1. Dolly Parton, "Jolene." Given that country songs can be maudlin, emotionally disturbed, that is to say, honest, I don't know why I'd single this one out as particularly odd. But despite my impression of Dolly Parton as a strong woman in charge of her career who made a name for herself and her art by doing it "her own way," this song paints a picture of a very different kind of woman. She's desperate, she feels outclassed by the competition, and the best argument she can come up with is "you could have your choice of men, but I could never love again." The rolling musical accompaniment makes this a nice-enough set opener, but the lyrics ask to be bundled in the middle of the pack, where they might sneak past everyone but the titular character. The video link is particularly odd … Dolly comes out and tells some jokes, asks the audience to have some fun, and then breaks into "Jolene."

2. Wet Willie, "Keep on Smilin'." You can't really call a band one-hit wonders when they lasted a decade, but this was their only Top Ten recording. Part of the second tier of Southern Rock artists … how many genres are so defined by two groups? You've got the Allmans and you've got Skynyrd, and then you've got a gazillion fine bands who made a lot of fine music without ever coming close to adding a third member to the pantheon. Jimmy Hall sings his heart out, adding to the list of great lyrical questions: "Are you a bum or are you a star?" A Google search reveals some disagreement about those lyrics … I found "Are you a farmer?" on more than one site, although I don't have room to talk, since I always heard it as "Are you a bummer" myself. The video link isn't much help.

3. The Staple Singers, "My Main Man." Of course, it's a stock move in gospel music to make a song about the Lord sound like a song about a guy. Or is it the other way around? Who is this Main Man with a pocket full of love, anyway? And why did he throw Mavis's lovers in the deep blue sea?

4. Maria Muldaur, "Midnight at the Oasis." Speaking of artists unfairly considered one-hit wonders. Muldaur was 30 when her biggest hit was released, and she'd already been recording for a decade. She hasn't stopped since, either, with an album a year in the 21st century (many reaching the Top Ten of the blues charts), including the soon-to-be-released Naughty, Bawdy and Blue. But my guess is, the name Maria Muldaur means "Midnight at the Oasis" for everyone except a few old hippies with fond memories of her Kweskin Band version of "I'm a Woman."

5. Stevie Wonder, "You Haven't Done Nothin'." Man, did Wonder have a great run in the early 70s. The creator of Steven's Theory of Rockers' Careers will note that, while Stevie seemed pretty old (he'd been recording since 1962), he was only 24 years old in 1974. He's younger than Bruce Springsteen, who didn't record HIS first album until 1973.

6. Bob Marley & the Wailers, "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)." Everyone has lyrics they don't quite get … see "Keep on Smilin'" above … but in this case, my misinterpretation (if it is one) doesn't come from mishearing the lyrics as much as not getting the patois. In any case, I love that "them" bellies are full, implying in Steven's English that the singer is referring to others, but "we" are hungry, implying solidarity with the hungry. Throw in the Smokey Robinson-esque "full bellies, but hungry" imagery, and the immortal line "a hungry mob is a angry mob," and you've got a great song even before you throw in the music and the singing.

7. The Meters, "It Ain't No Use." Keith Moon is my favorite rock drummer of all time, but for a different kind of drumming, you can't beat (pun not intended, or maybe it is) Ziggy Modeliste, the kind of drummer who makes even a bad song listenable. And this ain't no bad song. Never gets tired for the entire 11:51. "Ain't no use, to cut you loose, I wouldn't last a day."

8. Elvis Presley, "Drugs Dialogue." September 2, 1974. The King has a few things on his mind, and he decides to share them with his audience. Speaking about the rumors that he is strung out on drugs, he offers the following warning: "If I find or hear the individual that has said that about me, I'm gonna break your goddamn neck, you sonuvabitch! I will pull your goddamn tongue out by the roots!" And then, I swear, he says "Thankyouverymuch!" And segues into "Hawaiian Wedding Song" from Blue Hawaii.

9. Joni Mitchell, "Free Man in Paris." In one of the more intriguing transpositions of a song lyric into a book title, Geoffrey Stokes once wrote a book called Star-Making Machinery that told the story of rock bands in the 1970s by following Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. "You know I'd go back there tomorrow, but for the work I've taken on."

10. The New York Dolls, "Human Being." The last song on the last of the original Dolls albums, and they go out with a blast and a swagger:

And If I'm acting like a king
I said well, I'm a human being
And if I want too many things
Don't you know, well,
I'm a human being
And if I've got to dream
Baby baby baby, I'm a human being
And when it gets a bit obscene
Woo Woo Woo! I'm a human being