I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton

Everyone probably knows this, but when Whitney Houston belted out "I Will Always Love You" she is not the original singer of the song.

The Great Ms. Dolly Parton is. And her version is astounding.

Written in 1973 by Dolly Parton, and released as a single a year later, the song went to #1 on theBillboard Hot Country songs chart. Later in 1982 Dolly Parton released a new version of the song for the soundtrack of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. That version also went to #1, marking the first time the same song has gone to #1 twice on the Country charts by the same artist.

Then, in 1992, Whitney Houston recorded the song for the soundtrack to the movie The Bodyguard. The song reached #1 again, and was a huge success worldwide for Whitney Houston.

I guess when a song is good, keep working at it to make it an even greater success.

It's one of the most well-known songs of all time, and has been as #68 on Billboard's 100 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Another artist that could possibly have recorded the song to make it another success - Elvis Presley. In the mid-1970s, Elvis was interested in recording the song, but required shared writing credits. Since Ms. Parton was not willing to share, Elvis did not record the song. image how awesome that would have been though....

Here's Dolly's version

And here's Whitney's version. Enjoy!

You're My Best Friend - Queen

"You know I'll never be lonely
You're my only one
And I love
The things that you do
You're my best friend"

Yes, I'm posting another Queen song. Why? Because they are my favorite. So there.

My love affair with Freddie Mercury goes way beyond his wide range of musical styles and sung lyrics. This song is one of those ones that spans across the entire world - everyone who hears it loves it. It's just true.

"You're My Best Friend" by Queen was released in 1976, originally from the band's A Night At The Opera album. The song was written by John Deacon for his wife Veronica, to whom he is still married. Such a sweet song. Sigh.

The Night The Lights Went out In Georgia - Vicki Lawrence and later Reba McEntire

"His cheatin' wife never left town.

That's one body that'll never be found.

You see, little sister don't miss when she aims her gun."

Ms. Reba McEntire needs no introduction. She is a wonderfully Ginger Country Queen. We love her.

We also love her 1991 version of the 1972 classic "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence.

The first time I heard this song I was very little riding in the car with my mom and Aunt Jane, and they were talking about how haunting the lyrics were. In fact, I remember getting a little scared by the lyrics, but then again I was probably 4 or 5 at the time, and Ms. Lawrence has a haunting voice.

Now that I'm older, I do prefer Reba's version. It's just amazing.

This classic Southern Gothic song tells the tail of a man who just found out his wife had cheated on him. He stalks over to her lover's house, wanting to kill him, only to find him already dead. He is hung for the murder anyhow, because no one believed him when he said he didn't kill his wife's lover. Turns out his little sister killed the cheating wife and her lover for what they did to her brother.

It's one of those stories that stays with you.

The song became a Number 1 hit for Vicki Lawrence, who recorded the song herself after other artists like Char turned it down. Reba's version reached #12, but her music video for the song got a lot more airplay, and implied a lot more about the story than just the lyrics themselves.

Down Under - Men At Work

No lie, this song was in my elementary school music class book. We would beg our music teacher to listen to it on CD (when CDs first came out) and when we did we thought it was SO funny!

Now that I am about 20 years older, it is still funny - and one of the coolest songs ever recorded.

"Down Under" by Men At Work was released in 1982 and went to #1 on the Australian, American and UK rock charts. Because of the great success of this song, Men At Work are the only Australian band to simultaneously hold the #1 album and #1 song in the United States.

The song is about an Australian man traveling the world. He is very proud of his heritage and tries to entice people to come visit Australia.

And because of the great lyrics to this song, it has become an anthem of sorts for Australia.

So, grab up a Vegimite sandwich, make friends with a Kangaroo, and listen to this awesome song.

Walk Like An Egyptian - The Bangles

"All the cops in the donut shop say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh"

One of their most famous songs, "Walk Like An Egyptian" by the 1980s girl band The Bangles just rocks. Not many people don't know this song, and a few even remember the hilarious music video with random people on the street walking like Egyptians.

Though I don't think Egyptians really walked like that - right?

"Walk Like An Egyptian" reached $3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the UK, and #1 in the States. I guess that just goes to show that people in the United States like to walk funny.

With the hug success of this song, The Bangles propelled from the underground punk girl music scene to mainstream radio in the later half of the 1980s.

Note From My Cousin Alyssa

So, after trying to explain to a 12 year old that rap music - while good in it's own right - is just one kind of music to listen to, she decided to contribute a bit to this blog on which I am sharing some of my favorite Classic Rock music for her education.

Below is Alyssa's Note - Enjoy :)

Dear whoever goes on this website and looks at this,

I am the famous Alyssa, the reason this site is on the internet, well not entirely! My cousin Dana thought that I need to learn to like "old music" but i only listen to rap (it's the best... TRUST ME!) Anyways, when she told me that she made a website for me, I was soooooooo happy, but when I heard the name...Alyssa's Music Education, i knew it was going to be all old music i will never listen to EVER! But still I love Dana for making me this website, she rocks! Thanks for reading this and going on the website full of music I will never listen to lol jk Dana!!

PEACE OUT PEEPS!! @LY$$@

(thats alyssa in getto)

Oh Lordy........ *head shake*

Whip It Good - Devo

So, are they saying "Tattoed Detective"? Or "Try to Detect It"?

This question plagued my college roommate and I for months when we became obsessed with this song. Granted it was over 20 years after it was released, but one can discover and appreciate awesome 80's music during any decade, right?

Devo was formed in 1973 in Ohio, and has developed somewhat of a cult following since then. Their band name comes from the concept of "de-evolution" meaning that instead of evolving, human kind has regressed. But wherever their name comes from, their song "Whip It" is freaking amazing.

"Whip It" was released in 1980 and was Devo's most successful song. Reaching #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, "Whip It" was also named #63 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s.

But it's the music video and the red hats that make this song the best. Just watch and find out.

Hotel California - The Eagles

Like I said before - The Eagles are a fucking amazing band. And despite what my future uncle-in-law says, "Hotel California" is one of their greatest songs, and one of the greatest songs in Rock and Roll.

Released in early 1977 off their album of the same name, "Hotel California" topped the Billboard Hot 100 List for one week in May, and The Eagles also won the Grammy for Record Of The Year in 1978 for this song.

And in case you think I forgot about your digital music, "Hotel California" was certified Platinum in 2009 after achieving more than 1,000,000 digital downloads on sites like iTunes.

On the surface, this song is about a weary traveler who became trapped in a horrible hotel after first finding it inviting. However, the song is an allegory of the hedonism and self-destruction of the California music industry in the late 1970s (not Satan-worshiping). Henley says this about "Hotel California" - "It's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about."

So pick up and Eagles album or download "Hotel California" and rock out like there's no tomorrow.

Pink Houses - John Mellencamp

"There's a black man with a black cat livin' in a black neighborhood
He's got an interstate runnin' through his front yard
You know he thinks that he's got it so good
And there's a woman in the kitchen cleanin' up the evenin' slop
And he looks at her and says, "Hey darlin', I can remember when
You could stop a clock."

Back before Cougars were horny moms, John Cougar Mellencamp rocked the stage with great music such as "Jack and Diane" and "Hurt So Good".

One of his songs from the early 1980s "Pink Houses" is one of those songs that is written about the heart of America, and the people in it. Telling stories about an old African-American couple, a young hard working man and everyone else that make up our country.

The song made it to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, and was ranked #439 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

This song also makes my mom and her sisters sing and dance in bars. It's that good.