# Best of the Rest of the Top 40: 1973 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460 "2015-01-31T21:35:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460/21 "2015-02-01T22:40:25Z")
What? Stealers Wheel in the lead? I said, now who do, who do you think you’re foolin? This was Paul Simon’s year. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460/22 "2015-02-01T22:54:22Z")
I went with “Daniel” because it’s a lovely song really. I recently read some backdrop stating that Daniel was a Viet Nam vet who lost his sight in a tour of duty. Beats me. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460/23 "2015-02-01T23:04:49Z")
1973 is my birth year so I wanted to get this one right. I was worried that the choices would be terrible but this was surprisingly hard because there are lots of good contenders. I went with Dobie Gray and “Drift Away” because it is a powerful song with great vocals (bluesy power ballad?) but several others were close. “Rocky Mountain High” and “Daniel” are the top of the rest. “Stuck In the Middle With You” is the current leader and I can see why people like it but I have never enjoyed listening to it very much personally. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460/24 "2015-02-02T09:05:04Z")
[QUOTE=Johanna] What? Stealers Wheel in the lead? I said, now who do, who do you think you’re foolin? This was Paul Simon’s year. [/QUOTE] > [@Shagnasty](#): > > “Stuck In the Middle With You” is the current leader and I can see why people like it but I have never enjoyed listening to it very much personally. I strongly suspect the main reason “Stuck in the Middle with You” is getting so many votes has to do with Quentin Tarantino’s decision to use it during the scene in \*\*Reservoir Dogs \*\*where the cop gets his ear cut off. That movie saved the song and group Stealer’s Wheel from being a one-hit-wonder footnote in rock history. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460/25 "2015-02-02T10:44:56Z")
_Long Train Running_ for me. Something about the guitar hook… ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460/26 "2015-02-03T15:16:31Z")
I figure this is my one chance to vote for Dr. John, so I’m taking it. On the overall quality of the list, I’d say this isn’t a great year or a bad year, it’s somewhere in between. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460/27 "2015-02-24T10:33:18Z")
"Lke arock… such a great duet… Simon juxatoposed with the Dixie Hummingbirds… Shambala…is a personal fav (Thanks Capitol One for fuckin that up) and Daniel is a classic… I think classic rock has killed Middle…and Long Train sad to say…Paul Simon got my vote for his Rhymin!! ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460/28 "2015-02-24T20:35:46Z")
Slim pickings. I went with “Daniel” but “Stuck in the Middle With You” was close. I also considered “Rocky Mountain High” because of the controversy about whether or not it was about marijuana (actually I believe the “high” refers to auto-erotic asphyxiation due to less oxygen at high elevations.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1973/711460.md?page=1)