City Music

Just foolin’ around with iTunes, I came up with a list of “city” songs.

Here’s a dozen:

Chicago — Frank Sinatra
Detroit City — Bobby Bare
(I Left My Heart In) San Francisco — Tony Bennett
Jackson — Johnny Cash & June Carter
The Lights of Albuquerque — Jim Glaser
Lodi — Creedence Clearwater Revival
Memphis Underground — Herbie Mann
Oh, Atlanta — Alison Krauss & Union Station
Philadelphia Freedom — Elton John
Portland Oregon — Loretta Lynn
Take Me Back to Tulsa — Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Theme from New York, New York — Frank Sinatra

More anyone? (The name of a U.S. city in the title.)

Of course, the best city song ever is Freddy Cannon’s Tallahassee Lassie.

20 thoughts on “City Music”

  1. Two about Tucson I can think of: Tracy Byrd’s, “Tucson Too Soon” and Jim Campbell’s “Lights of Tucson”.

  3. “Got a wife got a family
    Earn my livin’ with my hand
    I’m a roller in a steel mill
    In downtown ———-“

  4. “Send Me Down to Tucson,” by Mel Tillis.
    “Sweet Home Chicago,” by Robert Johnson.
    “Statesboro Blues,” by Willie McTell.
    “By The Time I Get to Phoenix,” by Glen Campbell.
    “Halley Came to Jackson,” by Mary Chapin Carpenter.
    “New Orleans,” sung by Maura O’Connell.
    “Viva Las Vegas,” sung by The King.
    “Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again,” by Bob Dylan.

    …for starters

  5. New York State of Mind by Billy Joel
    L.A. Woman by the Doors
    Miami by Will Smith

  7. Streets of Bakersfield (Dwight Yoakum/Buck Owens)
    Streets of Laredo (just about everyone)
    El Paso (Marty Robbins)
    Galveston (Glenn Campbell)
    Los Angeles (X)
    Rockin’ the Bronx (Black 47)
    San Antonio Girl (Lyle Lovett)
    Nashville (Lyle Lovett)
    I’ve Benn to Memphis (Lyle Lovett)
    Baltimore (Lyle Lovett)
    Bus to Baton Rouge (Lucinda Williams)
    Lullaby of London (Pogues)

    Bonus – two cities in one title:
    Boulder to Birmingham (Emmylou Harris)

  9. “City of New Orleans,” Steve Goodman.
    “Tulsa Time,” Don Williams.
    “Coming Into Los Angeles,” Arlo Guthrie.
    “Do You Know The Way to San Jose?” The Fifth Dimension.
    “Boulder to Birmingham,” Emmylou Harris.
    “Detroit City,” Bobby Bare.
    “Kokomo Blues,” Scrapper Blackwell.
    “Battle of New Orleans,” Johnny Horton.
    “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone?” Charlie Pride.
    “Please Come to Boston.” Dave Loggins.

  12. Some from New Mexico,

    Guadalahara – Bud and Travis
    Jalisco no te Rajes – Pedro Infante
    Mexico Lindo y Querido – Jorge Negrete
    Tequila con Limon – Placido Domingo
    La Marcha de Zacatecas – Mariachi Silvestre Vargas
    La Barca de Guaymas – Vicente Fernandez
    Malaguena Salerosa – Miguel Aceves Mejia
    Viva Mexico! – Mariachi Real Mejico

    OK I cheated, some are about states.

  14. -Walkin’ in Memphis – Marc Cohn
    -Stockholm Syndrome – Blink 182
    -Chinatown Calculation – Doug and the Slugs (could be any number of cities)
    -Pensacola – Joan Osborne
    -Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
    -Incident at Neshabur – Santana
    -A Foggy Day (In London Town) – numerous performers – Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald to name two
    -Spanish Harlem – Ben E. King (and many others)

  15. St. Louis Blues (Most famously by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong)
    East St. Louis Toodle-Oo (Duke Ellington)
    Saginaw Michigan (Lefty Frizzell)
    Okie from Muscogee (Merle Haggard)
    Amarillo By Morning (George Strait)

  16. Salt Lake City (Bob Weir)

    Salt Lake City…where it’s so easy keepin’ straight.
    Salt Lake City…even makes Des Moines look second rate.
    Ain’t no doubt about it
    those Mormon girls are really great.

  17. How could we forget “Hooray for Hollywood”? – from the obscure 1937 movie Hollywood Hotel.

  18. “Abilene” recorded by George Hamilton IV

    “Autumn in New York” recorded by Jo Stafford

    (just the tiniest Okie spelling correction… Muskogee)

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