April 1, 2021 marks the official date of "summer is right around the corner" as the most anticipated day on the calendar for baseball fans, Opening Day, has finally arrived.
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Music and baseball share plenty of overlaps. There's a certain sense of romance that encapsulates the fan and provides the unique opportunity for us to cheer for our favorite individuals (athletes, artists) or the collective (a team or a band).
As Opening Day gets underway and offers a renewed sense of optimism for fans of every team, here are seven great baseball songs to add to your playlist.
7.Bruce Springsteen - Glory Days
Springsteen has always been a master lyricist and the opening verse of "Glory Days" serves as his recounting of an experience with a former Little League teammate during the summer of 1973. Appropriately, the music video opens up with Springsteen pitching to a wooden backstop.
6.Randy Newman - The Natural
It's one of the most iconic moments in one of baseball's most memorable movies. Randy Newman composed and conducted the entire score of The Natural and created an incredible soundscape to the climax of the movie where Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) smashes a home run into the stadium lights.
5.Woodrow Buddy Johnson & Count Basie - Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?
One of the most famous baseball songs of all time pays tribute to one of the best and most impactful baseball players of all time. Following his Major League debut in 1947, numerous songs were written about Robinson, but Johnson & Count Basie's version serves as the most memorable.
4.Kenny Rogers - The Greatest
Rogers paints a beautiful picture that not only showcases the dreams young baseball fans have of being the greatest ball player on the planet, but just how difficult the game can be. The song features a young boy tossing a ball up in the air trying to knock it out of the park. After he swings and misses three times, striking himself out, he then envisions a future where he's the greatest pitcher.
3.The Treniers - Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)
In 1955, The Treniers released their ode to Giants center fielder Willie Mays with this song. Paying tribute to Mays' otherworldly baseball skills, the song was also incredibly forward-thinking as it features spoken word from the Hall of Famer.
2.John Fogerty - Centerfield
Fogerty's 1985 single has become a baseball anthem as the opening handclaps can be found blasting from the loudspeakers at stadiums all across the country. Fogerty was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 as he performed the song at the induction ceremony and played a baseball-bat-shaped guitar.
1.Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Could it really be anything else? From stadiums holding over 50,000 fans, to the baseball diamond down the block, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is a fixture at nearly every baseball game. The part that's most commonly sung during the seventh inning is actually the chorus as the original song contains two separate verses.
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