Graduation season is a fine time for some nostalgic songs

By Don Effenberger | 05/11/2012

In the midst of graduation season, it’s a fine time for reminiscing and recalling favorite memories.

There are plenty of pop songs to get you in the mood:

We’ll start with the graduation classic “Graduation Day.” Here’s the best-known version — by the Four Freshmen — and a rare version by, of all people, Bobby “Boris” Pickett of “Monster Mash” fame.

Not surprisingly, most memories fall into one of two general categories — happy or sad. We’ll start upbeat.

• Bruce Springsteen relives those “Glory Days.”

• Perry Como recalls lots of “Magic Moments.”

• Wayne Newton sings his way through a spendy European honeymoon in “Remember When (We Made These Memories).”

• Frankie Laine was busy “Making Memories.”

• John Mellencamp has fond recollections of younger days in “Cherry Bomb.”

• And they mean a lot to everyone from Bob Hope (“Thanks for the Memory”) to Elvis (“Memories”).

• Dean Martin offers a recipe for happy times with “Memories Are Made of This.”

• Little Caesar and the Romans concentrate on sock-hop times and favorite 45-rpm memories in “Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me of You).”

• The Earls, too, are waxing nostalgic with some doo-wop in “Remember Then.”

• And more heartbreak from Martha and the Vandellas with “Come and Get These Memories.”

• And all those souvenirs and mementos bring sadness to Connie Francis (“Among My Souvenirs”), Patsy Cline (“She’s Got You”) and Rod Stewart (“These Foolish Things”).

• “It’s Been a Long, Long Time,” with Harry James and his orchestra, along with Kitty Kallen.

• “Memory,” Barbra Streisand’s take on the signature song from Broadway’s “Cats.”

• And Don McLean’s “American Pie” tour de force.

We’ll close with two of the World War II chanteuse’s most well-known songs: “I’ll Be Seeing You” and a cover version of her “We’ll Meet Again” by Engelbert Humperdinck.

And we’ll wrap up with a real downer — Vera Lynn’s version of “We’ll Meet Again” playing over the final scene of the Stanley Kubrick’s black comedy “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.”