My 100 Favorite Charted Pop Songs: I’m Scared

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From the long-forgotten country hit we move to a bomb of a song that followed a top ten hit. Yep, that’s the way I move. There are quite a few cases where I liked the lesser-known follow-up over the “big hit.” A good case is Starbuck’s “I Got to Know,” the follow-up to “Moonlight Feels Right.” I was the only one with that opinion, though. Same thing here. I’m Scared - Burton Cummings After a career in the Guess Who (oh, go on, guess who! [NO, JJ, not Bruce! ]), Burton Cummings went solo in the mid-70s. While his former bandmate Randy Bachman was tearing it up with BTO, Cummings went in a “mellower” direction. He had a big hit with “Stand Tall” from his debut album. This was the next single, and it bombed. Except with me. There’s a video (or there was) on YouTube of Cummings telling the story that inspired this song: on a tour with the Guess Who he was in New York City, having personal doubts. He took a walk and found himself outside of St. Thomas Cathedral (Episcopal) and went in. I’ve “never been much on religion,” and especially not now, because it seems that religion has as much to do with God as my automobile’s carburetor. So the song resonated with me a lot. It still does. I’m Scared Written by Burton Cummings Recorded by Burton Cummings From Burton Cummings, 1976 Peak chart position: #61 Today’s country song: “Good Time Charlie’s” Something in the air was oh so rare: