When choosing my favorite songs about dad’s, I took into account what genre of music I should focus on, what themes should I consider and what artist’s should I pay homage to. Ultimately, I voted for the songs that touched me the greatest. Here they are, enjoy:
5) ” Father and Son” by Cat Stevens
Yeah, I know he become a muslim, changed his name, abandoned music and was denied entry back to the US once, but this guy could write a song. I am a sucker for an acoustic guitar and a good voice and wished James Taylor wrote a song about his father( he probably did), in which case he would have surely taken this spot instead. This is a song about a son who has to do what’s best for himself, although his dad has other ideas for him.
4) “Tears In Heaven” by Eric Clapton
Eric said years after writing this that he had to shelve this song from his live performances because he couldn’t relive the sadness over and over again while playing it for audiences and doing so would be the only way to move on. Falling 53 floors from his dad’s NYC apartment, Eric’s son Conor was only four years old when he passed. I can’t imagine outliving my child and couldn’t fathom how I would move on with such tragedy.
3) The Living Years” by Mike and the Mechanics
Okay, I am a child of the 80’s so I get this genre. If you ignore the synthesizer drone, the mullets, the white blazer paired with denim, the silk scarves and the electric drums , this is a pretty darn good song. It deals with the death of Mike Rutherford’s- of Genesis fame- and Mechanic B.A. Robertson’s father and how they wished they were able to get things off their chest while their father was still around.
2) “Father and Daughter” by Paul Simon
I love this song. It really is a tear-jerking, lump in the throat tune. Let’s face it, everything Paul Simon touches turns to gold- I’m a huge fan of his. Everytime I hear this I want to hug my daughter and tell over and over that I love her so.
1) “Cats in The Cradle” by Harry Chapin.
This is THE father and son song. I can’t name another Harry Chapin song, but who cares? This song is timeless. The story of a father who was too busy to take notice of the passing years with his son. Perhaps this is Harry’s narrative of his own life with his dad who was a renowned jazz drummer and most likely spent the majority of his time working on the road to provide for his family or a song intended for his own son. In any case, this song always struck a nerve in me that echoed ” never lose touch with my dad.” On a side note, Harry’s brother Tom is an incredible children’s singer/songwriter and absolutely should be included in your children’s music collection.
Honorable mention: “Song For My Father” by Horace Silver
This has to be included because I am a huge jazz fan, especially jazz from the be-bop era, from which Horace Silver was identified with. A founding member of the Jazz Messengers with Art Blakey, Horace Silver was an enormously influential painist and composer. Silver’s father was from Cape Verde, a Portuguese speaking island and it was a trip to Portuguese speaking Brazil that inspired Silver to write this bossa-nova-esque composition. Take note – the bass riff that opens the song helped craft the Steely Dan hit “Rikki, Don’t Lose That Number.”
Respond with your favorite “dad” song in the comments section below!