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ABOUT US

Greg Prince and Jason Fry
Faith and Fear in Flushing made its debut on Feb. 16, 2005, the brainchild of two longtime friends and lifelong Met fans.

Greg Prince discovered the Mets when he was 6, during the magical summer of 1969. He is a Long Island-based writer, editor and communications consultant. Contact him here.

Jason Fry is a Brooklyn writer whose first memories include his mom leaping up and down cheering for Rusty Staub. Check out his other writing here.

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Carlos Remains Welcome as Randy's Shown the Door

One Tuesday, two press conferences. First the Mets. They make it official that Carlos Beltran has signed a seven-year contract to play centerfield and bat in the middle of their order. He smiles and calls his new employers the New Mets. The smirks are barely suppressed. Then the circus packs up and hauls ass across the Triborough for the second show, the main event, the Yankees' introduction of Randy Johnson, just acquired from Arizona. Johnson is an all-timer and a Diamondback hero. But Johnson has had enough of his home-area team's rebuilding program (it had been more than three years since the 2001 World Series) and he wants another ring. A trade to the Yankees…yeah, that's the ticket.

The Big Unit gets the big coverage. Maybe he ensured that with his shove of a Channel 2 cameraman the day before. Maybe he's a slightly bigger story that Tuesday and on the front and back pages that Wednesday because Beltran's news leaked out over the weekend. Maybe it's because he's a future Hall of Famer and the Yankees are the Yankees. The Mets, after all, are the Mets.

It's almost exactly two years later. Half of the featured attractions of January 11, 2005 are gone. Is gone. The Yankees have traded Randy Johnson, his bad back, his advanced age, his disappointing performance, his dyspeptic personality and cash back to Arizona for a middle reliever and some minor leaguers. They couldn't wait to get him, they couldn't wait to get rid of him.

Carlos Beltran helped the same old Mets of the early 2000s become the New Mets as advertised of 2005 and led them into becoming the powerhouse Mets of 2006 and, knock wood, years to come.

I think we had a better Tuesday.

Mets-Ford '76: A Winning Ticket

I wouldn’t dare attempt to match the eloquence displayed Wednesday at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids by Donald Rumsfeld…

“There’s an old saying in Washington that every member of Congress looks in the mirror every day and sees a future president. Gerald Ford was different. I suspect even after he was president, when he looked in the mirror, he saw a citizen.”

…or Jimmy Carter…

“‘For myself and our nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.’ Those were the first words I spoke as president, and I still hate to admit they received more applause than all the other words in my inaugural address.”

…or Richard Norton Smith…

“President Ford used to joke he was charismatically challenged. Whatever he lacked in charisma, he more than made up for in character.”

…but after being treated to a series of remembrances that were solemn and stirring, warm and wonderful, I feel compelled to add a tiny something extra on behalf of Jerry Ford, the 38th president of these United States.

He was a winner.

Gerald Ford may have been an “accidental president” and not have won a national election to attain his high office, but he was a winner in his home district in Michigan. He triumphed over an entrenched incumbent in his first Republican primary and then won election and re-election a total of 13 times between 1948 and 1972. He won election as minority leader in the House in 1965 and won his colleagues’ acclaim every two years after that through 1973. He won confirmation as emergency vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned his post (during the deciding game of the Mets-Reds NLCS, it will never be forgotten) and, in the face of a vigorous internal challenge from a charismatic challenger, prevailed over Ronald Reagan to win the GOP nomination in 1976.

Most importantly, he and the Mets were winners together.

That is, the first time Gerald Ford and the New York Mets — who never crossed paths in any meaningful fashion of which I’m aware — contested their respective opponents on the same day, they hit the daily double.

Ford first.

On April 27, 1976, voters from both parties headed to the polls in Pennsylvania. In the midst of a rough nomination season, Ford easily outpaced challenger Reagan. Granted, Reagan did not campaign in the Keystone State, but delegates were delegates and a win was a win.

Back in New York, the Mets were playing the Atlanta Braves a day game at Shea. While political pundits awaited a definitive reading of the results from Pennsylvania, there were tea leaves turning in Jerry Ford’s favor everywhere in Flushing.

• Jerry Koosman started for the Mets.

• Jerry Royster was the Braves’ third baseman

• Jerry Dale was the third base umpire

• Jerry Grote scored the winning run.

Though they, like Jimmy Carter (who won on the Democratic side that day in PA), were from Georgia, the ’76 Braves offered a few Fordian slips beyond what fell from the Jerry tree.

• Their shortstop was D. Chaney, only a deep throw to first from the president’s chief of staff, another D. Cheney (who has terrible aim).

• Their staring pitcher was named Morton — as was the chairman of the committee to elect President Ford. Mr. Morton won 4, Mr. Morton lost 9 for the Braves that year. Mr. Morton went 0-1 for the White House at the same time. Both Mr. Mortons retired afterwards.

• Jimmy Wynn played for Atlanta, albeit without the WIN button Ford attempted to popularize in ’75 as a method to Whip Inflation Now. WIN buttons, alas, had far less pop to them than the Toy Cannon.

• As Ford sought to maintain the Oval Office, centerfield for the Braves was patrolled from the sixth through the ninth by Rowland Office.

The chief executive in the Braves’ dugout was Dave Bristol, a longer-tenured version of his Mets’ counterpart Joe Frazier. But making appearances for each team that afternoon were two future multiple-term world champion managers: Cito Gaston for Atlanta, Joe Torre (ouch) for New York.
It probably wasn’t of utmost concern to the afterschool gathering of 4,002 at Shea what Ford or Reagan or Carter were doing one state away. It was probably cause for great celebration that Bruce Boisclair drove home Grote for the winning run in the three-run ninth, a walkoff triumph for the briefly (10-7, 1-game lead) surging Mets.

Our boys wouldn’t hold their lead for long in 1976. Ford, on the other hand, put just enough distance between himself and his charismatic rival that evening to outlast Reagan’s rightward rush in states more friendly for what was then considered his fairly exotic brand of conservatism.

When the president was officially nominated in a squeaker on August 18, the Mets were in Los Angeles and lost…in a walkoff.

The Mets were done by the time the fall campaign heated up. They went home 86-76, mired in third place. Jerry Ford’s most memorable statement in the general election was that Poland and other Eastern European countries did not suffer under the thumb of Soviet oppression. In 1976, that was a little like saying there was no Phillies domination of the Eastern Division of the National League. Nevertheless, he steadily made up ground on Carter (who was setting a template for the not-quite-blowin’-it 2005 Chicago White Sox) right to the proverbial 162nd game before falling a run or two short.

If you’re an American citizen — even a National Leaguer — this has been a fascinating week, as fascinating as one can be without baseball or a baseball trade or a baseball rolling by as you’re walking down the street. (Gads, I miss baseball.) A new governor in Albany…a new majority in both chambers of the legislature in Washington…a new Speaker of the House of Representatives named Nancy…and a President of the United States laid to rest with honor and praise three decades after he was barely nominated in his own right and barely rejected by the electorate as a whole the only time he sought its approval.

Growing up in the middle of the 1970s, bookended by the final corrosive lunges at power by Richard M. Nixon and M. Donald Grant, I watched the continuing ceremonies that marked the death of Gerald Ford and sort of waited for the punchline. Another funeral? Is he still dead? Is he going on tour? Is somebody going to drop the casket and is Chevy Chase going to burst out and let us in on the joke?

But it wasn’t like that at all. It was indeed solemn and stirring, warm and wonderful. Just like, as I’ve learned this past week, Jerry Ford himself.

Mets-Ford '76: A Winning Ticket

I wouldn’t dare attempt to match the eloquence displayed Wednesday at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids by Donald Rumsfeld…

“There’s an old saying in Washington that every member of Congress looks in the mirror every day and sees a future president. Gerald Ford was different. I suspect even after he was president, when he looked in the mirror, he saw a citizen.”

…or Jimmy Carter…

“‘For myself and our nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.’ Those were the first words I spoke as president, and I still hate to admit they received more applause than all the other words in my inaugural address.”

…or Richard Norton Smith…

“President Ford used to joke he was charismatically challenged. Whatever he lacked in charisma, he more than made up for in character.”

…but after being treated to a series of remembrances that were solemn and stirring, warm and wonderful, I feel compelled to add a tiny something extra on behalf of Jerry Ford, the 38th president of these United States.

He was a winner.

Gerald Ford may have been an “accidental president” and not have won a national election to attain his high office, but he was a winner in his home district in Michigan. He triumphed over an entrenched incumbent in his first Republican primary and then won election and re-election a total of 13 times between 1948 and 1972. He won election as minority leader in the House in 1965 and won his colleagues’ acclaim every two years after that through 1973. He won confirmation as emergency vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned his post (during the deciding game of the Mets-Reds NLCS, it will never be forgotten) and, in the face of a vigorous internal challenge from a charismatic challenger, prevailed over Ronald Reagan to win the GOP nomination in 1976.

Most importantly, he and the Mets were winners together.

That is, the first time Gerald Ford and the New York Mets — who never crossed paths in any meaningful fashion of which I’m aware — contested their respective opponents on the same day, they hit the daily double.

Ford first.

On April 27, 1976, voters from both parties headed to the polls in Pennsylvania. In the midst of a rough nomination season, Ford easily outpaced challenger Reagan. Granted, Reagan did not campaign in the Keystone State, but delegates were delegates and a win was a win.

Back in New York, the Mets were playing the Atlanta Braves a day game at Shea. While political pundits awaited a definitive reading of the results from Pennsylvania, there were tea leaves turning in Jerry Ford’s favor everywhere in Flushing.

• Jerry Koosman started for the Mets.

• Jerry Royster was the Braves’ third baseman

• Jerry Dale was the third base umpire

• Jerry Grote scored the winning run.

Though they, like Jimmy Carter (who won on the Democratic side that day in PA), were from Georgia, the ’76 Braves offered a few Fordian slips beyond what fell from the Jerry tree.

• Their shortstop was D. Chaney, only a deep throw to first from the president’s chief of staff, another D. Cheney (who has terrible aim).

• Their staring pitcher was named Morton — as was the chairman of the committee to elect President Ford. Mr. Morton won 4, Mr. Morton lost 9 for the Braves that year. Mr. Morton went 0-1 for the White House at the same time. Both Mr. Mortons retired afterwards.

• Jimmy Wynn played for Atlanta, albeit without the WIN button Ford attempted to popularize in ’75 as a method to Whip Inflation Now. WIN buttons, alas, had far less pop to them than the Toy Cannon.

