Sometimes, it feels like we never remember our history properly. We’re just doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again, leaving crucial artifacts to wither away into nothingness. Imagine how much art and literature we’ve lost because we can’t preserve it. Or worse, we’re too lazy to keep hold of it. It doesn’t even take us reaching retirement age to discard some of our classics.
In the spirit of archiving our beautiful music history, we’ve selected seven songs that are old enough to retire. According to the Social Security Administration, Americans can start receiving benefits as soon as 62. So we’ve picked records your grandparents might remember from their childhood and young adulthood.
Seven Historic Songs That Are Old Enough to Retire
“I Fall In Love Too Easily” by Chet Baker
Nowadays, jazz doesn’t have the cultural cachet it used to have. We’ve moved on to hip-hop, rock, and especially pop, which dominate our collective psyches. But artists like Chet Baker used to take precedence in every jazz bar in the country, crooning about their lousy luck in love.
“I Fall In Love Too Easily” sees Baker down on his luck, lamenting that he’s a hopeless romantic who puts his heart on the line far too often.
“Come Fly With Me” by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra is probably the artist you think of when you consider records that are old enough to retire. He was the kind of artist your grandmother just might’ve swooned over. His voice oozed charm and charisma, and his offer to come fly with him was extremely alluring.
“I Only Have Eyes for You” by The Flamingos
Arguably the most enchanting love song in music history. The Flamingos stack their vocals together to create a spotlight effect on the person you love most, distilling that feeling you have when you see the love of your life for the first time.
“Be My Baby” by The Ronettes
A song so amazing, it drove Brian Wilson absolutely mad trying to capture its perfection. He thought it was the best record he had ever heard and pulled over to try to understand it when he first heard it on the radio. When you hear harmonies that stunning, it’s not hard to imagine Brian Wilson’s obsession.
“I Wanna Be Around” by Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett was quite ahead of his time with “I Wanna Be Around”. He was scathingly toxic on the record, giddy and grinning about the prospect of someone breaking a woman’s heart as she did to him. Future could cover this today and turn it into an anthem.
“Always in My Heart” by Los Indios Tabajaras
The real film nerds will know this dreamy guitar record all too well. The Brazilian classic soundtracks the intro to Wong Kar-Wai’s criminally underrated Days of Being Wild in 1990. Nothing quite captures the film’s tropical moodiness and blues like the duo’s gorgeous guitar playing.
“The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)” by Nat King Cole
Mariah Carey essentially owns Christmas nowadays with “All I Want for Christmas is You”. However, no song quite captures the wintry essence of the holidays quite like Nat King Cole. His one-of-a-kind voice glides beautifully over the brisk strings and beautiful chords, all while he sings all the signifiers that come with the days of Santa Claus, like roasting chestnuts and Jack Frost.
Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
The post 7 Classic Songs That Are Old Enough to Retire Now appeared first on VICE.
