Minnesota - Northern Light
Back in the day, before the world got so small, regional hits sometimes appeared on the pop charts. One that was big where I grew up never made the national Top 40 - though it did crack the Top 100 - but is fondly remembered by many from Albert Lea to Zumbrota and all points in between: "Minnesota" by Northern Light.
Songs about places appeal to our natural hometown pride. Shoot, name a city in Texas and odds are I can name a song about it. Next to love songs, place songs may be the most durable genre. That's because at heart they are love songs, too, directed not at a who but at a where.
NY - Frank Sinatra. Georgia - Ray Charles. Los Angeles - Randy Newman. San Francisco - Tony Bennett. Minnesota? Northern Lights.
After the jump - what the Beach Boys would have sounded like if the beach was Lake Minnetonka instead of Malibu - and answers from Northern Light's David Sandler.
Songs about places appeal to our natural hometown pride. Shoot, name a city in Texas and odds are I can name a song about it. Next to love songs, place songs may be the most durable genre. That's because at heart they are love songs, too, directed not at a who but at a where.
NY - Frank Sinatra. Georgia - Ray Charles. Los Angeles - Randy Newman. San Francisco - Tony Bennett. Minnesota? Northern Lights.
After the jump - what the Beach Boys would have sounded like if the beach was Lake Minnetonka instead of Malibu - and answers from Northern Light's David Sandler.