• As Ford sought to maintain the Oval Office, centerfield for the Braves was patrolled from the sixth through the ninth by Rowland Office.

The chief executive in the Braves’ dugout was Dave Bristol, a longer-tenured version of his Mets’ counterpart Joe Frazier. But making appearances for each team that afternoon were two future multiple-term world champion managers: Cito Gaston for Atlanta, Joe Torre (ouch) for New York.

It probably wasn’t of utmost concern to the afterschool gathering of 4,002 at Shea what Ford or Reagan or Carter were doing one state away. It was probably cause for great celebration that Bruce Boisclair drove home Grote for the winning run in the three-run ninth, a walkoff triumph for the briefly (10-7, 1-game lead) surging Mets.

Our boys wouldn’t hold their lead for long in 1976. Ford, on the other hand, put just enough distance between himself and his charismatic rival that evening to outlast Reagan’s rightward rush in states more friendly for what was then considered his fairly exotic brand of conservatism.

When the president was officially nominated in a squeaker on August 18, the Mets were in Los Angeles and lost…in a walkoff.

The Mets were done by the time the fall campaign heated up. They went home 86-76, mired in third place. Jerry Ford’s most memorable statement in the general election was that Poland and other Eastern European countries did not suffer under the thumb of Soviet oppression. In 1976, that was a little like saying there was no Phillies domination of the Eastern Division of the National League. Nevertheless, he steadily made up ground on Carter (who was setting a template for the not-quite-blowin’-it 2005 Chicago White Sox) right to the proverbial 162nd game before falling a run or two short.

If you’re an American citizen — even a National Leaguer — this has been a fascinating week, as fascinating as one can be without baseball or a baseball trade or a baseball rolling by as you’re walking down the street. (Gads, I miss baseball.) A new governor in Albany…a new majority in both chambers of the legislature in Washington…a new Speaker of the House of Representatives named Nancy…and a President of the United States laid to rest with honor and praise three decades after he was barely nominated in his own right and barely rejected by the electorate as a whole the only time he sought its approval.

Growing up in the middle of the 1970s, bookended by the final corrosive lunges at power by Richard M. Nixon and M. Donald Grant, I watched the continuing ceremonies that marked the death of Gerald Ford and sort of waited for the punchline. Another funeral? Is he still dead? Is he going on tour? Is somebody going to drop the casket and is Chevy Chase going to burst out and let us in on the joke?

But it wasn’t like that at all. It was indeed solemn and stirring, warm and wonderful. Just like, as I’ve learned this past week, Jerry Ford himself.

Hozzie New Year!

hozziethrilled

Does not our eldest cat look thrilled? We were trying out the various bells and whistles on our new Mac the other night and H-Dawg was handy for a screen test. I can’t explain why he (and our t-shirts) are backwards but it doesn’t matter. Hosmer is preternaturally cute, especially when lying upside down.

And oh yeah…Let’s Go Mets.

More Than a Million Thanks

Happy New Year! And thank you!

Thank you for 1,450,926 page views of Faith and Fear in Flushing in 2006.

Even when you subtract out all the porn sites that glom their filthy automatic trackbacks onto us and all the times Jason and I log on to ascertain that we’re still here and all the electronic counting vagaries I sure as hell don’t understand, it means we’re not just talking to ourselves here.

Not that we’re beyond talking to ourselves here. But still.

Thank you for showing up to join us as often as you do. What you mean to us defies measure.

More Than a Million Thanks

Happy New Year! And thank you!

Thank you for 1,450,926 page views of Faith and Fear in Flushing in 2006.

Even when you subtract out all the porn sites that glom their filthy automatic trackbacks onto us and all the times Jason and I log on to ascertain that we're still here and all the electronic counting vagaries I sure as hell don't understand, it means we're not just talking to ourselves here.

Not that we're beyond talking to ourselves here. But still.

Thank you for showing up to join us as often as you do. What you mean to us defies measure.

Raise a Glass

What's all the hubbub about tonight, anyway?
We all know that New Year's is actually a moveable feast. It came on April 3 this year, it will fall on April 1 next time around. Properly, tonight is just another night in the waning of the Year of Our Mets 45. But plenty of deluded folks will spend tonight toasting and wearing funny hats and making resolutions about this thing called 2007 — so many that we ought to take notice, lest we get confused and think everybody's gathered in Times Square to celebrate word that Pedro's rehab is months ahead of schedule, or confirmation that the Marlins just sent the D-Train north for Shawn Green and Anderson Hernandez.
I'm writing these words at a quarter to three on a Sunday afternoon, which means my internal clock keeps nagging at me. Hey! Jace! There's gotta be a ballgame on somewhere. Probably in the fourth or fifth inning by now but plenty of action left. Maybe all this silly football has pushed it up the dial someplace, but it oughta at least be on the radio. No? So we're the Sunday night game, then?
Alas, no. All over but the hot-stovin', I have to remind myself, seeking comfort in the fact that the days are slowly getting longer, that winter's entrance comes with the promise of its exit. It's nice to see Halloween and Thanksgiving and Hanukkah and Christmas arrive — and since each key date off the calendar is one fewer between us and what matters, it's also been nice seeing them depart. So, welcome, Rest of the World's New Year's. Once you're behind us, all that's left is the Baseball Equinox, the Super Bowl, and Pitchers and Catchers, after which the days and nights will soon resume their right and proper patterns and rhythms.
Anyway, 2006 won't go down as a shining chapter in the American annals, staggering as it did under the weight of war and terror, division and anger. I won't miss any of that — and 2007 seems likely to deliver plenty more, anyway. But I will miss what happened in our own little orange and blue world. Because 45 MR (Mets Reckoning), it was…well, it was amazin'.
It was the first look around the friendly surly but still somehow beloved confines of Shea knowing that its days are officially numbered. So much history, glorious and futile, triumphant and farcical. With a bit more to be written before moving over a few hundred feet for another chapter.
It was new faces — of which not one but two of my signature moments were written by Paul Lo Duca. First there was the May afternoon that saw him slam the ball into the grass a la David Cone all those years ago in Atlanta. Then there was the October afternoon in which he slammed the gate on the Dodgers' postseason before it could really begin. It took me a minute or two to grasp that yes, Lo Duca had just tagged out Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew on the same deliriously unlikely play. It took me quite a bit longer to grasp that Lo Duca, utterly unable to hear his teammates on the field, had divined from some tenor to the deafening roar of the crowd that a second runner was inbound, or for me to notice around Replay #1,000 that after tagging Drew, Lo Duca sprang to his feet to see if he could erase Russell Martin as well. The first play was recklessly inattentive, the second astonishingly focused. I loved him for both.
It was old faces, too — none greeted more enthusiastically than Mike Piazza, none regarded more ambivalently than Big Mike after he celebrated his return by smacking not one but two home runs off Pedro Martinez, then came to the plate as the potential go-ahead run in the eighth — and hit an Aaron Heilman offering on the screws. That moment sparked a family feud on this little blog and throughout Metdom — do you want that third drive to come down in Beltran's glove, or disappear over the fence? Like most good arguments, there is no right answer: I cheered in relief when it turned into a loud out, but I also knew that if it had been unreachable, few losses would have been less disappointing. Speaking of old heroes, my first must-see date for 2007 will be the return of one Cornelius Clifford Floyd, the 2006 Met I'll miss most, and the player who just might be the coolest man to ever play the game.
And it was old faces seen in a new light. Carlos Beltran's 2005 (sorry, Year of Our Mets Forty-four) was a disaster: disappointing at the plate and in the field, marred by injuries small, medium and terrifying, and greeted by shameful boos from shameless fans. 2006 didn't start out much better — Beltran went into the first weekend of the year without a hit, and with that old familiar sound in his home ballpark. Then — bang! Home run! A home run followed by an old-fashioned baseball morality play — a moment that was a watershed for 2006, and maybe for Beltran and for this franchise. Beltran refused the request for a curtain call, which was just payback for his shabby treatment by the fans. Until the moment went on too long, and you knew that a) if he didn't come out, nothing he did might stop the boos; and b) there was no longer a dignified way for him to come out. And then Julio Franco found a way out of the trap, all but dragging Beltran to the top step. And with that, 2005 became past and April 6, 2006 became prelude — the precursor to a legitimate MVP season, and a love affair with the fans that not even a despairing look at a knee-buckling curve from Adam Wainwright will derail.
Not every crucial encounter between our center fielder and a Cardinals closer ended like that. In August, Beltran stepped to the plate with Lo Duca on base and the Mets down one in the ninth, setting up Gary Cohen's best call of the year and my personal moment of wildest, wildest joy in a season that offered plenty of them. “HE RIPS IT TO DEEP RIGHT! THAT BALL IS OUTTA HERE! OUTTA HERE! THE METS WIN THE BALLGAME!” If you ever, ever, ever play that call for me and I don't tear up or start beaming, please call an EMT.
That game ended with Beltran leaping into the arms of his teammates — in this marvelous photo you can see Dave Williams and Carlos Delgado and Lo Duca and others competing to be the first to dog-pile him. (Steve Trachsel's golf-clapping at the rear now seems like an icy bit of foreshadowing.) 2006 was about a Mets team that seemed to genuinely like each other, as evidenced by Lo Duca, Delgado, Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright on the cover of SI and Tom Verducci's wonderful article on “the adventures of Captain Red Ass and the intrepid Mets.” Contrast that with that other team in town, whose chief drama (also chronicled by Verducci) was whether or not the shortstop would ever release the third baseman from social purgatory.
That's just scratching the surface of an amazin', amazin', amazin' campaign — 2:45 has turned to 5:00 (it oughta be time for a last word from the booth, or maybe extra innings), and somehow I haven't turned to David Wright willing a ball over Johnny Damon's head, or Jose Reyes' helmet being left behind as he rounds second yet again, or the sheer pleasure in Gary Cohen on TV and Howie Rose on the FAN and Keith Hernandez on Planet Mex, or Delgado's trillion-watt smile, or the giddiest West Coast swing in 20 years, or the long-awaited, finally arrived crumbling of the Atlanta Braves, or what might just be the greatest damn catch in the history of the greatest damn game.
That's OK — there'll be time to think on all those things as New Year's Day 46 draws near, as well as time to wonder and then to witness what 2007 has in store. Can we surpass a season in which the margin between exhausted agony and a date with Detroit was a line drive that didn't tail, a breaking ball that broke perfectly? Will someone in orange and blue finally spring us from the Clubhouse of Curses? If so, will it be an old warhorse like Tom Glavine or El Duque? A young gun like Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber? Or some hurler not even on our radar — the John Maine of 2007, perhaps? Or will that have to wait for Citi Field, rising behind the outfield fence as 2007 goes by?
Before too terribly long we'll be deep in the business of finding out, and 2006 will be part of our long history, a chapter recalled by other wins and losses and players and plays instead of one still to be fussed over. I'll remember it as a year in which a lovable, formidable, indomitable team fought all the way to the final pitch of the final inning of Game 7 of the NLCS, with the outcome undecided until the very last second. As I've said many a time since then, in response to offerings of consolation, you can want more than that, but if you've learned anything from watching baseball, it's that you damn well can't ask for it.
Maybe 2007 will be the fulfillment of 2006's promise. Maybe it'll be a disappointing retreat from it. Either way, it's got a hard act to follow — a campaign I'll always recall with a smile, an eventual sad shake of the head, and a struggle to sum up so many days and nights of amazement and excitement and joy.
Raise a glass.

