by Ty Newell
John Myers was a musicologist and longtime public radio host at MTPR (Montana Public Radio) with an extensive music library. He was also a friend and shared our enthusiasm for sustainable living. John visited Equinox House a few years ago before losing his battle with cancer. Inspired by our healthy, net zero plus home, he presented me with four CDs containing over 80 songs that revolve around “home”.
I wanted to share this list of music with you for a couple of reasons. First, it is a wonderful list, and I would like to pass it on to others. Second, music provides us with inspiration to accomplish great things. Music helps us feel good, feel sad, relax, connect with others near and far, and can help us to express our thoughts and feelings in a way that is beyond our own ability. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy these selections. Some are familiar and some are not. Some are happy and some are not. Some provide inspiration and some are just for relaxation. The list is unchanged from John’s original. And, if you enjoy this list, let us know and we’ll post John’s music tribute to Mother Earth and the environment.
| Date | Record Co | Artist | Album | Cut |
| 1977 | Sire | Talking Heads | Talking Heads:77 | Don’t Worry About the Government |
| 1967 | Columbia | Bob Dylan | John Wesley Harding | Dear Landlord |
| 1979 | A&M | Police | Single: flipside of “Message in a Bottle” | Landlord |
| Art | Lad Richards with his Orchestra | West Indian Calypso Magic | Mister Give Me De Rent | |
| 1939 | Fantasy Musicraft | Leadbelly | Huddie Ledbetter | Bourgeois Blues |
| 1980 | Motown | Stevie Wonder | Hotter Than July | Cash in your Face |
| 1971 | Sussex | Bill Withers | Just as I Am | Harlem |
| Art | Lad Richards with his Orchestra | West Indian Calypso Magic | Mama Hol’ de Light | |
| 1969 | Arhoolie | Sleepy John Estes | Mississippi Delta Blues Jam in Memphis, Vol 2 | Rats (in my Kitchen) |
| 1986 | A&M | UB40 | Rat in the Kitchen | Rat in Me Kitchen |
| Columbia | Flatt & Scruggs | The Fabulous Sound of Flatt & Scruggs | The Good Things (Outweigh the Bad) | |
| Polydor | Hank Williams | I’m So Lonesome I could Cry (Vol 4) | A House of Gold | |
| 1973 | WB | Little Feat | Dixie Chicken | Kiss It Off |
| Columbia | Billy Joe Royal | Down in the Boondocks | Down in the Boondocks | |
| 1962 | Rhino Monument | Roy Orbison | For the Lonely: A Roy Orbison Anthology 1956-1965 | Working for the Man |
| 1947 | Mercury MGM | Hank Williams | The Complete Hank Williams | A Mansion on the Hill |
| 1975 | RCA | Waylon Jennings | Dreaming My Dreams | The Door is Always Open |
| 1956 | Capitol | Wanda Jackson | Vintage Collection | Silver Threads and Golden Needles |
| 1973 | Asylum | Linda Ronstadt | Don’t Cry Now | Silver Threads and Golden Needles |
| 1973 | Time-Life MCA | Jeanne Pruett | Classic Country: Queens of the Country | Satin Sheets |
| 1975 | Asylum | Joni Mitchell | The Hissing of Summer Lawns | The Hissing of Summer Lawns |
| 1975 | Asylum | Joni Mitchell | The Hissing of Summer Lawns | Harry’s House/Centerpiece |
| 1960 | Columbia | Lambert, Hendricks and Ross | The Hottest New Group in Jazz | Centerpiece |
| 1970 | Reprise | Joni Mitchell | Ladies of the Canyon | The Arrangement |
| 1975 | Asylum | Eagles | One of These Nights | Lyin’ Eyes |
| 1960 | Columbia | Johnny Horton | Greatest Hits | The Mansion You Stole |
| 1967 | Elektra | Love | Forever Changes | A House is not a Motel |
| 1960 | King | Little Willie John | All 15 of His Chart Hits 1953-1962 | A Cottage for Sale |
| 1949 | Polydor MGM | Hank Williams | I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (Vol IV) | A House without Love |
