The Playlist: U2

He is the only person in history to be nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Grammy and Nobel Peace Prize.

TIME magazine once named him their Person of the Year. And this Friday you can see him in ‘Across the Universe,’ the new musical film which incorporates songs by the Beatles.

Did I mention he also sings for a living?

He was born Paul David Hewson but you know him better as Bono, lead singer of the Irish rock band U2.

On the verge of Bono’s big screen appearance, in which he reportedly sings John Lennon’s ‘I Am the Walrus,’ I thought it might be timely to take a look at U2 and my favorite songs from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band with 22 Grammys to their credit.

New Years Day (1983)
Album: War
From the 9/1/01 concert at Slane Castle in Ireland

A Top 10 hit in the UK, it was the bands’ first single in America. U2 has long been known for social and political songs and that holds true even here, as the song stands as a commentary on the suppression of the ‘Solidarity’ Polish trade federation formed in 1980. In 2004, Billboard ranked it No. 427 on their Top 500 Songs of All Time and it remains one of their most-played songs in concert.

Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983)
Album: War
From the 6/5/83 show at Red Rocks

One of the band’s signature songs, it propelled ‘War’ to reach Platinum sales four times over, roughly equating to 4 million copies sold. The band has said the lyrics refer to the ‘Bloody Sunday’ massacres in Ireland in both 1920 and 1972 but are not specifically about either incident. "This song is not a rebel song," Bono has said in concert, though it obviously speaks of protest.

With or Without You (1987)
Album: The Joshua Tree
From the last stop of the Joshua Tree tour - 12/87 at Arizona State University's Sun Devil Stadium

The lead single from arguably the band’s signature album, it was U2’s first song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts where it remained for two weeks in May 1987. Rolling Stone ranked the love song No. 131 of the Top 500 Songs of All Time and it has since been featured on such TV shows as ‘Cold Case,’ ‘Friends,’ and ‘The Office.’

Where the Streets Have No Name (1987)
Album: The Joshua Tree
Also from Sun Devil Stadium

Famous for its music video, where the band held an impromptu rooftop concert in Los Angeles – a tip of the hat to the Beatles’ rooftop concert in 1969 – the song reached No. 11 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts. U2 performed the song as part of their set during the SuperBowl XXXVI halftime show in 2002. As a bit of trivia, the B-side to the song’s single was ‘The Sweetest Thing,’ a song that would not be released as a single itself until 11 years later.

One (1992)
Album: Achtung Baby
The 'Bono at the Bar' version (3 versions of the music video exist)

The album’s third single, it is widely considered one of U2’s greatest songs. Legend has it tensions were running high as the band worked on the ‘Achtung Baby’ album, with Bono and The Edge pushing for a more progressive sound while Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. opposed. But they all rallied around a guitar riff by The Edge which later evolved into ‘One.’ For that reason, many – including the band – credit the song for saving U2. Several music magazines and music polls have since listed ‘One’ as being the best song of the 90s and even the best song ever. The band performed the song as part of an emotional tribute to those lost Sept. 11 when I attended a concert in Baltimore just weeks after the tragedy.

So there’s my list. What’s yours? Shoot me an e-mail at grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com and it might end up featured in a future column.