“Bitch” – Meredith Brooks

Cliché? Maybe. But that doesn’t make it any less true. This now classic pop rock track was written by a woman about being a woman. This song celebrates the amazing diversity of women. Women can also be – well, I know I can be – exciting, contrary creatures. I’m a bitch, I’m a lover, I’m a child and a mother just like the song says and I love that this song makes it okay, even cool, to admit that.

“Crazy” – Patsy Cline

This song, written by Willie Nelson, is perfect for a very first dance with someone very special. Do you really need more of an explanation than that? Okay, here’s one.

You’ve known him (or her if you’re a man and so inclined) for a short time; a few weeks at most. You’ve been gently flirting , shy glances – the moment he notices, you only just make eye contact, then give a sweet little smile and look away. The soft occasional brushing of hands and a few lingering hand shakes while you smile into each others eyes. And now after weeks you want to touch him, kiss him, you have a physical need to feel him up against you.

“Crazy” is the perfect song for that. It demands that he pull you in close, so close that there’s no light between you, your legs entwined, his warm cheek, rough with stubble, pressed against your soft, smooth cheek, one arm around your waist holding you gently, your small delicate hand in his tucked up against his chest, feeling his soft breath on your ear while you sway back and forth together. And there, wrapped in each other's arms, even if you are in the middle of a crowded dance floor, there will not be another living soul for a thousand miles. Just the two of you.

“Son of a Preacher Man” – Dusty Springfield

For sleepovers, “Son of a Preacher Man” was always a must for me and my punk/goth friends. Even then we knew this song was something special. With towels wrapped around our heads (to create long hair of course), wearing just our PJs, we would grab a hairbrush and meet in the middle of my bedroom floor. There we would stand right in front of my blaring stereo speakers and sing as loud as we could and usually off key.

Whatever that something special is, it is undoubtedly the reason so many have covered this song. Aretha Franklin turned it down originally but after hearing Dusty Springfield’s husky, bluesy voice signing it, she, too, recorded it – although she never released it as a single. It is an R & B/blues classic that is sheer perfection. Who could have done it better? The answer to that is: Not even Aretha Franklin.