Well, the streets of Ocean City have certainly been empty lately, but hopefully that will change when people come home for the big event next week! “What’s going on,” you ask? “Is the town of Ocean City implementing Fallfest?” No, I think we have enough festivals in town. “Well then I guess there must be a super awesome band like Arcade Fire playing a huge show in town!” Guess again. “Are there good waves?” You should beg your family for forgiveness because how could you forget about the most delicious holiday of the year: Thanksgiving!? Before I fill my plate with as much stuffing and cranberry sauce that can fit, I’d like to share with you my six favorite songs on the subject of gratitude to celebrate Thanksgiving.

 

“I Thank You”
By: ZZ Top
Off the album: Degüello (1979)
    Although this song is one of the band’s more popular singles, it is a cover that was originally recorded by Sam & Dave of “Soul Man” fame in 1968. On an interesting note, the original song was actually the last recording Sam & Dave made before moving from their small label Stax Records to giant recording label Atlantic Records. The ZZ Top cover was a bigger hit than the original, placing #34 on the Pop Singles Chart as the band’s second Top 40 hit.

 

“Thank You Girl”
By: The Beatles
Off the album: The Beatles’ Second Album (1963)
    Written to directly address the band’s most vocal fanbase, this song was meant to be its own single, but the band decided it ended up a little too silly to stand on its own, so it was released as a B-side in the UK. The song was much more popular in the US, being that it was included on the band’s second studio album, but it was never released on an LP in the UK until the compilation album Rarities in 1978. It is one of ten early Beatles songs that credit the writers as “McCartney-Lennon,” before the order was permanently changed to “Lennon-McCartney.”

 

“Thank You”
By: Led Zeppelin
Off the album: Led Zeppelin II (1969)
    How many classic rock songs about men thanking women are there!? While I’m talking about writing credits, this was the first Led Zeppelin song that singer Robert Plant wrote all of the lyrics for, and was a huge turning point in his songwriting. Plant was almost nonexistent on the writing credits of the band’s first album, but this song reportedly made guitarist Jimmy Page realize Plant had what it took to be the band’s lead songwriter.

 

“Life’s Been Good”
By: Joe Walsh
Off the album: But Seriously, Folks… (1978)
    With lines like “My Maserati does 185/I lost my licence, now I don’t drive,” this song has some of the funniest lyrics I’ve heard in a song not written by a comedy band. This humorous take on a rock star’s lifestyle was Joe Walsh’s biggest solo hit, reaching #12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Here’s a little fun fact about the Maserati line: When reviewing a Maserati GranTurismo on the BBC television show Top Gear in 2012, co-host Jeremy Clarkson poked fun at the song, claiming the car actually tops out at 187.

 

“What a Wonderful World”
By: Louis Armstrong
Off the album: What a Wonderful World (1968)
    This song, written as a counter-response to the increasingly heated civil rights movement at the time, made Armstrong the oldest male to top the UK Singles Chart at the age of 66. His record remained until 2009 when a cover version of “Islands in the Stream” hit number one with a 68-year-old Tom Jones. Louis Armstrong could have never been a big name in pop culture, as he wasn’t even the first choice to sing his most famous song! Co-written by record producer Bob Thiele and songwriter George David Weiss, they originally offered the song to Tony Bennett, who turned it down. While I’m not trying to insult Bennett’s amazing voice, I don’t think the song would have been the same. It was made for Louis.

 

“The Thanksgiving Song”
By: Adam Sandler
Off the album: They’re All Gonna Laugh at You! (1993)
    Finally, a song truly about Thanksgiving! Pretty much the only mainstream song about Thanksgiving is also the most hilarious song about Thanksgiving. There are two notable versions of the song; one being the first time Sandler performed the song to the public during a segment of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. Being written before “The Chanukah Song” and any of Sandler’s hit comedy movies, this was his first emergence into true stardom. The second version of the song is the one more commonly played on the radio and my favorite because the funniest part of the song wasn’t even planned. Sandler performed this version live, and the crowd began clapping in time with the song, making the actor/musician forget his next line!