It’s Tuesday, but I only just got back from a quick trip to Oklahoma last night. Yes, I said I was going to Ohio last week for Spring Break, but then a difficult and unfortunate thing happened: my Uncle Randy died. So instead of Ohio, I headed to Oklahoma. Anyway, here are ten songs that I think of when I think of my uncle.

1. The Traveling Wilburys, “Poor House”: Whenever the family gets together, the guitars come out. And whenever the guitars come out, we play this song. Uncle Randy was the lead player of the family, the guy who knew all the parts in each song and can usually come up with something on the spot that perfectly fits the song. He loved playing this one and asked me to sing it every time.
2. Chicago, “25 or 6 to 4”: Apparently both my dad and my uncle were completely and totally in love with Chicago back in the 70s, and this was always their favorite by them. The Terry Kath guitar solo in this one is a hell of a challenge, but apparently Randy was able to master it in high school.
3. The Beatles, “Two Of Us”: We loved playing this one in the guitar pickin’ circle. It’s got beautiful vocals from Lennon and McCartney, giving my dad and me a chance to each sing one part. This generally works better when we’re not trying to harmonize, as I tend to follow any other voice I hear in terms of how they’re singing.
4. Pink Floyd, “Wish You Were Here”: My uncle did a long-running series of covers called “Family, Friends, and Me.” He did well over 100 covers of rock and roll songs over the years, recently releasing the seventh volume online just a couple of weeks ago. One of the songs for this most recent collection was this Pink Floyd tune, one I’ve loved since I heard it so many years ago.
5. The Eagles, “Desperado”: A beautiful ballad that Gert’s friend Teresa sang on the seventh volume of “Family, Friends, and Me.” She does it perfect, and I honestly can’t imagine anyone else ever singing it.
6. The Regular Joes, “Flame On, Fire of Love”: My uncle was in a number of bands over the years, but the one I will always remember was called the Regular Joes. They were a rock and roll band who did a share of covers and originals, and this original was on their last record. It’s one of those rock songs that manages to be wistful and sad and beautiful all at once, and it’s always been one of my favorites of theirs.
7. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Who’ll Stop the Rain”: There are good songs on every single CCR album, even the really terrible last couple. But this one stands tall even among their vaunted catalog. We played this one all the time in the pickin’ circles.
8. Boston, “More Than a Feeling”: The guy behind the band Boston, Tom Scholz, reminds me a lot of Uncle Randy. They were both perfectly at home in the studio and crafted multi-layered, phenomenal songs.
9. The Cottrell Boys, “Rainin’ on a Thursday”: My dad and Randy recorded a few songs themselves, just for fun, and I usually wrote lyrics for them. This is one of the songs dad and I are most proud of, and they made it sound perfect in my opinion.
10. Foo Fighters, “My Hero”: There’s a photo of my uncle, from when he was young, sitting there in sunglasses and holding a Strat. For his birthday a few years ago, his son, my cousin Chris, gave him a blown-up version of the photo with the lyrics to this song on the back. It featured in the funeral, even. It’s a song that’s now indelibly linked with my uncle in my mind.