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Song of the Day #6,533: ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ – Willie Nelson

Three artists on the New York Times ’30 Greatest Living American Songwriters’ list came close to making my own list, but I reconsidered including them.

One is Stevie Wonder, who is without question a musical genius and one of the most iconic and celebrated American songwriters and performers in history. If I were compiling some sort of “objective” list of the greats, he would be on it.

But as much as I recognize Wonder’s talent, and really enjoy some of his albums and songs, he’s never been a favorite. And I decided my list should reflect my specific passions, for better or worse.

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Song of the Day #6,532: ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me’ – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

The New York Times recently published a list of The ‘30 Greatest Living American Songwriters,’ compiled by polling more than 250 artists and experts and filtering the results through a panel of NYT critics.

Like all pop culture lists, this one generated a ton of controversy. Outrage over who was omitted, eye-rolling over who was included. Reminders that absent artists like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Drake are actually Canadian.

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Song of the Day #6,531: ‘On My Own’ – Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald

A pair of divas topped the Billboard Hot 100 the week of May 24, 1986: Whitney Houston with ‘Greatest Love of All‘ and Madonna with ‘Live to Tell.’ Alas, I’ve already written about both.

That brings us to #3, where we find another diva teaming up with one of the great soul singers. Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald’s ‘On My Own’ eventually spent three weeks at #1 and became the biggest hit for either artist.

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Song of the Day #6,530: ‘Love Hangover’ – Diana Ross

Throwing back to the week of May 23, 1976, we find Diana Ross atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Love Hangover,’ the third single from her self-titled soul album released in February of that year.

The first single, which also reached #1, was ‘Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To),’ a Best Song Oscar nominee the previous year.

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Song of the Day #6,529: ‘Coyote’ – Kacey Musgraves

My final new release of the week is an album that came out at the beginning of the month: Kacey Musgraves’ seventh album, Middle of Nowhere.

I’m a bit shocked that Musgraves already has seven albums under her belt, even if the number is padded a bit by a Christmas release. I’m a big fan of her debut, 2013’s Same Trailer Different Park, and her Album of the Year-winning fourth album, 2018’s Golden Hour, but haven’t found much time for the rest.

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