22 Songs, 22 Stories – Mr. Erickson’s Song of the Day Countdown from Spring 2026 Posted on October 1, 2026 in Alumni News, Uncategorized For years of teaching at Prep, I played a “song of the day” for students as they entered my classroom. Sometimes, the song varied from class to class and often coincided with the day’s activity or with current events. For my final 22 teaching days, I chose my final 22 songs. These are not necessarily my favorite songs, but most of them have a story attached. Why 22 songs? I intended to have 20, but as I narrowed the list, I reached 21 and could not bear to eliminate any of them. So, I just added a song because 22 is a cool number. My birthday is on June 22nd, graduation was on May 22nd, and a scene from my favorite movie (Casablanca) involves the number “22.” So, 22 it is. (View playlist on Spotify here) #22: “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin One of this past autumn’s best memories was seeing Blimp, a Led Zeppelin tribute band, perform at the Red Carpet in St. Cloud. About a dozen faculty/staff members were on hand to enjoy seeing Mr. Jeff Engholm rock out for a couple of hours. A magical evening came to a close as Mr. Engholm gave me a shout out prior to the final song because he knows “Immigrant Song” has been my phone’s ringtone for several years. This song also serves as the Minnesota Vikings kickoff song thanks to Andrew Saur of Duluth who campaigned to have the Vikings play it instead of “Welcome to the Jungle.” Seriously, we Minnesotans are more acquainted with “ice and snow” than “the jungle.” Great change, Vikings! Ten years after the Vikings adopted the song, it featured prominently in Thor: Ragnarok—still the best music I have heard in a Marvel movie. And now, it kicks off my 22 song countdown. #21: “Dumb and Free” by Paul Spring Paul Spring ’07 often spent time singing in the hallways and fishbowl at Prep, and I remember occasionally running with him during cross-country practices . . . back when I was in better shape. Paul is now a professional singer/songwriter/musician with loads of songs and a couple of Saturday Night Live appearances to his credit. Last spring, he and some Irish lads kicked off a tour in his hometown of St. Cloud with a sold out show at the Gnarly Bard Theatre. Paul’s wife, Sophia Heymans ’08, is a professional artist who drew art for The Triangle including a couple of covers while at Prep. This song is the title tune from Paul’s recent album which was released this past November. #20: “Believe in Yourself” by Jeff Engholm I mentioned Mr. Engholm’s part in a Led Zeppelin tribute band, but he also excels at solo work. This song is from his album Little Big Things (2021), and you really need to watch the video of it on YouTube as it features some familiar folks. Theater director Brandon Anderson and Jeff’s wife, Amy Grinsteiner, play a couple of lonely people needing to believe in themselves. A grocery store checkout guy is played by Engholm himself. Such fun! #19: “Take Good Care of My Baby” by Bobby Vee Bobby Vee is a legend with 38 top ten hits. At age 15, he and his band famously filled in at a Moorhead concert after Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash on the way to the show. This began a career that spanned for decades and should have resulted in membership to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is in several Hall of Fames, however, including The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Hall of Fame in my home state of North Dakota. The Fargo native joined greats such as Lawrence Welk (television entertainer), Roger Maris (MLB star), Peggy Lee (actress and singer), Phil Jackson (NBA player and coach), Angie Dickinson (actress), and Louise Erdrich (author) in receiving the state’s highest honor. Later, Vee became a long-time resident in my current town of St. Joseph. The last song of the day was from Mr. Engholm who toured with Bobby Vee in England and owns his old van. More importantly, Mr. Vee was the grandfather of Prep grad Saima Velline ’26. This song from 1961 was his only number one hit. #18: “Where You Lead” by Carole King The previous song, Bobby Vee’s “Take Good Care of My Baby,” was co-written by Carole King. Ten years later, she released her second album, Tapestry (1971), which is considered one of the greatest of all time. “Where You Lead” is also the theme song from one of my favorite television shows, Gilmore Girls. When watching the series on Netflix, my wife and I rarely use the “skip intro” option because this song is so good no matter how often we hear it. #17: “Dreams” by Cranberries I am following the Gilmore Girls theme with the theme of another of my favorite television shows with a similar title, Derry Girls. Although this song is mostly uplifting, it works during many emotional moments from the acclaimed series whether celebratory or sad. Give it a play if you have not heard it—you’ll probably recognize it. Sadly, the lead singer of this Irish band, Dolores O’Riordan, died