Sweet Songs to Celebrate Georgie Henley's Sixteenth Birthday

Actress Georgie Henley, who recently made a public appearance at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Empire Awards with her famous co-star, will turn 16 this summer. Since my older daughter will reach the age about the same date as Ericsson, I am referring to both birthday celebrations as "Bittersweet" Sixteen parties.

The guests at Henley's party will be much more famous than we who attend my daughter's small gathering. Actor Will Poulter will likely be at Henley's party, having starred with her in her role as Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia films.

My daughter's guest list will include a smattering of friends from school, a few cousins, two aunts and uncles, and all three of her admiring grandparents. Her father will be in charge of the music, which will no doubt disappoint her teenage friends. They can feel some comfort from the fact that I did omit some of the ancient oldies such as "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Sweet City Woman" as well as "Sweet Child o' Mine," which my daughter swears is the most annoying song ever recorded.

The sonsg I do have on the playlist fit in very well with both my daughter's party and the one Georgie Henley probably has planned. Appropriately, there are sixteen songs on the list, and each one features the word "Sweet" in the title.

Here is the playlist, building up to my personal favorite.

16. "Sweet Pain" by Kiss: The catchy tune from Destroyer was a minor hit, though it received much less airplay than the album's other singles, "Beth" and "Detroit Rock City."

15. "Sweet Lorraine" by Uriah Heep: Other than "Easy Livin'" this is the band's most well-known song. It's hard driving guitar and catchy chorus are typical of Heep's rock songs, though the band's prog rock penchant also captured many fans.

14. "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd: One of the most well-known guitar riffs opens the southern rock band's biggest hit, which is an attack on Neil Young's earlier criticism of that state on a track from his Harvest album.

13. "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve: The song's long legal history, which ended up giving writing credit to Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, has not detracted from its lasting popularity. It continues to appear on TV ads and films, and lyricist Richard Ashcroft still plays it on his solo tours.

12. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by The Eurythmics: The biggest hit for Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox can still be heard daily, almost thirty years after its original release.

11. "Sweet Revenge" by John Prine: On this title track from the album featuring the classic "Dear Abby," the influential folk singer gets kicked off of Noah's Ark, cracks jokes about bicycle spokes and red balloons, and is finally told to get out of town by noon.

10. "Sweet Jane" by The Velvet Underground: Lou Reed continued to perform this track from Loaded, and artists as diverse as Mott the Hoople to Phish to Metallica have recorded versions of it.

9. "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith: The second biggest hit from Toys in the Attic, which features "Walk This Way," showcases Steven Tyler and his band in their prime.

8. "Sweet Lady" by Queen: Guitarist Brian May wrote this track from A Night at the Opera, a rocking number that complements the album's biggest hit, "Bohemian Rhapsody."

7. "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison: The music and message of the song from All Things Must Pass are much sweeter than its legal history, which resulted in the former Beatle having to pay royalties to The Chiffons because of its similarity to "He's So Fine."

6. "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor: Taylor reportedly wrote the song for his infant nephew, imagining that he's "a young cowboy" who "lives on the range." The chorus has Taylor singing, "Rock-a-bye sweet baby James."

5. "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond: The strong vocals plead for love, as Diamond croons "Hands touching hands, Reaching out, touching me, touching you" before he bursts into the contagious chorus.

4. "Unfinished Sweet" by Alice Cooper: This underrated gem from Billion Dollar Babies examines a love of chocolate that leads Alice to a toothache and a trip to the dentist. The bridge features an unusual solo, which relies on which the guitar and keyboard give way to a dentist's drill.

3. "Sweet Talkin' Woman" by Electric Light Orchestra: The smash hit from Out of the Blue has every quality that made Jeff Lynne's band a dominant staple of 70s radio. There is a catchy a chorus, jaunty rhythm, and the falsetto of bassist Kelly Groucet backing Lynne's gruff lead vocal.

2. "Sweet Young Thing" by The Monkees: Michael Nesmith penned and sang this rollicking country-tinged number. The guitar that soars throughout the track sounds like a hypnotic cross between a bagpipe and a sitar.

1. "Absolutely Sweet Marie" by Bob Dylan: One of the many classics from Blonde on Blonde has the satirically despondent folk-rock bard standing Romeo-like "looking at your yellow railroad, in the ruins of your balcony."