, such as "I've Been Loving You Too Long", "Hard to Handle", "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and "Respect". I picked "Try a Little Tenderness" because it goes from a slow, soulful beginning to an all out, hand clapping, foot stomping ending. As they say here in south Georgia, where Otis was born and where I now live, that brother took it to church. Sit back and enjoy Otis at his best:



Being a woman of a certain age, I would be remiss if I did not bring up one of the song's most memorable cinematic appearances. How could you not love Jon Cryer as Duckie in "Pretty in Pink", lip syncing, dancing and air humping like nobody's damn business?



I absolutely adore the Paul Giamatti and Andre Braugher version from the steaming pile of elephant dung known as the movie "Duets". I love Giamatti long time, baby. He rocks me sideways.



You can find the Songfacts for the song here and the Artistfacts for Otis here. There you have it, folks. I think we're off to a beautiful start.