top 5 sports songs of all time (yoshida's list, YeTi's list to come...)
1. todd snider - america's favorite pastime
my favorite historical team is no doubt the pittsburgh pirates, and having the most famous portland singer to have a song about the pirates, specifically doc ellis pitching a no-hitter on lsd, makes for about the most perfect song about sports. rabble rouser hall of fame material. another portlander david frishberg recorded a baseball song called van lingle mungo about van lingle and others. and while we're on the subject of baseball and local legends, check out #4.
2. stompin' tom connors - hockey song
the hockey song has been a staple of hockey games all over canada and the NHL for the last 20 years & is the intro song for the toronto maple leafs. written by canadian folk singer tom connors, who had several other hit songs about hockey. connors passed away in ontario on march 6, 2013. (of course the zambonis have songs exclusively about hockey if connors doesn't have enough for you! myspace has a catalog of about seven albums, starting with this one: drop that puck!)
3. ry cooder - third base, dodger stadium
another baseball song, ry cooder sang this one about the struggles of a people to survive when their meager existence is bulldozed by a professional sports organization searching for the cheapest land to build a baseball mecca. chuck brodsky also has an excellent social justice baseball song called the ballad of eddie klepp on racial integration as the first white man to play in the negro leagues.
4. jeff arundel - harmon killebrew
long time minnesota twin harmon killebrew was by far the best baseball player to come from the state of oregon. maybe technically idaho, harmon grew up around ontario. he played five partial and two full seasons with the washington senators getting an all-star nod and an AL home run crown in 1959. after the senators moved to minnesota in 1960, he played 14 more seasons with the twins, appearing in 10 all-star games, winning five more home run crowns and one MVP among many other awards. he retired after playing the 1975 season with kansas city, finishing #2 on the all time american league home run list behind babe ruth and #1 in major league history among right handed hitters. the minnesota twins retired his #3 in 1975. this song was written and recorded by minnesota folk singer jeff arundel.
5. gary glitter - rock n roll part 2
the most famously played song in sporting venues across america is undoubtedly rock and roll part 2 by gary glitter. few people know who actually recorded the song, or the title of it. there is good reason for this. in the late 1990s glitter took his computer in for repairs and was arrested after the techs found it littered with child porn. the song was pulled from most stadiums for a couple of years, only to be slowly re-introduced only without anyone really talking about the artist. after his four months in jail in britain, he fled the country on his yacht, ultimately ending up in cambodia. in 2002, he was deported from cambodia on child sex accusations. he went to vietnam, where in 2006 he was imprisoned for two years on child sex charges. he is currently living a quiet life back in britain and is banned entry to at least 19 different countries.
had it been a "top ten" assignment, here are a few more songs that probably would have made the list...
cab calloway - minnie the moocher
sister sledge - we are family
village people - ymca
ac/dc - thunderstruck
terry cashman - talkin baseball
frances scott key - star spangled banner
tune in the double y-ed sports show every monday from noon to 2pm (pacific) on KEOL.
next week's show: top 5 sports movies of all time
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