This list of songs is inspired by lists published by radio station KEXP-FM from Seattle in 2010, as well as the latest poll taken in 2021 by Rolling Stone Magazine. For the most part I will faithfully countdown from their lists, starting at Song #500 and going until I reach Song #1. When you see the song title listed as something like: Song #XXX (KEXP)….it means that I am working off of the official KEXP list. Song XXX (RS) means the song is coming from the Rolling Stone list. If I post the song title as being: Song #xxx (KTOM), it means I have gone rogue and am inserting a song choice from my own personal list of tunes I really like. In any case, you are going to get to hear a great song and learn the story behind it. Finally, just so everyone is aware, I am not a music critic nor a musician. I am a music fan and an armchair storyteller. Here is the story behind today’s song. Enjoy.
KTOM: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.
Song #300: Count On Me by Bruno Mars.
Well now! We are 200 song posts into the journey as of today! Thank you to everyone who has been following along, commenting and sharing your own stories and songs along the way. This is all so much more enjoyable when you guys play along. 
As you may know by now, every 25th song goes to one of my girls. Today, it is Sophie’s turn again. The seventh song on her Top Ten Song List is “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars. So, let’s meet one of the most successful entertainers of this past decade and learn why his song means so much to Sophie.
Sophie was born in 2009. As if to celebrate, Bruno Mars released his debut album, “Doo-Wops and Hooligans” in 2010. “Doo-Wops and Hooligans” turned out to be one of the most successful debuts of all-time. It sold over ten million copies worldwide and spawned multiple hit singles such as “Grenade”, “Just the Way You Are”, “The Lazy Song”, “Marry You” and “Count On Me”. Even if these titles don’t jump out at you as being songs you recognize, I guarantee that you have heard them all if you listen to radio at all. These songs were all over Pop radio in the decade of 2010 and are instantly recognizable Pop gems.
Bruno Mars (Born Peter Gene Hernandez) won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Just the Way You Are”. The album, itself, received numerous nominations at The Grammy Awards, The Billboard Music Awards and so on. In the years that have followed, Bruno Mars has cemented his status as one of Pop’s heavyweight performers with classic songs such as “Uptown Funk”, “24K Magic”, “That’s What I Like” and many more. While Bruno Mars regularly collaborates with popular female singers such as Cardi B. and Dua Lipa, it is because of a song that has been likened to “Over the Rainbow” that Sophie became a fan. When I asked Sophie what special meaning the song, “Count On Me” held for her, she told me tales of being in school, with her friends, having lunch in her classroom and having her teacher put on YouTube music videos (lyric-versions) of hit songs, and then, the whole class would sing along while they ate. “Count On Me” was one of the songs she and her friends sang to. *As a former teacher, I applaud using technology this way because, in essence, it is a sneaky way to get the kids to practise their reading skills without them realizing they are doing it. To them, they aren’t working to read. Instead, they are having fun and singing with their besties and it is all good. I know many schools use this song with their students because the message of the song is so uplifting and wholesome. “Count On Me” is a song about being a true friend and/or having a true friend who always has your back. The song is so squeaky clean that Bruno Mars even got to appear on Sesame Street because of it! A sample of the lyrics goes like this:
“If you ever find yourself, stuck, in the middle of the sea
I’ll sail the world, to find you.
If you ever find yourself, lost in the dark, and you can’t see
I’ll be the light, to guide you.”
Not everybody can sing professionally, on a stage, like the Bruno Mars of the world. But, just the same, there are thousands of folks, the world over, for whom singing aloud brings them pleasure. Sophie enjoys singing. She sings in the shower. She sings as she spends time outside, in our gardens and yard. She sings with people she is comfortable singing in the presence of, such as her sister or her best friends. Singing makes her happy. One of the songs that she sings that makes her smile is “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars. I hope that it makes you smile, too. If there are any particular songs that you like to sing while no one is looking then, feel free to let us all know in the comments below. In the meantime, here is Bruno Mars with “Count On Me”. Enjoy.
The link to the video for the song, “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars, can be found here.
The link to the video of Bruno Mars as he appeared on the TV show, Sesame Street, can be found here.
The link to the official website for Bruno Mars can be found here.
Tom MacInnes, Writer 