First, I have to confess my ulterior motive: This Top 5 is meant to be a distraction from the presidential election we have all just [barely] lived through. We all deserve a break, so here goes.
If you have read the music version of my Top Five before, you have usually seen a Bonus entry. Truth is, each one of these women is their own bonus. It’s a very diverse and seemingly unmatched crowd this time. Perhaps the only thing that brings them all into the same sphere is that they are some of my favorites. Maybe you’ll like them too.
Anyway, coming in so soon after the intense political events of this November 2016, I see this as a nice relief. Enjoy.
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Elizabeth Cook
Ok. I am biased. Elizabeth is married to Nashville musician Tim Carroll (he appears on stage with her in this video), who grew up in my neighborhood and we graduated from the same high school. It’s a hometown near-brush with greatness. But what’s really important here is that she is incredibly talented, passionate and like the rest of these artists, knows the world she is in and how to communicate her message in it.
This is a great collection of hillbilly-bluegrass, Elizabeth Cook style.
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Ginny Owens
Ginny sang at my church some years ago, and my wife and I, as with everyone there, were absolutely captivated by her voice, her talent, and her open heart.
I have said this many times before, and will say again . . . what she stirs in those who will listen – the prospect, the implications, the idea of what if it’s true . . . the hope for just what if . . .
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Clannad with Anúna
I can’t explain very well why I am so drawn to this type of music – sound – except that I am Scotch-Irish, so surely this mood resides deep in my DNA. It’s a sort of homecoming for something in my soul. Only Clannad could have performed these pieces so well.
“Theme From Harry’s Game”
This piece is absolutely haunting and yet beautiful. I, like many in the States, first heard this piece, and in fact first heard of the group, Clannad, during the movie, “Patriot Games”, based on Tom Clancy’s novel of the same title.
“I Will Find You”
I just recently finished reading James Fenimore Cooper’s “Last of the Mohicans, a Narrative of 1757”, a brutal and raw, yet vital story describing events during the French and Indian War in the earliest days of our country. This piece was the love theme in the 1992 movie rendition starring Daniel Day Lewis and Madeleine Stowe.
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Patsy Cline
She has been one of my favorites since, when I was a small boy, I knew my mother loved her. This is the song I chose for us to dance to when Kerri and I were married.
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And finally, my [current] favorite . . .
Ingrid Michaelson
This girl speaks so powerfully and so genuinely to everyone she sings for. Every song, every video shows just how sincerely she’s connected with everyone she comes in contact with. I could say you should just sit and watch every video from her, but I think you won’t need me to encourage you.
“Girls Chase Boys” [a live version]
Girls Chase Boys!!!!! One of my favorite songs!!