Raise a Glass

What's all the hubbub about tonight, anyway?

We all know that New Year's is actually a moveable feast. It came on April 3 this year, it will fall on April 1 next time around. Properly, tonight is just another night in the waning of the Year of Our Mets 45. But plenty of deluded folks will spend tonight toasting and wearing funny hats and making resolutions about this thing called 2007 — so many that we ought to take notice, lest we get confused and think everybody's gathered in Times Square to celebrate word that Pedro's rehab is months ahead of schedule, or confirmation that the Marlins just sent the D-Train north for Shawn Green and Anderson Hernandez.

I'm writing these words at a quarter to three on a Sunday afternoon, which means my internal clock keeps nagging at me. Hey! Jace! There's gotta be a ballgame on somewhere. Probably in the fourth or fifth inning by now but plenty of action left. Maybe all this silly football has pushed it up the dial someplace, but it oughta at least be on the radio. No? So we're the Sunday night game, then?

Alas, no. All over but the hot-stovin', I have to remind myself, seeking comfort in the fact that the days are slowly getting longer, that winter's entrance comes with the promise of its exit. It's nice to see Halloween and Thanksgiving and Hanukkah and Christmas arrive — and since each key date off the calendar is one fewer between us and what matters, it's also been nice seeing them depart. So, welcome, Rest of the World's New Year's. Once you're behind us, all that's left is the Baseball Equinox, the Super Bowl, and Pitchers and Catchers, after which the days and nights will soon resume their right and proper patterns and rhythms.

Anyway, 2006 won't go down as a shining chapter in the American annals, staggering as it did under the weight of war and terror, division and anger. I won't miss any of that — and 2007 seems likely to deliver plenty more, anyway. But I will miss what happened in our own little orange and blue world. Because 45 MR (Mets Reckoning), it was…well, it was amazin'.

It was the first look around the friendly surly but still somehow beloved confines of Shea knowing that its days are officially numbered. So much history, glorious and futile, triumphant and farcical. With a bit more to be written before moving over a few hundred feet for another chapter.

It was new faces — of which not one but two of my signature moments were written by Paul Lo Duca. First there was the May afternoon that saw him slam the ball into the grass a la David Cone all those years ago in Atlanta. Then there was the October afternoon in which he slammed the gate on the Dodgers' postseason before it could really begin. It took me a minute or two to grasp that yes, Lo Duca had just tagged out Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew on the same deliriously unlikely play. It took me quite a bit longer to grasp that Lo Duca, utterly unable to hear his teammates on the field, had divined from some tenor to the deafening roar of the crowd that a second runner was inbound, or for me to notice around Replay #1,000 that after tagging Drew, Lo Duca sprang to his feet to see if he could erase Russell Martin as well. The first play was recklessly inattentive, the second astonishingly focused. I loved him for both.

It was old faces, too — none greeted more enthusiastically than Mike Piazza, none regarded more ambivalently than Big Mike after he celebrated his return by smacking not one but two home runs off Pedro Martinez, then came to the plate as the potential go-ahead run in the eighth — and hit an Aaron Heilman offering on the screws. That moment sparked a family feud on this little blog and throughout Metdom — do you want that third drive to come down in Beltran's glove, or disappear over the fence? Like most good arguments, there is no right answer: I cheered in relief when it turned into a loud out, but I also knew that if it had been unreachable, few losses would have been less disappointing. Speaking of old heroes, my first must-see date for 2007 will be the return of one Cornelius Clifford Floyd, the 2006 Met I'll miss most, and the player who just might be the coolest man to ever play the game.

And it was old faces seen in a new light. Carlos Beltran's 2005 (sorry, Year of Our Mets Forty-four) was a disaster: disappointing at the plate and in the field, marred by injuries small, medium and terrifying, and greeted by shameful boos from shameless fans. 2006 didn't start out much better — Beltran went into the first weekend of the year without a hit, and with that old familiar sound in his home ballpark. Then — bang! Home run! A home run followed by an old-fashioned baseball morality play — a moment that was a watershed for 2006, and maybe for Beltran and for this franchise. Beltran refused the request for a curtain call, which was just payback for his shabby treatment by the fans. Until the moment went on too long, and you knew that a) if he didn't come out, nothing he did might stop the boos; and b) there was no longer a dignified way for him to come out. And then Julio Franco found a way out of the trap, all but dragging Beltran to the top step. And with that, 2005 became past and April 6, 2006 became prelude — the precursor to a legitimate MVP season, and a love affair with the fans that not even a despairing look at a knee-buckling curve from Adam Wainwright will derail.

Not every crucial encounter between our center fielder and a Cardinals closer ended like that. In August, Beltran stepped to the plate with Lo Duca on base and the Mets down one in the ninth, setting up Gary Cohen's best call of the year and my personal moment of wildest, wildest joy in a season that offered plenty of them. “HE RIPS IT TO DEEP RIGHT! THAT BALL IS OUTTA HERE! OUTTA HERE! THE METS WIN THE BALLGAME!” If you ever, ever, ever play that call for me and I don't tear up or start beaming, please call an EMT.

That game ended with Beltran leaping into the arms of his teammates — in this marvelous photo you can see Dave Williams and Carlos Delgado and Lo Duca and others competing to be the first to dog-pile him. (Steve Trachsel's golf-clapping at the rear now seems like an icy bit of foreshadowing.) 2006 was about a Mets team that seemed to genuinely like each other, as evidenced by Lo Duca, Delgado, Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright on the cover of SI and Tom Verducci's wonderful article on “the adventures of Captain Red Ass and the intrepid Mets.” Contrast that with that other team in town, whose chief drama (also chronicled by Verducci) was whether or not the shortstop would ever release the third baseman from social purgatory.

That's just scratching the surface of an amazin', amazin', amazin' campaign — 2:45 has turned to 5:00 (it oughta be time for a last word from the booth, or maybe extra innings), and somehow I haven't turned to David Wright willing a ball over Johnny Damon's head, or Jose Reyes' helmet being left behind as he rounds second yet again, or the sheer pleasure in Gary Cohen on TV and Howie Rose on the FAN and Keith Hernandez on Planet Mex, or Delgado's trillion-watt smile, or the giddiest West Coast swing in 20 years, or the long-awaited, finally arrived crumbling of the Atlanta Braves, or what might just be the greatest damn catch in the history of the greatest damn game.

That's OK — there'll be time to think on all those things as New Year's Day 46 draws near, as well as time to wonder and then to witness what 2007 has in store. Can we surpass a season in which the margin between exhausted agony and a date with Detroit was a line drive that didn't tail, a breaking ball that broke perfectly? Will someone in orange and blue finally spring us from the Clubhouse of Curses? If so, will it be an old warhorse like Tom Glavine or El Duque? A young gun like Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber? Or some hurler not even on our radar — the John Maine of 2007, perhaps? Or will that have to wait for Citi Field, rising behind the outfield fence as 2007 goes by?

Before too terribly long we'll be deep in the business of finding out, and 2006 will be part of our long history, a chapter recalled by other wins and losses and players and plays instead of one still to be fussed over. I'll remember it as a year in which a lovable, formidable, indomitable team fought all the way to the final pitch of the final inning of Game 7 of the NLCS, with the outcome undecided until the very last second. As I've said many a time since then, in response to offerings of consolation, you can want more than that, but if you've learned anything from watching baseball, it's that you damn well can't ask for it.

Maybe 2007 will be the fulfillment of 2006's promise. Maybe it'll be a disappointing retreat from it. Either way, it's got a hard act to follow — a campaign I'll always recall with a smile, an eventual sad shake of the head, and a struggle to sum up so many days and nights of amazement and excitement and joy.

Raise a glass.

