Old school Grammy-winning songs we're still listening to

The Beatles are the most storied band ever, with a library of iconic songs. However, they won Song of the Year only once. Is “Michelle” generally considered to be one of their, say, 10 or 20 best songs? Well, it’s the only one Grammy voters wanted to honor.

The soft sounds of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are the exact sort of music the Grammys tend to reward, for better or worse. The general rule of thumb that people use is that Song of the Year, which “Bridge Over Troubled Water” won, is more about the songwriting, while Record of the Year, which we will get to, is more about production of the song. So this is largely a tip of the hat to the songwriting of Simon.

Before becoming an extremely successful musician in her own right, King was one of those people who made her living writing songs for others. Eventually she branched out on her own, creating many an iconic song and also the famous album “Tapestry.” King wrote "You've Got a Friend," which won Song of the Year, and Taylor won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his 1971 version of it.

Before the Fugees came along and put their own twist on “Killing Me Softly,” it was a big hit for Flack, winning Song of the Year at the 1974 Grammys. She actually also performed the prior year's winner, The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” which also was a hit for her. However, she did not actually write either song.

Shout out to yacht rock! The dynamic duo of Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald wrote this song, which won Song of the Year in 1980. Then the next year, yacht rock superstar Christopher Cross won for “Sailing.” We didn’t include that song, but we couldn’t resist the harmonies and sweets licks of “What a Fool Believes.”

Behold, a one-hit wonder that won a Grammy for Song of the Year. Carnes will always be in the historical record for having won a Grammy, which is something a lot of artists can’t say. Of course, Carnes didn’t write the song. Instead, the duo of Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon did that. Either way, Bette Davis got some love.

Yeah, when you think about the lyrics to this song they are creepy. It’s a little stalker-ish. That being said, it’s also an iconic pop song. People have been hearing it for years. Sting’s vocals are floating through all our heads. You’re probably thinking of them right now. It’s a classic torch song.

Tina Turner famously had her legs insured, but it’s her voice that carried this song. It’s arguably the most famous of all of Turner’s songs. After all, her biopic was named after it. Or maybe it’s her theme song from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” That one didn’t win a Grammy, or even an Oscar.

You know what song did win an Oscar, though? That would be “Streets of Philadelphia.” The Boss wrote it for the movie “Philadelphia,” which also got Tom Hanks an Oscar. With one song, Springsteen got halfway to an EGOT. He’ll get there soon enough if he wants it.

Speaking of songs from movies, we will forever associate “Kiss from a Rose” with the “Batman Forever” soundtrack. Is it a little cheesy? Sure, but it’s also infectious. We may poke fun at it from time to time but only because it’s an earworm that has been in our brains for over 20 years.

What’s with the Grammys’ love for iconic songs from soundtracks? We don’t have to tell you that Celine Dion’s massive hit is from “Titanic.” You’re also probably tired of it. It was inescapable for a few years. Still, we had to give love to “My Heart Will Go On.” It’s one of the most popular songs ever. How could we not?

We’ve now moved from Song of the Year winners to Record of the Year winners. There have been several songs that won both, but a handful of really good ones took home only Record and not Song. That includes yet another Simon and Garfunkel tune. Speaking of movies, this one came from “The Graduate.” Again, it turns out the Grammys love movies.

We follow up Simon and Garfunkel’s second appearance with the second outing from King. This song comes from her classic album “Tapestry.” Want to talk about an all-killer, no-filler album. There’s a reason a jukebox musical was made about King. She’s got a million hit songs in her repertoire.

Yeah, we know. It’s a little awkward putting a Jackson song on a list these days. We’re focusing on the song and not the man behind it. Before he became a complicated and problematic figure, there was a reason Jackson was the King of Pop. “Beat It” is a quintessential pop song. The Eddie Van Halen guitar riff is already ringing in your head.

Dolly Parton wrote this song, and she did a fine version of it back in the day. However, to most, the song is now owned by Houston. It’s assuredly one of the greatest vocal performances on a hit song ever. Houston’s voice soars, and that made this an obvious choice for Record of the Year.

Crow had been giving it a go for a while, and then suddenly, finally, she broke through with  “All I Wanna Do.” Radio stations loved it, music fans loved it and so did the Grammys, evidently. Crow became a star, thanks to this rambling, jangling little slice of life set to song.

We’ve now moved to Rock Song of the Year, an award the Grammys only gave out briefly. This is a bit of a surprising choice, given that “You Oughta Know” come from Alanis’ iconic album “Jagged Little Pill.” There are so many hit songs from this album. And yet the song that won Rock Song of the Year is the one where Morissette airs her dirty laundry about dudes from her past, including apparently Uncle Joey himself, Dave Coulier. Cut it out!

Chapman isn’t really a “rock” artist, but the Grammys finagled her into the Rock Song category anyway. The Chapman song we tend to remember is “Fast Car,” which is a real powerful tune, but “Give Me One Reason” is no slouch either.

Bob Dylan never won Song of the Year or Record of the Year. However, his son has a Grammy for Rock Song of the Year. The Wallflowers had a brief but memorable stretch of popularity. While they are now a relic of late ‘90s rock, we have to admit “One Headlight” still works as a song.

We’ve going to end with one winner of Country Song of the Year. Nelson, the red-headed stranger himself, is an iconic song writer. He wrote hits for others, but he also wrote plenty for himself. This is assuredly the song most associated with Nelson. Even if you don’t like country music, you can’t deny the catchiness of “On the Road Again.”