tragically over eight years ago. This song is dedicated to the SJP class of 2026. May all your dreams come true. #16: “London Calling” by The Clash This spring, I headed to London for the tenth time. Most anyone who knows me can tell you that it is my favorite place. This song of the day was shared in class the day before Grand Tour of Nations, and at the Grand Tour of Nations in 2013, I “performed” it with the band “Shenanigans” as one of their guest vocalists in the Great Hall. The band included my former colleague, Pat Dwyer, former Prep parent Joe Melcher, and two of the three members of the current band Tomato Warning (former colleague Jason Kirsch and our own Mr. Charles Miller). I received a “thanks-for-your-willingness-to-embarrass-yourself” standing ovation from half of the audience, and when I showed the video to my rock star younger brother, I just received laughter from beginning to end. Still, my one public musical performance is a fond memory. #15: “Spinning Out” by Charles Miller I mentioned Mr. Miller and his band Tomato Warning in song #16. This year he has been putting out some wonderful solo material. This song is the first one from his Winter EP and was inspired by a certain wintry morning where he among others were spinning out on the way to Prep. Of course, the song’s meaning goes beyond a scary drive to school. #14: “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney and Wings Paul McCartney is my favorite member of The Beatles. I have read his two-volume book, The Lyrics, and his show at Target Field in 2014 was the first major concert I ever attended. I have told people I was holding out for either The Beatles or a member of the group at the least. I attended the concert with a band I mentioned in song #16, Tomato Warning (Mr. Jason Kirsch, Mr. Charles Miller, and Owen Miller—Mr. Miller’s son). We had a great time, and I have sometimes worn my concert shirt to Tomato Warning shows. “Live and Let Die” was the concert’s showstopper with amazing pyrotechnics. The song was also the theme of Roger Moore’s first movie playing James Bond, To Live and Let Die, which featured some stunts from Joie Chitwood, Jr. who I spoke to after seeing his Chitwood Thrill Show at a couple of fairs in North Dakota as a child. The movie is not great, but the stunts and the theme song are. #13: “Wuthering Heights” by Pat Benatar Pat Benatar had many hits bigger than “Wuthering Heights,” but this is the one I often rewound on my 1979 Datsun’s cassette player as I made the drive between Moorhead State University and Wolford, North Dakota. The song stands by itself, but I also chose it because it is based on one of the first novels I taught while student teaching at Fargo South High School. Benatar’s operatic voice feels to me like the voice of the 1980’s. #12: “Hold the Line” by Toto I mentioned that my only public singing performance was at the 2013 Grand Tour of Nations. However, I did take part in a performance at Wolford Public School during my junior year of high school. Before most people—at least in Wolford, North Dakota—had even heard of air bands (lip-synching) or karaoke, my friend Lowlen Johnson concocted a fun endeavor for a few of his classmates. We were to perform two popular hit songs in front of the entire school while only pretending to sing and play instruments. Lowlen was the lead singer wearing a silver satin jacket, and Allen Dissette was the guitarist who wore a black wig. Todd Armstrong and I couldn’t decide between drums and keyboards, so we swapped between songs. My biggest contribution was naming the band. I came up with JADE which was an acronym for our last names. We performed two songs: “Cold as Ice” by Foreigner and “Hold the Line” by Toto. Lowlen convinced the science teacher to let him have some flash powder which Allen ignited on stage by striking a match just prior to the first notes. At one point Allen’s wig flew off during his guitar solo, and our drum kit consisted of a couple of kettle drums, a snare drum, and a bass drum because the school did not have a proper drum set. It was perhaps so bad that it was good, at least in our tiny town. The girls in the front rows kindly screamed as if we were real rock stars, and our act even took up half a page in the school yearbook. Whenever I hear either of those two songs, I think of JADE, a “band” which enjoyed its 15 minutes of fame. #11: “Nobody Does It Better” by Carly Simon Oddly enough, this is the second theme song from a James Bond movie (The Spy Who Loved Me). I chose it because it was the theme song of the only advising group to win the Smartest Advising competition three times. The smartest advising competition began in the 2007-2008 school year, and I was fortunate to have a truly smart group with my 2016 graduates. Half of my advisees scored 30 or above on their ACT, and two of them were key members of two Knowledge Bowl state champions. They had to win at least one Smartest Advising before I gave them a theme song . . . and then they tacked