12 Songs That Changed My Life

The Long and Winding Road by the Beatles

This song still gets to me, even after all these years.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters by Simon and Garfunkel

If I had a personal National Anthem, this would be it. They should give this song the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Times They Are A-changin' by Bob Dylan

Love him or hate him, you can't deny that he changed musical history forever.

This song is still a call to action to me.

Forever Young by Joan Baez

This song is a recipe for successful living. I'm guessing few people remember it, but I find it a true balm in an uncertain world.

Asleep in the Light by Keith Green

This song is an odd mix of Christian propaganda, humanitarianism and idealism.

Keith was a phenomenal musician and it broke my heart when he died in a plane crash with some of his children.

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Picture me alone on a dance floor at 18 at March Air Force Base before the crowd got there for the night's dance totally rocking out to this song, and you'll know why I'll always love it. It is sheer genius.

Fire and Rain by James Taylor

The first time I ever heard this I was on a bus heading down a country road to Jr. High School. For some reason I could always relate to songs about lost love.

Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison

I always loved this song, but I loved it even more when I had a daughter with brown eyes. I used to sing it to her when she was a baby.

Lonely People by America

This song doesn't have many words, but always leaves me in a better mood.

At Seventeen by Janis Ian

Now this song is too whiny for me, but during my teenage years it struck a chord with me that spoke to my teenage angst.

Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

This song is poetry set to music and I love her imagination and the images she paints.

It's a Wonderful World (the version by Louis Armstrong and the version by Sarah Brightman)

A song associated with a curse, because so many people who sang it have had untimely deaths. I'm sure I heard the Louis Armstrong version because my father was a big fan, but I was compelled to learn all the lyrics and to sing it after I heard Sarah Brightman's version on the Harem DVD and video on PBS.

What do all these songs have in common? Compelling melodies, lyrics that are understandable, meaningful, and that I can relate to.

The melody marries well to the lyrics.

They would sound just as good sung unplugged as they do with studio effects.

They helped my growth as a human being.

They've stood the test of time.