Guilty Pleasure Songs: Performer's POV

This is song #5, skip and finish with it. You'll be glad you did.😎🎶

Last year I decided to retire the Guilty Pleasure Song List because after compiling a list of songs, they disappear all too often from YouTube. I dislike having dead links on a blog. 

That said, Old Man Winter will soon leave us, opening the door for optimism. It's time to come out of hibernation and turn up the music. So despite my misgivings, I'm compiling yet another Guilty Pleasure Song List: Let's call it Guilty Pleasure Songs: Performer's POV - Music from the point of view of the person performing on stage.

1) Fame by Irene Cara (1980): In the beginning there's the dream, the ambition, the talent, the training, the hours of practice, practice, practice, as well as, the wait to be given the chance to showcase a talent.

2) Turn The Page by Bob Seger (1976): Bob Seger wrote a memorable story-song about being up on stage! (What a coincidence.😅) Featuring a soulful saxophone, it's really about the ups and downs ... the endless, grueling time a singer spends on the road to make and sustain a career. Touring is tough, but it's how a musician develops his craft and makes money. I've heard talent talk about how being on the road is a necessary evil for the 2 hours of performance that they enjoy. Yet, a life on the road takes a toll!

3) Possession by Sarah McLachlan (1993): Some people mistake the composition for a love song. It is not. The tune were inspired by a creepy fan letter singer, Sarah McLachlin, received from an "admirer." The lyrics are written from the point of view of an obsessed, stalker-like "fan," which a performer might for a wee moment think about as they face an audience of fans. Is he out there?

4) Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple (1972): Listen to the song. No ... seriously avoid looking at the hippy-dippy shirtless garb and just listen. The lyrics tell the true story of the band's performance in Switzerland, during which, someone in the audience shot a flare gun catching the venue, a gambling casino, on fire and burning it to the ground. Luckily, everyone got out, with nobody seriously hurt. They were also booked to record new music, using an expensive mobile studio, but were left with no place to stay (and thus watched smoke on the water). The electric guitar riff, a 4 note blues scale melody in G is iconic! It's likely you know it.

5) [See the top ↑ video] While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, Dhani Harrison (George's son!) and Prince - A Tribute to George Harrison (2004): Sometimes the music outlives the man, and the man becomes a legend. Beatle George Harrison was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, not once but twice. Using personification in a catchy phrase that the whole world knows, he is paid tribute by his wildly famous friends who perform Harrison's song at his posthumous induction ceremony. Features the virtuosity of another great, Prince, who really does make his guitar weep! Ah, life is short, so many of the well-known on that 2004 stage are now gone too. Perhaps onto a final, bigger stage ... which is a leap of faith.

If any of the Guilty Pleasure Songs disappear from YouTube just search for them. What song(s) would you add?


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