The Top 500 Songs of All-Time

As promised or perhaps threatened, here are what I humbly refer to as The Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1972-1999), determined solely by me and presented without commercial interruption in the WFUN-AM 790 Miami New Year's Eve countdown style I first encountered 34 birthdays ago today.
Less talk. More rock…
500. Dialogue (Part I & II) – Chicago (1972)
499. Shine – Collective Soul (1994)
498. Sail On – The Commodores (1979)
497. Behind Closed Doors – Charlie Rich (1973)
496. This Time – INXS (1985)
495. Hey Jealousy – Gin Blossoms (1993)
494. Let's Get It On – Marvin Gaye (1973)
493. We're Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister (1984)
492. S.O.S. – ABBA (1975)
491. 'Til My Baby Comes Home – Luther Vandross (1985)
490. Walls (Circus) – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1996)
489. Steal My Sunshine – Len (1999)
488. Back Stabbers – The O'Jays (1972)
487. Gold – Spandau Ballet (1984)
486. Been To Canaan – Carole King (1972)
485. Hurricane (Part I) – Bob Dylan (1976)
484. Sucked Out – Superdrag (1996)
483. Let's Go All The Way – Sly Fox (1986)
482. St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion) – John Parr (1985)
481. Feels So Good – Chuck Mangione (1978)
480. Sultans Of Swing – Dire Straits (1979)
479. Radio Ga Ga – Queen (1984)
478. Swearin' To God – Frankie Valli (1975)
477. Southern Cross – Crosby, Stills & Nash (1982)
476. Call On Me – Chicago (1974)
475. Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone – Manhattan Transfer (1980)
474. Love Takes Time – Orleans (1979)
473. Linger – The Cranberries (1993)
472. Forever Man – Eric Clapton (1985)
471. Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…) – Lou Bega (1999)
470. Sleeping Satellite – Tasmin Archer (1993)
469. Losing My Religion – R.E.M. (1991)
468. Men Without Shame – Phantom, Rocker & Slick (1986)
467. Black Coffee In Bed – Squeeze (1982)
466. A Matter Of Trust – Billy Joel (1986)
465. Easy Lover – Philip Bailey & Phil Collins (1984)
464. I'm So Excited – Pointer Sisters (1984)
463. Love Rollercoaster – Ohio Players (1976)
462. Oh, Babe What Would You Say – Hurricane Smith (1973)
461. Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon (1977)
460. Good – Better Than Ezra (1995)
459. Painted Ladies – Ian Thomas (1974)
458. With A Little Luck – Paul McCartney & Wings (1978)
457. O.P.P. – Naughty By Nature (1991)
456. Reminiscing – Little River Band (1978)
455. Out Of Touch – Daryl Hall & John Oates (1984)
454. The Show Must Go On – Three Dog Night (1974)
453. Only The Lonely – The Motels (1982)
452. Constant Craving – k.d. lang (1992)
451. The Main Event/Fight – Barbra Streisand (1979)
450. Delta Dawn – Helen Reddy (1973)
449. Street Life – The Crusaders (1979)
448. (Just Like) Starting Over – John Lennon (1980)
447. Invisible Touch – Genesis (1986)
446. Tired Of Toein' The Line – Rocky Burnette (1980)
445. Rockin' Roll Baby – The Stylistics (1973)
444. Cherchez La Femme – Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band (1977)
443. Here You Come Again – Dolly Parton (1978)
442. Bungle In The Jungle – Jethro Tull (1974)
441. The Fire Inside – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1991)
440. Tight Rope – Leon Russell (1972)
439. Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat – Don Henley (1993)
438. Army – Ben Folds Five (1999)
437. December 1963 (Oh, What A Night) – The 4 Seasons (1976)
436. Yes – Merry Clayton (1988)
435. One Of These Nights – The Eagles (1975)
434. Overkill – Men At Work (1983)
433. 99 Red Balloons – Nena (1984)
432. To Sir With Love – 10,000 Maniacs & Michael Stipe (1993)
431. Rocky Mountain Way – Joe Walsh (1973)
430. Baker Street – Gerry Rafferty (1978)
429. Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady – Helen Reddy (1975)
428. The Tide Is High – Blondie (1981)
427. Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got) – Four Tops (1973)
426. C'mon C'mon (We're Gonna Get It Started) – Sloan (1998)
425. Night Moves – Bob Seger (1977)
424. You Take Me Up – Thompson Twins (1984)
423. Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (1979)
422. Take Me Home Tonight – Eddie Money & Ronnie Spector (1986)
421. All Fired Up – Pat Benatar (1988)
420. It's Money That Matters – Randy Newman (1988)
419. One Step Closer – Doobie Brothers (1981)
418. I Shall Sing – Art Garfunkel (1974)
417. Hot Child In The City – Nick Gilder (1978)
416. Sunshine – Jonathan Edwards (1972)
415. Sun's Gonna Rise – Sass Jordan (1994)
414. Rush – Big Audio Dynamite II (1991)
413. Just You 'N' Me – Chicago (1973)
412. Strawberry Letter 23 – Brothers Johnson (1977)
411. On The Western Skyline – Bruce Hornsby & The Range (1987)
410. 12 Years Old – Kim Stockwood (1999)
409. Hooked On A Feeling – Blue Swede (1974)
408. I'll Play For You – Seals & Croft (1975)
407. Oh Very Young – Cat Stevens (1974)
406. Dance With Me – Orleans (1975)
405. Just Too Many People – Melissa Manchester (1975)
404. Photograph – Ringo Starr (1973)
403. Midnight Blue – Lou Gramm (1987)
402. Born To Be Alive – Patrick Hernandez (1979)
401. Handle With Care – Traveling Wilburys (1988)
400. Fall Down – Toad The Wet Sprocket (1994)
399. Abra-Ca-Dabra – The DeFranco Family (1974)
398. Praise You – Fatboy Slim (1999)
397. Brimful Of Asha – Cornershop (1998)
396. Freedom 90 – George Michael (1990)
395. I Can’t Cry Anymore – Sheryl Crow (1995)
394. Invisible – Alison Moyet (1985)
393. I Love You Always Forever – Donna Lewis (1996)
392. Mamma Mia – ABBA (1976)
391. Jack And Jill – Raydio (1978)
390. Mornin’ Beautiful – Tony Orlando & Dawn (1975)
389. Self Esteem – The Offspring (1994)
388. Hysteria – Def Leppard (1988)
387. Rock The Boat – Hues Corporation (1974)
386. Put Your Hands Together – The O’Jays (1974)
385. Dreams I Dream – Dave Mason & Phoebe Snow (1988)
384. Rocky Mountain High – John Denver (1973)
383. Lido Shuffle – Boz Scaggs (1977)
382. Bitter – Jill Sobule (1997)
381. Waiting For A Star To Fall – Boy Meets Girl (1988)
380. Love Song – The Cure (1989)
379. (I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love – Paul Anka & Odia Coates (1975)
378. Change The World – Eric Clapton (1996)
377. Goin’ Down – Greg Guidry (1982)
376. Livin’ Thing – Electric Light Orchestra (1977)
375. One Week – Barenaked Ladies (1998)
374. Chuck E.’s In Love – Rickie Lee Jones (1979)
373. Automatic – Pointer Sisters (1984)
372. I’m Coming Home – Johnny Mathis (1973)
371. All This Time – Sting (1991)
370. Your Smiling Face – James Taylor (1978)
369. Laid – James (1994)
368. Friends – Bette Midler (1973)
367. Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne – Looking Glass (1973)
366. Me And Mrs. Jones – Billy Paul (1972)
365. Paloma Blanca – George Baker Selection (1976)
364. Longfellow Serenade – Neil Diamond (1974)
363. It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me – Billy Joel (1980)
362. It’s A Miracle – Barry Manilow (1975)
361. Sowing The Seeds Of Love – Tears For Fears (1989)
360. I Live For Your Love – Natalie Cole (1988)
359. Only Yesterday – The Carpenters (1975)
358. I Want A New Drug – Huey Lewis & The News (1984)
357. Don’t Let Go – Isaac Hayes (1980)
356. Soldier Of Love – Donny Osmond (1989)
355. Why Can’t This Be Love – Van Halen (1986)
354. Drowning In The Sea Of Love – Joe Simon (1972)
353. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart – Elton John & Kiki Dee (1976)
352. The Language Of Love – Dan Fogelberg (1984)
351. Pressure – Billy Joel (1982)
350. Kung Fu Fighting – Carl Douglas (1974)
349. Head Over Heels – The Go-Go’s (1984)
348. This Is It – Kenny Loggins (1980)
347. Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard – Paul Simon (1972)
346. You Make Me Feel Brand New – The Stylistics (1974)
345. Cruisin’ – Smokey Robinson (1979)
344. Living For The City – Stevie Wonder (1974)
343. This Little Girl – Gary (U.S.) Bonds (1981)
342. Doctor My Eyes – Jackson Browne (1972)
341. Be Near Me – ABC (1985)
340. Superfly – Curtis Mayfield (1972)
339. Breakout – Swing Out Sister (1987)
338. Some Kinda Wonderful – Sky (1998)
337. Back When My Hair Was Short – Gunhill Road (1973)
336. The Only Flame In Town – Elvis Costello & Daryl Hall (1984)
335. Sometimes A Fantasy – Billy Joel (1980)
334. Alive And Kicking – Simple Minds (1985)
333. More Than A Woman – Tavares (1978)
332. Hope Of Deliverance – Paul McCartney (1993)
331. Grease – Frankie Valli (1978)
330. Island Girl – Elton John (1975)
329. Life In A Northern Town – Dream Academy (1986)
328. Love Machine – The Miracles (1976)
327. No Myth – Michael Penn (1990)
326. Is She Really Going Out With Him? – Joe Jackson (1979)
325. Kodachrome – Paul Simon (1973)
324. Ghetto Child – The Spinners (1973)
323. Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat) – Digable Planets (1993)
322. Valerie – Steve Winwood (1987)
321. Be Thankful For What You Got – William DeVaughn (1974)
320. Night In My Veins – The Pretenders (1994)
319. Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone) – Glass Tiger (1986)
318. Anniversary Song – Cowboy Junkies (1994)
317. I Can Dream About You – Dan Hartman (1984)
316. Up On The Roof – James Taylor (1979)
315. I’ve Got To Use My Imagination – Gladys Knight & The Pips (1974)
314. A Life Of Illusion – Joe Walsh (1981)
313. The Old Man Down The Road – John Fogerty (1985)
312. Listen To What The Man Said – Paul McCartney & Wings (1975)
311. Haven’t Got Time For The Pain – Carly Simon (1974)
310. Across The River – Bruce Hornsby & The Range (1990)
309. Whodunit – Tavares (1977)
308. Daybreak – Barry Manilow (1977)
307. Tom’s Diner – D.N.A. Featuring Suzanne Vega (1990)
306. Mighty High – Mighty Clouds Of Joy (1976)
305. Spies Like Us – Paul McCartney (1986)
304. Jenny Says – Cowboy Mouth (1997)
303. Rikki Don’t Lose That Number – Steely Dan (1974)
302. Boogie Down – Eddie Kendricks (1974)
301. Natural High – Bloodstone (1973)
300. You’re The First, The Last, My Everything – Barry White (1974)
299. Back On The Chain Gang – The Pretenders (1983)
298. Burning Love – Elvis Presley (1972)
297. Pop Muzik – M (1979)
296. Mexican Radio – Wall Of Voodoo (1983)
295. Dead Giveaway – Shalamar (1983)
294. Everyday I Write The Book – Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1983)
293. Paper In Fire – John Cougar Mellencamp (1987)
292. Bette Davis Eyes – Kim Carnes (1981)
291. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap – AC/DC (1981)
290. Dancing In The Moonlight – King Harvest (1973)
289. The Salt In My Tears – Martin Briley (1983)
288. Sister Golden Hair – America (1975)
287. The Warrior – Scandal Featuring Patty Smyth (1984)
286. Safety Dance – Men Without Hats (1983)
285. Drift Away – Dobie Gray (1973)
284. 867-5309/Jenny – Tommy Tutone (1982)
283. Thinking Of You – Loggins & Messina (1973)
282. Pillow Talk – Sylvia (1973)
281. Puttin’ On The Ritz – Taco (1983)
280. Lovely Day – Bill Withers (1978)
279. Centerfold – J. Geils Band (1982)
278. Sausalito Summer Night – Diesel (1981)
277. New Frontier – Donald Fagen (1983)
276. Pour Some Sugar On Me – Def Leppard (1988)
275. You Don’t Know How It Feels – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1994)
274. Blinded By The Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (1977)
273. Come Baby Come – K7 (1993)
272. Sweet Love – Anita Baker (1986)
271. Crumblin’ Down – John Cougar Mellencamp (1983)
270. Magic – Olivia Newton-John (1980)
269. The Entertainer – Billy Joel (1974)
268. Pray – M.C. Hammer (1990)
267. Birdland – Manhattan Transfer (1981)
266. Nightshift – Commodores (1985)
265. Cherish – Madonna (1989)
264. Horse With No Name – America (1972)
263. Regulate – Warren G & Nate Dogg (1994)
262. Right Back Where We Started From – Maxine Nightingale (1976)
261. Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds (1985)
260. Tomorrow’s Girls – Donald Fagen (1993)
259. Man On The Moon – R.E.M. (1993)
258. Lawyers In Love – Jackson Browne (1983)
257. Summer – War (1976)
256. The Real End – Rickie Lee Jones (1984)
255. Every Morning – Sugar Ray (1999)
254. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet – Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1974)
253. Dear God – XTC (1987)
252. Don’t Shed A Tear – Paul Carrack (1988)
251. Gel – Collective Soul (1995)
250. Son Of My Father – Giorgio (1972)
249. Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You – Sugarloaf (1975)
248. The Sweetest Taboo – Sade (1986)
247. Doll Parts – Hole (1994)
246. Dreaming A Dream – Crown Heights Affair (1975)
245. Hey Nineteen – Steely Dan (1981)
244. Forever Your Girl – Paula Abdul (1989)
243. Band On The Run – Paul McCartney & Wings (1974)
242. Inside – Patti Rothberg (1996)
241. Carefree Highway – Gordon Lightfoot (1974)
240. Moonlight Feels Right – Starbuck (1976)
239. Boogie Nights – Heatwave (1977)
238. Heartache Tonight – The Eagles (1979)
237. Groove Is In The Heart – Dee-Lite (1990)
236. You Ought To Be With Me – Al Green (1972)
235. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues – Danny O’Keefe (1972)
234. Peg – Steely Dan (1978)
233. The Obvious Child – Paul Simon (1990)
232. Rock And Roll Girls – John Fogerty (1985)
231. Feed The Tree – Belly (1993)
230. Walk The Dinosaur – Was (Not Was) (1989)
229. Makin’ It – David Naughton (1979)
228. Dancing Queen – ABBA (1977)
227. Lovefool – The Cardigans (1997)
226. Old Days – Chicago (1975)
225. Black & White – Three Dog Night (1972)
224. Keeper of the Flame – Martin Page (1995)
223. Afternoon Delight – Starland Vocal Band (1976)
222. So Alive – Love & Rockets (1989)
221. American City Suite – Cashman & West (1972)
220. Under The Clock – Janey Street (1985)
219. Brick – Ben Folds Five (1998)
218. One Less Set of Footsteps – Jim Croce (1973)
217. Junior’s Farm – Paul McCartney & Wings (1975)
216. White Lines – Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (1983)
215. Tin Man – America (1974)
214. Flagpole Sitta – Harvey Danger (1998)
213. You Get What You Give – New Radicals (1999)
212. Undercover Angel – Alan O’Day (1977)
211. Veronica – Elvis Costello (1989)
210. Mockingbird – Carly Simon & James Taylor (1974)
209. How Much Love – Leo Sayer (1977)
208. Get Down – Gilbert O’Sullivan (1973)
207. Smoke From A Distant Fire – Sanford/Townsend Band (1977)
206. Beautiful Sunday – Daniel Boone (1972)
205. Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) – The Offspring (1998)
204. Borderline – Madonna (1984)
203. Magic To Do – Cast of “Pippin” (1973)
202. You Better You Bet – The Who (1981)
201. The Way To Your Heart – Soulsister (1989)
200. When I Come Around – Green Day (1994)
199. A Long December – Counting Crows (1996)
198. Let's Stay Together – Al Green (1972)
197. I Feel For You – Chaka Khan (1984)
196. Sideshow – Blue Magic (1974)
195. Nights On Broadway – The Bee Gees (1975)
194. Need You Tonight – INXS (1988)
193. Sundown – Gordon Lightfoot (1974)
192. Like The Way I Do – Melissa Etheridge (1988)
191. Mysterious Ways – U2 (1991)
190. U Can't Touch This – M.C. Hammer (1990)
189. Come Out And Play – The Offspring (1994)
188. I'm Your Baby Tonight – Whitney Houston (1990)
187. To Be With You – Mr. Big (1992)
186. The Name Of The Game – ABBA (1978)
185. Bad Blood – Neil Sedaka & Elton John (1975)
184. Rock This Town – Stray Cats (1982)
183. Rubberband Man – The Spinners (1976)
182. I'll Be There For You – The Rembrandts (1995)
181. Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind (1997)
180. I Touch Myself – The Divinyls (1991)
179. Someone Saved My Life Tonight – Elton John (1975)
178. Come And Get Your Love – Redbone (1974)
177. Brother Louie – Stories (1973)
176. Head To Toe – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (1987)
175. I'm Stone In Love With You – The Stylistics (1972)
174. Why Can't We Be Friends – War (1975)
173. You Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette (1995)
172. A Change Would Do You Good – Sheryl Crow (1997)
171. I'm Too Sexy – Right Said Fred (1992)
170. Piano In The Dark – Brenda Russell (1988)
169. Battleship Chains – The Georgia Satellites (1987)
168. You Make My Dreams – Daryl Hall & John Oates (1981)
167. Lonely Ol' Night – John Mellencamp (1985)
166. In The House Of Stone And Light – Martin Page (1994)
165. Straight Up – Paula Abdul (1989)
164. Lucas With The Lid Off – Lucas (1994)
163. Better Days – Bruce Springsteen (1992)
162. Glory Days – Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (1985)
161. Breaking Away – Balance (1981)
160. Don't You Write Her Off – McGuinn, Clark & Hillman (1979)
159. Special Lady – Ray, Goodman & Brown (1980)
158. My Girl – Chilliwack (1981)
157. Centerfield – John Fogerty (1985)
156. Then Came You – Dionne Warwicke & The Spinners (1974)
155. Shake It – Ian Matthews (1979)
154. Whenever I Call You Friend – Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks (1978)
153. Dancing In The Dark – Bruce Springsteen (1984)
152. The Boys Are Back In Town – Thin Lizzy (1976)
151. Mr. Jones – Counting Crows (1994)
150. The City Of New Orleans – Arlo Guthrie (1972)
149. Mother And Child Reunion – Paul Simon (1972)
148. Human Touch – Bruce Springsteen (1992)
147. Garden Party – Rick Nelson (1972)
146. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant – Billy Joel (1978)
145. That Thing You Do! – The Wonders (1996)
144. Spiders & Snakes – Jim Stafford (1974)
143. Saturday In The Park – Chicago (1972)
142. Up In A Puff Of Smoke – Polly Brown (1975)
141. Hearts On Fire – Randy Meisner (1981)
140. That's The Way Of The World – Earth, Wind & Fire (1975)
139. Native New Yorker – Odyssey (1977)
138. Tennessee – Arrested Development (1992)
137. Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) – Jim Croce (1972)
136. She's So Cold – The Rolling Stones (1980)
135. Could It Be I'm Falling In Love – The Spinners (1973)
134. Stomp – Brothers Johnson (1980)
133. On The Radio – Donna Summer (1980)
132. Dance Hall Days – Wang Chung (1984)
131. Right Between The Eyes – Wax (1986)
130. What You Won't Do For Love – Bobby Caldwell (1979)
129. Let My Love Open The Door – Pete Townshend (1980)
128. Sky High – Jigsaw (1975)
127. Endicott – Kid Creole & The Coconuts (1985)
126. What Are We Doin' In Love – Dottie West & Kenny Rogers (1981)
125. Maria's Wedding – Black 47 (1993)
124. Use Me – Bill Withers (1972)
123. Rockin' Chair – Gwen McCrae (1975)
122. Heaven Knows – Donna Summer & Brooklyn Dreams (1979)
121. Jet – Paul McCartney & Wings (1974)
120. Driver's Seat – Sniff 'N' The Tears (1979)
119. Help Me – Joni Mitchell (1974)
118. Rock Me Gently – Andy Kim (1974)
117. Higher Love – Stevie Winwood (1986)
116. Jazzman – Carole King (1974)
115. Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover – Sophie B. Hawkins (1992)
114. One Headlight – The Wallflowers (1996)
113. Little Willy – The Sweet (1973)
112. Until You Come Back To Me – Aretha Franklin (1974)
111. Radar Love – Golden Earring (1974)
110. How Do You Do – Mouth & Macneal (1972)
109. Tell Me Something Good – Rufus (1974)
108. I'm Doin' Fine – New York City (1973)
107. Keeper Of The Castle – The Four Tops (1973)
106. My Maria – B.W. Stevenson (1973)
105. Mighty Love – The Spinners (1974)
104. Corner Of The Sky – The Jackson 5 (1973)
103. Allentown – Billy Joel (1983)
102. Tommy, Judy & Me – Rob Hegel (1980)
101. This Will Be – Natalie Cole (1975)
100. Couldn't Get It Right – Climax Blues Band (1977)
99. The Look – Roxette (1989)
98. Hold On – Wilson Phillips (1990)
97. Leave Virginia Alone – Rod Stewart (1995)
96. Brilliant Disguise – Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (1987)
95. Where Have All The Cowboys Gone? – Paula Cole (1997)
94. The Valley Road – Bruce Hornsby & The Range (1988)
93. I'm Alive – Jackson Browne (1994)
92. Time And Tide – Basia (1988)
91. Yes We Can Can – The Pointer Sisters (1973)
90. Got To Get You Into My Life – The Beatles (1976)
89. I Got A Name – Jim Croce (1973)
88. Iko Iko – The Belle Stars (1989)
87. You Can't Get What You Want – Joe Jackson (1984)
86. You Little Trustmaker – The Tymes (1974)
85. I Want You – Savage Garden (1997)
84. Deacon Blues – Steely Dan (1978)
83. Jungle Boy – John Eddie (1986)
82. Stay – Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (1994)
81. One Night In Bangkok – Murray Head (1985)
80. Two Princes – Spin Doctors (1993)
79. Brandy (You're A Fine Girl) – Looking Glass (1972)
78. Misdemeanor – Foster Sylvers (1973)
77. Steppin' Out – Joe Jackson (1982)
76. Time Passages – Al Stewart (1978)
75. Don't Make Me Over – Sybil (1989)
74. Wild, Wild West – The Escape Club (1988)
73. Heaven On The 7th Floor – Paul Nicholas (1977)
72. Driedel – Don McLean (1973)
71. Life Is A Highway – Tom Cochrane (1992)
70. Bad Time – Grand Funk (1975)
69. I Gotcha – Joe Tex (1972)
68. You're So Vain – Carly Simon (1973)
67. People Make The World Go Round – The Stylistics (1972)
66. Stumblin' In – Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman (1979)
65. Always Something There To Remind Me – Naked Eyes (1983)
64. Keep On Truckin' – Eddie Kendricks (1973)
63. Once Bitten Twice Shy – Great White (1989)
62. Keep It Comin' Love – K.C. & The Sunshine Band (1977)
61. '65 Love Affair – Paul Davis (1982)
60. Downstream – The Rainmakers (1986)
59. Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me) – Reunion (1974)
58. Copperline – James Taylor (1991)
57. Freddie's Dead – Curtis Mayfield (1972)
56. Kiss Him Goodbye – The Nylons (1987)
55. We Built This City – Starship (1985)
54. Let The River Run – Carly Simon (1989)
53. When Doves Cry – Prince (1984)
52. Who Do You Think You Are – Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods (1974)
51. Paradise By The Dashboard Light – Meat Loaf (1978)
50. Free Man In Paris – Joni Mitchell (1974)
49. Just Don't Want To Be Lonely – The Main Ingredient (1974)
48. Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinead O'Connor (1990)
47. Call It Love – Poco (1989)
46. Stand By – Roman Holliday (1983)
45. Everything Falls Apart – Dog's Eye View (1996)
44. Forever In Blue Jeans – Neil Diamond (1979)
43. Beach Baby – First Class (1974)
42. Girls With Guns – Tommy Shaw (1984)
41. Walking In Memphis – Marc Cohn (1991)
40. Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) – Us3 (1993)
39. I'll Be Around – The Spinners (1972)
38. Magic – Pilot (1975)
37. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers (1993)
36. Magic Man – Heart (1976)
35. Let It Ride – Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1974)
34. Everybody Plays The Fool – The Main Ingredient (1972)
33. Tainted Love – Soft Cell (1982)
32. Thunder Island – Jay Ferguson (1978)
31. My Life – Billy Joel (1978)
30. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Wham! (1984)
29. Lump – The Presidents of the United States of America (1995)
28. Everlasting Love – Carl Carlton (1974)
27. Am I The Same Girl – Swing Out Sister (1992)
26. Personal Jesus – Depeche Mode (1989)
25. My Sharona – The Knack (1979)
24. They Just Can't Stop It The (Games People Play) – The Spinners (1975)
23. The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia – Vicki Lawrence (1973)
22. Rock And Roll Part 2 – Gary Glitter (1972)
21. Wonderwall – The Mike Flowers Pops (1996)
20. Seasons Of Love – Stevie Wonder & The Cast of “Rent” (1996)
19. Hang On In There Baby – Johnny Bristol (1974)
18. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life – Stevie Wonder (1973)
17. Love Shack – The B-52's (1989)
16. Convoy – C.W. McCall (1976)
15. Waterloo – ABBA (1974)
14. Kiss – Prince And The Revolution (1986)
13. Another One Bites The Dust – Queen (1980)
12. Mary's Prayer – Danny Wilson (1987)
11. Only The Good Die Young – Billy Joel (1978)
10. One Of A Kind (Love Affair) – The Spinners (1973)
9. Baby Baby – Amy Grant (1991)
8. Rosanna – Toto (1982)
7. Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice (1990)
6. Ariel – Dean Friedman (1977)
5. Get Used To It – Roger Voudouris (1979)
4. Come On Eileen – Dexys Midnight Runners (1983)
3. Roll To Me – Del Amitri (1995)
2. The Night Chicago Died – Paper Lace (1974)
1. American Pie – Don McLean (1972)
There you have it. The Top 500 Songs of All-Time. Thanks for tuning in today and throughout 2006. Happy 2007, everybody.

