April Fool’s Day is here again, and lordy, but this year has been an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the subject of fools. Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘fool’ as a person lacking in judgement or prudence, and synonyms include: idiot, ass, blockhead, dunce, dolt, ignoramus, imbecile, cretin, dullard, simpleton, moron, clod, etc.
You can see why I might have a distinct fondness for the word.
It’s just so damn universal. We’ve all done things that were completely ridiculous, and quite possibly out of character. We’ve all let ourselves be drawn in to believing in what seemed like such a good idea at the time. It’s okay. As the song goes, everybody plays the fool sometimes. Some more than others, but I digress. Playing the fool is one of the things that human beings have most in common. There’s a good reason that I have over 100 songs in my library with the word “fool” in the title.
So for this April Fool’s Day, I present you with a batch of tunes that pays tribute to all those foolish things, with just a dash of April thrown in the mix. When you’re recovering from the prank that someone played on you, toss this bunch on the box and crank it up. You’ll immediately feel less foolish (or at least less alone), I guarantee it.
No foolin’.
- A Fool In Love – Ike & Tina Turner
- A Good Fool Is Hard To Find – Tommy Castro
- Lovefool – The Cardigans
- Fools In Love – Joe Jackson
- Lost April – Nat King Cole
- Everybody Plays The Fool – The Main Ingredient
- Fools Gold – The Stone Roses
- Chain Of Fools – Aretha Franklin
- (Now And Then There’s) A Fool Such As I – Elvis Presley
- I’ll Remember April – Charlie Parker
- Fool That I Am – Etta James
- Fooled Around And Fell In Love – Elvin Bishop
- These Foolish Things – Billie Holiday
- April In Paris – Thelonius Monk
- A Fool For You – Ray Charles
- I’m A Fool To Want You – Oscar Peterson
- Runnin’ Out Of Fools – Neko Case
- April Walking On A Rainbow – GinChillers
- I Just Can’t Fool Myself – Milt Jackson
