The Friday Five: Songs with “White” In The Title

The Friday Five 2 Minutes

I’ve been trying to remember if I’ve ever done songs with “white” in the title for a Friday Five or at any other time, and I can’t. I know I’ve done red, blue, black, and green, but can’t remember what other colors I’ve done. Oh well, guess I have to get that list built. Anyone know how to get a text list of all the blog posts out of WordPress.com? I know I could probably install WordPress on a server at home, restore a backup of the blog on it, and get the list that way, I’m just trying to avoid that. I’m thinking maybe there isn’t any other way. Oh well… Anyway, here are five songs with “white” in the title for your Friday.

A Whiter Shade of Pale – Procol Harum This was Procol Harum’s first single. Released in the UK in May 1967, it reached #1 within a month and stayed there for six weeks. In the US, it reached #5 without too much promotion, and was an anthem for the “Summer Of Love.”

White Christmas – Bing Crosby Just a reminder that we have just 128 days until Christmas. This is from the 1942 movie Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Marjorie Reynolds (whose singing voice was dubbed by Martha Mears). There’s just something about Bing playing the bells with the stem of his pipe that cracks me up.

White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane A song by Grace Slick, who wrote it before her days with Jefferson Airplane. Another song from the Summer of Love, this appeared on their first album, 1967’s Surrealistic Pillow. It peaked at #8 on the Hot 100. If you ever see the Blue Man Group in concert, there’s a good chance you’ll end up singing it.

Nights in White Satin – The Moody Blues From their 1967 album Days of Future Passed, it was released as a single that year and reached #19. It was re-released in 1972 and rose to #2 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Cash Box survey. Immediately after this on the album is “Late Lament,” a poem† that was used at signoff on WDAI in Chicago in the early Seventies, and probably on other stations at the same time.

Black and White – Three Dog Night A song originally written to celebrate the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, Three Dog Night turned it into a #1 hit in the late summer 1972.

So there are five songs with “white” in the title. Let’s see which ones you come up with, and I’ll play your choices next week.

† “Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room.
Bedsitter people look back and lament,
Another day’s useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,
Lonely man cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son,
Senior citizens wish they were young.
Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colours from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white.
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?”

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

Published

14 thoughts on “The Friday Five: Songs with “White” In The Title”

  1. Pingback: The Hot And Humid Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  3. A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation) – Was just watching a commercial on public television for CD’s of 1950’s songs and saw this one listed. Forgot who recorded the popular version.

    Like

  4. Black or White by Michael Jackson. The video had that cool headshot transition montage at the end that looks holds up 25 years later.

    Like

  5. How about the “White Cliffs of Dover”… or “Little White Lies”… or A White Sports Coat and a Pink Carnation? Of all the ones mentioned, “Knights in White Satin” and “Whiter Shade of Pale” would have to be my favorite picks.

    Like

  6. I love when you do these, because I get to listen while I read other blogs 🙂 This is a particularly good batch. (Although, I skipped Christmas, because I have rules.) So for me, in this group, it’s “Nights in White Satin” because that is a forever favorite, with a second place award to Jefferson Airplane 🙂
    How about “White Flag” by Dido? OH! and “In the white room with black curtains in the station” and DRUMS!

    Like

    1. Cream was an interesting band. You had Clapton, who was already a veteran of The Yardbirds and becoming a great session guitarist; Jack Bruce, possibly one of the most intelligent bass players of all time, who based his bass lines on Bach; and Ginger Baker, who just loved to bang on the drums. I figured someone would pick that one up right away…

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Other than the country classic “White Lightning” I’m coming up empty. I very quickly came up with four of these, but beyond that, I got nothin’ This is a great list though. All five are winners in my book.

    Like

  8. My friend’s daughter is getting married today so what comes to my mind is “Its A Nice Day for a White Wedding”…..

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.