The Top 500 Songs of All-Time

As promised or perhaps threatened, here are what I humbly refer to as The Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1972-1999), determined solely by me and presented without commercial interruption in the WFUN-AM 790 Miami New Year’s Eve countdown style I first encountered 34 birthdays ago today.

Less talk. More rock…

500. Dialogue (Part I & II) – Chicago (1972)

499. Shine – Collective Soul (1994)

498. Sail On – The Commodores (1979)

497. Behind Closed Doors – Charlie Rich (1973)

496. This Time – INXS (1985)

495. Hey Jealousy – Gin Blossoms (1993)

494. Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye (1973)

493. We’re Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister (1984)

492. S.O.S. – ABBA (1975)

491. ‘Til My Baby Comes Home – Luther Vandross (1985)

490. Walls (Circus) – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1996)

489. Steal My Sunshine – Len (1999)

488. Back Stabbers – The O’Jays (1972)

487. Gold – Spandau Ballet (1984)

486. Been To Canaan – Carole King (1972)

485. Hurricane (Part I) – Bob Dylan (1976)

484. Sucked Out – Superdrag (1996)

483. Let’s Go All The Way – Sly Fox (1986)

482. St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion) – John Parr (1985)

481. Feels So Good – Chuck Mangione (1978)

480. Sultans Of Swing – Dire Straits (1979)

479. Radio Ga Ga – Queen (1984)

478. Swearin’ To God – Frankie Valli (1975)

477. Southern Cross – Crosby, Stills & Nash (1982)

476. Call On Me – Chicago (1974)

475. Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone – Manhattan Transfer (1980)

474. Love Takes Time – Orleans (1979)

473. Linger – The Cranberries (1993)

472. Forever Man – Eric Clapton (1985)

471. Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…) – Lou Bega (1999)

470. Sleeping Satellite – Tasmin Archer (1993)

469. Losing My Religion – R.E.M. (1991)

468. Men Without Shame – Phantom, Rocker & Slick (1986)

467. Black Coffee In Bed – Squeeze (1982)

466. A Matter Of Trust – Billy Joel (1986)

465. Easy Lover – Philip Bailey & Phil Collins (1984)

464. I’m So Excited – Pointer Sisters (1984)

463. Love Rollercoaster – Ohio Players (1976)

462. Oh, Babe What Would You Say – Hurricane Smith (1973)

461. Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon (1977)

460. Good – Better Than Ezra (1995)

459. Painted Ladies – Ian Thomas (1974)

458. With A Little Luck – Paul McCartney & Wings (1978)

457. O.P.P. – Naughty By Nature (1991)

456. Reminiscing – Little River Band (1978)

455. Out Of Touch – Daryl Hall & John Oates (1984)

454. The Show Must Go On – Three Dog Night (1974)

453. Only The Lonely – The Motels (1982)

452. Constant Craving – k.d. lang (1992)

451. The Main Event/Fight – Barbra Streisand (1979)

450. Delta Dawn – Helen Reddy (1973)

449. Street Life – The Crusaders (1979)

448. (Just Like) Starting Over – John Lennon (1980)

447. Invisible Touch – Genesis (1986)

446. Tired Of Toein’ The Line – Rocky Burnette (1980)

445. Rockin’ Roll Baby – The Stylistics (1973)

444. Cherchez La Femme – Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band (1977)

443. Here You Come Again – Dolly Parton (1978)

442. Bungle In The Jungle – Jethro Tull (1974)

441. The Fire Inside – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1991)

440. Tight Rope – Leon Russell (1972)

439. Sit Down You’re Rockin’ The Boat – Don Henley (1993)

438. Army – Ben Folds Five (1999)

437. December 1963 (Oh, What A Night) – The 4 Seasons (1976)

436. Yes – Merry Clayton (1988)

435. One Of These Nights – The Eagles (1975)

434. Overkill – Men At Work (1983)

433. 99 Red Balloons – Nena (1984)

432. To Sir With Love – 10,000 Maniacs & Michael Stipe (1993)

431. Rocky Mountain Way – Joe Walsh (1973)

430. Baker Street – Gerry Rafferty (1978)

429. Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady – Helen Reddy (1975)

428. The Tide Is High – Blondie (1981)

427. Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got) – Four Tops (1973)

426. C’mon C’mon (We’re Gonna Get It Started) – Sloan (1998)

425. Night Moves – Bob Seger (1977)

424. You Take Me Up – Thompson Twins (1984)

423. Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (1979)

422. Take Me Home Tonight – Eddie Money & Ronnie Spector (1986)

421. All Fired Up – Pat Benatar (1988)

420. It’s Money That Matters – Randy Newman (1988)

419. One Step Closer – Doobie Brothers (1981)

418. I Shall Sing – Art Garfunkel (1974)

417. Hot Child In The City – Nick Gilder (1978)

416. Sunshine – Jonathan Edwards (1972)

415. Sun’s Gonna Rise – Sass Jordan (1994)

414. Rush – Big Audio Dynamite II (1991)

413. Just You ‘N’ Me – Chicago (1973)

412. Strawberry Letter 23 – Brothers Johnson (1977)

411. On The Western Skyline – Bruce Hornsby & The Range (1987)

410. 12 Years Old – Kim Stockwood (1999)

409. Hooked On A Feeling – Blue Swede (1974)

408. I’ll Play For You – Seals & Croft (1975)

407. Oh Very Young – Cat Stevens (1974)

406. Dance With Me – Orleans (1975)

405. Just Too Many People – Melissa Manchester (1975)

404. Photograph – Ringo Starr (1973)

403. Midnight Blue – Lou Gramm (1987)

402. Born To Be Alive – Patrick Hernandez (1979)

401. Handle With Care – Traveling Wilburys (1988)

400. Fall Down – Toad The Wet Sprocket (1994)

399. Abra-Ca-Dabra – The DeFranco Family (1974)

398. Praise You – Fatboy Slim (1999)

397. Brimful Of Asha – Cornershop (1998)

396. Freedom 90 – George Michael (1990)

395. I Can’t Cry Anymore – Sheryl Crow (1995)

394. Invisible – Alison Moyet (1985)

393. I Love You Always Forever – Donna Lewis (1996)

392. Mamma Mia – ABBA (1976)

391. Jack And Jill – Raydio (1978)

390. Mornin’ Beautiful – Tony Orlando & Dawn (1975)

389. Self Esteem – The Offspring (1994)

388. Hysteria – Def Leppard (1988)

387. Rock The Boat – Hues Corporation (1974)

386. Put Your Hands Together – The O’Jays (1974)

385. Dreams I Dream – Dave Mason & Phoebe Snow (1988)

384. Rocky Mountain High – John Denver (1973)

383. Lido Shuffle – Boz Scaggs (1977)

382. Bitter – Jill Sobule (1997)

381. Waiting For A Star To Fall – Boy Meets Girl (1988)

380. Love Song – The Cure (1989)

379. (I Believe) There’s Nothing Stronger Than Our Love – Paul Anka & Odia Coates (1975)

