The Five Albums I Would Take With Me to a Deserted Island (2024)

A couple of days ago, I read a story online about country music superstar Luke Combs. During an interview with Taste of Country Nights host Evan Paul, Luke was asked this question, "If you were washed up on a deserted island and only had one album to listen to for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?"

Luke admitted the question was tough, thought about it for a bit, then finally offered up this answer. He said, "Umm, I'd probably do, like, Tom Petty's Greatest Hits, Eagles Greatest Hits, maybe, there's just so much there."

Well, I am with Luke. That's a really tough question and I am not sure I can narrow it down to just one album. I realize that I am violating the basic rules of this game a bit, but I'm the one writing this story. Call it creative liberties. LOL!.

So, here we go. I am washing up on the shore of some remote, deserted island. While I can't find food and my stomach is trying to eat my neck, I, rather miraculously, have some way to play my favorite music. So, which five albums am I going to listen to for the rest of eternity (or until I die from starvation and/or heat exhaustion)?

#1 PURPLE RAIN (PRINCE)

Look! This, for me, is a no-brainer. I think the soundtrack to Purple Rain is THE best album of all-time. Plus, how fitting is the very first line of the very first song on the record? At the beginning of "Let's Go Crazy," Prince proclaims, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life." So, while I am walking around in the sand, scavenging for food and water and trying to keep the buzzards from pecking out my eyes and feeding on my internal organs, I am going to listening to Prince.

#2- LES MISERABLES (ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING)

Hear me out. I am a huge fan of Broadway musicals. I have seen a nearly infinite number of them. I love songs from the stage that evoke emotion and ones I can sing along with. For your consideration- "One Day More!" This Act One finale is one of the most stirring songs you will ever hear.

Picture it! I have written 'HELP ME' in the sand. I have hand-woven a flag made with palm fronds and I am waving it frantically in the air as a random plane soars over the beach where I am stranded. I am belting out the lyrics to "One Day More." Can you see it? So can the Qantas airlines pilot who just happened to look down at the right time. I'm getting rescued.

#3- ON THE RADIO: GREATES HITS VOLUME I & II (DONNA SUMMER)

I am a child of the late 70s and early 80s. In moments of crisis (i.e. being stranded on an island and having to talk to a friggin' volleyball for companionship), I am going to revert back to my childhood. THIS album was my childhood. I once used my allowance to by the single to "MacArthur Park" at Kuester's Hardware Store in Owensboro, KY. Yes! They randomly sold records and I LOVED this one. I still know every single word to every single song.

While I'm trapped (and possible dying) in my own solo episode of Survivor, I am going to go out dancing. I mean, I suppose it's fitting that one of Donna's biggest hits was "Last Dance." This album may be last chance . . . for love . . . and for a pulse.

#4- THE ULTIMATE HITS (GARTH BROOKS)

You know the drill. It's hard to find Garth Brooks music on YouTube. Luckily, the man has put out about 13,000 greatest hit collections and box sets. This one is my favorite! All of Garth's monster hits are on it. Plus, it also happens to house my all-time favorite Garth song. That particular ditty is "When You Come Back to Me Again" from the movie Frequency. Speaking of which, let's hope I find some sort of transistor radio on this island so I can send out a call for help. Hopefully, someone will pick up my frequency. Hopefully that someone is an admiral in the Coast Guard.

#5- MERRY CHRISTMAS (MARIAH CAREY)

Now, you may think I'm insane. Sure, the odds of me making it to December while stranded alone on a deserted island are slim to none. Unless, of course, I got stranded on November 30th. However, if you need the will to live you have to find inspiration in a song that refuses to die. THAT song is "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey. Believe it or not, that song was released way back in 1994. For thirty years, like clockwork each and every year, it has hit #1 on the Billboard chart. It's essentially the co*ckroach of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. There aren't enough canisters of Black Flag in the world to take down that roach. And, that's the kind of fighting spirit I want to have while I am trying to keep flies from swarming around my mouth and the sand crabs from eating the toes off my feet. I am going to live, dammit. And I am going to do it by singing "All I Want for Christmas Is You and a Rescue Chopper!"