Tuesday's Musical Notes - "The Final Countdown" (Europe)

Welcome to the last Tuesday of 2013 and the last Tuesday's Musical Notes of the year!!!  I want to thank you for your weekly trips to the land of music and ministry.  Each week we have met together with a song stuck in our head and a message stuck in our heart.  Hopefully, we have learned together and grown in the ways of the Master.  This is a special week on the Musical Notes as we countdown the 10 most read blog posts since Tuesday's Musical Notes came online.  But before we begin, we have got to get that synthesizer lick out of our head.  So we launch today's Musical Notes with a #8 hit from 1986...it's the Swedish band Europe with..."The Final Countdown"

Europe - "The Final Countdown"

Since July of 2012, Tuesday's Musical Notes has been offering a weekly dose of nostalgia with music from our past.  This music has acted as a springboard into discussions of matters of a more eternal nature.  Hopefully, you have found the Notes to be a refuge of encouragement.  Today's Notes are a bit different in that we will be featuring the links to the most read Tuesday's Musical Notes since its inception in 2012.  It makes it more of a "year and a half" look back at the Notes that you the reader have discovered. We have attempted to update the youtube links, but if you can't get one to work, use the 'ol copy and paste routine and pull up the video.  Some of them can be a whole lotta fun!!!  Thanks again for joining us each week... as Casey Kasem would say..."Let's get on with the countdown".

At #10 is the Musical Note that was written in the '60s for a movie and became a theme song for a team.  It is used in virtually every Arkansas Razorback sporting event and was originally blogged on August 28, of 2012.  At #10 is The 1984 edition of the Marching Razorback Band, including yours truly in the video, with The Swing March:

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "The Swing March"

Coming in at #9 on our year end countdown of the top read Tuesday's Musical Notes, is the 1966 song made popular by the duo Simon and Garfunkel.  It would later be recorded by the group Harper's Bizarre who would take it as high as #13 on the Billboard Charts in 1967.  Here is "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" blog from January 18, 2013:

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)

Next up is the blog that is featured at #8 in our end of the year countdown.  It features the classic Bob Dylan song, "The Times They Are A Changin'" and went into the blogosphere on January 22, 2013.  At #8, "The Times They Are A Changin'":

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "The Times They Are A Changin'"

Going back to August 7 of 2012, we find the Musical Note based on Bryan Adam's smash hit, "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You".  You may notice that at the end of many of the Musical Notes there is a video from Christian artists as well.  Keith Green seems to be the go to guy for the end of the blog video.  Our blog at #7 has Green's "He'll Take Care Of The Rest" tagged at the end.  From the 1992 hit "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" and the blog from the fall of 2012, here is our #7 blog on our way to #1:

 Tuesday's Musical Notes - "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You"

Each week as the Notes are written, we find ourselves curious about just how many people will wind up reading it.  According to our stats, we have had people from almost 20 different countries view Tuesday's Musical Notes.  How many people read The Notes many times is dependent on the song of the week, as with the case on our #6 blog in our countdown.  Written on December 3, 2013, "Give A Little Bit" became the most read blog in the shortest period of time since The Notes have been a blog.  Here is the link for the blog inspired by one of Supertramp's biggest hits:

 Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Give A Little Bit"

We're half way on our trek up the musical blog trail to #1.  Tuesday's Musical Notes began as an email to friends and church members in February of 2011.  Occasionally we will refresh one of those emails and us it as the blog for the week. There are close to 60 Tuesday's Musical Notes that have never been blogs.   Keep looking for those throughout the year.  The very first Tuesday's Musical Note was an original blog based on the Kenny Loggins song "I'm Alright".  We thought you might enjoy this flashback to that Musical Note, but before that, let's take a look at the reimagining of the song from the television show, The Sing Off.  This show features 10 acapella singing groups in a contest for a record contract and $100,000.  Here are 2 of this season's contestants, The Philharmonic and this year's winner Home Free with the classic Kenny Loggins hit. Following that is the first Tuesday's Musical Note blog, "I'm Alright".

Home Free and Philharmonic - "I'm Alright"

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "I'm Alright"

That was a look at the very first blog post for Tuesday's Musical Notes, featuring Kenny Loggins hit from the movie Caddyshack, "I'm Alright". 

And now on with the countdown.

At #5 is the solo hit from the Eagles, Joe Walsh.  Walsh has a very successful solo career apart from the Eagles. His song "Life's Been Good" has been his biggest chart topper.  The blog appeared in the January 15, 2013 edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes...here is "Life's Been Good", the blog:

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Life's Been Good"

As we entered into 2013, Tuesday's Musical Notes pondered the best song for the new year.  There was an easy answer in the form of Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band.  Coming in at #4 on our end of the year countdown of the top 10 Musical Notes is the reflection of life on the road and an analogy of going into a New Year, here is "Turn The Page", 2013's first Musical Note:

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Turn The Page"

So far we've counted down the top 7 Tuesday's Musical Note's blogs since the blog's inception in July of 2012.  If you are curious as to what some of the other featured songs may be, just go to http://tuesdaysmusicalnotes.blogspot.com/ and check out the archive on the right hand side of the screen.  There you will find all of The Notes by the date the blog hit the web.  Thanks again for reading and now on with the countdown.  