378. Change The World – Eric Clapton (1996)

377. Goin’ Down – Greg Guidry (1982)

376. Livin’ Thing – Electric Light Orchestra (1977)

375. One Week – Barenaked Ladies (1998)

374. Chuck E.’s In Love – Rickie Lee Jones (1979)

373. Automatic – Pointer Sisters (1984)

372. I’m Coming Home – Johnny Mathis (1973)

371. All This Time – Sting (1991)

370. Your Smiling Face – James Taylor (1978)

369. Laid – James (1994)

368. Friends – Bette Midler (1973)

367. Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne – Looking Glass (1973)

366. Me And Mrs. Jones – Billy Paul (1972)

365. Paloma Blanca – George Baker Selection (1976)

364. Longfellow Serenade – Neil Diamond (1974)

363. It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me – Billy Joel (1980)

362. It’s A Miracle – Barry Manilow (1975)

361. Sowing The Seeds Of Love – Tears For Fears (1989)

360. I Live For Your Love – Natalie Cole (1988)

359. Only Yesterday – The Carpenters (1975)

358. I Want A New Drug – Huey Lewis & The News (1984)

357. Don’t Let Go – Isaac Hayes (1980)

356. Soldier Of Love – Donny Osmond (1989)

355. Why Can’t This Be Love – Van Halen (1986)

354. Drowning In The Sea Of Love – Joe Simon (1972)

353. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart – Elton John & Kiki Dee (1976)

352. The Language Of Love – Dan Fogelberg (1984)

351. Pressure – Billy Joel (1982)

350. Kung Fu Fighting – Carl Douglas (1974)

349. Head Over Heels – The Go-Go’s (1984)

348. This Is It – Kenny Loggins (1980)

347. Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard – Paul Simon (1972)

346. You Make Me Feel Brand New – The Stylistics (1974)

345. Cruisin’ – Smokey Robinson (1979)

344. Living For The City – Stevie Wonder (1974)

343. This Little Girl – Gary (U.S.) Bonds (1981)

342. Doctor My Eyes – Jackson Browne (1972)

341. Be Near Me – ABC (1985)

340. Superfly – Curtis Mayfield (1972)

339. Breakout – Swing Out Sister (1987)

338. Some Kinda Wonderful – Sky (1998)

337. Back When My Hair Was Short – Gunhill Road (1973)

336. The Only Flame In Town – Elvis Costello & Daryl Hall (1984)

335. Sometimes A Fantasy – Billy Joel (1980)

334. Alive And Kicking – Simple Minds (1985)

333. More Than A Woman – Tavares (1978)

332. Hope Of Deliverance – Paul McCartney (1993)

331. Grease – Frankie Valli (1978)

330. Island Girl – Elton John (1975)

329. Life In A Northern Town – Dream Academy (1986)

328. Love Machine – The Miracles (1976)

327. No Myth – Michael Penn (1990)

326. Is She Really Going Out With Him? – Joe Jackson (1979)

325. Kodachrome – Paul Simon (1973)

324. Ghetto Child – The Spinners (1973)

323. Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat) – Digable Planets (1993)

322. Valerie – Steve Winwood (1987)

321. Be Thankful For What You Got – William DeVaughn (1974)

320. Night In My Veins – The Pretenders (1994)

319. Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone) – Glass Tiger (1986)

318. Anniversary Song – Cowboy Junkies (1994)

317. I Can Dream About You – Dan Hartman (1984)

316. Up On The Roof – James Taylor (1979)

315. I’ve Got To Use My Imagination – Gladys Knight & The Pips (1974)

314. A Life Of Illusion – Joe Walsh (1981)

313. The Old Man Down The Road – John Fogerty (1985)

312. Listen To What The Man Said – Paul McCartney & Wings (1975)

311. Haven’t Got Time For The Pain – Carly Simon (1974)

310. Across The River – Bruce Hornsby & The Range (1990)

309. Whodunit – Tavares (1977)

308. Daybreak – Barry Manilow (1977)

307. Tom’s Diner – D.N.A. Featuring Suzanne Vega (1990)

306. Mighty High – Mighty Clouds Of Joy (1976)

305. Spies Like Us – Paul McCartney (1986)

304. Jenny Says – Cowboy Mouth (1997)

303. Rikki Don’t Lose That Number – Steely Dan (1974)

302. Boogie Down – Eddie Kendricks (1974)

301. Natural High – Bloodstone (1973)

300. You’re The First, The Last, My Everything – Barry White (1974)

299. Back On The Chain Gang – The Pretenders (1983)

298. Burning Love – Elvis Presley (1972)

297. Pop Muzik – M (1979)

296. Mexican Radio – Wall Of Voodoo (1983)

295. Dead Giveaway – Shalamar (1983)

294. Everyday I Write The Book – Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1983)

293. Paper In Fire – John Cougar Mellencamp (1987)

292. Bette Davis Eyes – Kim Carnes (1981)

291. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap – AC/DC (1981)

290. Dancing In The Moonlight – King Harvest (1973)

289. The Salt In My Tears – Martin Briley (1983)

288. Sister Golden Hair – America (1975)

287. The Warrior – Scandal Featuring Patty Smyth (1984)

286. Safety Dance – Men Without Hats (1983)

285. Drift Away – Dobie Gray (1973)

284. 867-5309/Jenny – Tommy Tutone (1982)

283. Thinking Of You – Loggins & Messina (1973)

282. Pillow Talk – Sylvia (1973)

281. Puttin’ On The Ritz – Taco (1983)

280. Lovely Day – Bill Withers (1978)

279. Centerfold – J. Geils Band (1982)

278. Sausalito Summer Night – Diesel (1981)

277. New Frontier – Donald Fagen (1983)

276. Pour Some Sugar On Me – Def Leppard (1988)

275. You Don’t Know How It Feels – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1994)

274. Blinded By The Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (1977)

273. Come Baby Come – K7 (1993)

272. Sweet Love – Anita Baker (1986)

271. Crumblin’ Down – John Cougar Mellencamp (1983)

270. Magic – Olivia Newton-John (1980)

269. The Entertainer – Billy Joel (1974)

268. Pray – M.C. Hammer (1990)

267. Birdland – Manhattan Transfer (1981)

266. Nightshift – Commodores (1985)

265. Cherish – Madonna (1989)

264. Horse With No Name – America (1972)

263. Regulate – Warren G & Nate Dogg (1994)

262. Right Back Where We Started From – Maxine Nightingale (1976)

261. Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds (1985)

260. Tomorrow’s Girls – Donald Fagen (1993)

259. Man On The Moon – R.E.M. (1993)

258. Lawyers In Love – Jackson Browne (1983)

257. Summer – War (1976)

256. The Real End – Rickie Lee Jones (1984)

255. Every Morning – Sugar Ray (1999)

254. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet – Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1974)

253. Dear God – XTC (1987)

252. Don’t Shed A Tear – Paul Carrack (1988)

251. Gel – Collective Soul (1995)

250. Son Of My Father – Giorgio (1972)

249. Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You – Sugarloaf (1975)

248. The Sweetest Taboo – Sade (1986)

247. Doll Parts – Hole (1994)

246. Dreaming A Dream – Crown Heights Affair (1975)

245. Hey Nineteen – Steely Dan (1981)

244. Forever Your Girl – Paula Abdul (1989)

243. Band On The Run – Paul McCartney & Wings (1974)

242. Inside – Patti Rothberg (1996)

241. Carefree Highway – Gordon Lightfoot (1974)

240. Moonlight Feels Right – Starbuck (1976)

239. Boogie Nights – Heatwave (1977)

238. Heartache Tonight – The Eagles (1979)

237. Groove Is In The Heart – Dee-Lite (1990)

236. You Ought To Be With Me – Al Green (1972)

235. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues – Danny O’Keefe (1972)

234. Peg – Steely Dan (1978)

233. The Obvious Child – Paul Simon (1990)

232. Rock And Roll Girls – John Fogerty (1985)

231. Feed The Tree – Belly (1993)

230. Walk The Dinosaur – Was (Not Was) (1989)

229. Makin’ It – David Naughton (1979)

228. Dancing Queen – ABBA (1977)

227. Lovefool – The Cardigans (1997)

226. Old Days – Chicago (1975)

225. Black & White – Three Dog Night (1972)

224. Keeper of the Flame – Martin Page (1995)

223. Afternoon Delight – Starland Vocal Band (1976)

222. So Alive – Love & Rockets (1989)

221. American City Suite – Cashman & West (1972)

220. Under The Clock – Janey Street (1985)

219. Brick – Ben Folds Five (1998)

218. One Less Set of Footsteps – Jim Croce (1973)

217. Junior’s Farm – Paul McCartney & Wings (1975)

216. White Lines – Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (1983)

215. Tin Man – America (1974)

214. Flagpole Sitta – Harvey Danger (1998)

213. You Get What You Give – New Radicals (1999)

212. Undercover Angel – Alan O’Day (1977)

211. Veronica – Elvis Costello (1989)

210. Mockingbird – Carly Simon & James Taylor (1974)

209. How Much Love – Leo Sayer (1977)

208. Get Down – Gilbert O’Sullivan (1973)

207. Smoke From A Distant Fire – Sanford/Townsend Band (1977)

206. Beautiful Sunday – Daniel Boone (1972)

205. Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) – The Offspring (1998)

