What’s Your Favourite Song?

What’s Your Favourite Song?

I have the ultimate BBQ or family debate for you, sparked by Rolling Stone Magazine releasing the updated list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. There are some massive updates since the list was last released 17 years ago.

I know. It’s a mental minefield to ask what THE greatest song of all time is considering we all have passions from pop to punk music. It is a topic close to my heart given I have worked at a radio station for the past twenty years and I am lucky enough to listen to great music every day.

Don’t get me wrong. I am also subjected to terrible music. Yes, I do refer to anything performed by Michael Bolton and his bad hair styles. Our family have devoured this question of the best song of all time and spent the holidays debating it. My seven-year-old thinks the best song of all time is ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles. My ten- year- old daughter says it is ‘Straight Lines’ by Silverchair. And my eight-year- old son says it is ‘Believer’ by Imagine Dragons. My husband chimed in with “anything by the Foo Fighters”. All solid and worthy choices.

As for me. Well. I am a sucker for ‘Days Like This’ by Van Morrison’. The new cover of it by Busby Marou is my song for Summer. I dare you not to find yourself singing it after you listen to it. But I am also going to throw in a nomination for ‘Halleluiah’ by Jeff Buckley which did not even make the list this time around.

Okay, so I can only fit in the top 3 songs from the new list, but it’s worth a google to flick through all 500 songs. Number one on the list is ‘Respect’ by Aretha Franklin. ‘Respect’ was written and release by Otis Redding two years before the Queen of Soul gave it her magic and re-arranged it into her signature song. Can a cover be the greatest song of all time? I am fence sitting with this one.

Public Enemy’s ‘Fight The Power’ is second on the list and Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ is third. Feeling old the same as me? Half the songs on the list were not there before and there is more hip-hop, Latin pop, country jams, and R & B the latest list.

What do you think is the greatest song of all time? Let the Hunger Games begin in your family!