10. Zamboni -- The Gear Daddies
Don't let the fact it's been on the soundtrack for some bad movies sway you. Actually, being corny is what makes this song so good, in a quaint kind of way.
You'll hear the smooth sound of this Austin, Minnesota band in arenas across North America, singing about a boy's dream to drive the most famous machine in sports.
Memorable lyric:
Well I went down to the local arena
Asked to see the manager man
He came from his office, said, "Son can I help you?"
I looked at him and said, "Yes you can..."
9. Talkin' Baseball (Willie, Mickey & "The Duke") -- Terry Cashman
During the baseball strike of 1981, Cashman came up with this gem after he was inspired by a photo of three great Yankees outfielders together.
It was a big hit, and he's written dozens of baseball songs since, but never matched it.
The guy wrote for The Partridge Family, too -- but we won't hold that against him.
Memorable lyric:
The Scooter, the Barber and the Newc
They knew them all from Boston to Dubuque
Especially Willie, Mickey and the Duke
8. Fireworks - The Tragically Hip
It's not really about hockey, but the boys from Kingston make enough references to our national sport that we just had to include this fast-paced, guitar-driven number from their album Phantom Power.
Great chords, hockey and a chick -- it doesn't get much better.
Memorable lyric:
You said you didn't give a (censored) about hockey
And I never saw someone say that before
You held my hand and we walked home the long way
You were loosening my grip on Bobby Orr.
7. Black Superman/Muhammed Ali -- Johnny Wakelin and the Kinshasa Band
The mid-70's produced this lightweight AM radio hit, which had less staying power, and packed much less of a punch, than its subject.
As far as we know, Mr. Wakelin and his band never recorded another song.
But this one was catchy enough that it came to mind as soon as the idea for this list was hatched.
Memorable lyric:
Sing Muhammad, Muhammad Ali
He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee
Muhammad, the black superman
Who calls to the other guy, I'm Ali, catch me if you can.
6. Who Killed Davey Moore? -- Bob Dylan
Dylan's song Hurricane, about Rubin Carter, is better known, but this one delivers the knockout punch.
A boxer dies in the ring, and Dylan wants to know who's responsible. Was it the referee? The bloodthirsty crowd? The fighter's manager? The gambling industry? The media? Or simply the man whose fists connected for the deadly blow?
By finding nobody who'll take responsibility, Dylan points the finger at us all in this simple, but brilliant, folk song from his early days.
Memorable lyric:
"Not me," says the boxing writer,
Pounding print on his old typewriter,
Sayin', "Boxing ain't to blame,
There's just as much danger in a football game."
5. Take Me Out to the Ball Game -- Jack Norworth
One of the most recognizable melodies in North America, this has become as much a ballpark staple as the hot dog.
Getting stale, you say? Sure it is. But the seventh-inning stretch just wouldn't be the same without it.
Memorable lyric:
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack
I don't care if I never get back.
4. Big League -- Tom Cochrane
Leave it to a northern Manitoba boy to nail the quintessential Canadian tale every kid who's ever held a stick can latch onto: the quest to make the NHL.
Only Cochrane's tale doesn't have the schmaltzy, happy ending -- and we love it.
A tune to make hockey moms and dads everywhere shudder.
Memorable lyric:
All the right moves when he turned eighteen
Scholarship and school on a big U.S. team
Out with his girl near Lake McClean
Hit a truck doing seventy in the wrong lane to the big league.
3. The Hockey Song -- Stompin' Tom
The perfect pick-me-up to follow Cochrane's tale of sorrow has to be Stompin' Tom's catchy little country number, first appearing in 1973.
It took some 20 years for most of us hosers to get it, but now that we have there isn't a hockey game played without it.
Memorable lyric:
The goalie jumps and the players bump and the fans all go insane
Someone roars, "Bobby scores!" at the good ole hockey game.
2. Hockey Night in Canada theme
Is there a melody more instantly recognizable to your average Canuck than this one? O Canada, maybe.
Someone (Stompin' Tom?) should add lyrics to this thing. Then again, maybe it's fine just the way it is.
Never heard a rock version of it, but it's probably out there, somewhere.
1. Centerfield -- John Fogerty
Who hasn't sung along to the chorus, "Put me in, coach -- I'm ready to play today," from the former member of Credence Clearwater Revival?
Fogerty hit it over the wall with this tune, a catchy little country rocker that could have been right out of his days with CCR.
You'll hum this one all the way home, even if the hotdogs were bad and the home team lost.
Memorable lyric:
Well beat the drum and hold the phone -- the sun came out today.
We're born again, there's new grass on the field.
