In case I haven’t mentioned it, I’m turning thirty-six on Thursday. I’ve decided I’m never going to be one of those people who will lie about her age. I’ve earned every year coming to me, baby. Plus I’ll never forget the time my mother once lied about her age and said she was thirty-six. The next year she turned forty. I thought that once you hit thirty-six, you skipped four years to forty. Thank God that turned out not to be true.

            Anyway, I’m feeling good, and I went to itunes today to see what songs came out in 1972. It turns out a lot of them are my favorite songs. So let’s count them down, folks!

            American Pie, Don McClean-yup, American innocence went wrong when we lost Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. Where is a levy nowadays? Where were they when we needed them during Hurricane Katrina?
            Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) Looking Glass-I love this song. It’s a mini opera. We’ve got the tragic heroine working at a bar, joking with the guys, but she carries sadness in her-she lost her man, a sailor, because he loved the sea more than her. Oh Brandy, he made a mistake. You’re such a lady, lady.

            Let’s Stay Together, Al Green-What a sexy song. Just the way Al Green whispers “Let’s Stay Together” I would say Okay dude, let’s stay together. I’ll do anything you ask me to.

            Summer Breeze, Seals and Croft- When I was a kid this song used to play all the time on KLOK FM. KLOK was a radio station where you could vote on which songs and artists could be played on the station. This made an interesting playlist; one moment we could have “Fly Away” by John Denver, then Pachelbel's Canon, then “Papa Was A Lonely Stone” by The Temptations. Anyway, “Summer Breeze” would play once a day during the summer, and I loved it when they would sing about the jasmine of their minds.   

         Take it Easy, The Eagles- When I was in London every Saturday they would show old clips of Top Of The Pops, and one time they showed the Eagles singing “Take It Easy” My flatmates and I started to all sing along, because we all knew the words.          

       Garden Party, Rick Nelson-I think we all know the story behind this song; Rick Nelson went to a oldies concert, and they didn’t want to hear his new stuff, they wanted “Hello Mary Lou” He took off, and he wrote the song where he declared you can’t please everyone, but you have to please yourself. If more people listened to this advice, we would be a lot happier.       

     You Wear It Well, Rod Stewart- Now this is where I don’t get the whole deal about calling women bitches and hos in songs. It’s just not romantic or sexy. This song is both. Rod just loves this woman who is a little old fashioned but he doesn’t mind. And the line “Madame Onassis has nothing on you” still holds (although some bands covering the song now changed it to “Angelina has nothing on you”)        

    I Am Woman, Helen Reddy-Yup, the women’s movement was in full force. Women were ready to show that we were here, we were leaving the kitchens, and watch out, and we were going to make our voices heard. And I was born the year this song came out, making me, in Garry Trudeau’s words, “a baby woman.”         

   The Candy Man, Sammy Davis Junior-yes, it’s corny, and Sammy does his Las Vegas best with it. But I love it for one simple reason: It was number one the week I was born.                  

   That’s it from 1972. Great year, huh? I’ll check you all out tomorrow and remember, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!