Dear Dad

10 favorite "Pop" songs for Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day, Jagged Time Lapse Readers!

Thank you for being patient with the extended break in the action. I was gonna post something here on Friday, and then I got whomped with a serious upper respiratory infection. I’m still not fully back on my feet, but I couldn’t miss the chance to post a fatherly counterpart to my Mother’s Day Countdown from last month…

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While I don’t have the statistics to back this up, it seems to me that there’s a considerably higher percentage of songs about good-for-nothing dads and/or difficult relationships between fathers and sons than there is about worthless moms and the difficulties their daughters have with them. And while there are unfortunately probably some good reasons for that, I’ll just say here that I’ve been blessed with an incredibly awesome and supportive dad — and thus, with the exception of the Temptations song below, the following list of father-related faves is pretty devoid of “my dad sucks” songs or maudlin, “Cat’s in the Cradle”-type numbers.

In any case, this isn’t a “best of” list, only a list of my favorites — and I hereby dedicate it to all the awesome dads, living or otherwise, whom I have had the good fortune to know or whom have made such a positive impact on those I hold dear.

Dave Edmunds — Dear Dad

The pre-eminent late-20th century interpreter of Chuck Berry songs, Dave Edmunds rescued this Berry blast (which stalled out at #95 on the Billboard 100 in 1965) from obscurity by tacking it onto the end of his 1982 album D.E. 7th. Chuck’s original is fantastic, of course, but I have a soft spot for Dave’s rendition — both because it was the first one I ever heard, and because he makes a more convincing teenager bugging his dad for new wheels than Chuck does.

The Golden Earrings — Daddy Buy Me a Girl

Speaking of dads procuring objects of desire… Dutch greats The Golden Earrings — now better known as Golden Earring — waxed a number of wonderful pop records during the 1960s, almost all of which are well worth tracking down. This 1966 single, which features some nice Lovin’ Spoonful-style electrified harpsichord, is sung from the perspective of a spoiled young man whose desired love interest cares more about his wealth than him. Without his dad’s considerable portfolio, she wouldn’t be giving him a second look.

Dolly Parton — Daddy Come and Get Me

As opening lines go, “In this mental institution/Looking through these iron bars” is right up there for me with Eddie Money’s “Well, they took me to the hospital” (“No Control”) or The Beach Boys’ “Sometimes I have a weird way of showing my love” (“She Knows Me Too Well”). This track from Dolly’s aptly-titled 1970 LP The Fairest of Them All packs quite a southern gothic punch into its three minutes — Dolly’s husband’s cheating causes her to have a nervous breakdown, so he has her committed “to get me out of the way.” Now she’s hoping that her father will save her (“But Daddy I can’t come to you/You’ll have to come to me”), though we never learn if he actually gets around to it.

The Turtles — Oh, Daddy

Meanwhile, The Turtles are using their “one phone call” from the police station to try and get their dad to come and bail them out. One of my favorite tracks from their 1968 concept album The Battle of the Bands — in which every song is performed by a different “band” — “Oh, Daddy” (as performed by The L.A. Bust ‘66) features a killer, Move-like guitar riff from Al Nichols and a nicely plaintive vocal from Howard Kaylan. “Oh, Daddy,” he sings, “I didn’t do wrong at all.” Sure, kid. Tell it to the judge.

Ian Dury — My Old Man

One of my favorite tracks from Dury’s brilliant 1977 LP New Boots and Panties!!, “My Old Man” is a slyly detailed (“Did the crossword in the Standard/At the airport in the rain”) tribute to a father who “was never home for long” but whom Dury clearly admired from afar. I confess that his brusque but affectionate sign-off of “All the best, mate/From your son” makes me tear up a tad.

The Everly Brothers — That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine

Gene Autry scored his first hit back in 1932 with “That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine,” a song he co-wrote with his brother-in-law and business manager Jimmy Long, and which has been covered numerous times since then. The Everlys’ version on their 1958 album Songs Our Daddy Taught Us is my favorite, but I just had to post this sweet segment from 1970s’ The Johnny Cash Christmas Show, wherein Phil and Don sing the song with guitar accompaniment from their silver-haired daddy Ike.

James Brown — Papa Don’t Take No Mess

The Godfather of Soul didn’t take no mess, presumably because his papa didn’t, either — or so his 1974 funk classic (the 17th and final JB song to top Billboard’s R&B charts) would have us believe. “Papa didn’t cuss/He didn’t raise a whole lotta fuss/But when we did wrong/Papa beat the hell out of us!” Hit me!

Queen — Father to Son

Queen II is unquestionably my favorite Queen LP, since it contains some of the heaviest music they ever did, as well as some of their most emotionally resonant lyrics. “Father to Son,” written by Brian May, is a thoughtful meditation on how fathers hand down traditions and advice to their sons, who may or may not be able to fully grasp what’s being handed to them until much later. And it rocks mightily, especially in this 1974 live clip with Freddie Mercury at the peak of his flamboyant powers.

The Temptations — Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone

Really, no list of “dad” songs can be complete without this 1972 Temptations hit (originally recorded by The Undisputed Truth), both because it may be the greatest thing Norman Whitfield ever wrote (with help from Barrett Strong) and produced, and because it’s pretty much the last word in “absent father” songs. In my childhood days, I spent untold hours debating with myself over whether the song’s punchline was “all he left us was alone” or “all he left us was a loan”; turns out it was the former, but I always thought, “Damn, the only money you left your family was a loan? That’s some seriously cold shit!”

Horace Silver — Song For My Father

There are no words to Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father,” but the rolling, Brazilian-flavored groove and joyful chord changes communicate plenty of warmth and affection for Silver’s Portuguese-descended dad. I was going to post the original 1965 album version, which Steely Dan famously ripped off for “Rikki Don’t Loose That Number” (and which I’d bet Stevie Wonder listened to before writing “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing)… but then I came across this incredible extended live version from 1968, with Billy Cobham on Drums, Johnny Williams on bass, Bennie Maupin on tenor sax, and Bill Hardman on trumpet. And all I can say is, WOW…

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So Happy Father’s Day to all you rad dads out there — enjoy the rest of your day. And if any of you readers have a favorite “dad” song, please feel free to mention it in the comments below.

Oh, and on a less family-friendly note, I’m going to be writing an upcoming JTL on the infamous Rod Stewart rumor — yes, that one. I remember hearing it on the playground back in the 1970s, but over time I realized that the details of the story I heard differed significantly from those heard by other friends in different parts of the country. Therefore, if you know what I’m talking about, I’m interested to hear the version you grew up with; please email it to me at dockfidrych@gmail.com…

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