| 1976 | Bearsville | Jesse Winchester | Let the Rough Side Drag | It Takes More Than a Hammer and Nails to Make a House a Home |
| 1934 | JSP Victor | Carter Family | The Carter Family: 1927-1934 | I’m Working on a Building |
| 1974 | Rebel | Seldom Scene | Old Train | Working on a Building |
| Polydor MGM | Hank Williams | I’m So Lonesome I could Cry (Vol 4) | Are You Building a Temple in Heaven | |
| 1946 | Columbia | Bill Munroe (and His Blue Grass Boys) | The Essential Bill Munroe and His Blue Grass Boys | Mansions for Me |
| 1969 | Decca | Who | Tommy | Welcome |
| 1973 | Mercury | Jerry Lee Lewis | Southern Roots | That Old Bourbon Street Church |
| 1965 | RCA | Sam Cooke | The Man and His Music | A Change is Gonna Come |
| 1970 | A&M | Jimmy Cliff | Wonderful World, Beautiful People | Time Will Tell |
| 1954 | Rosemary Clooney | 16 Most Requested Songs | This Ole House | |
| 1964 | Time Life Phillips | Serendipity Singers | The Folk Years | Don’t Let the Rain Come Down |
| 1972 | Asylum | Jackson Browne | Saturate Before Using | Looking Into You |
| 1973 | Asylum | Eagles | Desperado | Saturday Night |
| 1975 | Capitol | The Band | Northern Lights -Southern Cross | It Makes No Difference |
| 1963 | Elektra | Dillards | Backporch Bluegrass | Old Home Place |
| 1975 | Rounder | J.D. Crowe and The New South | The New South | Home Sweet Home Revisited |
| 1963 | Smithsonian Folkways | Pete Seeger | Headlines and Footnotes: A Collection of Topical Songs | Little Boxes and a spoken introduction |
| 1963 | Smithsonian Folkways | Malvina Reynolds | Ear to the Ground | Little Boxes |
| 1976 | Dark Horse | George Harrison | Thirty-three & 1/3 | Crackerbox Palace |
| 1969 | Reprise | Kinks | Arthur | Shangri-La |
| 1971 | RCA | Kinks | Muswell Hillbillies | Muswell Hillbilly |
| 1979 | Carthage Chrysalis | Richard & Linda Thompson | Sunnyvista | Sunnyvista |
| 1990 | Green Linnet | Richard Thompson | Hard Cash | Time to Ring Some Changes |
| 1970 | Capitol | Joy of Cooking | Joy of Cooking | Children’s House |
| 1970 | Atlantic | Crosby, Stills and Nash | Deja Vu | Our House |
| 1967 | UA | Traffic | Mr. Fantasy | House for Everyone |
| 1967 | Capitol | Beatles | Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band | Fixing a Hole |
| 1987 | Virgin | Warren Zevon | Sentimental Hygiene | Detox Mansion |
| 1944 | Fantasy Musicraft | Leadbelly | Huddie Ledbetter | In New Orleans |
| 1964 | MGM | Animals | The Animals | House of the Rising Sun |
| 1967 | MCA Reprise | Jimi Hendrix | Are You Experienced? | Red House |
| 1985 | Elektra | X | Ain’t Love Grand? | Burning House of Love |
| 1979 | Sire | Talking Heads | The Name of This Band is Talking Heads | Building on Fire |
| 1983 | Sire | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | Burning Down the House |
| 1968 | Reprise | Jimi Hendrix | Electric Ladyland | House Burning Down |
| 1980 | Sire | Talking Heads | Remain in Light | Houses in Motion |
| 1970 | Columbia | Simon & Garfunkel | Bridge over Troubled Water | So Long Frank Lloyd Wright |
| 1970 | Bizarre Reprise | Mothers of Invention | Burnt Weeny Sandwich | Little House I Used to Live In |
| 1968 | Columbia | Blood, Sweat and Tears | Child is Father to the Man | House in the Country |
| 1966 | Reprise | Kinks | Face to Face | House in the Country |
| 1966 | Reprise | Kinks | Face to Face | Sunny Afternoon |
| 1966 | Reprise | Kinks | Face to Face | Most Exclusive Residence for Sale |
| 1968 | Arhoolie | Strange Creek Singers | Strange Creek Singers | When I can Read My Titles Clear |
| Specialty | Johnny Fuller | The Specialty Story, Disc 5 | Haunted House |
