General Gregory N. Pigott: Late Night Music Thanksgiving Edition Part 79........."All I Wanna Do Is To Thank You Even Though I Don't Know Who You Are"

As we wind down this Thanksgiving holiday with hangovers, football, gas, and leftovers turned into sandwiches, we also think about all that we have to truly be thankful for. So many times in music, artists have also done this thanking a variety of people from their family, spouse, ex significant others, God, and even fans. Tonight's special Holiday list takes a look at those songs that showed us how to truly be thankful.

In order to be in this category, the SONG TITLE had to have the word "Thank" somewhere in it. Also receiving votes in this category was "Thank You" by Hellyeah, "Thanks For My Child" by Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley, and "Thanks To You" by Tyler Collins.

"Thank You"- Dido. This song is one of those that literally snuck up to the public eye after first being released on the soundtrack to the movie "Sliding Doors" in 1998, but not hitting #3 on the Billboard charts until 2001 on Dido's debut smash album "No Angel". Besides easily being her biggest American hit, the song was written for her then boyfriend and future fiancee Bob Page. In a great twist of musical irony, not only did Dido and Page split up in 2002, her lead single from her next album ("White Flag" off of the "Life For Rent" album) was written about the breakup. Those two songs are Dido's biggest hits the United States. I've always really liked this song and I've loved its crossover appeal, as many of my musically handicapped friends really enjoy this song. We also all know the resurgence the song and Dido got when this song was sampled on Eminem's smash hit "Stan" in 2003. Dido is a really good looking woman despite being British. Hey, nobody's perfect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TO48Cnl66w

"Thank You"- Boyz II Men. Boyz II Men released "Thank You" as the 3rd single from their worldwide smash album "II" in 1995, and like most of their up tempo songs, it also for some reason never caught on as a big hit despite peaking at #21 in the United States. I always found this surprising because at the time, Boyz II Men was easily the hottest R&B act on the planet, and one of the top 5 hottest acts overall in the world, and this song is absolutely awesome! However, the video takes a turn into unbelievableville when Mike starts "playing" the upright bass. Great bass vocal part, but does he really expect us to believe that? I'll give Nathan the benefit of the doubt on the piano, but I'm still skeptical. I'm gonna take away points, however, for Boyz II Men dressing alike so much in the 1990's. When was that ever cool?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DysP6hul9PU

"Thank You"- Jamelia. Unfortunately for us on this side of the pond, we really don't get to see British singer Jamelia as much as our European friends. This song, about an abusive relationship that Jamelia survived is almost a sarcastic thank you for the learning experiences she gained. The song from the 2003 album of the same name went on to peak at #2 in the United Kingdom, which is still Jamelia's highest charting song ever. My only question is how in the world someone could physically abuse a woman this beautiful. Head scratching is definitely occurring right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxEL7WSbbeo

"Thank You"- Xzibit. In 2006, Xzibit released "Full Circle", and the last single was this ode to his fans everywhere for their support throughout his career. Funny thing is that I honestly did not know a single Xzibit song before this. Not gonna lie- I always thought the guy was just a wanna be rapper that was a decent actor in the movies he was in and a funny host of "Pimp My Ride" that couldn't spell exhibit right. Sorry guys, I guess I lose my street cred now. After hearing this song and seeing this video, maybe he should stick to the movies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjPGFbnpjGs

"Thank You For The Music"- ABBA. When they released their 1983 greatest hits album, ABBA released one final single as a band. Unlike their other material, the song failed to make a huge splash mainly due to ABBA's waning popularity in the early 1980's. Much like Dido, this song was first featured in ABBA's 1977 movie "ABBA:The Movie", only to be released 6 years later. Despite the extreme cheesiness of this song, I have to give ABBA props for the timing of this song, as they almost sensed that their breakup was inevitable. Much like the Beatles ending their last album with "The End", some of the greatest bands can literally go out with a proper goodbye. I really just think that ABBA wanted a song for their tribute bands to end all of their shows with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfM9gQkfwyg

"Thank You"- Johnny Reid. For you country fans out there- this Scottish/Canadian guy is setting the world on fire in Canada as he has been named Male Artist of the Year for 2008 and 2009 at the CCMA (CANADIAN) Awards. Before his superstardom, this song was released on his 2007 album "Kicking Stones". Great song here, as Johnny Reid has some soul in his country music. Video really reminds me of my grandfather.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxy0uBbHLCw

"Thank God I Found You"- Mariah Carey, Joe, and 98 Degrees. Why was 98 Degrees even included on this song/video? Are they even singing? I still scratch my head on that one all these years later. Mariah Carey included this song on her 1999 album "Rainbow" and I can't understand why. It's not like she needed the star power to help her sell records. This song shot to #1 on the Billboard Charts and gave Mariah Carey the record for a #1 hit for 10 consecutive calendar years beginning in 1990 with her debut single "Vision Of Love". Oddly enough, she would not have another #1 hit until 2005's "We Belong Together". Always liked Joe and I won't get into my boy band obsession right now. Mariah Carey may have been looking her best ever at this point in her career. I love her in this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KVxjQUCyn0

"Thnks Fr Th Mmrs"- Fall Out Boy. Ok, I didn't say the song had to be spelled right! I've never been a huge Fall Out Boy fan, but I really like this song, and this video is freaking hilarious. This song is obviously about a couple that breaks up yet continues to sleep together- listen to the words and figure it out. This song from their 2007 album "Infinity On High" failed to crack the Top 10 in the United States peaking at #11, but hit #3 in Australia, where the band is widely popular. Patrick Stump is added to the short list of annoying lead singers with red hair. Why does that bother me so much?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onzL0EM1pKY

"Thank You"- Led Zeppelin. This song from Zeppelin's 1969 album "Led Zeppelin II" is noted as being the first song that Robert Plant wrote all the lyrics for, as Jimmy Page had previously done virtually all the song writing alone. The song remained a crowd favorite for years at concerts just due to the organ playing of John Paul Jones. This great live performance from New York City in 1973 shows how awesome this song was live with the passion of Robert Plant on stage. I'm just now noticing this, but I'm thinking David Lee Roth ripped off Robert Plant with his on stage antics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKAmDBiCq5E

"Thank U"- Alanis Morissette. Decent song, good idea for a video but Alanis Morissette is NOT a woman I want to even picture naked. Despite being heavily anticipated as the lead single for her sophomore album "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie", it never lived up to the hype caused by the success of "Jagged Little Pill", and despite an unbelievable amount of airplay, the song still only managed to peak at #17 in the United States despite being #1 in her native Canada. Hopefully this alone will keep her from ever doing this again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOgpT5rEKIU

"Thank You For Loving Me"- Bon Jovi. Great live acoustic version of the song from Bon Jovi's 2000 album "Crush". Bon Jovi tried his hand at another ballad with this song, and actually admitted in an interview that this song was actually inspired by Brad Pitt's character in the movie "Meet Joe Black". It's easy to forget that before Jon Bon Jovi started acting like an idiot on TV while getting face time owning his Arena Football League team, he had some pretty good songs. I would like to take this time to officially name Jon Bon Jovi as one of the few men alive who can look cool in a turtleneck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9wKi1keg8g

BONUS VIDEO- "Whoever You Are"- Geggy Tah. Had to do it- the song that inspired the title.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2UUvG-XuQs