Number 3!!!  Time and how it is spent is a recurring theme throughout Tuesday's Musical Notes.  #3 on the countdown features the world wide smash hit by the band Asia, "Only Time Will Tell".  The blog came out on August 6th of 2013 and features the 1982 (have I told you what a great year that was?) hit from Asia.  This band will release it 14th studio album in 2014 and continues to tour 33 years after its formation.  Including a very familiar "Byrd" like passage of scripture and The Beatitudes here is the blog that is the answer to many questions in the cosmos...

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Only Time Will Tell"

Hopefully as you read Tuesday's Musical Notes you get surprised by some of the information that you read.  In doing the research for each week's traipse down the syncopated highway of music, I am often surprised by who played on who's album, or who actually wrote the song that another artist made into a hit.  Some of the most read blogs have been equally surprising as they have been a "generational" song from the past.  #2 on our countdown is such a surprise.  While many of the songs featured in The Notes are from the late 70's through the early 90's, this song is the oldest song on the countdown. It was originally released in 1933 and was featured in 2 major motion pictures of the 1940's.  Carefully take a moment to thoroughly read through this blog.  Every day one's eternal destination can be confirmed.  This blog tells you why and how.  Take your pick with either Bing Crosby or Fred Astaire singing the song, here is "Easter Parade", the #2 read blog at Tuesday's Musical Notes:

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Easter Parade"

And now we come to #1, but before we do, let's recap the top 10 with their artists and original posting dates:

10) "The Swing March" - Henry Mancini - August 28, 2012

 9) "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" - Simon and Garfunkel - January 18, 2013

 8) "The Time's They Are A Changin'" - Bob Dylan - January 22, 2013

 7) "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" - Bryan Adams - August 7, 2012

 6) "Give A Little Bit" - Supertramp - December 3, 2013

 5) "Life's Been Good" - Joe Walsh - January 15, 2013

 4) "Turn The Page" - Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band - January 1, 2013

 3) "Only Time Will Tell" - Asia - August 6, 2013

 2) "Easter Parade" - Bing Crosby - March 26, 2013

And now #1...

Most of the times, Tuesday's Musical Notes will steer clear of the "it" topic of the day.  But back in July of 2012, Tuesday's Musical Notes spoke directly to a highly controversial topic.  The CEO of Chic-Fil-A made some comments that were in similar vein as those of Duck Dynasty's Phil Roberson regarding his thoughts on sin.  Tuesday's Musical Notes decided to utilize a Beatles tune to highlight what the Bible has to say regarding sin and sinners.  Whether it was the tune selection or the topic selection, this blog became the most read in all of Tuesday's Musical Notes land.  With the #1 read blog on Tuesday's Musical Notes...from July 31, 2012 here is "All You Need Is Love" the blog.

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "All You Need Is Love"

And there you have it, the most read blog posts at Tuesday's Musical Notes since its beginnings as a blog in May of 2012.  We hope that you clicked on the links for each of the top 10 and considered the thoughts that are brought out in each one.  We are incredibly excited and ready to see what another year of Tuesday's Musical Notes has in store.  We hope you will continue to read these random thoughts surrounded by reflective songs and reactive scripture.  We hope you will recommend The Notes to friends and neighbors who may love music and need a restored relationship with the Father.  Most of all, our hope for you in 2014 is to be ready to do the good works that He has already planned for you and to continue to daily work out your salvation.  

I began listening to rock-n-roll in 1981.  My previous musical diet had been the classic country that I enjoyed with my folks.  I was introduced to 50's and 60's rock-n-roll by a radio program called appropriately enough "Old Time Rock-N-Roll" on what was KKYK 103.7 in Little Rock, Arkansas on Sunday afternoons during the summer of '81.  The radio program that aired afterword would change my life.  That program was American Top 40 with Casey Kasem.  It included long distance dedications and information that you would not get just by listening to the regular radio programming and it counted down from 40 - 1 the top popular musical hits in the land.  I was immediately hooked and began listening to Casey as often as I possibly could.  I soon found out that he voiced the cartoon character "Shaggy" on Scooby-Doo which increased my opinion of how cool this man must be.  I listened intently to every hour of the Top 40 in 1982 when "Bette Davis Eyes" was named the #1 song of the year.  In the following years, college and then married life changed the priorities of what to listen to on the radio.  American Top 40 was replaced by Disney's Kids songs, Fred Penner, or Sharon, Lois and Bram. While Tuesday's Musical Notes never seeks to be a "countdown" blog of the latest hits,  you may recognize similar attributes of Tuesday's Musical Notes on occasion that were gleamed from years of waiting for the #1 song on the charts.  On July 5th of 2009, Casey stopped doing what was then called "Amercian Top 20" broadcasts.  With his signature sign off, an era of radio entertainment and musical excellence passed.  Tuesday's Musical Notes would like to end it's end of the year countdown with this request and dedication:  Here with some of the last moments from the final show of "American Top 20" is Casey Kasem:

American Top 20 with Casey Kasem - July 5th, 2009

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
Randy