50 Tracks

"50 Tracks" is a Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio One in 2004. The show, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, was a listener vote to determine the 50 most essential songs in pop music history. This said, the choice was not by any means based solely on popular vote. Each episode in the series was devoted to the most influential/best of one decade (some decades being given two weeks, others especially earlier in the century being lumped in with each other).

Each week, three invited guests with some ostensible claim to musical knowledge or other celebrity status, along with Ghomeshi, would have the very influential privilege of nominating and then short-listing (to four tracks) the best of each time period. In the next few days, listeners would then vote on a fifth selection from Ghomeshi's and the guests' picks. Some room was left for listeners to call in and push a few other tracks on to the list but these listener nominees made up only 10 of the 50 finalists. At the series conclusion listeners voted on a slate.

A sequel series, "", aired in 2005 and selected the 50 most essential songs by Canadians.

External links

* [http://www.jian.ca/index.php?section=pressPage&ID=38 Globe & Mail Article]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041010053013/http://www.cbc.ca/50tracks/ CBC 50 Tracks Site]

The 50 Tracks

# John Lennon, "Imagine"
# The Beatles, "In My Life"
# Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone"
# U2, "With or Without You"
# Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
# Judy Garland, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
# Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven"
# The Rolling Stones, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
# Glenn Miller, "In the Mood"
# Chuck Berry, "Johnny B. Goode"
# Bob Marley, "One Love/People Get Ready"
# The Beatles, "A Day in the Life"
# The Clash, "London Calling"
# Woody Guthrie, "This Land Is Your Land"
# Steppenwolf, "Born to Be Wild"
# The Byrds, "Mr. Tambourine Man"
# The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations"
# Elvis Presley, "Heartbreak Hotel"
# Bruce Springsteen, "Born to Run"
# Billie Holiday, "Strange Fruit"
# Louis Armstrong, "Stardust"
# Hank Williams, "Your Cheatin' Heart"
# David Bowie, "Heroes"
# Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean"
# The Sex Pistols, "God Save the Queen"
# The Bee Gees, "Stayin' Alive"
# Ella Fitzgerald, "How High the Moon"
# Radiohead, "Paranoid Android"
# Bill Haley & His Comets, "Rock Around the Clock"
# Alanis Morissette, "You Oughta Know"
# Ray Charles, "What'd I Say"
# Bing Crosby, "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?"
# The Temptations, "My Girl"
# Harald Paulsen, "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer (Mack the Knife)"
# Prince, "When Doves Cry"
# Public Enemy, "Fight the Power"
# Bessie Smith, "St. Louis Blues"
# Lou Reed, "Walk on the Wild Side"
# Scott Joplin, "Maple Leaf Rag"
# Sarah Vaughan, "Misty"
# Robert Johnson, "I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom"
# Nat King Cole, "Nature Boy"
# Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, "That’s Alright Mama"
# The Supremes, "Stop! In the Name of Love"
# Louis Armstrong, "Potato Head Blues"
# Lauryn Hill, "Doo Wop (That Thing)"
# Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, "The Message"
# Jimmie Rodgers, "Blue Yodel No. 1 (T is for Texas)"
# Louis Jordan, "Saturday Night Fish Fry"
# Mary J. Blige, "Real Love"