The election is over and our new President is calling for a spirit of common cause and shared sacrifice from the American people. Hopefully the poisonous partisan politics of the last 16 years will end and be replaced by a true spirit of cooperation for the good of the country. So here are some songs about togetherness.

Canned Heat “Let’s Work Together” (Wilbert Harrison)
This was such a big hit for Canned Heat that most people don’t know it’s a cover. It’s a great song that really sums up the attitude that we need to cultivate going forward.

Nickelback “Love Will Keep Us Together” (Captain and Tenille)
How did the Captain and Tenille get their own TV show? Was there some FCC requirement that forced the big networks to devote a certain percentage of their programming to variety shows starring pop musical acts? As far as I know love has kept them together even after their career slid into well-deserved obscurity after a couple of hits. This is a nice energetic acoustic version of their biggest hit.

The Isreaelites “Come Together” (The Beatles)
This song fits so well into a reggae groove that it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t written that way in the first place.

Tina Turner “Let’s Stay Together” (Al Green)
I can’t listen to this song without imagining Bruce Willis at the strip club in Pulp Fiction. And having Tina Turner sing it adds a whole new set of mental pictures.

Simple Plan “Happy Together” (The Turtles)
The original was happy in a sort of a dazed hippy-dippy way. This version is much more joyous, the sound of somebody who is genuinely thrilled to be in love.