Phil Maq

For as long as I’ve been on the radio, and definitely for as long as I’ve been writing a blog, I will occasionally make a reference to a song being “One of the Greatest Songs Ever Recorded!” (GSER)

I would usually follow that by saying that I would eventually start a category for it, but then never get around to it.

Well, now I’m getting around to it!

My radio show, “Theme Attic,”  is on Wednesdays 12PM-4PM ET.

The show can be heard on WHFR 89.3 FM in the Dearborn-Detroit area of Michigan, or it can be streamed with this link: https://www.whfr.fm/streamer/!

The Greatest Songs will pretty much follow the pattern of The Most Awesomest Song of the Day.

I’ll select a song to celebrate and then give my thoughts about it. Nothing really brand new here that hasn’t been done before. But since I have a website, I can collect them and lay out what my own greatest songs are.

Here’s a link to have a look at “The Greatest Songs Ever Recorded”: https://philmaq.com/the-greatest-songs-ever-recorded/! Occasionally, an “awesome song” crosses over to become a “Greatest Song!”

Even though I always emphasize new music and artists, it’s always fun to take a short drive through the legendary artists, since they influenced those other artists!

But a song doesn’t have to be old or done by a legendary Theme Attic Hall of Fame member to be thus honored.

I can think of several songs that are only a few years old or less that I could identify as One of the Greatest Songs Ever Recorded.

This will be fun, and hopefully you will join me on my journey!

If you like what you see, don’t forget to spread the word by hitting the “like” button on my Facebook page, Phil Maq!

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Whichever way one wants to carve up Elvis Presley’s recorded catalog of music, the totals are something like 57 or so studio albums, 20 plus movie soundtrack albums, and many live albums and so many assorted great hits and collections that the total is conservatively north of 100 to 125.

Within a span of approximately 23 years, Elvis released a mountain of recorded material!

If we presume that most Elvis fans have heard the soundtracks because they saw the movies, or at least most of them, the average Presley fan has listened to–just counting the recorded film songs, about 25% of his music.

Throw in all of the hits that have played for many years on oldies stations, toss in some of the live albums from TV specials, and maybe that average listener likes Gospel music, so there’s a bit more to add to a listening total.

In this area, and let’s be wildly optimistic about how much an average person may have listened to Elvis music, maybe that person has listened to 50% of the output.

Then there’s at least another three hundred songs they haven’t listened to!

That’s a lot of music to explore and not have heard from one of the Greatest Ever Recording Artist!

That’s the conclusion I arrived at, so I have started to spend some time passing through Presley’s catalog.

I intend to occasionally draw some attention to some relatively overlooked songs.

And because they are Elvis songs, most will into my category of the Greatest Songs Ever Recorded!

Today’s Elvis Presley selection is from a 1961 album called “Something for Everybody.”

Now, that’s a generic title if I ever heard one!

The album, which consists of twelve country/pop up tempo tunes and ballads, starts off with an incredible song, “There’s Always Me!”

Elvis, sings one of his finest vocal performances that only someone like he can deliver!

Along with Floyd Cramer on piano who goes right along with him, Presley starts “There’s Always Me” almost at a whisper.

It’s a beautiful torch song where Elvis wants his love interest to know that he is waiting for her, by finishing the song after a gradual crescendo throughout, with an almost operatic full throated fortissimo that includes Cramer hammering away on the keys!

I get chills almost every time I listen to the song, and it is too good to be forgotten!

One of the Greatest Songs Ever Recorded: “There’s Always Me” by Elvis Presley!!!

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I have plenty of other musical areas to explore:

Here’s a link for my weekly list of Fave Songs:

https://philmaq.com/phils-lists/phils-faves-songs!

Here’s a link for my weekly Fave Album lists:
philmaq.com/phils-lists/phils-faves-albums

My somewhat unusual Hall of Fame can be explored here: https://philmaq.com/hall-of-fame/!

Lastly, but most importantly, is my Philby Awards link! A Philby is my annual award for outstanding musical achievement! https://philmaq.com/philbys/!

For as long as I’ve been on the radio, and definitely for as long as I’ve been writing a blog, I will occasionally make a reference to a song being “One of the Greatest Songs Ever Recorded!” (GSER)

I would usually follow that by saying that I would eventually start a category for it, but then never get around to it.

Well, now I’m getting around to it!

My radio show, “Theme Attic,”  is on Wednesdays 12PM-4PM ET.

The show can be heard on WHFR 89.3 FM in the Dearborn-Detroit area of Michigan, or it can be streamed with this link: https://www.whfr.fm/streamer/!

The Greatest Songs will pretty much follow the pattern of The Most Awesomest Song of the Day.

I’ll select a song to celebrate and then give my thoughts about it. Nothing really brand new here that hasn’t been done before. But since I have a website, I can collect them and lay out what my own greatest songs are.

Here’s a link to have a look at “The Greatest Songs Ever Recorded”: https://philmaq.com/the-greatest-songs-ever-recorded/! Occasionally, an “awesome song” crosses over to become a “Greatest Song!”

Even though I always emphasize new music and artists, it’s always fun to take a short drive through the legendary artists, since they influenced those other artists!

But a song doesn’t have to be old or done by a legendary Theme Attic Hall of Fame member to be thus honored.

I can think of several songs that are only a few years old or less that I could identify as One of the Greatest Songs Ever Recorded.

This will be fun, and hopefully you will join me on my journey!

If you like what you see, don’t forget to spread the word by hitting the “like” button on my Facebook page, Phil Maq!

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To be honest–especially since honesty is part of the title of today’s selection, it took a while for me to warm up to Olivia Newton-John.

Depending upon how many of these Greatest Song posts you read, it’s possible that you might detect a pattern regarding some of my favorite artists, which usually include some of the world’s greatest artists.

Usually, the pattern goes something like this: an artist has a sizable following and for some unknown reason, I can’t hear why the artist is so big. It’s basically a “meh” response.

Such is the case of my initial reactions to Olivia Newton-John.

I’m guessing that the first thing I heard was “If Not for You,” the George Harrison cover song.

Although there isn’t anything that stands out as a reason not to like it, it was a fairly wimpy version of a song that I was wildly addicted to–Harrison’s version of the Bob Dylan song, and I still had another decent version of it by Bob himself.

Now, at the time, 1971 was a year after The Beatles breakup, and radio was splintering into other formats such as “Middle of the Road,” known as MOR to programmers.

As a young student who was still years away from high school but was familiar with many styles of music having been a listener to free form stations like WABX and WKNR for a couple of years, MOR was not a path I was interested in.

When Olivia‘s next single, “Let Me Be There,” came around in 1973, the separation in musical styles for radio listeners was even more acute.

To me, “Let Me Be There” was an even more annoying release because it sounded like an over produced Nashville song, the kind I abhorred at the time.

I remember reading a review of her early efforts, most likely from Rolling Stone magazine, that said something to the effect that Olivia Newton-John was the kind of artist that Nashville and its fans would not care for because she didn’t even have the right kind of hyphenated name.

That would all change by the next year.

Of course, it would also only be a few short years before I would look back at those early Newton-John songs with a fondness for their sweetness and simplicity!

I can’t swear when I first heard, “I Honestly Love You.” I’m sure it was probably in a car going somewhere.

I’m almost sure that I probably changed the station when it first came on.

And surely the second time, too.

And maybe even the third and fourth times.

But eventually, I encountered it enough to start to like it.

And it was quite an interesting song, with quite a pedigree!

“I Honestly Love You” was co written by Peter Allen, an over the top Australian Broadway type of performer who was once married to Liza Minelli, and American songwriter Jeff Barry.

Jeff Barry, who was known for songs that he co-wrote with Ellie Greenwich like “Then He Kissed Me,” “Da Doo Ron Ron,” and “Do Wah Diddy Diddy!”

Yes! That Jeff Barry!

I never knew that until I looked it up for this post.

Even before Olivia started singing, the tinkling notes of the piano intro along, with plucked harp notes and acoustic guitar together with a swirling string arrangement, was an attention getter as an opening!

The lyrics were of the traditional love song variety, but Olivia delivered it like she was only singing it for the first time and to each individual listener!

And, honestly, she was really only singing it to me! (Ha, ha!)

As the song became popular, Olivia began singing the song on TV shows.

Be still my heart!

Those beautiful eyes!

Her beautiful hair!

And sweet smile!

Above all of her “girl next door” if the girl next door was one of the most beautiful women you will ever encounter in your life!, was her warm wonderful voice!

And she sang the song with such…well, honesty and vulnerability!

Sigh!

If only I had seen her sing the song instead of just listening to it, I would have been onboard from the first note!

At the time, I really had a crush on Karen Carpenter of The Carpenters!

I immediately found out that someone could have a crush on more than one person, as I had to ask for Karen to move over and make room for Olivia!

And just like with Karen Carpenter, it was a crush I would hold from then on!

Also, I would have many more musical crushes throughout my life!

Anyway,  since Olivia’s TV appearance was what hooked me, I’ve included two videos of her from that time. I’m sure one of them was the first one I saw, but I’m not sure which.

I’ve also included an audio version in case you just want to close your eyes and remember her.

One of the Greatest Songs Ever Recorded is “I Honestly Love You” by Olivia

Newton-John!!!

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I have plenty of other musical areas to explore:

Here’s a link for my weekly list of Fave Songs:

https://philmaq.com/phils-lists/phils-faves-songs!

Here’s a link for my weekly Fave Album lists:
philmaq.com/phils-lists/phils-faves-albums

My somewhat unusual Hall of Fame can be explored here: https://philmaq.com/hall-of-fame/!

Lastly, but most importantly, is my Philby Awards link! A Philby is my annual award for outstanding musical achievement! https://philmaq.com/philbys/!