In 1971, a young songwriter named Jackson Browne began writing a simple, but catchy song called "Take It Easy" for his debut album. A friend and neighbor named Glenn Frey heard the unfinished song and loved it, so Jackson did what any good friend would do, he gave Glenn the song for his band's debut album. Glenn Frey added the second verse, recorded it with the Eagles and the rest is history. Well, luckily for Jackson Brown, he had a lot more where that came from. Over the years he's produced a fine discography, chock-full of timeless tracks with huge crossover appeal. People who love rock, country, folk and pop music all love Jackson Browne, and songwriters hold him in high esteem for his ability to craft airtight gems.

For this playlist I've selected 10 classic Jackson Browne songs as performed by other artists. I could not find cover versions for some fan favorites like "Running On Empty", "The Load Out", "Tender Is The Night" and "Lawyers In Love", so if you know of any decent

There may be no better sight for a Sunday drive than the view of Tuscan sunflower fields on a road to San Gimignano. On the other hand, I have a way to go before I see the whole world, but the visual impact of what I saw in Tuscany will be hard to beat -- layers of big, bright yellow sunflowers, blue sky, white clouds and a picture perfect medieval walled city on a hill -- breathtaking. I've seen sunflowers in gardens and have even grown my own, but I had never seen so many of them grown as a crop before. It seems that sunflowers are good for far more than their striking beauty in a rolling landscape. Sunflower seeds are a perfect snack alone, or make a great addition to breads and salads. They're also ground into sunbutter and the oil extracted from them contains a monounsaturated fat that's even healthier than olive oil. Originally native to Mexico, the sunflower has become the symbol of the state of Kansas, the nation of the Ukraine and the Vegan society. They can also remove toxins

Phish is a jam band that's developed a rabid cult following second only to the mighty Grateful Dead. And like the Dead, they have a reputation for intense improvisation within the structures of their own music as well as the music of other artists. But Phish are also well known for exploring and remaking music from a wider selection of genres. For this playlist however, I wanted to focus on Phish's remakes of songs by classic rock bands. This playlist contains 20 tracks and only scratches the surface, so I've given it the designation "Volume 1". I have also chosen not to repeat artists covered with the intention of getting a better cross section of classic rock as seen through the eyes of Phish. Please let me know which classic rock covers you would put in "Volume 2".

Phish: Classic Rock Covers, Vol. 1

1. Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)

2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles)

3. Loving Cup (The Rolling Stones)

4. 5:15 (The Who)

5. Frankenstein (Edgar Winter)

6. Hold Your Head Up

The name "Robert" is of Old German origin and means "bright fame", so it's no surprise that many famous Roberts exist in the world of music. Being a Robert myself, I count myself lucky to have a wide range of acceptable nicknames to choose from. "Bobby", "Robby", "Rob", "Dob", "Bob" all come to mind. My close relatives, teachers and coaches were the only ones allowed to ever call me "Bobby", when I got a real job I started going by Robert, and before that I was Bob to my friends. Some have even made up special nicknames for me like "Rabbit", "Bobbahay" and "Bobert".  Ah, the joys of being a Robert.

For this playlist I wanted to focus on the ubiquitous "Bob" form of the name.  And I decided to chose only musicians who have performed in some capacity as a solo artist and have good name recognition. So while a band like "The Bobs" or Supertramp drummer Bob C. Benberg could make a list of musical Bobs, I did not include them here for these reasons. In addition, I've only selected artists