Music. It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions. It is the universal language that speaks to the soul. It forms the soundtrack of our lives.
It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007. It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray. So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.
Today, we move up to the fifth most listened to song in my library, with 182 plays since my stats began in late 2007. It is the top ranked instrumental and also the top ranked soundtrack entry.
#5: Klaus Badelt – He’s A Pirate
iTunes stats: 182 plays, most recently on 9/27/2024
Previous ranking: #4
Klaus Badelt was a relatively new composer when Hans Zimmer recommended him for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. That score earned him the ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Film. He’s A Pirate is the final track of the score, played at the beginning of the end credits.
Starting with the 2005 season, the White Sox incorporated the song into their game presentation, using it along with a string of highlights on the video board at the beginning of each game, leading into Thunderstruck as the team takes the field. The song remained in use through the 2012 season, when it was replaced with a generic sound-a-like that never really caught on. The song had a long run on my White Sox victory play lists, but has been removed in recent versions, which accounts for the drop seen here, from 4th place down to 5th.
