TARKUS-ELP(FULL)

And you thought pop was what? The next few paragraphs will push the limits of pop and rock.  

With their classic rock medley "Tarkus", Emerson, Lake & Palmer, an extraordinary progressive-rock supergroup of the '70s, smash or is that smashes (have your choice) the rock and pop lists with the first song to reach both lists. The rock list is continuing to 200 total, as I explained earlier.

"Tarkus" is a great progressive-rock masterpiece, and the wonderful melodies, outstanding lyrics, and marvelous singing by Greg Lake are why it's also going to be on the pop list.

Immediately after ELP reached both lists, Madonna joined them doing the same thing, with the ballad "Live to Tell", written by Patrick Leonard, an absolutely brilliant songwriter.

Madonna does deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  This song is just one of the reasons.  Is this the best song by Madonna?  I'm not ready to answer that question, and while this is my opinion, I would say this is one of her best.  However, maybe she has five or six songs that are fairly equal in terms of greatness.

Note: I use the word 'by' (then artist/band name) to mean recorded by or sung by that artist/band and I don't always mean that each song is written by that recording artist.

I'm sure it's obvious to most of her fans that Madonna is one of the favorites to possibly have the most songs on this pop list.  However, most of us can think of other artists that could wind up with the most, meaning more than any other artist.  I will leave that for readers to think about for now, and I will write more about this at a later time.

Note:  I have not decided how many songs will be on the pop list, though 200 makes sense.

I have no connection to the video on YouTube and I didn't write the title; I left that the same way as is above the video on YouTube.   I wrote this review and articles on this blog and I'm following Fair Use for writing by journalists and writers and I am strongly a defender of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution which includes not only speaking but writing and other expression.  My hope is that more people will support these artists by purchasing CDs, downloads, and going to concerts.

My goal is to remain an independent music reviewer and publish rock lists, pop lists, and maybe other lists too, which will be the way I really see it -- and of course the way I hear it.