Recently, the President shared his summer playlist, and it became an instant hit on Spotify and other music sites. As a person who spent her childhood allowances on records (the vinyl kind), music has been a major influence in my life and thoughts. I wish I played, but I didn’t have the discipline. I am, however, a true music lover.

Steve and I will soon be embarking on a road trip to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary (how the hell did that happen)? Music brought the two of us together, and we’ve shared many adventures with various soundtracks to our history. To add to our enjoyment of being on the road again*, we are creating two separate playlists for this journey.

No politics here, but let’s face it: neither one of us are as cool as the President. And I’m sure that our personal playlists will not shatter Spotify or iTunes sales. But many of these songs resonate to our life together. Many have special meanings to various times and events in our lives. Others are just songs I love. So here goes. I’m going to list my playlist first, because Steve is still working on his.

*(the note is that the first song in Steve’s playlist happens to be Canned Heat’s “On the Road Again,” so this is a spoiler for the next post).  

Sharon’s 2016 Road Trip Playlist

• Feelin’ Good – Nina Simone
• Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
• Us and Them – Pink Floyd
• Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
• As – Stevie Wonder
• Say Hey (I Love You) – Michael Franti & Spearhead Say Hey (I Love You)
• Two of Us – Aimee Mann and Michael Penn
• Get Together – The Youngbloods
• Darkness, Darkness – The Youngbloods
• America – Yes
• Boom, Like That – Mark Knopfler
• Minutes to Memories – John Mellencamp
• Summertime – Janis Joplin
• Aganjú – Bebel Gilberto
• She Came in Through the Bathroom Window/Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End/Her Majesty – The Beatles
• For a Dancer – Jackson Browne
• Love is My Religion – Ziggy Marley
• Samba Pa Ti – Santana
• Stairway to Heaven – Rodrigo y Gabriela
• Southern Cross – Crosby, Stills and Nash
• Cathedral – Crosby and Nash
• Country Girl Medley: Whiskey Boothill – Crosby, Still, Nash and Young (mostly Neil Young)
• Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan
• Can’t Find My Way Home – Joe Cocker
• So What – Miles Davis
• Defying Gravity – Idina Menzel (from Wicked)
• What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
• The Story – Brandi Carlile
• Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Show (plus the Jeremiah Perrine version!)