"Judge" Songs to Honor Anniversary of O'Connor's Debut on Supreme Court

I just happened to be reading Sinclair Lewis' Cass Timberlane, the most well-known judge in American fiction, on the very day that marked the 30 year anniversary of Sandra Day O' Connor's nomination to serve on the United States Supreme Court. O' Connor of course became the first woman to occupy a position on the judicial branch of our nation's government.

Although she had been appointed by President Ronald Reagan on July 7, O' Connor was officially confirmed on September 21, 1981 by the U.S. Senate with a vote of 99-0. She quickly became the most well-known member of the court, receiving over 60,000 letters in just her first year on the bench.

The anniversary brought to mind other well-known judges, both fictional and real, the aforementioned Cass Timberlane among them. Others that came to mind were Hollywood's Judge Roy Bean (played by Paul Newman), Night Court's Harry Stone (played by Harry Anderson), and current TV arbitrators Judge Joe Brown and Judge Judy.

I then brainstormed popular songs that had "Judge" in their titles, and this is a list of my ten favorites.

Good Morning Judge by 10CC: The bouncy electric guitar on this delightful tune from the group's best album, Deceptive Bends, backs a humorous account of a whimsical car thief who loves Alcatraz.

You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover by The Monkees: The quartet turns this cliché into a catchy pop song on The Monkees Live in 1967.

Funky Judge by The J. Geils Band: Vocalist Peter Wolf chants "The judge sure is funky" on this reggae-laced track from Nightmares . . .and other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle, the album which also features the smash hit Must of Got Lost.

Judge GTO Breakaway by Paul Revere and the Raiders: Mark Lindsay and his band play their light-hearted garage rock while praising the sports car earlier made famous by the Beach Boys

Myxomatosis (Judge, Jury and Executioner) by Radiohead: This track from Hail to the Chief opens with mesmerizing distortion and the strange image of "The mongrel cat came home holding half a head."

The Judge's Daughter by Green Day: An elusive girl is the subject of the lyrics, but it is the incredible guitar solo that makes this the standout track from 1,039 Smoothed out Slappy Hours.

Can't Find the Judge by Gary Wright: This track from The Dream Weaver album has an electric bounce, making it more like Love Is Alive than the slow but enduring title track.

Mr. Love and Justice by Billy Bragg: The bittersweet title track from the folk-rocker's twelfth album is about a mother dealing with questions after having been abandoned by her husband.

Freedom and Justice for All by Charlie Daniels: The country rocker on this title track praises American heroes after the tragedy of 9/11.

The Jury and the Judge by Shocking Blue: The band is famous for the smash hit Venus, and almost 20 years later they hit the charts with this dynamic track.