204. Borderline – Madonna (1984)

203. Magic To Do – Cast of “Pippin” (1973)

202. You Better You Bet – The Who (1981)

201. The Way To Your Heart – Soulsister (1989)

200. When I Come Around – Green Day (1994)

199. A Long December – Counting Crows (1996)

198. Let’s Stay Together – Al Green (1972)

197. I Feel For You – Chaka Khan (1984)

196. Sideshow – Blue Magic (1974)

195. Nights On Broadway – The Bee Gees (1975)

194. Need You Tonight – INXS (1988)

193. Sundown – Gordon Lightfoot (1974)

192. Like The Way I Do – Melissa Etheridge (1988)

191. Mysterious Ways – U2 (1991)

190. U Can’t Touch This – M.C. Hammer (1990)

189. Come Out And Play – The Offspring (1994)

188. I’m Your Baby Tonight – Whitney Houston (1990)

187. To Be With You – Mr. Big (1992)

186. The Name Of The Game – ABBA (1978)

185. Bad Blood – Neil Sedaka & Elton John (1975)

184. Rock This Town – Stray Cats (1982)

183. Rubberband Man – The Spinners (1976)

182. I’ll Be There For You – The Rembrandts (1995)

181. Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind (1997)

180. I Touch Myself – The Divinyls (1991)

179. Someone Saved My Life Tonight – Elton John (1975)

178. Come And Get Your Love – Redbone (1974)

177. Brother Louie – Stories (1973)

176. Head To Toe – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (1987)

175. I’m Stone In Love With You – The Stylistics (1972)

174. Why Can’t We Be Friends – War (1975)

173. You Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette (1995)

172. A Change Would Do You Good – Sheryl Crow (1997)

171. I’m Too Sexy – Right Said Fred (1992)

170. Piano In The Dark – Brenda Russell (1988)

169. Battleship Chains – The Georgia Satellites (1987)

168. You Make My Dreams – Daryl Hall & John Oates (1981)

167. Lonely Ol’ Night – John Mellencamp (1985)

166. In The House Of Stone And Light – Martin Page (1994)

165. Straight Up – Paula Abdul (1989)

164. Lucas With The Lid Off – Lucas (1994)

163. Better Days – Bruce Springsteen (1992)

162. Glory Days – Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (1985)

161. Breaking Away – Balance (1981)

160. Don’t You Write Her Off – McGuinn, Clark & Hillman (1979)

159. Special Lady – Ray, Goodman & Brown (1980)

158. My Girl – Chilliwack (1981)

157. Centerfield – John Fogerty (1985)

156. Then Came You – Dionne Warwicke & The Spinners (1974)

155. Shake It – Ian Matthews (1979)

154. Whenever I Call You Friend – Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks (1978)

153. Dancing In The Dark – Bruce Springsteen (1984)

152. The Boys Are Back In Town – Thin Lizzy (1976)

151. Mr. Jones – Counting Crows (1994)

150. The City Of New Orleans – Arlo Guthrie (1972)

149. Mother And Child Reunion – Paul Simon (1972)

148. Human Touch – Bruce Springsteen (1992)

147. Garden Party – Rick Nelson (1972)

146. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant – Billy Joel (1978)

145. That Thing You Do! – The Wonders (1996)

144. Spiders & Snakes – Jim Stafford (1974)

143. Saturday In The Park – Chicago (1972)

142. Up In A Puff Of Smoke – Polly Brown (1975)

141. Hearts On Fire – Randy Meisner (1981)

140. That’s The Way Of The World – Earth, Wind & Fire (1975)

139. Native New Yorker – Odyssey (1977)

138. Tennessee – Arrested Development (1992)

137. Operator (That’s Not The Way It Feels) – Jim Croce (1972)

136. She’s So Cold – The Rolling Stones (1980)

135. Could It Be I’m Falling In Love – The Spinners (1973)

134. Stomp – Brothers Johnson (1980)

133. On The Radio – Donna Summer (1980)

132. Dance Hall Days – Wang Chung (1984)

131. Right Between The Eyes – Wax (1986)

130. What You Won’t Do For Love – Bobby Caldwell (1979)

129. Let My Love Open The Door – Pete Townshend (1980)

128. Sky High – Jigsaw (1975)

127. Endicott – Kid Creole & The Coconuts (1985)

126. What Are We Doin’ In Love – Dottie West & Kenny Rogers (1981)

125. Maria’s Wedding – Black 47 (1993)

124. Use Me – Bill Withers (1972)

123. Rockin’ Chair – Gwen McCrae (1975)

122. Heaven Knows – Donna Summer & Brooklyn Dreams (1979)

121. Jet – Paul McCartney & Wings (1974)

120. Driver’s Seat – Sniff ‘N’ The Tears (1979)

119. Help Me – Joni Mitchell (1974)

118. Rock Me Gently – Andy Kim (1974)

117. Higher Love – Stevie Winwood (1986)

116. Jazzman – Carole King (1974)

115. Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover – Sophie B. Hawkins (1992)

114. One Headlight – The Wallflowers (1996)

113. Little Willy – The Sweet (1973)

112. Until You Come Back To Me – Aretha Franklin (1974)

111. Radar Love – Golden Earring (1974)

110. How Do You Do – Mouth & Macneal (1972)

109. Tell Me Something Good – Rufus (1974)

108. I’m Doin’ Fine – New York City (1973)

107. Keeper Of The Castle – The Four Tops (1973)

106. My Maria – B.W. Stevenson (1973)

105. Mighty Love – The Spinners (1974)

104. Corner Of The Sky – The Jackson 5 (1973)

103. Allentown – Billy Joel (1983)

102. Tommy, Judy & Me – Rob Hegel (1980)

101. This Will Be – Natalie Cole (1975)

100. Couldn’t Get It Right – Climax Blues Band (1977)

99. The Look – Roxette (1989)

98. Hold On – Wilson Phillips (1990)

97. Leave Virginia Alone – Rod Stewart (1995)

96. Brilliant Disguise – Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (1987)

95. Where Have All The Cowboys Gone? – Paula Cole (1997)

94. The Valley Road – Bruce Hornsby & The Range (1988)

93. I’m Alive – Jackson Browne (1994)

92. Time And Tide – Basia (1988)

91. Yes We Can Can – The Pointer Sisters (1973)

90. Got To Get You Into My Life – The Beatles (1976)

89. I Got A Name – Jim Croce (1973)

88. Iko Iko – The Belle Stars (1989)

87. You Can’t Get What You Want – Joe Jackson (1984)

86. You Little Trustmaker – The Tymes (1974)

85. I Want You – Savage Garden (1997)

84. Deacon Blues – Steely Dan (1978)

83. Jungle Boy – John Eddie (1986)

82. Stay – Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (1994)

81. One Night In Bangkok – Murray Head (1985)

80. Two Princes – Spin Doctors (1993)

79. Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) – Looking Glass (1972)

78. Misdemeanor – Foster Sylvers (1973)

77. Steppin’ Out – Joe Jackson (1982)

76. Time Passages – Al Stewart (1978)

75. Don’t Make Me Over – Sybil (1989)

74. Wild, Wild West – The Escape Club (1988)

73. Heaven On The 7th Floor – Paul Nicholas (1977)

72. Driedel – Don McLean (1973)

71. Life Is A Highway – Tom Cochrane (1992)

70. Bad Time – Grand Funk (1975)

69. I Gotcha – Joe Tex (1972)

68. You’re So Vain – Carly Simon (1973)

67. People Make The World Go Round – The Stylistics (1972)

66. Stumblin’ In – Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman (1979)

65. Always Something There To Remind Me – Naked Eyes (1983)

64. Keep On Truckin’ – Eddie Kendricks (1973)

63. Once Bitten Twice Shy – Great White (1989)

62. Keep It Comin’ Love – K.C. & The Sunshine Band (1977)

61. ’65 Love Affair – Paul Davis (1982)

60. Downstream – The Rainmakers (1986)

59. Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me) – Reunion (1974)

58. Copperline – James Taylor (1991)

57. Freddie’s Dead – Curtis Mayfield (1972)

56. Kiss Him Goodbye – The Nylons (1987)

55. We Built This City – Starship (1985)

54. Let The River Run – Carly Simon (1989)

53. When Doves Cry – Prince (1984)

52. Who Do You Think You Are – Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods (1974)

51. Paradise By The Dashboard Light – Meat Loaf (1978)

50. Free Man In Paris – Joni Mitchell (1974)

49. Just Don’t Want To Be Lonely – The Main Ingredient (1974)

48. Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinead O’Connor (1990)

47. Call It Love – Poco (1989)

46. Stand By – Roman Holliday (1983)

45. Everything Falls Apart – Dog’s Eye View (1996)

44. Forever In Blue Jeans – Neil Diamond (1979)

43. Beach Baby – First Class (1974)

42. Girls With Guns – Tommy Shaw (1984)

41. Walking In Memphis – Marc Cohn (1991)

40. Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) – Us3 (1993)

39. I’ll Be Around – The Spinners (1972)

38. Magic – Pilot (1975)

37. I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers (1993)

36. Magic Man – Heart (1976)

35. Let It Ride – Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1974)

34. Everybody Plays The Fool – The Main Ingredient (1972)

33. Tainted Love – Soft Cell (1982)

32. Thunder Island – Jay Ferguson (1978)

31. My Life – Billy Joel (1978)

30. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Wham! (1984)

29. Lump – The Presidents of the United States of America (1995)

28. Everlasting Love – Carl Carlton (1974)

27. Am I The Same Girl – Swing Out Sister (1992)

26. Personal Jesus – Depeche Mode (1989)

25. My Sharona – The Knack (1979)

24. They Just Can’t Stop It The (Games People Play) – The Spinners (1975)

23. The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia – Vicki Lawrence (1973)

22. Rock And Roll Part 2 – Gary Glitter (1972)

21. Wonderwall – The Mike Flowers Pops (1996)

20. Seasons Of Love – Stevie Wonder & The Cast of “Rent” (1996)

19. Hang On In There Baby – Johnny Bristol (1974)

18. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life – Stevie Wonder (1973)

17. Love Shack – The B-52’s (1989)

16. Convoy – C.W. McCall (1976)

15. Waterloo – ABBA (1974)

14. Kiss – Prince And The Revolution (1986)

13. Another One Bites The Dust – Queen (1980)

12. Mary’s Prayer – Danny Wilson (1987)

11. Only The Good Die Young – Billy Joel (1978)

10. One Of A Kind (Love Affair) – The Spinners (1973)

9. Baby Baby – Amy Grant (1991)

8. Rosanna – Toto (1982)

7. Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice (1990)

6. Ariel – Dean Friedman (1977)

5. Get Used To It – Roger Voudouris (1979)

4. Come On Eileen – Dexys Midnight Runners (1983)

3. Roll To Me – Del Amitri (1995)

2. The Night Chicago Died – Paper Lace (1974)

1. American Pie – Don McLean (1972)

There you have it. The Top 500 Songs of All-Time. Thanks for tuning in today and throughout 2006. Happy 2007, everybody.