on a couple extra wins to become the smartest of the smartest advising groups, surpassing Mr. Paul Menard’s stellar 2012 graduates that won two in a row. The song turned out to have a long shelf life. #10: “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant Since May 2010 I have had the class t-shirt for the SJP class of 2010 hanging in my office. On the back is an indicator through a combination of words and pictures of their class song, “Electric Avenue.” I am not sure why they chose the song, but they loved it and even made a cool senior homecoming video to it. The class was the first to choose me as commencement speaker which was an incredible honor. Giving me a class t-shirt added to the memory. Check out the homecoming video on YouTube to see what a fun group they were. #9: “Upper Mississippi Shakedown” by The Lamont Cranston Band After the Dubuque Mudpuppies of the Northwoods League collegiate wood bat baseball league folded after the 1996 season, St. Cloud was awarded a new franchise to begin in the summer of 1997. St. Cloud conducted a contest to name the new franchise, and I was fortunate that owner Joel Sutherland liked my entry more than the other roughly 500. So, the St. Cloud River Bats were born, and they had 15 outstanding years including three championships and more major league players than any franchise in the Northwoods League. Currently, at least two former River Bats are still playing in MLB: Mitch Garver (former Twin, Texas World Series champ, and now with Seattle) and Mark Canha (currently with Texas). This summer the St. Cloud Rox played their 14th season. They immediately replaced the River Bats and are about to equal the River Bats with 15 seasons as a Northwoods League franchise. So why this song? The River Bats took to the field to “Upper Mississippi Shakedown” each home game, and the song played whenever they won which was often. You cannot see the River Bats any longer, but if you go to a Rox game, keep an eye out for the Kuehl family and the Henry family who both host Rox players each summer and spend a lot of time at Joe Faber Field. #8: “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi After my three-time Smartest Advising champions graduated, my next advising group, the class of 2020, won the Smartest Advising competition as sophomores which meant they also earned a theme song. I favored “Live and Let Die” from Paul McCartney & Wings since the previous group had a James Bond song and my co-advisor was Paul Keyworth, a native Brit who was named after Paul McCartney. We took nominations from students and Will Pittelko’s suggestion of “Livin’ on a Prayer” won out. It was a great choice. While the 2016 group was more businesslike and indeed carried themselves as “Simply the Best,” the 2020 group did seem to wing it a bit more and had a laid-back attitude. They won again in 2020 which was to be the final Smartest Advising competition. I joke that my advising groups broke the system by winning five of the final seven competitions, and as of today, we are still the defending champs. However, I am most proud of how the group continued to meet on Zoom during the spring of 2020, complete with guests such as past exchange students from Austria and Brazil, Mr. Keyworth (who had moved to New York), Mr. Miller, and siblings of advisees. It helped to have some levity during the pandemic distance learning. #7: “Day-O (Banana Boat Song)” by Harry Belafonte My mother purchased Harry Belafonte’s Calypso album when she was about 20 years old, and it remained in our family’s small record collection for the entirety of my time on our farm. Her purchase came soon after nursing training in Chicago where she ate pizza (my favorite) for the first time, attended a Bill Haley and His Comets concert, and went to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. She had good taste, and Belafonte’s album went to number one on the charts and was the first long play record album to sell a million copies. If you want to see a touching moment with this song, watch when the superstars recording “We Are the World,” exhausted at 2:00am from the recording session, pay tribute to a beaming Harry Belafonte. It is joyous. #6: “Starline Locomotive” by Hammerhead Mr. Engholm and Mr. Miller have had their turns with the song of the day, but I must include my younger brother, Paul (aka Apollo Liftoff), who may have laughed at my attempt to sing “London Calling” publicly, but that is because he knows his music. He was all-state in both choir and band during his high school years, has been part of many bands over the years, and has played all over the country and world. He has been based in Fargo-Moorhead, MSP, NYC, LA, and currently San Francisco. His best-known band is Hammerhead (just ahead of Vaz), and this song features him extensively. As usual, he wrote both the music and the lyrics. I cannot understand what he is singing, but he assures me it is not inappropriate for the classroom. He told me he couldn’t come up with a word to