K-Chuck Radio: Ten Songs that Broke My Heart

This is bad.  That song should not have been on my driving CD.

Here’s the background.  Because I haven’t wired up my iPod yet to my Saturn Ion Cardachrome, I’ve been burning homemade CD’s through iTunes, and grouping them with themes like “Maple Leaf Rock” (all-Canadian rock and roll), “WHCL” (music from my college radio days), and “The Armor-Plated Heart” (a collection of mellow ballads and wistful songs).

I hadn’t put “The Armor-Plated Heart” CD in the car stereo in a while, and as the disc cycled through my collection of 70’s ballads from Ambrosia and Dan Fogelberg and the Eagles, it started playing an obscure track by Rickie Lee Jones.  The song was called “Rainbow Sleeves,” it was from her mini-album Girl At Her Volcano, and was one of those Tom Waits songs that sound fantastic as long as Tom Waits isn’t singing on it.

And when I heard it, it just brought back some very painful memories, memories of loved ones that are no longer in my life.  I was already at my destination; I parked the car – and didn’t turn off the car until the song had ended.

And I thought about it.  All the music I listened to over the years, and all the times that my life has been upheaved, it’s always been music that’s kept me balanced.  Rock and roll to energize me.  A good dose of metal when I’m frustrated.  Some nice R&B to keep me athletic.

It’s these other songs – the ones that are the most poignant in my music collection – that, if I’m not prepared to hear them, will get me every single time.

Songs like these.

RICKIE LEE JONES Rainbow Sleeves Written by Tom Waits. I don’t know if it’s her voice, or the piano playing, or the swelling strings, but it still hurts every time I hear it.
WENDY MATTHEWS The Day You Went Away This song just keeps pulling and pulling at my emotions. Listening to it makes you really feel like you’re alone and need someone – anyone – with a dry shoulder to cry on. Fantastic song.
LAURIE ALLYN Take Me In Your Arms What a sad story. Laurie Allyn was a Chicago cabaret singer in the 1950’s, and this song was from her first album. One week after the album was completed, the record company folded. The tracks would not be released to the public until nearly 50 years later, after she passed away. What a fantastic voice. It’s a shame we’ll never hear a follow-up from her.
DAN FOGELBERG Hard to Say This song has always been one of my favorite songs from this fantastic singer-songwriter. It’s not evident in this video, but Don Henley of the Eagles makes a cameo appearance on the original track.
THE EAGLES Ol’ 55 This is another Tom Waits song that sounds better when someone else sings it – in this case, the Eagles. I only discovered this song when I flipped over one of my old 45’s – and I never flipped it back.
DRAGON Cool Down If you want a good reason why I heart this Oz/Kiwi rock band, listen to this track. You’ll heart them too.
THE VOGUES Turn Around, Look At Me Think about this for a second. Four young men from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania climb the pop charts with a vocal harmony hits in the 1960’s, battling the Beatles and the Rolling Stones for the top of the pop charts. And with this track, they sold a million copies and received a gold record. Awesome.
DAVID SYLVAIN AND RYUICHI SAKAMOTO Forbidden Colours This was the love theme from the David Bowie film “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” and I was supposed to see this film in New York City with a special person. She never made it to New York. I’ve had several opportunities to see this film since then, and I just can’t bring myself to watch it.
THE BEE GEES First of May You’re probably not familiar with this track. It was one of their earliest songs, a worldwide hit before the Bee Gees’ songs ever got airplay in America.
FRED PARRIS AND THE FIVE SATINS In the Still of the Nite One of the sweetest doo-wop songs of all time, I used to play this record as my final song of the shift when I was a DJ at Schenectady’s 3WD radio station.