The Friday 5×2: Your Autumn Songs

The Friday Five 2 Minutes

You all managed to come up with ten songs about Autumn to go along with the ten I did on Monday, and I’m sure that you’ll come up with even more after we finish here. Here’s your list.

  1. Guns ‘n Roses, “November Rain” My brother Patrick came up with this suggestion, and apologized that it’s a long one. G n’ R released this in 1992 from their Use Your Illusion I album. It climbed all the way to #3 on the Hot 100, making it the longest song ever to break the Top Ten.
  2. Gordon Lightfoot, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” Ed Thierbach had several suggestions for this list. I was always under the impression that the event this song remembers happened a hundred years ago, but it happened in November 1975. Almost exactly a year later, this song reached #1 in Canada, #1 on the Cash Box survey, and #2 (behind Rod Stewart’s “Tonight’s The Night”) on the Hot 100.
  3. Neil Diamond, “September Morn” Another one from Ed. Since they won’t be playing Neil’s “Sweet Caroline” at Red Sox games until next spring, it’s oddly appropriate. It was the title track from Neil’s 1979 album, and his 30th Top 40 single, reaching #17 on the Hot 100, #14 on the Cash Box survey, #7 on the Record World survey, and #1 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.
  4. Jerry Orbach, “Try To Remember” Sandi gave me this suggestion and the next. This is from the 1960 musical The Fantasticks and is sung by the man who first sang it on Broadway, who many of you know as Det. Lenny Briscoe from Law & Order. I like this the best of any version of it.
  5. Robert Goulet, “If Ever I Would Leave You” Sandi’s second suggestion is from the 1960 musical Camelot, written by Lerner & Loewe. Robert Goulet is the first to sing it on Broadway, another man with a fantastic voice.
  6. Justin Hayward, “Forever Autumn” Eugenia thought of this. The song was written by Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass and was part of Wayne’s musical Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds.
  7. Basil Poledouris, “Hymn To Red October” Ed came up with this. It was part of the soundtrack for the 1990 film The Hunt For Red October.
  8. Sonny Boy Williamson II, “November Boogie” This was from Dan Antion, who said a blind man who was at his father’s bowling alley heard Dan’s birthday was in November and started playing this one. It was on a 1966 EP with several other songs.
  9. Vivaldi, “Autumn” Birgit went classical on us and took this from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. It full name is Concerto No. 3 in F Major, Opus 8, RV 293, “L’Autunno.”
  10. Green Day, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” 15 And Meowing thought of this one, which I wouldn’t have. It was released in 2005 as the fourth single from their 2004 album American Idiot, rose to #6 on the Hot 100, and has been certified platinum.

Thanks to everyone who suggested songs. That’s the Friday 5×2 for October 13, 2017.

Published by John Holton

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

Published

24 thoughts on “The Friday 5×2: Your Autumn Songs”

  1. This was an interesting post with good commentary. I believe you’re the one who originally showed me Orbach as a singer.
    The orchestral piece is gorgeous. Really excellent additions here.
    Sorry I’ve been so late with the music posts, but as you know, I like to listen to them — the girls have been home for nine days, so I haven’t had my quiet room 😉 I will catch up soon 🙂

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  2. Pingback: The Halfway-Thru-October Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  3. Thanks for choosing my Autumn pick which I love and yes, all classical. I love the other picks especially Jerry Orbach singing! Oh and yes, always The Moody Blues

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    1. I was reading up about the Moody Blues tune, and appartently that wasn’t originally the full band, just Justin Hayward, but it sort of became a Moody’s song. The things you learn in this job…

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  5. Autumn… the wind blows, colder than summer.
    Autumn… my love’s gone with another.
    Can’t demand anything of myself
    So I guess I’ll stay here in New England
    For autumn.

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    2. A college roommate and one of three guitarists in All You Can Eat, Mark Tate, turned me on to this tune. It’s sung by bass player Dan Hartman, from the album They Only Come Out at Night. Frankenstein and Free Ride were the big hits from that album.

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  6. This a great list and speaking of falling leaves, our parking lot is covered in golden-brown leaves. Even with our warmer than normal temps, fall is making a presence.

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  7. Sorry for commenting before I’d listened to the whole playlist, which was very fun because of the wide range of musical styles. “Hunt for Red October” song was probably the biggest surprise for me?

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  8. We lost the multi-talented Jerry Orbach too soon. I remember my surprise when I found out that he voiced Lumiere in Disney’s animated “Beauty and the Beast.” I love Robert Goulet as Lancelot–who doesn’t?

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    1. You think of Jerry Orbach being a world-weary New York City detective from his years on “Law & Order,” but he was an outstanding actor and had a gorgeous voice. I think of him, Angela Lansbury, and David Ogden Stiers in “Beauty and The Beast,” and realize they worked together a lot on the Sunday night TV shows.

      Robert Goulet was a better singer than actor, but even so he was excellent at both. Also had a pretty wicked sense of humor–he was on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and the two of them would end up in stitches together. We’re losing that whole generation of entertainers now… very sad…

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  9. Thanks for including Sonny Boy’s song. It’s amazing how much music is available in the memories of your readers (not to mention the Internet).

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    1. Sonny Boy was a Chicago favorite, but died before I got a chance to see him. But he left a lot of records to remember him by.

      The readers come up with songs I don’t even think of. Pretty amazing…

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  10. Thanks for the shout out 🙂 All these are great choices, I can’t believe I didn’t think of Neil Diamond’s September Morn, I love his music. Have a nice weekend!

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  11. While Autumn Leaves is my favorite Autumn song, no one does it better than pianist Roger Williams. But last fall I found a surprising version by Eric Clapton that I love, too. 😀

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