go with “Locomotive” for several weeks until he saw a suitcase he inherited from our Grandma Adele that had a small logo, “Starline.” Despite my lack of musical talent, I was his first band mate. When we were quite young, we created a two-person band to play for our older siblings and parents in the basement. We were called “Two Cat Day” which was a play on the rock band Three Dog Night. Our one song was “King of the Copper Penny” modeled after “Queen of the Silver Dollar” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. #5: “Sultans of Swing” by Dire Straits Although this list of twenty-two songs is not of my favorite songs, I had to include my personal favorite. I am not sure when I landed on this as number one, but it has been for many years. Mark Knopfler’s wonderful guitar playing first drew me to the song. As a solo artist, Knopfler has written the soundtrack for several movies such as The Princess Bride and Local Hero, and I played songs of the day from those soundtracks in Film Studies. I also played his “Remembrance Day” each year on Remembrance Day for British Literature classes. Eventually, I also came to love the story of “The Sultans of Swing,” even more when I learned it was based on reality. Knopfler popped into a London pub one night to escape the rain and heard a mediocre jazz band playing to a small, disinterested audience. Still, the band took itself seriously throughout and gave an enthusiastic thank you at the end of the night. (Maybe this has echoes of my 2013 Grand Tour of Nations performance of “London Calling.”) The London pub setting, the characterization of the band and its members, and a guitar maestro—that is an appealing formula. #4: “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra Electric Light Orchestra appeared many times on The Midnight Special television program which ran from 1972 – 1981. It was during one of those appearances in the mid-1970’s that I learned of this great band, one of my all-time favorites. The mix of contemporary rock and classical instruments amazed me—they were unlike any band I had heard. My brothers have told me that this is the band they associate with me, and I proudly hung an ELO poster in my bedroom for years. ELO has many great songs, but my favorite as well as fellow ELO fan Mr. McGee’s favorite is “Mr. Blue Sky.” The song has a positive message, but even if you don’t listen to the lyrics, it just sounds great. #3: “A Whole New World” by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle Do you ever hear couples proclaim, “That’s our song!” This is it for my wife, Linda, and me. It is the Oscar-winning song from Disney’s 1992 animated film Aladdin. We went to the movie a few months before I proposed, and when determining our “first dance” song for the wedding, we said “That’s our song!” At the wedding dance, the DJ played the song excerpted from the movie itself with some dialogue included instead of the polished radio hit (which plays during the end credits of the movie). Either version is terrific, and I am glad we chose it to begin our “whole new world” which has continued for 33 years. #2: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John My musical idol during my middle school years was Elton John, so of course, I need to include him. I remember a music teacher at our school during that time mocking him as a bad singer. Well, that “bad” singer remained a major star for another half century. When my wife and I married, we had a cozy country house built in the woods between Avon and Richmond. We stayed there for over 25 years, and when I drove away for the final time, I chose “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” for my drive away song. I considered making it my final song on this list as I departed teaching, but hey, how could I not play it on the final YESHMO (Yellow Shirt Monday) of my career? Goodbye Yellow Shirt Monday. #1: “The Long and Winding Road” by The Beatles Once I decided that Elton’s song would move to #2, I knew the final song would have to be from the greatest band ever, The Beatles. I considered “In My Life,” but that is more of a Lennon song, and I lean toward McCartney. I also considered their masterpiece “A Day in the Life,” but it didn’t seem right as a final song. “Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight” often closes McCartney concerts including the one I attended with Tomato Warning. However, I went back to the beginning, my personal introduction to The Beatles. My father rarely bought music, so I was surprised when he bought the single 45 RPM record “The Long and Winding Road.” Eventually, although it took many years, the band became my favorite. I was fortunate to spend some time in Liverpool where I went on a magical mystery tour of sites related to the band, ending at the Cavern Club where they developed their greatness. My career has been a long and winding road, and thanks for your patience if you have read all my long and winding comments about these 22 final songs of the day.
