CARLTON FLETCHER: An eclectic Albany musical Top 10

Round my hometown Ooh the people I’ve met.

— Adele

Listening to the early music of the Lost Trailers recently, it dawned on me that Albany’s eclectic musical heritage can hold its own with pretty much any city not named Nashville or New Orleans.

With Leesburg’s Luke Bryan — who played during his formative years at venues throughout metro Albany — now a bona fide country music superstar and Dallas Davidson one of country’s most in-demand songwriters, this little corner of the nation is a modern country music hotbed.

But Albany’s musical legacy over the years has also found room for pop, hip-hop, rock, alternative country, heavy metal, R&B, rap, grungy alternative rock … pretty much every step up the musical evolutionary ladder.

Reminiscing about the meteoric rise — and, sadly, fall — of the Trailers got me to thinking about all the really great music that’s been created by Albany artists. So I set out to come up with and rank my own Top 10 Albany tracks.

The self-imposed rules I worked under were simple: The songs I chose had to have been created by artists with direct ties to metro Albany. And to qualify, the music had to have gained a level of prominence either nationally or at least regionally, stretching beyond the limits of Southwest Georgia.

I also limited my list to only one song per artist, even though acts like Bryan, “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips, hip-hop trendsetters Field Mob, and the Rays — Charles and Stevens — enjoyed multiple national hits.

I offer a disclaimer: This Top 10 is my personal selection, so it’s going to obviously be influenced by my musical tastes. There’s no methodology and certainly no quantifiable factors involved. I’m sure others will have their own nominees, and I welcome the choices of those willing to share.

(Side note: One of my all-time favorite concert moments was watching Kid Rock when he first broke big, circa 1998, playing a medley of Detroit hits by the likes of Grand Funk Railroad, Bob Seger, the MC5, Rare Earth and Eminem. That got me thinking that maybe one day some Albany artist will do the honors for his or her homies. I’d pay to see it. So … Davis, you and Relapse, or Jason, you and Days to Come … y’all up for the challenge?)

Here, then, my Albany Top 10:

10 (tie). Living Comfortable But Not Good — Ole E: Leave it to an Albany homeboy to namecheck Dr. Cliff Huxtable … before Bill Cosby’s issues.

10 (tie). Riding Chevys — Dark Brown and Dru: From Chuck Berry to the Beach Boys to Kanye West, a young man’s ride is something worth singing about.

9. Home — Phillip Phillips: One of the few songs by “American Idol” winners that made a legitimate run to the top of the pop charts.

8. Country Girl (Shake It for Me) — Luke Bryan: A modern country classic that gets extra Albany points because it was written by Davidson.

7. Everything Is Beautiful — Ray Stevens: The Albany High School alum is perhaps best known for his novelty songs, but this chart-topping Grammy winner is his most loved work.

6. Birmingham — Evan Barber and the Dead Gamblers: A song that deserves to join Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker classics as part of the true southern soundtrack.

5. Strangers — Messendger: From way back in 1982, this song from the first MTV Basement Tapes winners showed the rest of the world that Southwest Georgia boys could rock with the best of them.

4. So What — Field Mob: Sean J and Smoke never downplayed their Good Life City roots, as so many Georgia rappers who falsely claimed the smoking hot ATL as their home did. With an assist from Ciara, this was the Mob’s biggest hit.

3. Georgia on My Mind — Ray Charles: The Albany-born R&B/soul great saw his signature, Hoagy Carmichael-penned tune become Georgia’s official state song. Top that … anyone!

2. Fire on the Pontchartrain — The Lost Trailers: A great alt-country infidelity revenge number that catapulted the Albany-born Nielson brothers — Stokes and Andrew — and their band to a spot playing Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic and beyond.

1. Sink Low — Monroe Brown: “Discovered” by Atlanta’s Sevendust at a Chehaw park performance, the alternative rockers had their most beloved hit with this intense Jeremy Dollar-penned song that carried the band to the verge of stardom and left fans lamenting what could have been.