Top Three Posts for November – #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TaylorSwift #TomPetty #JohnPrine

Welcome to December!

I hope this update finds you well. November presented yet another interesting assortment of Ted Tocks Covers posts. I turned to several Ted Tocks favourites for feature songs and as a result, their many loyal fans seemed to gravitate to them when I shared the blog on their fan pages. I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how receptive people in the wide world of music appreciation are when I share my little project with them. The reception has been almost all positive (only two negative experiences, but that’s a story for another day).

With a firm commitment to emphasizing the positive I continue to marvel at two wonderful Facebook communities. I raise a glass to the loyal fan base of both Tom Petty and John Prine. Whenever I share Ted Tocks Covers on these fan pages, I receive positive and deeply personal feedback. Most importantly the acceptance is widespread. To this writer, tucked away in my little corner of the universe on the shores of Lake Ontario, it means a lot to me that we can share in the appreciation of artists that we may have never known personally, but we certainly do love.

Personally, November was a month for a lot of personal reflection. There are a lot of things I need to change. An aspect of my character, and I admit it is wrong, is to try and fix everything at once. I then become hopelessly overwhelmed and freeze because things appear too daunting. As I sift my way through the shit, I do get some things accomplished but I also get extremely impatient. Way too often recently, this simmering pot of sludge has reached the boiling point. This pattern has caused me to act way out of character and on occasion I don’t even like the person I look at it in the mirror. I will work through it. I always do. Just a small bit of background, because it reveals a bigger picture. The few hours a week I devote to Ted Tocks Covers are therapeutic for me. The beautiful thing is, apparently for over 50 people a day, literally all over the world, music seems to occupy a similar space in their lives. This is what it’s all about. This why I often share this lyric by Robert Huner.

If you get confused music to the music play.”

Robert Hunter

In my life, few lines of poetry have ever meant more.

Now let’s move on to the positive stuff.

 From a pure numbers standpoint, November was another personal celebration because it was the third best month ever for Ted Tocks Covers. Once again, the feature exceeded 50 page views a day. I remain pleased with this engagement because it all simply began as a hobby I wanted to share with family, and a few friends. The fact that it resonates with an audience far beyond my relatively small circle is quite reassuring.

Another cool observation, as I add posts to Ted Tocks Covers blog page is, in the month of November alone Ted Tocks visitors read posts that featured nearly 200 songs. It is a source of satisfaction that the range of material I write about gets views. From day one, in January of 2018, I wanted to dig deep into several genres, so the blog has at least some appeal to a wide audience. Once the viewer comes on board they can explore on their own. Some do. That’s validating.

A few quick observations before I get into this month’s top 3. Three Ted Tocks features reached significant milestones in November.

Don’t Pay the Ferryman – This Chris de Burgh signature song blew past 600 page views early in November and kept right on going. It shows no sign of slowing down. Every month it receives a steady stream of engagement.

Almost Cut My Hair – Referred to by many as a hippie anthem, elements of this song hold as true today as the day David Crosby wrote it. Interestingly, Crosby considers the lyrics to be ‘juvenile’. Evidently his effort to capture the essence of the divide between the establishment and those who aim to seek the truth still ring true because just within this blog space ‘Almost Cut My Hair’ has now reached 350 page views.

Black Betty – Nothing fascinates me more than a song with layer upon layer of deeper meaning. My initial introduction to ‘Black Betty’ was the famous cover by Ram Jam. The more I read, the more I became embroiled in the historical significance as it related to the oppression of African-American people in post-Civil War America. In recent months it seems to have gained momentum on Ted Tocks Covers page. It surpassed 300 page views in November. Maybe because you can draw a straight line from the themes mentioned in this post to some of the atrocities taking place in the United States in both the recent and distant past. A November reference is the killing of Ahmaud Arbery and subsequent trial. Fortunately, the racist trio who killed Mr. Arbery will be locked away for a long time.

Now, without further ado, here are the top three posts for November of 2021. We have a combination of a giant in the female electro-pop genre, a rock and roll icon and a songwriting legend.

#3 – Blank Space – The fact that this song made the top 3 for the month is satisfying to me because it is an example of me learning while I write. More importantly ‘Blank Space’ by Taylor Swift is a celebration of female empowerment and the ability of artists to build songs around humour, and sell it to the masses. The story behind the cover songs included here make it even better. Just a ton of fun.

#2 – Free Fallin’ – The ‘Tom Petty Rule’ in Ted Tocks Covers is well documented. That means if Tom Petty covers it, I will include it in any feature where I share the original song. Of course, the beauty of Tom Petty is his catalogue of songs is so deep, I could feature a Tom Petty song every week and write about him for several years. I managed to blend a few facts related to ‘Free Fallin’s and its release with a couple of personal stories. It was fun to write, and it was enjoyed enough to see it rise to #2 for the month.

#1. – Saddle in the Rain – As mentioned at the outset, once again the John Prine fan base stepped up and enjoyed my reflections on this mid ‘70s track from his ‘Common Sense’ album. I fully immerse myself in anything I write about John Prine, but the opportunity to share the work of one his good friends, Amanda Shires made this feature even more meaningful. Not only did Shires recently cover ‘Saddle in the Rain’ on a John Prine tribute album but she has devoted proceeds from her latest single ‘The Problem’ to the Yellowhammer Fund which is an Alabama based non-profit which provides support for women in Alabama, Texas and the Florida panhandle who require access to safe abortion and advice related to their reproductive rights.

Sometimes all we need to say, is everything is going to be okay. When we are there for the people around us, everything is going to be alright. If you stand on the right side of things Ted Tocks Covers is on your side.

Each of the songs I share, and the corresponding stories, offer yet another series of examples demonstrating the fact that music connects people every day. Best of all, through this blog, I am able to connect with people all over the world ever so briefly. In November, Ted Tocks Covers was read by people in 37 different countries. This continually blows me away.

More than half of Ted Tocks readers are from the United States, which is not surprising but, it is interesting to note that the U.K., Australia, and Ireland and Germany round out the top five. Canada, of course is a solid #2. I continue to share these interesting observations because it continues to reinforce the message that I often share. Music is a universal language. It is magic. In the words of Tom Petty:

Music is probably the one real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.”

Tom Petty

So, enjoy…

If you missed these features the first time around enjoy them now. If you think a friend might like to spend a few minutes with some good music, please share because…

#MusicisLife

If you haven’t already, please sign up yourself or invite other people to follow Ted Tocks Covers at:

Linked In – https://www.linkedin.com/feed/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TocksTed

Blog Site – https://wordpress.com/view/tedtockscovers.wordpress.com

By signing up to the blog site, Ted Tocks Covers daily posts will be delivered to your email, and you can read it on your own time. The benefit of this is, you are not held captive by Facebook (or Meta…give me strength) algorithms.

Thank you for continuing to read Ted Tocks Covers. I will be in touch. You can count on that. Lots of great stories to come.

Stay safe and have a grateful day!